Undervalued Artisan

Plast is right. I'm out of this share too now and feel grateful that I didn't get in at 11 or 14P. What have they been doing since 1998, getting on for a whole decade? Property prices have tripled since 2001 alone so why has this business consistently gone backwards over so many years? I am grateful not to actually have lost any money in Artisan as I got in around 3-4p but I have learned something from this investment and that is not to invest on sentiment: I looked at several annual reports and really liked the quality bespoke niche nature of their business in what is a safe defensive sort of industry. It really has not worked and primary responsibility for that lies with the management. The really sad thing is that a lot of smaller investors have shown a lot of faith in art and taken a very long term view exactly as they should. If you do not have a share tranche exactly divisible by 6000 (unlikely) you are being shafted here as you are being given little more than 3p per share where NAV is 6p. Someone is benefitting here at the expense of small shareholders. Aspen are certainly win win here surely - 3p for shares with NAV 6p? The thing about investing in small property companies is that they are always likely to be gobbled up by predators wishing to make a quick buck, as I guess Art itself did with Rippon Homes.

I have come to view share consolidations as what directors do who haven't got a clue how to increqse the value of their companies. It appears to be pro-active but in reality is a sop as it has nothing to do with their core-business. It is purely and simply cutting costs by eradicating small shareholders many of whom have shown great faith in them. Pretty shabby really. I head for the exit door every time I see one. Never good news for a small investor as all they are doing is deliberately making your package of shares "unmarketable", a subtle way of telling you to get lost really. Good riddance art.