On 12 May we were delighted to host our fourth virtual Investor Forum. The online webinar featured presentations from the managements of four companies: Filta, Henry Boot, Helios Underwriting and Emmerson.
This was Hardman’s most diverse event to date, with three established companies representing the consumer, construction and underwriting sectors. With experienced management and robust businesses they have weathered COVID’s headwinds with resilience. The fourth company presenting, Emmerson, is a potash mining company which is looking to exploit the favourable dynamics of the global fertiliser market.
All four companies provided investors with much-needed assurance that, despite heightened risks in the past 12 months, there are still growth opportunities in the pipeline ready to propel these businesses forward. We look forward to reporting on their progress.
Missed this Forum? Not to worry – download the presentations below and catch up with recordings of each session. If you would like to watch the full event, please head over to our YouTube channel here.
Filta Group Plc is an AIM listed company (market cap: £44m) which provides cooking oil filtration, fryer and drain management services to commercial kitchens in North America, the UK and Europe. Filta combines the capital-light franchise model in North America and Europe with company owned operations in the UK. As businesses continue to reopen, the focus on cleanliness, efficiency and environmental friendliness is unlikely to be abated. This business has not sat idly by while many of its customers were shut; it has improved efficiency across the operations that will drive profitability this year and next.
The live questions on the company ranged from the financial health of Filta’s client portfolio through COVID, to the expansion and geographical density of their franchisees, as well as sector-led discussion around cooking oil prices.
Filta Group research note | Filta Group slide pack
Henry Boot Plc is listed on the main market with a market cap of £380m. It is a unique group of companies that create sustainable value and long-term growth from land, property & development and construction. Henry Boot operates across the whole property value chain. They acquire land without planning permission, obtain planning permission, develop sites and maintain an investment portfolio.
The management team from Henry Boot answered investor concerns about the changing risk profile at a time when the market is fearful to buy, and explained how they assess price in a competitive landscape.
Henry Boot research note | Henry Boot slide pack
Helios Underwriting Plc is the only listed investment company offering investors growth and returns from exposure to Lloyd’s of London. Helios is an AIM-listed investment company (market cap: £60m) which offers growth and returns by building a portfolio of underwriting capacity at Lloyd’s by acquiring high quality Limited Liability Vehicles (LLVs). These LLVs replaced the famous Lloyd’s Names at the start of this century, and are now coming up for sale as their owners age or decide to exit.
At the live event, Helios took time to answer questions on their valuation methods, growth plans, outlook on premium rate cycles, and the current dynamic given the amount of capital flowing into the market – and how this affects their investment with the LLVs.
Helios Underwriting research note | Helios Underwriting slide pack
Emmerson Plc is listed on the AIM market, with a market cap of £47m. It is a potash development company focused on the development of the Khemisset Potash Project in Northern Morocco. The project has a large JORC Resource Estimate (2019) of 537Mt @ 9.24% K2O and significant exploration potential with an accelerated development pathway. The recently completed feasibility study confirmed findings from the scoping study, which showed that Khemisset has the potential to be a world class, low capital cost, high margin potash mine, a very rare asset in the industry.
During the forum, CEO Graham Clarke discussed the company’s strategic value, framing it in the context of the other global potash companies, as well as the broader fertiliser producer market. He went on to describe the strong political relationships the company has in Morocco and how the project funding has progressed with strategic partners.
Emmerson research note | Emmerson slide pack
The investor pack from the Forum, featuring speaker bios and all the research notes in one place, is available here. Please sign up here if you would like to join our mailing list for Hardman Talks events and future Forums.
