Billington (BILN)

[Nocton]

Went to the AGM today as I bought into BILN only about 6 months ago and I wanted to see more about the business and those running it. There was one other shareholder there. We were well received and had a good discussion about the business and its future after the formal business concluded. I came away feeling reassured about the future of BILN and its ability to prosper in these uncertain times. They have a low p/e, good dividend and dividend cover, good growth record, no debt and plenty of cash. I shall buy more as one to tuck away for the longer term.

There is a good report of the meeting on the ADVFN thread here: http://uk.advfn.com/cmn/fbb/thread.php3 ... #firstpost

[WickedLester]

I remember looking at these when they were about 50p and thinking they looked dirt cheap but what put me off is that IIRC they have a major shareholder who owns about 70% of the equity and were once part of a larger group (well two distinct businesses). The major shareholder split the two companies and then delisted the other one. It is this delisting risk that has always put me off. That said that was all quite a while ago and they've shown no interest in doing it just yet and also I don't know if the register has changed much over the years as I haven't looked at it closely.

Worth looking into though.