Speedy Hire Share Price (SDY)

It seems to me that there is no stopping it now. I am tempted to add.

Hugh, I got in at 28.5p so looking possitive for now.

If you did not buy in here I hope you found a better home than LVCG for your money.

Good Luck.

HSS to buy Speedy? Or Speedy to buy HSS?

Early 2015, HSS was a sparkling star worth £325m. Speedy was north of £200m. By December 2015, HSS’s share price had fallen to 57p and was a £90m business dud. Speedy’s share was 35p.

The two companies had talks for a few months discussing a £300m merger. In the end, it was called off. No agreement. No offer to shareholders. Top executives on both sides exited.

Speedy went on to independently and spectacularly destroy shareholder value and returns through atrocious mismanagement and scandals.

Nine years on, long-suffering Speedy shareholders had a share worth 26p in a business valued at £115m. It's now "soared" to 34p and £154m. Yet, pity the HSS shareholders whose shares are now worth 7p in a business worth £52m.

Oh! Hang on. Speedy has a new management. They’ve swallowed that £20m ‘missing inventory’ gaffe without giving pathetic excuses and seem to talk a good story. They have a plan, called VELOCITY.

“Growing market share,” were words they used in their presentation. How? ‘Nicking’ the Amey contract from HSS was an obvious good answer. Could now be the time to reconsider HSS? Whether merger or takeover, a consolidation should bring potential savings and therefore bottom line benefits in a market which has such tight margins.

I’m a long-term SDY shareholder, wondering about buying some HSS for a pure punt? Punt? Oh, we’re not supposed to do that anymore.

Speedy has delivered some of the slowest returns in my portfolio. Watching the recent Speedy CEO/FD EOY results presentation in the august company of an SMI executive client (as an exercise!), I was surprised he didn’t switch off early.

There’s so much guff that has to be publicly said that says … nothing. His company’s ESG report runs to about 200 pages and costs several millions to produce. Because legislation requires it. At great cost, they are compliant – for doing the things that management would already be doing.

However, Speedy bravely tried to put some financial numbers to the benefits of ESG. This was novel. Let’s hear some more about that. I’m rather bored/annoyed about “carbon offsets” that allow a polluter to ‘massage’ ESG credentials.

Hello. Glad out of that other share of ours. Looking at this one you are now invested in. Good luck Blaze.