Ive had these on the watch list for a few weeks now and the company seems to be getting a lot of Institutional Interest.

Its basically an asset based lender to smaller companys and carrys out a similar business to that of the big clearing banks, but as the economy gets tighter and bank lending gets more difficult to secure customers are turning to this Northern based company as an alternative.

Description Of Business.

Davenham is a leading, independent asset based lender to the UK SME sector.

The business was founded in 1991 in Manchester from where its core operations
are run. In recent years, Davenham has begun to expand and it now also operates
from offices in Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Davenham provides lending solutions designed to meet the financing needs of UK
SMEs - typically involving loans of between 10,000 and 3 million. The
Directors believe this is a profitable and attractive market place that is not
adequately serviced by mainstream lenders, which tend to adopt a formulaic
approach to lending decisions. Davenham has a diverse loan portfolio, with its
lending activities organised into three divisions: property finance, asset
finance and trade finance.

Davenham enjoys strong client relationships reflecting high levels of customer
service and tailored financing packages. The Directors believe that Davenham's
ability to form a commercial view and reach lending decisions quickly underpins
premium rates and high levels of repeat business. New clients are typically
sourced through introductions from existing clients, direct approaches and a
network including mainstream lenders, finance brokers, accountancy firms and
other professionals.

Davenham has a strong financial record both in terms of revenue growth and
profitability and has consistently achieved a gross return on loan portfolio of
circa 20 per cent. The Directors believe this results from Davenham's position
as a leading lender in a profitable and niche market place in which the
competition is fragmented.

Davenham is funded by a group of banks led by The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and
has a facility of 175 million, which the Directors believe is sufficient for
Davenham's current requirements.

The Placing:

Davenham, a leading independent asset based lender to the UK SME
sector, announces completion of its admission to AIM and that trading in its
ordinary shares commenced at 8.00am today.

Panmure Gordon, the Company's broker, has placed 10.9 million new
ordinary shares on behalf of the Company raising approximately 27.7 million
before expenses, and also placed approximately 6.7 million existing ordinary
shares for approximately 16.9 million on behalf of selling shareholders.

Approximately 17.2 million of the proceeds of the issue of new
ordinary shares will be used to redeem certain loan notes and mezzanine debt.
The balance of 10.5 million will be used to increase the capital base of
Davenham and to pay for the expenses of the flotation.

Davenham will be included in the Speciality and Other Finance sector
and will have an EPIC code of DAV.L.

Hawkpoint is the nominated adviser and financial adviser to Davenham
and Panmure Gordon is broker.

Dunedin and Indigo backed the buyout of Davenham in 2000 and have
supported the Company through to a successful flotation. They will remain
supportive shareholders.

The placing took place at 254p.

Director Speak.

David Coates, Chief Executive said:

'We are delighted by the positive response to the placing and the completion of
our admission to trading on AIM. I am pleased to welcome our new institutional
investors as shareholders of Davenham.

'We are well positioned to capitalise on the attractive growth opportunities in
our market place and we believe the flotation will raise our profile and support
future growth by strengthening our ability to lend, expand into the Midlands and
the South of the UK and fund selective acquisitions.'

I see from the Brokers forecasts that the Pospective P/E is approx 10 falling the year after. Might be rewarding to get in at this early stage.

DYOR.

Cheers GF.

ebboarecrap
OK

Back to business.

cheers GF.

Dil ,,i don't agree ,,, the problem with receiving scsw on Saturday is that on Monday morning the MM's have put the price up ,this happens every time ,,then in next months edition they say ,,made a nice 10% gain on XYZ ,,,well they have ,but we havn't . I know it's about buy and hold but it's nice to get in early,, i have another tip sheet that arrives mid week ,and i have used it for years ...

Talk on other boards that Small Company Watch will update on DAV this weekend re - to the positive trading statement this week.

cheers Gf.

Just gone into the blue, NICE.

cheers GF.

jimmy , SCSW do not add the share to their portfolio until AFTER tipping it ... again , unlike others.

Could be the next move upwards.

Dil ,the fact is the MM's get it on Saturday ,,have a read and wack the price up before the market opens on Monday morning ,it happens every time,, without fail .Actually the one who buys before we do is TMI , your right .

jimmy if you dont mind me asking what tip sheet have you used for years, and is its performance better than scsw

Evo ,i use Quantum Leap ,its been very good ,,again you have to pick carefully ,but for me its the best of all that i have tried over the years and i will always subscribe ,,,plus its delivered mid week before the MM's can get it and up the price..

Back on Topic ,up 2.5p that we lost yesterday,,plus interims in Feb i think ..

Part of the reason they up the price on SCSW tips is its track record.

MM's get all tip mags at least as soon as you jimmy so they could up the price just as easy midweek as any other time.

Anyway your never gonna call the top so paying an extra 5-10% for quality becomes irrelevant in the long run.

As we are all off the thread at present.

Whatever you read you are always the 12th man
in the deal team.
Papers,Quantum.,Scsw,Tmi, all good if taken in right spirit.
Remember someone had to research, and then punt it.
So dont be sucked into thinking you have hot news.
Find it yourself long before the tipsheets,
and as they all work on forward eps growth
it dosen't take rocket science to work it out.
It is actually quite rewarding to find xyz at 1.00
when the tipsheets quote it a hot tip at 1.30+
all the best
Hustler

True Hustler find them yourself ,i only bought one share from tipsheets last year ,which has done very well ,and i bought about three very good plays in 2004 so for me its worth the subscription price... True Dil (the long run),however i stand by what i say about Quantum ,as i have bought something at 8am that has raced away that day.

Anyway back to DAV there is an update in scsw today .

Cheers Jimmy re- to the update in SCSW, no doubt they have reiterated their previous Buy signal ( I hope so). Even at 330p we are on a rolling P/E of only just 11 so I cant see any different. Its still way too cheap.

cheers GF.

Yes they have a carry on buying rating ,and by the way its 330 not 230 ,you've got to pack in these all night drinking sessions at the lap dancing club GF ..:-}

LOL Jimmy, yes your right but I wasnt down Spearmint Rhino last night (bad news) I was legless in the local, gosh my bloody head hurts.

cheers GF.

Confirmed from SCSW on another board.........

Shore Capital have initiated coverage with somewhat higher forecasts than the existing ones by Panmure Gordon, making the shares appear even better value.

They also mention again the prospect of expansion into the South East via an acquisition in the fairly near future.

cheers GF.

cheers for that jimmy, might just check it out,

jimmy have you got a number or email address for it

If "Dil" says buy then its time to sell.

He tipped me Nord Anglia and Jarvis and I bought both. Both tanked.

He is useless.