New beginning for Trocadero

Losses for the six months to June of pounds 465,000 were disappointing but yesterday marked a new beginning for Trocadero. It finished offloading its physical assets to former parent Burford to leave the newly arrived management team of John Conlan and Nick Tamblyn (both ex-First Leisure) with a mix of intellectual property and leisure interests.

Trocadero now owns the Enid Blyton rights and has a 50 per cent stake in problem-ridden Segaworld. Other interests include a 3D cinema and an indoor freefall ride due to open soon at the Trocadero. The future looks bright enough for the Enid Blyton side, currently trading well ahead of last year. The company has recently signed some important TV deals.

The real question mark hangs over the leisure side of the company. The well publicised difficulties at Segaworld trundle on and the freefall ride and the 3D cinema were both initiatives of the recently departed Nigel Wray and Nick Leslau. Prospects now hinge on how Mr Conlan and Mr Tamlyn decide to spend the pounds 73m freed up by the property deal and on how quickly the forecast break even this year is turned into profit.

Trocadero's shares are currently hovering at around 19p, just above their all time low after a horrific year. The new management team's remuneration package gives them a strong incentive to turn the business round. A tentative buy, depending on the faith you place in the Conlan and Tamlyn double act.