The Evil Diaries: Watchstone and Avingtrans

The Watchstone (WTG) IR department tell me that the December 2015 results should be out by 31st May. If I am right about this company, the shares should rise sharply on the RNS.

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The chairman sent me a brief note on Avingtrans (AVG) issued by Hybridan’s William Lynne. In essence AVG is capitalised at £53m given its share price of 184p offer. But AVG has sold its aerospace division for £52m and the effect is to take its bank debt down from £6m to a cash balance of £47m. I asked Mr Lynne whether tax would be payable on this sale and he kindly looked into this and advises that the legislation means that no tax is payable under the SSE or substantial shareholdings exemption.

AVG will now distribute an unspecified but substantial sum back to shareholders, leaving all the rest for free and free of debt. This is not the first time AVG’s management have demonstrated intelligence and nimble conduct. I bought 15,000 at 182p since inevitably sellers hit the rise in price pursuant to this deal’s announcement so offering buyers a safe opportunity. I do not know what AVG is now worth but I guess it is ahead of 200p.

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At a loose end yesterday, I watched Bloomberg TV and caught a Mr Gorman, chairman of JP Morgan. He’s Australian and can be forgiven for being ignorant of modern European history. But his first fiction dissemination was that the EU has ensured peace in Europe for “seventy years”. And there was I reckoning that in 1946 all countries in Europe were stunned and exhausted and could not even think of thinking of going to war. And then NATO took over. Clearly, Mr Gorman has been briefed by Project Fear and, in any event, JP Morgan reckon their bread is buttered best to be Remainers.

Incidentally, Gorman is an anagram of Morgan. Coincidence? Possibly. But when it comes to fabrication anything goes. After all, if this Mr Gorman is, as I think he is, an actor, it would hardly be surprising if the puppet masters at Project Fear have invented him.

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Plea in mitigation offered by Homer Simpson: “I’d never have done it if I had thought that I would be caught.”