,

good strong company...sp is a good level to get in at...?

RNS this morning...
Is the reason for the recent (overdone?) drop in the sp ?

will the sp start to recover now ?

Be nice to have Brewin Dolphin update..

Education Development makes 96,333 pounds deferred payment for eNVQ
AFX


LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Education Development International Plc. (EDI) said it has made a deferred payment of 96,333 pounds in cash and shares, relating to the May 2007 acquisition of eNVQ Ltd.

Of this, 70,750 pounds will be paid in cash with the balance 25,583 pounds payable by issuing 79,205 new EDI shares at 32.3 pence, representing 0.14 percent of the company's enlarged share capital.

Following this, EDI said it has a total 57,591,496 shares in issue.

Over the past 12 months, EDI said eNVQ revenues have increased 22.5 percent to 127,777 pounds - which in turn triggered the deferred payment.

Under the terms of the purchase agreement, deferred consideration is payable on the basis of incremental revenue at the end of each of the three years following the acquisition.

TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com

I can't see by increasing the share capital at 32.3p by 0.14% would have had any effect on the sp. Seeing that the price has dropped 25% it would be nice too have a statement saying that they know of no reason for the sp movement.

There has been some consistant selling over the past few weeks, but today was the first day to be heavily positive buying. If we could have some sort of confirmation that drop is due to no more than weakness in the small cap sector, it could prove a good entrance price to top up.

I dont think the market liked the news that the balance was paid in new shares rather than cash,surely they can't be short of the odd 25k.

Does seem a small amount but rns only released today, and buy volume and sp was positive, first time in two weeks.

hit stop spitfire so I'm out til chart tells me otherwise

I had so much faith in these .... sp is probably due to general market but I got rules

good luck guys

wise move dil, best to stick with your rules.

I have always sold holdings in the past at my stop/loss, but this time I have torn up my rule book for EDD, hope I don't regret it!

I noticed a 0.5p rise today before any trades. The reason is in todays share mag the cover feature is about possible takeover bargains with AIM companies. 1 of 5 picks is EDD, and they highlight the takeover of Nord Anglia Education recently by a private equity buyer.

I had always suspected they would be a takeover target (check thread 30) but at 33p after correcton I just hope that if a takeover occurs, it won't be at a give away price.

Yes, let's hope if it happens it's a decent price. Very unlikely it'll happen it's just shares mag short of stuff for it's mag... BTW what were the other 4 picks ?

The other 4 picks were, Carluccio's, Character Group, ITIS and Panmure Gordon. I liked the look of Panmure Gordon and will research further.

I wouldn't like see EDD taken over in the short term, because I feel there is more value along the line with this well run company.

SP making a slow but steady recovery..looking much better now...onwards and upwards! just need it to get back to 45p and I'm in profit on my last 2 buys on this...my first buy was at 28p last yr

Tipped on http://www.4wm.co.uk - 5th Episode

Have just noticed another broker in now following EDD, Finncap which I must admit to knowing much about them. But a good reccommendation with a slightly better forecast than Brewin Dolphin.

Finncap, 18.08.08, BUY
2008 = Profit = 3.3m & EPS = 5.8p
2009 = Profit = 3.6m & EPS = 6.1P

More than happy to continue holding at 39p.

Thanks for the info... I'll continue to hold as well... wonder if the current climate will impact the estimates and subsequently the sp?

Good solid RNS release this morning...


EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL PLC




CONTRACT WINS AND TRADING




Education Development International plc ('EDI' or the 'Group'), the leading provider of educational qualifications and assessment services announces the renewal and extension of three key contracts.




Contract Renewals




Accountancy body ACCA which uses the EDI i-assess testing platform to deliver certain of its qualifications online has confirmed a renewed three year contract with EDI after a market testing exercise. ACCA plans to extend its already significant use of on-line testing during the period of the contract.




JHP Training - one of the leading private sector organisations providing vocational training services across the UK - is entering into a three year contract with EDI, again after a market testing exercise, for its vocational qualifications and online assessment requirements. The new arrangements will reinforce the strong growth in JHP's business over recent years and benefit from the long-term relationship which already exists between JHP and EDI.




New Contract




After initial piloting work, the School of Mathematics and Statistics, Newcastle University, has now confirmed that it will enter into a full three year contract with EDI for the use of the i-assess platform. Although this is a relatively small scale contract it provides an important opportunity to develop and promote opportunities in the higher education sector.




Trading




Confirmation of these contracting arrangements comes during a period of positive trading in line with the Board's expectations.




Commenting on the developments, EDI Chief Executive, Nigel Snook, said:




'We are delighted that our business relationships with ACCA, JHP Training and Newcastle University have been confirmed and will be extended, especially as the new arrangements are as the result of rigorous market testing.'




'We envisage the value of these contracts will increase steadily over the next three years as we work closely with our partners both to develop new services and maximise the take up of existing opportunities.'

RNS announcement today = Octopus Investments Nominees LTD increased holdind from 3.942m to 4.089m on 3rd October and now have 7.1%. At the end of 2007 they held 3.23%, so this shows confidence in EDD.

Also in Investors Chrinicle 10th October they updated EDD with a buy rating at 33.5p and say that on a forward PE ratio of 6 they continue to rate a buy.

With the sp at 30.5p now the forward PE is now 5.7, this should give a good support now even in these volitile markets. From reports I have read EDD continue to be trading strongly, looking forward to November results.

Thanks Spitfire for your info.Yep, it's looking very encouraging.. roll on the results and the next market bull rally/run... whenever that'll be !

As you say Skyhigh the next bull rally...whenever that'll be. I'm still not buying small caps just yet. A bit more pain in the real economy first, before small caps start to recover. But I'm starting to search now for other growth stocks like EDD.

Have you looked at AEC Education, a company that EDD had a share in last year, and they are based in Singapore. I did some research on them and liked what I read, but decided not to invest yet, because Asia could be behind us in the Economic cycle, and Education doesn't enjoy the same backing from the Government as in the UK. But maybe worth looking at again in 6 month's time.

sp up 1p today on news release below, with the NVQ system with large companies, their most be plenty of other opportunities to come.

Education Development International plc ('EDI'), a leading provider of educational qualifications and assessment services, announces the launch of its partnership with J Sainsbury plc ('Sainsbury's') to award National Vocational Qualifications ('NVQ') in Retail Skills as a part of Sainsbury's in-house training programmes.

EDI has mapped Sainsbury's in-house training programmes to the national occupational standards for retailing. The qualifications meet all of the requirements of the Regulator - the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority - and are fully accredited. EDI will be providing independent external verification to ensure ongoing quality assurance. Sainsbury's staff are now able to gain nationally recognised NVQs in Retail Skills and can use an NVQ Level 2 as a part of an Apprenticeship programme.

Gary Tovey, Qualifications and Skills Manager at Sainsbury's, commented:

'We needed to work with an awarding body that had a strong vocational orientation and that understood our business. We found EDI to be very employer focused, helping us build the right solution for both our business and our staff.'

Nigel Snook, EDI Chief Executive, said:

'EDI is delighted to be working in partnership with a number of corporate customers, such as Sainsbury's, to offer their staff opportunities to achieve high quality nationally recognised qualifications. Our partnerships are a key part of our strategy to help customers to build the skills of their staff to increase productivity and improve business performance while at the same time enabling staff to develop their careers.'

Thanks for the info...looks good...the story just gets better and better!