Shares in loan shark Amigo (AMGO) are down by 12% today to 12p on what appears to be, well what most certainly is, a regulatory setback. But one loyal shareholder, the infamous short seller Simon Cawkwell, aka Evil Knievil, is not deterred and tells me that the shares will still hit 20p and could even go to 30p. The setback first:
Let’s start with the good bad news from this provider of usurious loans to folks who cannot afford traditional credit and are too stupid to understand what getting a mate to guarantee such a loan really means. The good bad news is that, with the FCA breathing down its neck, all 25,571 complaints about mis-selling received by July 3 have now been dealt with by Amigo (AMGO).
On Amigo Holdings (AMGO) last week I wrote is new CEO going to like the regulator’s answers?. Today “Asset Voluntary Requirement with the FCA” announcement – and the shares currently at 9p, more than 10% lower...
An “open letter to shareholders” from recently-appointed CEO of guarantor loans company Amigo Holdings (AMGO), Gary Jennison, includes that he needs to ask the regulator “questions and listen to their answers”. But is he going to like those answers?...
Of course that is not what Benamor intends to do but it is what he achieves in a long diatribe posted on the internet in which he, naturally, paints himself as the hero of the tale.
Lucian Miers: I wrote recently that I thought that Amigo Holdings (AMGO) was a prime candidate for bankruptcy by the year end. While I still think this is the case, I have closed my short for now as I expect a lot of volatility as this wonderfully entertaining soap opera reaches a crucial stage later this month...
Instinctively, I back an entrepreneur against corporate suits, a founder against professional managers, a rebel against the board. But in the case of Amigo (AMGO), I cannot back founder entrepreneur James Benamor as he tries to oust the board due to the fact that Benamor is an A grade bullshitter.
I’ve been following the whole saga surrounding sub-prime lender Amigo (AMGO) for some time now, as well as the whole of this sector in general.
I don't need to tell regular readers what I think about Amigo Holdings (AMGO). Two years ago here, I first wrote down the 'Amigo is no friend of mine' line at a share price for the guarantor loans lender a mere twenty times what you can buy them for in the market today. I could not understand the business rationale or ethics. I also do not need to tell you about the general tone of commentary on this website - primarily from Tom and myself - about Amigo in the two years since. It is a horrible business which should never have been allowed to list a handful of years ago. However, recent months have added further levels of controversy...
In days gone by, the City would have termed James Benamor “a wrong ‘un”. His antics over the last 96 hours in tweeting out plans for him to return to Amigo (AMGO) and at least one statement which is a slam dunk lie only confirm me in the impression that such an assessment would be valid.
