cash shell

Lord Ashcroft has become rich through being a powerful
personality with good judgement – a typical entrepreneurial
type, perhaps not an ideal companion on a camping
holiday, but with many of the characteristics you might like
for someone looking after your savings. (Much of the flak
he got from his political exposure was from fellow-citizens
not noted for wealth creation or love of its creators). If
standards are not being met he is unlikely to nod sympathetically
at those responsible – but that should be their
problem, not that of the investor.
The real reason for buying the shares however is the
outsourcing activities. This is one of the glories of the
(investment) era. Officials in large organizations (public or
private) which formerly had to deal with the trivial travails
emanating from their often noisome dependencies through
a forest of paperwork – with predictable results – can now
find one-stop shops to do it for them. Good for them,
good for those who get their repairs speedily effected, and
good for the shareholders of many of the commercial
organizations which have turned these tasks into lucrative
and stable earnings streams. Like Ansa.
The shares are now 9.38p which means that, subject to
hitting the earnings targets, the projected price:earnings
ratio for 2006 is 12, and that for the following year 9.4. The
hybrid nature of Mavinwood blurs comparisons a bit, but
Collins Stewart reckons that the shares stand at a 40%
discount to what they would categorize as the sector. But
really you only have look at Mears Group, Connaught or, in
a slightly different context, the rapid (and safe) progress
which once AIM-quoted Enterprise, to see how the culture
can breed both opportunity and earnings.
Mavinwood is stable. Mavinwood is cheap. BUY.