The Evil Diaries: Getting stuck into Watchstone

I tried to get stuck into Watchstone (WTG) first thing this morning. I was half hoping for 100p in contrast to the 70p at which they were suspended last week. In the event I paid as much as 197p. I did so reckoning that these are worth 300p right now and in due course 500p and possibly more.

My reasoning is that at 175p WTG is worth c. £80m. This contrasts with (see RNS of 9th November) with retained cash of £90m, cash in escrow £55m, “contingent collections” of £40m and perhaps as much as £175m in the US unquoteds, Hymex and Ingenie. These total £360m or at least four times the current price.

However, I am emphatically told that I am wrong in that the unquoteds are worth zero “since they are frauds”, the £55m escrow cash will never be paid (there is no evidence that such a result will eventuate). And the contingent cash will never be paid over. etc. etc. not least that Your Legal Friend is a serious operation and will collect considerably more than the £9.4m declared by WTG.

In the light of the intemperate manner in which this assembly of counterclaims was offered, I favour my reasoning as expressed above.

Finally, believe it or not, Charles Stanley’s compliance department rejected my buy orders at 166p since in their opinion WTG is a “complex instrument”. WTG may be complex for them since I have long established that this department is exclusively staffed by idiots. But for other people on this earth, WTG is very easily understood. Anyone disagree?