Some excelent growth to be had here even in this dowdy industry.

Shrewd Tip: Floors2go through the roof?

Published: 07:04 Mon 5 July 2004
By Patrick Sherwen, Deputy & Secret Buying Editor
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Floors2go only listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on 1 April but AAA-rated fund manager Patrick Evershed is no fool and has taken a secret stake in the company.

Floors2go (FGO) claims to be one of the UK’s largest specialist retailers of hardwood, laminate and engineered floors and accessories with 100 stores. It is a cash-rich, high growth company whose products experience growing demand helped by makeover TV shows such as Changing Rooms. Turnover quintupled between 2001 and 2003 to £44 million.


The shares started trading on AIM at 48p. By early May they reached 74.5p but have since dropped back to 56.5p, which values the company at £74 million.


Evershed, who runs the New Star Select Opportunities fund, bought in late May when price was about 63p. Our sources suggest he bought 250,000 shares in one transaction. This is equivalent to 0.19% of the company.


One of the company’s largest investors is top-performing investment boutique Artemis, which controls 5.54%. Artemis boasts several Citywire rated managers including Derek Stuart and John Dodd, who are both AAA, thanks to their first class risk adjusted returns.


Ian Currie, chief executive of Zeus Capital, which is one of the company’s financial advisers, is the largest shareholder with14.6% and his colleague Richard Hughes is not far behind with 11.88%.


Already the company has attracted buy ratings from house broker Numis and Shore Capital, which forecast a 240% profit increase by 2005 to £10.2 million and earnings per share of 5.05p in the same year. This values the company at an attractive 11.2 times expected earnings. Buy.


* This article also appeared in yesterday's Financial Mail on Sunday.ENDS.

Well I cant think of anything more boring than floors to invest in just looking at those figures though this morning had me drooling in anticipation of big things to come.
cheers GF.

Please DYOR you are responsible for the timing of your buying and selling action

TA looking strong should be on for at least the high and pretty quickly.



cheers GF.

Floors 2 Go PLC
01 April 2004
1 April 2004

Floors 2 Go plc

ACCELERATED IPO (INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING) ON AIM

63M MARKET CAPITALISATION FOR LEADING RETAILER OF SPECIALIST FLOORING

First Day of Dealings - Admission to Trading on the Alternative Investment
Market


Floors 2 Go plc (AIM: FGO), one of the largest specialist multi-sale retailer of
hardwood, engineered and laminate flooring products and accessories in the UK,
is pleased to announce its flotation on the Alternative Investment Market of the
London Stock Exchange ('AIM') today via an accelerated IPO.

Floors 2 Go's success has been driven by the retail growth in the laminate and
wood flooring market with the product taking market share from carpets assisted
by the high media profiles of television 'makeover' shows where laminated wood
flooring features prominently.


Floors 2 Go acquired on Thursday 25th March starts trading today on Aim.

Market Capitalisation : 63m, 130m shares at 48p

Transaction process:

- a shell, Smart Motive was formed in December 2003
- Smart Motive raised 8m via two Placings in January and March 2004
- Floors 2 Go was acquired by Smart Motive on 25th March for cash,
equity and debt
- An Accelerated IPO placed shares in Floors 2 Go with institutions
and high net worth individuals.
- 805,000 raised on 1 April 2004 through a Placing of 1.7m shares to
fund the costs relating to the Acquisition and the move to Aim
- Trading in the shares of Floors 2 Go starts today

Zeus Capital Ltd is Financial Adviser to Floors 2 Go and WH Ireland Ltd is
Nomad and Stockbroker.

Floors 2 Go is one of the largest, specialist multi-site retailers of
hardwood, engineered and laminate flooring products and related fitting and
floor care accessories in the UK.

Business has increased significantly from 2001 - 2003, year end 31
December
- Number of stores increased from 19 to 96
- Turnover increased from 8.6 million to 44.1 million
- Earnings* increased from 346,000 to 4.64m
*Earnings before depreciation, interest and non-recurring costs.

Current trading strong at c. 30 per cent ahead of budget and 45% per cent
like for like

Floors 2 Go is growing rapidly, 34 stores were opened during the second
half of 2003 and it now has 100 stores located in regional clusters,
predominately in the North West, Midlands and South Wales.


Simon Farnsworth, Chief Executive, of Floors 2 Go plc, commented:

'We are very pleased to be joining Aim. Floors 2 Go is a rapid growth business
with great prospects and a strong, dedicated workforce. Joining the London Stock
Market is another major step in the Company's development. I look forward to
reporting on progress and to the challenges that come with public company
status.'

For further information, please contact:

Floors 2 Go plc Tel: 0161 831 1512
Keith William Salisbury

Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000
Tim Anderson/Lisa Baderoon/Rebecca Dietrich

INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY AND PLACING

Introduction

Smart Motive was formed in December 2003 as a cash shell to attract companies
and businesses which are seeking admission to trading on AIM. By a prospectus
dated 29 January 2004, the Company raised 3.5 million before expenses by way of
an offer for subscription which closed on 9 March 2004. On 24 March 2004 the
Company raised a further 4.5 million before expenses by way of a placing of
Ordinary Shares conditional upon the Acquisition. The funds were raised in order
to complete the due diligence on potential target businesses, to fund the
Acquisition and as working capital for the Company.

In assessing potential acquisition and investment opportunities, the Directors
have concentrated on companies and businesses which they consider have a good
management team and are operating in a market which has growth potential. The
main criterion that the Directors have applied in identifying potential targets
is to focus on businesses which have the capability to grow rapidly.

On 25 March 2004, Smart Motive acquired the entire issued share capital of Anglo
Baltic which in turn owns the entire issued share capital of Floors 2 Go
Limited. To fund the expenses of the Acquisition and the Proposals the Company
has raised 805,000 by way of a placing of up to 1,677,083 Placing Shares and
has admitted the entire issued share capital of the Company to trading on AIM.


Floors 2 Go

Floors 2 Go is one of the largest specialist, multi-site retailers of hardwood,
engineered and laminate flooring products and related fitting and floor care
accessories in the UK. The business sells direct to the general public and trade
buyers from 100 stores located in regional clusters, predominately in the North
West, Midlands and South Wales regions of the UK. The majority of Floors 2 Go's
products are own label brands and it also stocks a limited range of branded
products, including Quick Step.


History

The business of Floors 2 Go commenced trading in 1999 from its head office in
Birmingham as a family owned and managed business. Rapid store openings have
contributed to its impressive growth record. Professional management has
subsequently been introduced into all areas of the business and has since driven
the business forward and contributed to its recent success. Turnover increased
from 8.6 million in 2001 to 44.1million in 2003.


Products

Floors 2 Go offers a large range of products, the majority of which are own
label brands such as Bingo Loc, Next Step and Fast Fit. The laminate products
are all glueless/click fit targeted largely at the home DIY market. Floors 2 Go
also offers ranges of engineered hardwood and solid hardwood flooring together
with installation and aftercare accessories and trimmings.


Strategy

The ongoing strategy has been to open regional clusters of stores within
targeted television areas and once critical mass has been achieved, to support
these with television advertising campaigns. Floors 2 Go has exploited market
conditions with a combination of competitive pricing, wide product range and
customer service.

Outlets are mainly located on main roads in areas with a population of at least
100,000 at the edge of towns and where in most cases there is car parking. The
Directors consider proximity to DIY outlets as being advantageous.

The Directors believe that Floors 2 Go is well established in the flooring
industry. Their strategy is to continue to open new stores in regional clusters,
particularly within the South East of England and Scotland supported by
television and press advertising.


Suppliers

Product is sourced primarily from three of Europe's leading manufacturers of
laminate and wooden flooring.

These manufacturers supply directly to Floors 2 Go, as opposed to supplying
through a distributor. The Directors believe that this relationship with its
suppliers offers Floors 2 Go a significant competitive advantage. To protect
profit margins, all negotiations with suppliers seek to secure the lowest price
rather than agree commissions or volume rebates. Two of the three manufacturers
hold Floors 2 Go labelled stock in warehouses in the UK.


Stores

The Directors consider that the format of each store is basically the same and
easily replicated, allowing management to achieve new openings rapidly and at
modest cost.

In the three years ended 31 December 2003 the number of stores rose from 19 to
96, of which 34 were opened in the last six months of that period. It costs on
average between 45,000 and 50,000 to open a new store, which are typically
leasehold properties of between 1,300 and 8,800 square feet. The sales growth of
an average store in its early months is rapid due to product discounting and an
aggressive advertising campaign. Like-for-like sales growth of an established
store has typically averaged 11.2 per cent per annum, which the Directors
believe can be increased significantly after a refurbishment of the store and
renewed television advertising.

The Directors believe that one of the most effective barriers to entry is the
holding of suitable levels of stock. Customers typically seek a cash and carry
service and may not wait for delivery of items but will seek alternate supply
sources. A new central warehouse based in Birmingham has been operational from
December 2003 which, combined with the increased number of stores, means that
the business now holds on average 82,000 of stock per store compared to 60,000
per store at the same time last year.


Customer Service

As a specialist retailer of wood and laminate flooring Floors 2 Go is well
placed to offer advice to customers.

This is in contrast to large DIY outlets, where the availability of in-store
staff can be poor and inevitably their knowledge of each product line can be
limited by the sheer range of products carried. One leading supplier described
the stores as being 'female friendly' with its testament to the non-threatening
approach of the sales staff, citing the willingness of staff to help load
customers cars and to help in product selection.

Market

The market for laminate and solid wood in the UK is currently estimated by
Mintel International Group Limited and AMA Research Limited to be 360 million
per annum and is projected to grow to over 440 million per annum by 2006.
Retail growth in the laminate and wood flooring market has been strong with the
product taking market share away from carpets, assisted by the high media
profile of television 'makeover' shows where wood and laminate flooring features
prominently.

Floors 2 Go has only just recently launched a range of solid wood floors which
the Directors believe would suggest that there is a significant opportunity to
expand in this sector.

There are a number of other competitors in the market including the large DIY
retail outlets, builders merchants and other independents. The Directors believe
that few if any of these competitors are able to offer the same combination of
specialist flooring products along with the expertise and advice of the sales
assistants that Floors 2 Go offers throughout its stores. respectively.

Financial Information

The following information should be read in conjunction with the accountants'
report on Anglo Baltic contained in Part III. Investors should not rely solely
on the key summarised information.

Further financial information on Anglo Baltic and the Company is provided in
Parts III and IV of this document respectively.
Year ended 31 December

2001 2002 2003
'000 '000 '000

Turnover 8,638 20,078 44,156

Earnings before depreciation, interest
and non-recurring costs* 346 1,397 4,638
Non-recurring costs* (100) (360) (769)


Earnings before depreciation and interest 246 1,037 3,869
Depreciation (120) (240) (812)
Earnings before interest charges and
non-recurring costs* 226 1,157 3,826
Non-recurring costs* (100) (360) (769)
Earnings before interest charges 126 797 3,057

* Non-recurring costs relate to the salaries and other private costs incurred by
the Vendors that will not be incurred by the business going forward.

Current Trading and Prospects

Sales have grown strongly in the two months ended 29 February 2004, being
considerably ahead of budget with like for like sales in February 2004 some 45%
ahead on last year. Four new stores have been opened since 31 December 2003 and
14 new staff employed. The Directors believe that there are strong growth
prospects for the UK flooring market and look forward to the future with
confidence.


Directors

The Board of the Company as at the date of this document comprises five
Directors as follows.

Roy Anthony Gabbie (Aged 50), Executive Chairman
From 1975, Roy developed a retail chain of 33 drug stores in the North West of
England named Beautycare which he sold to Lloyds Chemist Plc in 1988. From 1988
he incorporated and developed Stationery Box Limited into a retail chain of 112
high street stationery stores throughout the UK. He sold the company to a
management buy out backed by PRICOA (a US based venture capitalist company) in
1998. He also formed USI Limited, a company which has grown significantly and
distributes goods to major store groups.

Simon Jonathon Farnsworth (Aged 32), Chief Executive Officer
Simon qualified as a chartered management accountant in 1996 and has held senior
management positions with Interlink Express Parcels Limited, Finelist Group plc
and Smiths Group plc. He joined Floors 2 Go in May 2002 as finance director and
has been a key figure in helping to achieve the rapid growth in Floors 2 Go to
date. He has been responsible for all aspects of finance, purchasing and
logistics and areas of stock loss prevention and profit protection.

Colin Ernest Davies (Aged 45), Non-executive Director
Colin has acted as a chief executive and finance director of both public and
private companies in a range of industries including food, engineering,
marketing and textiles. He is currently a non-executive director of Inter Link
Foods Plc which he co-founded. He has been responsible for co-ordinating the
acquisition strategy of Inter Link Foods Plc. Colin is also a non- executive
director of several private companies. He will oversee the finance function of
the Company and together with Simon Farnsworth be responsible for recruiting a
new finance director.

Keith William Salisbury (Aged 35), Non-executive Director
Keith qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen and is a Member
of the Securities Institute. Keith worked at the corporate finance division of
Brewin Dolphin Securities Limited acting for many publicly quoted and private
companies on all types of corporate finance transactions across a range of
sectors including IPOs, secondary offerings, acquisitions, disposals and public
to private deals. Keith is a partner of Zeus Partners and a director of Zeus
Capital Limited which is an FSA regulated company providing corporate finance
advice.

Bryan Harvey Bodek (Aged 50), Non-executive Director
Bryan has 25 years experience as a solicitor advising public and private
companies in all aspects of their businesses and is a director of two public
companies. Bryan is also the managing director of Airline Services Ltd managing
a business operating from 16 sites with over 300 employees.

Details of the Placing and Admission

The Company has raised 805,000 before expenses, by way of the placing of up to
1,677,083 Placing Shares at 48p per share. The Placing Shares will represent
approximately 1.28 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital. The Placing
Shares have been issued credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all
respects with the Existing Ordinary Shares.


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

cheers GF

Ticked up this afternoon on large volume of buys.

cheers GF.

Another tick up and the buying continues, really is undervalued on the prospective P/E.

cheers Gf.

Well spotted GF. Back in the real world I renovate houses for a living and came across Floors 2 Go while looking for properties up north. Their prices are very good and they are far from boring. Thanks to all the TV programs on fixing up houses, the UK has gone wood floor crazy and FGO fills a very large gap in the market. Sure you can buy laminate from most DIY and carpet places, but it has always been an also-ran compared to main product lines. It has also been overpriced for what it is. And as for wood floors, I could never figure out why maple cost #38/sq.m here when you could buy it in Ireland, of all places and with less trees, for less than half that. Enough raving. I have put FGO onto my monitor and think it looks very rosy ahead, especially after today's trading statement. Will be buying some at the right moment.

MartinC-J, cant beleive I missed this storming update on thursday. Must have come out when I was trying to get back on line. Further more I cant beleive it dropped on Friday either on moore or less like for like buys and sells.

Anyway the growth is excelent especially the like for like................

Floors 2 Go PLC
08 July 2004


For Immediate Release 8 July 2004

Floors 2 Go plc

Trading Update for Six Months Ended 30th June 2004
Expansion into Scotland

Floors 2 Go plc (AIM: FGO), The UK's largest specialist multi-site retailer of
hardwood engineered and laminate flooring products, issues the following update
on its performance over the first six months of its financial year to 30th June
2004.

The Company is pleased to announce that its store-opening programme continues to
proceed well with five new stores opened since the beginning of the year. Sales
for the first six months were 224% higher than the comparative period in 2003
and like for like sales were 28.2% ahead.

The Company today announces its entry into Scotland. Floors 2 Go will open 16
stores, the majority on prime retail parks, by acquiring 47,000 square feet of
self-contained concession space from Texstyle World, a privately owned retailer
of soft furnishings and other household products and whose stores were visited
by over 1 million people last year. This will provide Floors 2 Go with an
excellent base to launch into Scotland. In addition to the planned Scottish
expansion, a further six stores are scheduled to open before the end of the
current financial year.

The Scottish stores are scheduled to be open by the beginning of September,
ready for the peak trading period in the run up to Christmas. In addition
advertising spend will be spread across all stores giving significant benefits
to economies of scale compared to a phased roll out which could have taken
anything up to two years.

Simon Farnsworth - Chief Executive said:

'Demand for our products continues to be strong and. there are still many parts
of Britain where we do not have a presence. We continue to take market share
from our competitors and from the carpet sector. Our expansion into Scotland is
a very cost effective and fast means of moving into this market and is a
significant step forward for the Group. This is an exciting opportunity for the
business with great potential.'

Floors 2 Go's interim results will be announced on Thursday 2 September 2004. An
analyst briefing will be held at Buchanan Communications, 107 Cheapside, London
EC2V 6DN at 10 am on the day.

For further information, please contact:

Floors 2 Go plc Tel: 0121 359 0234
Simon Farnsworth

Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000
Tim Anderson




cheers GF.

Both the Telegraph and the Inependant newspapers slapped BUYS on this Friday.

Dont forget 29% like for like sales increase with solid margins.

cheers GF.

Floors 2 Go PLC
15 July 2004

For immediate release 15 July 2004

FLOORS 2 GO PLC

SHARE DEALING

- Strong institutional demand facilitates share placing-

Floors 2 Go plc (AIM: FGO), the UK's largest specialist multi-site retailer of
hardwood engineered and laminate flooring products today announces that on 14
July 2004, the Company agreed, in order to satisfy strong institutional demand,
that Robert Hodges, Richard Hodges, Lisa Hodges and Robert Williams (together,
the 'Vendors') should dispose of their entire shareholdings in the Company
consisting, in aggregate, of 17,020,000 shares. This represents a total of 13%
of shares in issue. The disposals took place later that day, each at a price of
55p per share.

The disposals were made through Numis Securities Limited, the Company's broker,
and in accordance with the terms of lock-in arrangements previously entered
into by the Vendors.

Commenting on this announcement, Simon Farnsworth, Chief Executive of Floors 2
Go said: 'It is extremely encouraging that major blue chip institutions have
taken such an active role in becoming new shareholders in Floors 2 Go.'

- End -


For further information, please contact:

Floors 2 Go plc Tel: 0121 359 0234
Simon Farnsworth


cheers GF.

Results out thursday, keep your eye on these.

cheers GF.

Isn't Ek shorting these?

EK is short on advice taken from Luke johnson. Johnson thinks that this ones margins will be erroded over the coming years, because Carpets will make a come back.

I dont often disagree with Evil , but I think hes got it wrong this time and I beleive he will be blown out of his short on thursday, lets wait and see.

cheers GF.

Results Thursday morning.

cheers GF.

Volumes are up this week. Will be watching first thing tomorrow for results. Should be pretty good and will get a better idea of expansion program.

Yes Martin should be very interesting I do know that they blitzed the yorkshire television region this bank holiday with advertising.

cheers Gf.

Rise at the vey end of the day. The morning could be very interesting.

Wonder what re- action we will get.

cheers Gf.

Excelent maiden interims from this one. Paticulary pleasing was the increase in gross profit margin up to 47.3%, I am sure now Evil K will be blasted out of this one.

Heres the results...............................

Floors 2 Go PLC
02 September 2004


The following meetings will be held today at Buchanan Communications, 107
Cheapside, London, EC2:

Analysts: 10.00 am
Press: 11.30 am
PCB Lunch: 12.45 pm


For further information or if you would like to attend a meeting, please
contact: Lisa Baderoon/ Rebecca Dietrich or Charlie Forsyth on: Tel: 020 7466
5000


For Immediate Release 2 September 2004


Floors 2 Go plc


MAIDEN INTERIM RESULTS
- For the Six Months Ended 30 June 2004 -

Floors 2 Go plc ('F2G') (AIM: FGO), the UK's largest specialist multi-site
retailer of solid wood, hardwood engineered, and laminate flooring products, is
pleased to announce the Company's Maiden Interim Results, for the six months
ended 30 June 2004. These results follow F2G's successful flotation on the
Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange ('AIM') in April of
this year.


Financial Highlights

Turnover increased by 124% (15.6m to 34.9m)

Like for like turnover up 32%

Gross profit margin increased by 1.7% (45.6% to 47.3%)

Operating profit before goodwill amortisation, interest and tax
increased by 314%

Operating profit margin (before goodwill amortisation, interest and
tax) increased by 3.8% (4.5% to 8.3%)

Earnings per share (before goodwill amortisation) 1.2p

117 stores now open and operating

Highlights since period end

Growth remains strong with overall sales up by 69% and like for like
sales up by 22% for the nine weeks ended 31 August 2004

Successful August bank holiday weekend

Commenting on the announcement, Simon Farnsworth, Chief Executive Officer said:

'The strong performance achieved to date will continue to encourage confidence
that we are poised for another year of significant growth.


For further information:
Floors 2 Go plc
Simon Farnsworth Tel: 0121 359 0234

Zeus Capital
Keith Salisbury Tel : 0161 831 1512

Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000
Lisa Baderoon/Tim Anderson/Rebecca Skye Dietrich
ENDS.

cheers GF.

Bumper maiden results from Floors 2 Go
MoneyAM

Floors 2 Go PLC posted a significant rise in operating profits in its first interim results since listing on AIM in April and said it is confident of growth this year.

For the six months to June 30, 2004, operating profits before goodwill amortisation, interest and tax increased to 2.9m from 700,000 a year earlier.

Sales rose to 34.9m from 15.6m last time.

Looks good- I'm tempted.

Nicely up, can only think Evil K will be out of these tomorrow. He said he thought the margins would drop but in fact they have gone up.

Will get to know friday afternoon.

cheers GF

Hey guys, I haven't got any of these, but I would seriously stick with them. There is a guy called Ian Currie part of Zeus Capital (also an non-exec Director at Bolton Wanderers) that has bought 25% a while ago. He is the most financially astute person I have ever heard about... he is the type of fella to follow into anything.

Will be interesting to see where they are going from here... only 1 way from here I think.