GB Group Live Discussion

marktime1231 21 Jan 2020

GBG on the naughty step Thank goodness, strong bounce back to 715p this morning. Phew. 32Red confirmed it never had access to data, just using a third party service to verify age. So GBG, if it was using the LRS data, was using it for a good purpose, and did not “share” it with gambling companies. If anything the culprit here is Trustopia, a small recently incorporated Irish company which DfE gave LRS data access to for one purpose, and then Trustopia found a way of using it or providing it to GBG for another purpose. So DfE may also be guilty of something. What has GBG done wrong? Are Trustopia still saying they never even provided the data to GBG? In which case GBG has sub-contracted age-checking services from Trustopia who were abusing the LRS data themselves. In which case GBG is completely blameless. If that analysis is about right then the press reporting of this, including the wild allegation that GBG was working with the gambling industry to target business at under-age punters was false and harmful. The Sunday Times has perhaps been pushing a far-fetched scoop in the hope it had found a smoking gun, but without confirmatory evidence, I wonder why they went so far. No official response from GBG yet, I suspect if it was DfE partly to blame it will be kicking this into the long grass after Gavin Williamson was suckered into believing the worst over-stated allegations in the press.

marktime1231 20 Jan 2020

GBG on the naughty step Eek, a sudden 30p plunge from GBG this morning to 690p, on adverse reports in the weekend press (Sunday Times originally I think then pilched by others repeating what they think they know). The UK government skills agency operates something called the Learning Records Service database, which gathers together enrolment and qualification data for students and apprentices aged 14+ from places like schools, colleges and OfQual. In theory this allows the govt or training provider to check whether the student is eligible for funding. According to the website of a training and qualifications company: “The Learning Records Service offers a facility which stores learner participation and achievements. By providing your personal information, relevant organisations will have access your Personal Learning Record to enable the use of your personal information in order to assess your achievements, awards and credits …” You can imagine a database of 28 million young people which allows their identity and location to be verified is sensitive, and there must be strict controls about who can access the data and for what purpose. I would imagine GBG, which offers verification services to prospective employers, might use LRS as a resource to verify the education and qualifcation claims made by job applicants … a legitimate exercise, no doubt with the consent of employer, applicant and presumably with a quid pro quo between GBG and the government agency/Dept for Education. I think DoE had given approval for these legitimate activities to Trustopia. “The DfE said the government had provided access to the Learner Record Service to employment screening firm Trust Systems Software, which trades as Trustopia. The department is investigating whether Trustopia in turn provided access to GB Group.” So is the sharing of data, or the indirect provision of services between GBG and Trustopia, for whatever purpose a problem? The comments so far have been contradictory. GB Group said: “We can confirm that we use the Learning Records Service dataset via a third party. We take claims of this nature very seriously and, depending on the results of our review, we will take appropriate action.”" So if Trustopia were sharing data or providing a service to GBG, they were charging a premium for it. Were GBG then abusing its access to the data, or selling it on? Where is the smoking gun linking GBG access to LRS via Trustopia and the wild allegation that it was to exploit young gamblers? The response from DoE reported today includes "The DfE said it had not approved any data sharing with gambling firms, adding that a third-party company was responsible for providing access to the information. “This was completely unacceptable and we have immediately stopped the firm’s access and ended our agreement with them. We will be taking the strongest possible action,” a spokesperson said. The breach relates to Chester-based data intelligence firm GB Group, which signed a confidential contract through another company to access the database, according to the report. GB Group used the data for age and identity verification services it provides to clients, which include gambling firms 32 Red and Betfair. The DfE said the government had provided access to the Learner Record Service to employment screening firm Trust Systems Software, which trades as Trustopia. The department is investigating whether Trustopia in turn provided access to GB Group." Whether directly or through an approves third party GBG has access to even more sensitive information held by government, for example criminal records. In the same way that the DVLA gives your vehicle and address information to parking enforcement companies via its service provider Capita, there is a legitimate purpose to allowing licensed controlled access to sensitive information. The govt makes money selling the data, and private companies perform checking and enforcement tasks on a commercial basis … in another world this would be government work paid for by taxes etc. So the real story (an allegation which everyone is treating as fact) is whether gambling firms have used GBG or others to access sensitive data available to Trustopia for unapproved purposes. The press speculation is that these gambling companies have been targetting youngsters “to boost the number of young people gambling online.” On the face of it that sounds unlikely, how does a database of names ages and addresses help you boost online gambling? More likely the data could be used to verify a young person applying to join an online gambling service? In which case the data is being used to screen for underage gamblers? A good thing then? This is the business GBG is in, verifying age compliance of users on behalf of companies providing age-sensitive services. If it is helping gambling firms to reject under-18s what is the problem, albeit this was not an approved purpose of LRS data. So the DfE has decided “this” was completely unacceptable but I am not sure what the “this” is … the Sunday Times are sure that GBG has provided unauthorised access to LRS data to the gambling companies. That would be surprising, considering GBG is in the business of providing services using data, not handing over raw data or access to it. Unless there has been a dodgy individual or business unit which has been naughty. Anyway, apparently DfE is leaving no stone unturned: “A DfE spokesperson said: “We have not shared any data with GBG.”" And yet “The Sunday Times reported the government had provided access to the Learning Records Service to employment screening company Trust Systems Software (UK) – which trades as Trustopia.” And even more strangely “Trustopia has denied providing the GB Group with access to the database and founder Ronan Smith said it “placed the highest possible premium” on the lawful handing of data.”" How GBG handles its public communication from here will be crucial but I suspect it is a storm in a teacup. There has certainly been a breach of data regulations over the unauthorised sharing of LRS data, but it remains to be seen who has done the breach … Trustopia is the responsible party … and it is a huge step to assert that the data has been abused for imaginative purposes by the gambling industry, although that is a possibility.

snodgrove 08 Jun 2018

Hmm Strong buying is something afoot?

oldjoe1 19 Apr 2018

GBG....... SP UPGRADE.......... SP UPGRADE...........GB Group PLC GBG Berenberg Buy 489.75 509.00 460.00 560.00 ReiteratesSP target now 560p.

tejo 18 Apr 2018

Results back in November we were concluding that the then results were good but not spectacular and now we have more very good results and what is spectacular is the near 20% rise in the share price. This surprising really since the organic growth is up to 15% which is good but not amazing for a share which yields almost nothing,and has a very high P/E. I am certainly not grumbling but we all need to bear in mind that this is not a value share but a high growth share and where any slip would be punished severely. It is in the right place at the right time and looks like continuing to be so. They will need to keep investing in the high tech developments like AI/facial recognition etc. to keep up the momentum.

oldjoe1 18 Apr 2018

GB GROUP.......... TIPPED. GBG GB Group[link] I’m looking at two growth stocks in the technology sector. Shares in both companies have risen by 50% or more over the last year, but I believe these businesses could continue to grow as their core markets expand.Identity protectionShares of identity data specialist GB Group (LSE: GBG) rose by 12% in early trade this morning, after the technology group said that full-year results would be ahead of consensus forecasts.Adjusted operating profit for the year to 31 March is expected to rise by 53% to £26m, while revenue is expected to be 37% higher at £119.7m. Despite a number of acquisition-related payments during the year, net cash rose from £5.2m to £13.4m.Identity data services are increasingly important for many businesses. GB aims to meet these needs by “combining trillions of data records relating to people’s identity”. It then makes this data available to more than 15,000 clients in 71 countries. The firm’s services are mainly used for fraud protection, marketing intelligence and employee screening.There’s more to comeShares of this fast-growing firm aren’t cheap. But its operating profit has risen by an average of 33% each year since 2012, and it’s expanding into a fast-growing market.GB Group is now a £700m business. I believe further growth is likely, especially as the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations have created a substantial extra compliance burden for many businesses this year.Analysts are forecasting earnings growth of about 15% for the 2018/19 financial year. This leaves the stock on a forecast P/E of about 30, with a dividend yield of just 0.7%.This valuation doesn’t leave much room for disappointment, but I believe earnings are likely to continue growing over the next few years. I’d rate the shares as a growth buy.

W13 Ken 18 Apr 2018

Great figures and looks like more to come A huge jump today (14%+ at the moment) after some excellent figures for 2017/18 and GBG look poised to benefit from new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations that kick in next month. Some companies are running scared of fines of up to £20million if their compliance procedures are not fit for purpose and GBG can assist with secure holding of centralised accurate global client data.Nice article from Motley Fool suggesting strong growth ahead:[link]

tejo 28 Nov 2017

solid not spectacular I agree. any normal standards the increases in both revenue and profits are very impressive, but, of course, these had been built into market expectations. A large, non cash depreciation of intangibles did not help. GB is in the right place at the right time but will need to invest heavily in technology such as facial recognition in order to maintain its strong position. I also agree, that it is a strong hold and possible buying at sub 400p which could easily happen

PIE-EATER 28 Nov 2017

Solid not spectacular Very decent report on the whole.We know the market opportunities for GBG are there and we know they are taking many of those opportunities. Perhaps expectations have caught up with performance and that is why I suggest solid not spectacular.Definitely a long term hold and possibly an "add" on any weakness.....say below 400p?GLAPE

sauloman 22 Nov 2017

security The world is becoming more insecure and the need for to identify individuals will become a strict requirement. I can only see the need for this type of company becoming essential.

oldjoe1 21 Nov 2017

GBG Report Next Tuesday.......... GBG GB Group............chart recovering from market general sell off. <b>They report next Tuesday</b>. If you look at last statement results were Very Strong. Brokers backing as well. They reported last time on 24th october, check the chart out for the rise after that date.<a href='[link] target='window'>[link]

oldjoe1 01 Nov 2017

GBG Broker UPGRADE..... GBG GB Group.... breaking out slowly but surely, last time reported very strong results. [link] expects to report adjusted operating profit for the half year in excess of £10 million, an increase of over 90% on last year. This is ahead of half year expectations.'<b>Chris Clark, CEO of GBG commented:</b>"The performance of GBG since the beginning of April has been very encouraging. The PCA Predict acquisition completed successfully in May and the business has integrated well into the Group, giving us new growth opportunities. Looking forward to the second half, we again have high visibility (over 70%) of our full year revenues and continue to grow well in the UK and internationally." <b>The Group intends to publish its half year results on 28th November 2017.</b>BROKER UPGRADE TODAY......GB Group broker viewsDate Broker Recommendation Price Old target price New target price Notes01 Nov 17 Peel Hunt Buy 441.75 467.00 515.00 Reiterate

penhome 29 Oct 2017

Chart Maintaining the break above the June highs. Pennant forming?[link] this is helpful. It's just my opinion based on what I think the chart is suggesting. This is always a balance of probabilities so my opinion can be wrong and other analysts may have differing views.

hotfinance14 24 Oct 2017

Over 400p now.

penhome 23 Aug 2017

Purchase and chart I’m planning to add another tranche as I think this is about to move up after consolidating for the last few weeks. Notes are on the chart:[link]