Can someone tell me the name of this company prior to be mercury group??

Thanks Regard

cadjam1

They were called Cater Barnard (CRB).

They changed the name in December 2004.

WT.

A couple of big buys on this late in the day - had been quiet for a while with the new management settling in.
Anyone know the possible buying source today & is this the start of a run in the right direction?

g64946

We can only hope. MGP's management were certainly at the back of the queue when Investor/PR Relations were handed out.

Perhaps things may start to happen - check out the latest RNS

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?view=PR&symbol=MGP.L&storyID=206398+01-Mar-2005+RNS

Shares up 13% in early morning trade on news of acquisition & placing last night

More details of last nights announcement:

LONDON (AFX) - Mercury Group PLC said it has reached agreement to acquire Smith Melzack Pepper Angliss LLP, a privately owned commercial agency business with offices in the City of London and the West End, for up to 1.3 mln stg in new ordinary shares and loan notes.
It also announced a placing of 120 mln new shares to raise a net amount of 600,000 stg to provide additional working capital for the enlarged group.

Mercury Group is the result of Cater Barnard PLC's reverse takeover of Navitas Hemway Ltd and Telco Solutions Ltd at the end of last year.

Regarding the acquisition, Mercury said Smith Melzack Pepper Angliss has 7 consultants and employs a further 25 staff and last year made an operating profit of 467,764 stg on 2.82 mln stg turnover.

From UK-Analyst.com

Mercury Group found favour, as the company unveiled details of a 2-million pound fundraising at 0.3p. Mercury, which provides professional services to the property industry, said has completed the placing with Pendana, a company owned by the Investec Trust, on behalf of the Tchenguiz property billionaires family trust. The further association with the Consensus Business Group, a company controlled by Vincent Tchenguiz, which manages numerous investments on the behalf of Investec Trust could be highly beneficial to Mercury. In particular, the association is likely to provide a variety of cross-selling opportunities and synergies. The shares added 0.04p to 0.345p.

Mercury have picked up a little bit today anyone know why?

Received the following notice of a corporate action.

Subject to shareholder approval at the EGM to be held on 15th August 2005, the company is proposing a capital reorganisation.

The effect of the capital reorganisation will be to consolidate every 25 existing ordinary shares into 1 ordinary share of 2.5p each, each of which will then be immediately subdivided into 1 ordinary share with a par value of 1p and 1 "A" deferred share of 1.5p. the effect of the capital reorganisation will be that any shareholder currently holding fewer than 25 existing ordinary shares will not hold any interest in the company following the capital reorganisation becoming effective.The capital reorganisation is expected to become effective on 17th August 2005.

The "A" deferred shares will have no voting or dividend rights and will not be admitted to trading on AIM. Consequently, the "A" deferred shares will effectively be valueless.

Any thought on what this will mean for the shares

Following the board announcemant yesterday there are a couple of positive items in the press today, namely in the Times and Guardian. Guardian suggest this is one to watch
Guardian item at http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1550319,00.html
Times item at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,2733-1738758,00.html

This dreadful state of affairs was already on the wall arround this time last year, one can only feel sorry for those that believed the company prospects. It is this total destruction of investor wealth that should be investigated IMHO.
Meanwhile the jolly chaps at the FSA will fine errant businesses that forget to place warning signs above the fire doors.
The lack of comments (here), rather demonstrates how wise are those ho use this site.
Bargepoles.

Does anybody know what is behind this latest fall in MGP's fortunes, and is there any hope of recovery.

Without recommending this stock in any way, it has been in the doldrums for some considerable time. There has now been some movement and some investors have made significant short term gains. It is one of my long term dogs and when it woke from its sleep I bought another tranche at 0.41p per share, currently showing just short of 100% gain.

Here's hoping for more gains so that I may have jam as well as bread for tea.

Final Results next week:

Turnover for the SMPA business should be up sharply now having seen the multi-million pounds properties in the companies portfolios which are being leased out/sold, under offers and sold already. Should it turn allow for a increase in profit and possible swing to profits for the year ending 30 September 2007. With just 117 million shares in issue....a conservative valuation would be around 1.50p.

http://www.sm-pa.co.uk/inv-for-sale.htm

IMO they will have taken a good few hundred thousand pounds cut minimum each time in the below recent transactions.

http://www.sm-pa.co.uk/inv-recent.htm

Also, looking for opportunities for a good number of clients.

http://www.sm-pa.co.uk/inv-client-requirements.htm

Not to mention Industrial properties and now expanding into continental europe.

http://www.sm-pa.co.uk/cms/Industrial.html
http://www.sm-pa.co.uk/overseas.htm

Alot of recent deals on office blocks and a lot of office blocks still being chased by clients.

http://www.sm-pa.co.uk/office-recent-deals-WE.htm
http://www.sm-pa.co.uk/office-recent-deals-City.htm
http://www.sm-pa.co.uk/office-recent-deals-National.htm

Transactions by SMPA:

More multi-million pounds properties in portfolio:

http://ssl.propex.co.uk/cgi-bin/pp_properties.cgi?quickfind=pepper

Seem very busy at the moment and acted as a Purcasher on a Heathrow building last month...would have got a decent commisssion on the below deal especially as the buyer getting a saving to last summer's valuation imo:

CLS sells knocked down Heathrow office

09:17 | 18.02.08

Sten Mortstedt’s CLS Holdings has sold a Heathrow office building for £12.8m, a 5% discount to its June valuation.

By Mike Phillips

The sale of the 102,345 sq ft Vista Centre, which also includes a restaurant, gymnasium and swimming pool, to Vista Property Investments represents an initial yield of 7.4%.

New tenants

CLS bought the building in 1995 for £10.8m when the entire building was let to Hoechst.
Click here to find out more!

In 1999 the tenant paid £8m to be released from its lease and the building was refurbished and the leisure facilities added.

Tenants now include the Metropolitan Police, Airline Business and a business centre.

MBH and Vail Williams acted on behalf of CLS and Smith Melzack Pepper Angliss acted for the purchaser.

http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=297&storycode=3106572

A decent enough commission should be shown on the below deal for the Met in london last September in next weeks results imo especially with the authority saving 1 million and SMPA advising the met:

http://www.instant-managed.com/press15_09_06.asp

Good profile on the CEO Mr Franks...outlines what I've mentioned about building the business up through more acquisitions for which any placing would be between 1 and 2p imo. Mr Franks was one of the parties in the vendors who accepted 1 and 2p for settlement of the paye claim very recently.

15.06.07

Each week we meet a property character from a different age bracket. Today, Mark Shepherd meets Ronnie Franks, 60, chief executive of AIM-listed Mercury Group.

http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=359&storycode=3089263

Good write up on people involved with the company and attractive profit margins in the sector.

http://www.growthcompany.co.uk/market-research/features/21747/support-service-s

Anyone has any idea of the levels of profit margins the company makes??? The growth company arcticle indicated high levels of profit margins. Some very big figure deals have been completed by the company where they have acted on behalf of the purchaser. Looking at previous set accounts turnover could come anywhere between 3-5 million and even we take the lower number the company could be also be set to announce a swing into profits. If so a mkt cap of around 2 million which would be equivalent to a share price of 2p imo would be reasonable. All the discontinued activities should be over now as stated in the Interims last summer which have results in losses. SMPA has always been making a decent profit over previous years though that was quite low in the Interims due to getting rid of all the dead wood.
Judging by the amount of activity going on through the SMPA website, the forward looking statement should be positive.

Little tick up again. Finals this week should provide the spark for the big re-rating imo. Turnover expected at minimum 3 million and swing to profits would put the share price at 2p (2m mkt cap).