Another company has come into my universe of attention, I realised it was better to start a thread for each of htes companes as i find them - if i start them in "Companies I didnt buy" then its a bt lost when and if I take a position, if i put them in my "Individual company strategy" thread, I may not end up taking a position.
Another innovation is to follow a Buffett concept and if I cant describe everything the business does in one simple sentence then the first filter cleans the decks!
Servcorp provide serviced offices, meeting rooms and virtual offices for individuals and companies across the world, they provide premium addresses with premium fitouts and supported with world class IT and phone systems.
Other simple criteria are met with the company extremely tightly held by the owner and his direct family, low debt, steadily growing profit, focus on improving the business over paying dividends, large cash reserves, ethical management and a simple success story,
"In 1976 the entrepreneurial Mr. Alf Moufarrige was about to embark on a new venture.
First, he required an office space, receptionist then secretarial support. Soon he realised these costs were eating into his profits and the team and space were not used 100%, so he looked to share these to reduce his overheads.
In 1978 from a corner office in the MLC Centre Sydney Australia Mr. Alf Moufarrige took a piece a chalk to divide up the space - and Servcorp was born! The idea took hold and evolved organically and in just 12 months, a full 2 floors within the MLC Centre were occupied along with 1 location in Melbourne.
Growth steadily continued, pioneering the Virtual Office concept in 1980 and expansion into other countries and Servcorp was publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (SRV) in 1999.
Today the entrepreneurial spirit and passion of Mr. Alf Moufarrige has spearheaded Servcorp into offering Serviced Offices, Virtual Offices, Coworking and IT Solutions in 150 locations across 52 cities throughout 21 countries."
HY1 18 not a great result, mainly due to changes in deferred tax treatment in the US. Still a solid business, no debt, actually that rare find of a Ben Graham "Net/Net business. Happy to hold and wait for value to reflect.
FY 18 continuing poor results, maybe there is an underlying business struggling to break free!
H1 19 a tough half, a significant loss, the best hope for the business is its lack of debt and strong cash position driven by focussed managementt with skin in the game.
Price taker, no moat
