gretel
06 Feb 2017
Two new tips for VLE Apparently VLE were tipped in last Friday's issue of the IC by Simon Thompson - in the summary of the 2016 bargain shares' performance ST rates it as still a strong Buy.And Evil Knievil praises VLE in his daily diary column today as follows, which should bring in some attention:[link] have read the Investors Chronicle for fifty two years. It is a terrific starter course for someone wishing to kick off their investing career (prior to methodically following up leads on Master Investor of course). One reason is the small company coverage where private investors are, time and again, given terrific ideas which institutions cannot be bothered to benefit from since they cannot get size and so justify review costs over the years.The lead proponent for this programme is Simon Thompson who has in recent years come up with value investments which are inescapably sound. that I mean that it is virtually impossible for these shares and their prices to decline since the businesses covered are solvent and making money and yet quoted at a discount to tangible net asset value.People forget another factor: it is always possible for such a share to be transformed into a stock which is correctly and seriously re-rated materially above tangible net asset value. The best example of this in recent years is Avesco, where patient investors were eventually rewarded by a 650p takeover and the starting off price had been 25p as reduced by a 115p cash distribution and several dividends of the order of 3p.In last weekend’s IC the stock that stood out to me was/is Volvere (LON:VLE). Here effective management is sprucing up sound acquisitions and selling them where sensible. This is a great skill and current purchasers can enter the party at a discount to tangible net asset value. Now 540p offer."
pharmaspecialist
03 Jan 2017
Pie wars Just seen the news that Ginsters, the famous pasty maker, has bought West Cornwall Pasty Co., apparently to enable Ginsters to compete better with Greggs which produces pasties and other products for shops like Iceland in addition to selling them from its retail premises. I wonder if this deal has any implications for the valuation of Shire Foods, the pasty and pie maker in which Volvere has an 80% stake. I guess that corporate activity such as this would probably be a good thing for Shire by highlighting the value of pie companies. My impression is that the pie and pasty sector is still quite fragmented so there must still be plenty of scope for consolidation.
gretel
12 Dec 2016
Tip for VLE VLE have been tipped here as an alternative turnaround specialist to Melrose - it's certainly a lot cheaper, since VLE trades at a discount to NAV, let alone with any of the premium on top for when one or more of the investees are sold:[link]
gretel
14 Nov 2016
New positive article on VLE The November issue of AIM Prospector magazine is just out, and includes this positive summary of VLE (these are also the people behind VLE's recent presentation in London):[link] is essentially a 2-man (brothers Jonathan and Nick Lander) operation that specialises in turning around either loss-making or marginally profitable companies. The Landers implement their management skill set and sell rehabilitated companies at a profit. Volvere has typically worked on two to three turnarounds at any one time, selling them after three to five years.Since 2002, IRRs of between 40% and 160% have been achieved upon sale of acquired companies. Accumulated cash accounts for nearly 75% of the NAV. Dividend policy is “no dividend” but Volvere does have a history of share buybacks. The company does not feel any pressure to distribute the cash pile because such liquidity isrequired to maintain Volvere’s standing as a capable acquirer with turnaround project vendors.The operational track record has been rewarded with a share price that has grown at a CAGR of 13% (vs. FTSEAllShare 5.2%) since the 2002 IPO, notwithstandingthe intrinsically high-risk policy of taking on such concentrated investments. Can they keep up this amazing track record? The shares are valued in the market like a holding company — which Volvere is not — and provides a comfortable (and potentially very rewarding) entry price for disciples of the Lander brothers."
gretel
19 Oct 2016
Notes from presentation Encouraging to see a bout of buying yesterday afternoon after JL finished his presentation at around 2.45pm 
)) I thought JL came across extremely well - understated, yet confident in his and his brother's CVs and VLE's track record. As laid out in the presentation pack VLE's transaction history could not fail to impress.Nothing revelatory was said that I did not know already. My one gripe, which I pointed out afterwards to JL, was that once again he did not point out that, whilst stating that VLE was trading at a discount to book NAV, that book NAV was not reflective of the "true" value of the investees given that they're only in the books essentially at cost/book value, and they are not revalued at any point post-acquisition until disposal. JL agreed he should have pointed this out.The presentation noted that the usual investee holding period is 3-5 years. I note that Shire is now over 5 years old. I say no more!More random points.... - acquisitions usually have to be carried out quickly, with due diligence to be carried out in only a couple of weeks - no sector restrictions, preferred revenues of £10m-£100m, though they do like "people" businesses. There are some sectors which are immediately rejected (interestingly he singled out printing. I sold my CMS shares a while ago!) - more buybacks are still possible, though (1) they're more difficult to carry out with new rules apparently, and (2) the only opportunities given limited free float are of course from the likes of Marks & Zimmerman, who are apparently hard bargainers. Although I suspect they're probably regretting their sales at lower prices... - larger acquisitions are certainly possible. However, business sellers are encouraged when they see that VLE have a large cash pile on the Balance Sheet, and VLE also need to keep some cash in case of w/cap needs for newly acquired investees - Shire Foods supply Lidl, Aldi, Iceland etc and have invested significantly in new refrigeration plant. I regret that I forgot to ask afterwards specifically about Shire and Impetus' prospects (though I'm sure I wouldn't have got any joy!). Impetus' client list per the presentation is an awesome list of motor industry blue chips.It's worth noting the track record: - Vectra : cost £2m, £8m sale proceeds plus cash cost received - Sira : cost £1.4m, £9.7m received - IPT : cost £1.4m, £5.35m received - JMP : cost plus loan £1.2m, £8m receivedNet assets per share have grown 513% from £0.94 to 576p per share, and the share price has risen 415% since IPO.
gretel
07 Oct 2016
VLE doing investor presentation Great to see VLE doing some PR at last. And a 40 minute presentation too, so should really get into the detail. I hope to be there:[link] is an industrial holding company. The company's track record of increasing net assets per share makes Volvere one of the most successful companies on AIM, with annualised increases averaging 15% per annum since 2002. The most recent balance sheet showed NAV was backed 2/3 by cash and marketable securities. Volvere's most recently completed deal saw the sale of JMP Consultants, netting Volvere £5.5m. JMP was acquired by Volvere in May 2013 for just £0.4m. Volvere will be represented on day by its founder and CEO, Mr Jonathan Lander."
gretel
22 Sep 2016
Tipped by Simon Thompson of the IC in his Bargain Update:[link] the last couple of paragraphs:The point being that these three investments are effectively in the price for free. That’s because at the end of June 2016, Volvere had cash and marketable securities of £18.5m available for new investments, a sum worth 452p a share. The company’s borrowings of £2.37m are modest in relation to the profitability of the aforementioned three holdings and also in relation to their conservative book values of £6.5m.The downside risk here looks very limited given the hefty cash backing. I would also flag up that Volvere’s retained profits from the second half will undoubtedly deliver another record net asset value per share at the year-end and one that’s heading towards 600p. So, with the investment risk still skewed to the upside, and the company cashed up to make further value enhancing acquisitions, I continue to rate Volvere’s shares a buy."It's worth clarifying that the £6.5m book value noted by ST above is NOT the book value of the investee companies as such, but is almost entirely ADDITIONAL to that value being the NBV of (1) freehold property and (2) plant and machinery held by those investees, principally Shire Foods.
gretel
20 Sep 2016
NAV now 75% above share price? Let's say Impetus makes an annualised round £1m PBT, and Sira £0.1m. Shire made £1.28m PBT in H2'15, so let's assume this drops to say £0.87m, which would mean a round £1m annualised PBT from Shire.That's £2.1m PBT from the three operating businesses. Deduct 20% tax and times 80% ownership gives say £1.4m - which on a low-ish multiple of 10 is worth £14m, i.e around 350p per share (excluding the £2.45m freehold property which is worth another 60p per share).In theory then, the 453p per share of cash plus businesses are worth conservatively 800p+ per share - plus the 60p of freehold property held by Shire Foods.
gretel
20 Sep 2016
Good interims results just out Interims just out - pretty good overall considering the seasonally quiet H1 as regards Shire Foods:[link] - NAV is up to 576p - the cash pile alone is up to 453p per share (£18.5m)! - Impetus is storming ahead and on track for £1m+ PBT this year, winning "significant" new business - Shire was encouragingly similar to last year given the loss of a client, though the much more profitable H2 may suffer higher raw material costs now - Sira Defence continues to grow, slowly but surelyTotal NAV must be at least 900p per share given the unrealised value in Impetus and Shire in particular, which are in the Balance Sheet for almost nothing.Looks like the investment side was completely inactive as their cost remained the same whilst their value rose somewhat.Perhaps the most intriguing comment is about deal flow improving - maybe a hint that a new acquisition is in the offing.
onedb1
25 Aug 2016
Am also long here and It's not my usual TA play . Purely of fundamentals . Been accumulating since 475p
gretel
22 Aug 2016
New Siraview website Siraview have updated and upgraded their website:[link] Siraview state they are "the only universal CCTV viewer on the market". I have high hopes that this investee can become of material worth to VLE following their partnership with the US-quoted MotionDSP.Good to see a couple of small buys in VLE already today.
nick2name
19 Jul 2016
Re: Evil Knievel is buying VLE '"I bought Volvere (VLE) this morning – this time at 525p. There’s no stock about". 'if there's no stock from where did he buy the shares?
gretel
19 Jul 2016
Evil Knievel is buying VLE Well, well....it seems Evil Knievel, the notorious shorter, has been buying VLE at 525p.That's a vote of confidence if anything is - I very rarely see him buying much at all except for the occasional resource company.This from his diary last night:[link] "I bought Volvere (VLE) this morning – this time at 525p. There’s no stock about".
gretel
18 Jul 2016
Rising and looking good online Back above 500p. Looks like Friday's and today's £35,000 buys has taken out spare stock.Online I can sell 3,500 shares at 495p, but can only buy a maximum 150 shares at 519.9p!
gretel
01 Jul 2016
Looking very cheap imho With £16.3m cash (which by now is probably up to £17m+), the current £18.1m m/cap implies that the 3 core businesses are worth just £1.8m.Simon Thompson from the Investors Chronicle posted a positive update recently from his start of year Bargain Tips article, as posted elsewhere as follows:"Points out that shares trading on a 10 pct discount to book value even though 80pct of portfolio fully backed by free cash.Also all three of these businesses i.e. Shire, Impetus and Sira could easily be worth in aggregate £15m, or 366p a share, or almost double their carrying value in Volvere's accounts, and potentially more if the early turnaround in the automotive consulting business steps up a gear or two.Ends by re iterating strong management team and believes the shares should trade at a premium to conservative book value."Another poster elsewhere has posted the following FYI re the recent AGM (cheers mate):"Hi All, went to AGM but not much to report other than what people already know here. Comp also keen to be not seen to give any info that not in public domain, which most people already know. Main point that Landers keen to say was that we are in uncertain times but from VLE's view: 1) They have a large amount of cash so if recession comes then there should be good opportunities to put it to use. 2) Underlying VLE comps are relatively stable so shouldn't get affected if recession. Shire, as supplier of basic food, and frozen in particular, should be relatively resilient. IAL is far down the line of spending, below sales, and does things that happen most yrs eg auditing franchisees vs supplier estimates, so they should be fine. Finally, I had it in my head that previously the comp only bought back shares at the level of cash + liquid investments, but JL keen to point ouy that they dont have a lower level. Not keen to buyback shares at mo as mrkt taking out all stock (eg recent sales by significant shareholders to >3% was all absorbed by mrkt"
