Stanley Gibbons has risen 300% this year and 30% in 6 weeks. Several institutions appear interested in building up a stockholdind. GET ON BOARD!

If these shares aren't 1.50 in 3 months I will eat my hat - and yours!

Do you want salt and pepper on it or brown sauce?

Amusing comment and recollection of stamp collecting youth prompted me to have a look. Not surprising they have calmed down after steep rise early 2004. Good brand name, established many years, could be attractive to a predator(market cap only 21M), no debt, good cash generation and profits growing. With interest rates looking to fall, property and stock markets uncertain, their forthcoming stamp investment fund might find a lot of takers (and hence good management fees for SGI). Not a steal on historic p/e 22, but I have locked a few away at just under 84p and expect them to pay for their keep over the next couple of years.

Already paying their keep on last two days performance - up to 96.5p!

Anyone ever thought of buying stamps as an investment?



http://www.stanleygibbons.com/investments/

Built up quite a decent collection as a child and wish I still had it - went missing in a move of house. Educational, interesting history and many stamps attractive to look at, but no income and wide dealing spreads. Definitely long term. Maybe SGI will provide my reward 50 years on!

See news today that Morgan Stanley has acquired 12%, so I am in good company (I think!)

Not much interest in this,even though it gets tipped somewhere,every year.
I have a target of 120p for this month,do you see that as unrealistic?Maybe,news of the Stamp Fund that they are taking a long time to open will boost the sp even further.As it is ,taking last year's chart as an example,the sp could drop back by end of August if there is no further news.
Surely a good investment as a hedge against bad times to come?
Chart looks good,so are we just seeing a little tree shaking,hope so.
LOL ETHEL

Still in these after a slow,non eventful six months.Not a volatile share but the fizz seems to have gone after the previous two years.
Waiting to see how many have bought into the new stamp fund which was finally introduced to the market towards the end of this year,later than expected by the market.However,Stanley is cautious,which is good.
On news that the Fund has got off to a good start,I expect to see the move up in the sp that I have been waiting for for 6 months.
The sp has started to tick up in the last couple of days.Here's hoping!

Hi Ethel,

You're not on your own in this one.I have dipped in and out of SGI a number of times in the past couple of years.I usually take up a position a before results and then sell soon after the announcement.Recently i have made two purchases and am currently in at slightly under 89p.I have a target price of around 107p by the middle of February 2006.
I think the key thing to realise with SGI is that they rarely say anything in between results so one has to be patient and put their trust in the management to deliver,which they have done in the past.Good luck.

Nice to meet you,Taurus5.
I am still hoping for more than 107p in the short term,otherwise it will mean that the normal annual increase in the sp will not have been achieved in 2005.
I still fail to understand why this company is'nt better supported by investors on this board.
It increases revenues and profits every year and the mms don't play horrible games with the spread etc.(Hopefully this will continue!)
It is in a niche market and is now a fund manager.All in all,I believe SGI is a relatively safe investment and hope to see a bit more action with the sp next year!
LOL Ethel

Still got mine Ethel. Not many posters as too many seem to think they can make money by punting on potential ten baggers - trouble is history shows 90% of these cost you a lot of money. Have bought a couple of tranches of SGI during last two years (average 75p) as they fit my criteria - profitable, cash generative, dividend paying and decent growth prospects.There are not many companies out there with a worldwide known brand and market cap just over 20m! IMO these will reward the patient.

What do you know...up 3p this am.Not bad on the last day of trading for this year.Bodes well for the new year methinks.

Today's optomistic trading statement seems to have done the trick,now up 4p!
LOL Ethel

Bread and butter trading looks strong - but perhaps taking longer than they had hoped for the new Stamp Investment Fund to find a lot of takers. Understandable for a new and very different product. Onus on them to show it can perform and future growth then likely to be easier. Happy to wait for the jam that will provide as the cake itself still rising nicely!

Ticking up nicely today ahead of results on 3rd March.Results should be good but i reckon any positive comments that come out regarding the new Stamp Fund could well set the price soaring.

All asleep here?
EXCELLENT RESULTS.
No specific mention of the Stamp Fund,which may disappoint some people.
Dividend of 2p payable to those on register by 17 March which is only two weeks away.Would hope to see the sp rise over this period....but the sell on results crowd might win. LOL

Morning all

Bought into Stanley as I thought it was undervalued and had been harshly treated by the market. Delighted by the results and the subsequent 25% rise, but must admit I am considering bailing out.

Would appreicate other peoples views on the potential upside here.

Prospector

Welcome Prospector. Results were even better than I had expected - made around 2m operating profit in second half of 2005 alone to give eps for the year just over 9p (no interest charged as no debt, so interest received boosts pretax figure) and whilst business has historically had some bias towards second half, I now expect eps in 2006 to come in at between 13 and 14p.For a business growing nicely, generating cash and committed to dividend growth it still looks a bargain to me below 150p. As always DYOR, but mine will be kept.

Partridge

Many thanks for your views. I remain a holder currently. This is certainly a niche company, which I like.

The Stamp fund could be a good earner for this company, but I am unsure how this has progressed, as there has been talk about it for a number of years without to my knowledge any real progress.

Prospector - Stamp Fund now should be up and running, shows on their website if you have 20K or more to invest, but curiously cannot see any mention in results RNS early March. SGI recommended in Saturdays Times as Share of the Month by Stella Shamoon. She tends to go for large cap global brands, so SGI only fits the bill on the global brand part of the equation - here's hoping it also becomes large cap!

Check that AGM statement today. This IMO looks a long term winner in what are currently quite frothy market conditions.DYOR

Brilliant statement Partridge. Got no funds, but this is a fantastic company at the right time to be involved. well done hope you have loads of them!

The nearest investment I have is on a p/e of about 6, interims were a record; Ofex:ANG, Angela Flowers Gallery, which owns galleries, has 25 artists and deals in mainly modern art. Trades online ticker ANG with some brokers, incase anyone is interested. www.ofex.com.

Thanks Hawick. I find there are good opportunities without huge risk if you are prepared to be patient.No experience of OFEX - tried to find ANG website, but could only find lots about Angela Flowers herself! How do you do your research on OFEX companies - many years have taught me only to blame myself if anything goes wrong, so I generally stick to decent quality small/mid cos where there is plenty to find if you dig hard enough.Any help appreciated.

Hi partridge www.flowerseast.com is the home site for Angela Flowers and click on artists; when you can then click on individual names and find maybe half a dozen examples of what each artist offers. (Some of it does little for me I have to say, but there seems to be a young and dedicated collector fanbase!).
My links posted here never work for some reason but www.unquoted.co.uk if you go into the general ofex discussion forums (free, seconds to register) has some great articles by private investors on ofex stocks. One with 'Angie where will it lead us' is about ANG.
www.ofex.com is the market website and trading the shares is identical to other markets.
There's a lot of dead wood, but a few storming little companies too, i've shares in about half a dozen stocks. Winterfloods, Peel Hunt and Teathers are the main market makers. Some brokers need a phone call but you can often beat the sometimes wide looking spreads. Liquidity can be tight but a small spread of investments is well worth it.
Happy hunting!

Thanks - very helpful. Sorry we got off topic on this thread.SGi finished the day in fine form!

New article, Click HERE

my broker has this share as foreign trading from Jersey. Any comments?? SD

Registered Address : Pirouet House, Union Street, St Helier, Jersey, JE1 3WF
Head Office 399 Strand, London, WC2R 0LX

Plenty of reputable companies are registered offshore. Makes no difference, imo, except when you receive a dividend & the tax status may be different.

Proactive Investors One2One Forums

The directors of Stanley Gibbons (AIM: SGI), Lo-Q (AIM: LOQ), and Sinclair Pharma plc (AIM: SPH) will be presenting:

Thursday the 25th June 2009
Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, 35 Charles Street, Mayfair, W1J 5EB

The presentations will start at 6:00pm and finish at approx 7:30pm. After the presentations are complete the directors will also be available to take questions during a free canapand wine reception. Details on the presenting companies can be found below.

FREE registration, click HERE

These really are superb evenings set in a wonderful location, in the heart of Mayfair.

The evening is entirely FREE, and you can take the opportunity to chat and network with the presenting CEO's, industry professionals, and fellow private investors in a friendly networking event after the presentations.

If you have any problems registering or queries please email action@proactiveinvestors.com


Please note the nearest tube stations are either Green Park (5 minutes walk), or Bond Street, (7 mins).

I would like to have attended this, but next Thursday no good for me. Any feedback appreciated. SGI looks well run, with good prospects - my only nagging doubt about it relates to the guaranteed returns on some of their investment products. History littered with casualties offering such benefits, not least Equitable Life.

Decent trading update today. Growth being managed without recourse to any debt. Pleased to see that they have moved away from marketing products with guaranteed investment returns - plenty of opportunities to capitalise on the brand name, not least through recent investment in enhanced website and effort to unlock the Chinese collectors market, which they reckon to be 30 million people. With the business still below 50M market cap I am likely to be keeping mine locked away for the next few years, but always dyor.

Also a Shares Mag tip this week.

Strong set of numbers today and price has held up well after recent strong run. IMO still not expensive on fundamentals, but always dyor.

I've had my eye on these for a while, but as yet, haven't acted. Nice to see an 8% increase in the final dividend and 9% in total dividend.

Online sales double - must be doing something right. Check out interview http://www.brrmedia.co.uk/event/96755/michael-hall-ceo

Stanley Gibbons confident of growth
Date: Friday 10 Aug 2012


Collectibles dealer Stanley Gibbons reported rising interim profits and has forecast growth for the rest of the year ‘irrespective of economic conditions’ as it continues to lead the way in sourcing rare stamps.

The firm, which has set thousands of youngsters on the path to a life-time of stamp collecting, declared profits before tax for the first half of the year of £1.8m, up 8% on the same period of 2011, although sales were down 2% at £14.7m.

Online sales grew 90%, and this is clearly a growth area for the firm which felt confident enough to declare an interim dividend up 10% on 2011 at 2.75p per share.

Stock levels are valued at £24.5m as the firm prepares for the launch of a rare stamp fund in October.

The Chairman, Martin Bralsford, commented: “As a result of the success in sourcing of key philatelic rarities, the group is in a strong position to deliver growth in the remainder of the current year, irrespective of economic conditions, which is expected to include the launch of a rare stamp fund in October.

“The fund will be regulated and open to sophisticated investors and hold some of the most famous and best quality philatelic items at attractive

SGI performing strongly on the back of solid trading update and recent fundraising/acquisition of bidstart, a US based onile collectibles platform. No debt as at end of 2012, which should see results "in line with market expectations." Bidstart might be a bit of a gamble, although potential rewards look worth the risks imo - but always dyor.

Take a listen to the Stanley Gibbons Group talking about their recent results.

Click here

LISTEN: Michael Hall, CEO of Stanley Gibbons Group, provides a trading update

Click here to listen

StockMarketWire.com
Stanley Gibbons and Mallett have reached agreed on the terms of a recommended cash offer to be made by TFAAG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stanley Gibbons, for the whole of the issued and to be issued share capital of Mallett.

The Offer will be 60 pence per Mallett Share payable in cash, which values the issued and to be issued share capital of Mallett at about £8.6 million.

This represented a premium of about 23.7 per cent. to the Closing Price of 48.5 pence per Mallett Share on 26 September 2014 (being the last Business Day prior to the date of this announcement).

It also represented a premium of about 11.1 per cent. to the average Closing Price per Mallett Share of approximately 54.0 pence over the three month period ended 26 September 2014 (being the last Business Day prior to the date of this announcement).

TFAAG has received irrevocable undertakings to accept the Offer in respect of a total of 10,247,700 Mallett Shares, representing, in aggregate, approximately 74.3 per cent. of Mallett's existing issued share capital.

These irrevocable undertakings to accept the Offer demonstrate the support for the Offer from Mallett Shareholders.

Included within these irrevocable undertakings are irrevocable undertakings from the Mallett Directors to accept the Offer in respect of their entire legal and beneficial holdings, representing, in aggregate, 24,200 Mallett Shares, representing approximately 0.2 per cent. of the existing issued share capital of Mallett.

StockMarketWire.com
Stanley Gibbons's H1 pretax profit has roared ahead to £3.7m, from £0.55m a year ago. Revenue spiked up to £27.1m, from £17.2m. It declared an interim dividend of 3.25p a share, from 3p.

Chairman Martin Bralsford said the enlarged group delivered a strong trading performance in the six months ended 30 September 2014, which included trading profits of £2.4m contributed from the acquisition of Noble and Murray Payne in November last year.

The growth in like-for-like profits of 93% in the period was primarily the result of the initial crystallisation of returns from some recent exceptional purchases of major high quality collections," Bralsford said in the results statement.

"The recent acquisition of Mallett on 20 October 2014 significantly enhances the Group's authority in fine antiques and decorating arts, consolidating its influence across the broad market for collectibles," he said.

"In particular, the acquisition provides a stronger online auction platform to enhance our stated strategy to become a leading online collectibles marketplace and global auction house for fine and decorative arts, collectibles and other valuables.

"As a result of the strength of the Group's combined expertise, international reach and loyal client base, your Board believes there are substantial opportunities to increase market share and to consolidate the market further, particularly from the commercialisation of our recently launched online marketplace."

Key operational highlights:

· Important milestone in the delivery of online strategy with the "soft launch" in November 2014 of the online collectibles marketplace, which can be viewed at marketplace.stanleygibbons.com, with the "hard launch" release scheduled for Q1, 2015

· The integration of Baldwin's with their move to our retail flagship premises at 399 Strand, London was completed to plan and opened for trading on Monday 27 October

· Sale of Baldwin's freehold property at 11 Adelphi Terrace, London for a consideration of £4.5m, with completion scheduled on 17 November 2014

· Acquisition of Mallett plc ("Mallett") on 20 October 2014 for a total cash consideration of £8.8m, excluding deal costs, together with net debt in the Mallett business of £1.4m. This represents a 22% discount compared to the £11.3m carrying book cost of Mallett inventories

· Advantage taken of a number of exceptional opportunities to purchase high value quality collections providing benefit from sales to high net worth clients during the period

· Noble and Murray Payne acquisitions contributed £2.4m to trading profits in the period with integration benefits and cross selling opportunities being delivered in line with plan

Stanley Gibbons provides an update to the market on its estimated results for the preceding financial year ended 31 March 2015, and a trading outlook for the current year.

New research note at http://tinyurl.com/o8vv5ay

StockMarketWire.com
Stanley Gibbons has posted an improved FY pretax profit of £3.1m, from a year-ago profit of £2.2m. Revenue was £56.9m, from £51.8m. Total dividend was 5p a share, against 7p for the preceding 15 months.

Chairman Martin Bralsford commented:

"The successful launch of the Stanley Gibbons Online Marketplace in May this year represented a key milestone towards delivery of the Group's long term strategy.

"The launch marks the beginning of our mission to provide people with the best marketplace for collectibles, built on a community of honest and knowledgeable collectors.

"Our recent acquisitions provide the Group with a breadth and depth of internal expert knowledge and trusted brands in their respective fields providing the base from which to deliver on our stated strategy to become a global auction house supported by a professional online auction platform.

"The Board therefore remains confident that the strength of the market twinned with the expected return from the delivery of our strategy, particularly from the commercialisation of our recently launched Online Marketplace, provides material profit growth potential in the current financial year and beyond."

OUTLOOK
· The quality of our stockholding provides the opportunity to deliver growth in sales and profits in the current year

· One of the high value sales, which failed to complete by the year end, was completed in April 2015

· Following the launch of the Stanley Gibbons Online Marketplace on 21 May 2015 growth in visitor numbers and GMV has been encouraging. We are focussed on delivering material growth in GMV and will be in a better position to report on the performance of our new website when our interim results are announced in November

· The market for rare collectibles and fine and decorative arts remains buoyant evidenced by some high profile realisations, which included the highest price realised for the sale of a single stamp in June 2014, the 1c magenta from British Guiana, for $9.5m.

We aren’t convinced the business in its current form with heaps of cash tied up in long term inventory and the potential for lumpy high value transactions makes for a happy stock market animal, we shall see!

See more at http://tinyurl.com/pmb7qv4

Profit warning.

StockMarketWire.com
Stanley Gibbons expects it will deliver materially higher revenue and profit in H2, but cautioned it was unlikely to meet market forecasts for the FY.

As reported previously, the Group's auction calendar for 2015/16 is more heavily weighted towards H2, the company said in a trading update. It continued to work on a number of initiatives with the aim of delivering substantial sales from its stock of rare collectibles.

"Furthermore, following the completion of the integration and rationalisation of recent acquisitions, the Group will benefit from a reduced fixed cost base and better cross selling of products and services across our customer base in the second half," the company said in a trading update.

"The Group continues to embark on its strategy to evolve and diversify business operations to an online and auction business model with more predictable revenues streams and profits.

"The Directors believe that the opportunity to materially grow shareholder value through the continued implementation of our online Marketplace and global auction business remains a positive proposition.

"On the basis of the performance in the first half, the Board now believes that, as a result of the weakness being experienced in our Asian operations and the continued illiquidity in high value stock items, it is unlikely that the Group will achieve the market forecast for the full year."

though philately has a strong following, buying stamps as an (alternative) investment has never had any appeal for me as there seems no way to get true valuation let alone to gauge the potential ...... unlike both 1st growth bordeaux or diamonds (as stones only)

They trade lots of other items, such as autographs, memorabilia etc but surely collectibles are only worth what someone else is prepared to pay? Catalogue prices are only a guide. Much like fine wines, imo, which are traded for their rarity value rather than for drinking.

fine wines are much easier to track for all sorts of good reasons - eg there are plenty of fine wine auctions so current prices can easily be followed

personally, i buy even fine wines for drinking and though some of mine are worth a few bob, i'ld rather drink them with friends (if i can find any) than sell them


diamonds
there is a weekly list issued which values stones by all the usual - carat, cut, clarity and colour - so easily and accurately valued

StockMarketWire.com
Stanley Gibbons has posted an H1 pretax profit of GBP0.4m, from a year-ago profit of GBP3.7m. There would be no interim dividend. Sales totalled GBP27.0m, from GBP27.1m.

The outfit's like-for-like sales, excluding the Mallett acquisition, were GBP21.6m, down 21% on the year.

Chairman Martin Bralsford commented:
"As indicated in our latest update of 6 October 2015, the trading performance of the Group in the past twelve month period has failed to achieve what were, in retrospect, premature and over-optimistic expectations from the investments of the past two years.

"The year has been a period of transition for the Stanley Gibbons Group from a business based on philately to a broader based collectibles group with significant on-line distribution potential.

"Since early September, Senior Management has been focused on putting in place the right organisation structure and team to execute strategy in accordance with the Board's expectations.

"Your Board believes significant progress has been made. The integration of acquisitions and management change has clearly represented a distraction to short term sales initiatives, particularly from our sizeable philatelic inventory, contributing to the sharp decline in trading performance."

A lot of sales for minimal profit!!!!!!

StockMarketWire.com
Stanley Gibbons note the recent move in its share price and said it was considering a number of fundraising alternatives to reinforce the working capital position prior to the year ended 31 March 2016.

"However, whilst an equity fundraising is one option potentially available to the Board, the discount to the Group's net asset value at which any such fundraising would likely be priced could make it a relatively unattractive route to alternatives under consideration," it said.

"The Directors will update the market on the progress of these considerations in due course."

Profit warning .

That's 2 profit warnings will there be another.

StockMarketWire.com
Stanley Gibbons Group said, further to its March 4 announcement, it is very close to concluding the terms of an equity fundraising of about GBP13m via the issue of new shares at 10p each.

A further announcement would be made in due course, it said.

If your not a buyer of this stock then it maybe worth your while putting it on your watch list,as the new Chairman brings fresh hope to this battered stock. DYOR

SGI directors subscribed for the new (10p) dilutative shares which were introduced 1 April 2016.... yet under Dir-deals I see nothing recent posted.
It's also a mystery ( to me) why this business has gone from £2 (say) to 10p in a few years; - whilst presumably indulging in a tax-free environment in Jersey.

I note ( RNS) that their new RegOffice is still in Jersey - and that is One Red-Flag, for me.

Reading RNS I get the impression [SGI] offered rather good G'teed returns; based on their past experiences - but even they couldn't have seen BREXIT -or any other World-events . . . . so their promised returns were eating cash...is that it?
-Yet [SGI] fall-from-grace was fact by the time BREXIT occurred..... eh?

Earlier (LT) shareholders must be mighty-miffed by this investment . . . Or have I missed a massive shareholder-payback by way of a "Thank-you". . .?
EDIT(13Dec2016) - CD -Thanks so, that's two of us mystified, then...?
EDIT(7March2017)- sp 9p must say the Mkt isn't as impressed with "Collectables" than the Management who are being paid to add value...ie to maintain the ship-of-state on a profitable course while seeking additional goodies. That they've neglected their investors says now they don't care ( or were careless?), but you do get a lot of shares at this level . . . . Anyone holding from £2+regions, I wonder...?

I have mulled over this one too! Held off as I am not sure its finished as a going concern.

Statement re. Possible Offer
The Stanley Gibbons Group plc notes the recent share price movement and confirms that it has received an unsolicited approach from Disruptive Capital ("Disruptive") regarding a possible offer by Disruptive for Stanley Gibbons.

At this stage, there can be no certainty that any offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any such offer might be made. A further announcement will be made as appropriate.

StockMarketWire.com
Losses at stamp and coin auctioneer Stanley Gibbons have deepened after the company wrote down the value of its assets.

Stanley Gibbons posted a loss before tax of £30.2m, compared to a £27.0m loss in the previous corresponding period.

A 48% fall in net asset value resulted from a combination of one-off restructuring costs, continued difficult trading conditions and the ongoing legacy of the group's investment contracts, the company said.

Stanley Gibbons didn't declare a final dividend.

It also said its strategic review process had garnered several proposals from outside parties.

Proposals providing a more favorable outcome will more likely involve asset sales or a strategic investment in the company, rather than an outright acquisition of the entire company, Stanley Gibbons said.

"In the opinion of the board, the formal sale process has facilitated a significant level of interest in the future development of the core stamp and coin dealing activities, which would allow a return to a more normalised trading environment, unfettered by the obvious cash constraints apparent over the last two years," the company said

It's pretty dire, with US-litigation, no dividend and sp that drives itself closer to zippo, despite having a World-class Brand... perhaps this will be one where the Branding is worth more than the brand.
Currently just above 3p5 it's a long way from £2 = not so very long ago...

Bank-default is a major alarm, IMHO, as this usually spells DfE, or plain closure.... maybe the saving grace is their Brand . . . but I doubt any new investors will see anything . . . such a shame, & you can't even get a copy of their Reports, hidden away in Jersey ( Phone charges! ). Huh.
EDIT(7June2018)- sp 4p2....New Exec. but idea what he's done prior... is he there to asset-strip for the Creditors, perhaps.... it's most unusual not to give a new appointee considerable praise and a brief-resume. . . . . You have been warned!

Not looking so hot there Stanley lol. Let's take a small punt on you getting better, just a small one though!