Bright future for Bartercard franchise

Wayne Sharpe, executive chairman of the Bartercard franchise , said the future looks amazingly positive despite the group’s recent de-listing from the London Stock Exchange.

In an open letter to members, Sharpe said that de-listing was an automatic process which was forced upon the financial services franchise as a result of the resignation of their Nominated Advisor (Nomad), against whom they have issued proceedings for breach of contract and damages.

“The actions they took caused damage to the company’s reputation which led to us being unable to get a new Nomad in the 30 days required,” he said. “The damage to shareholders’ value is obvious. A class action to recover that value is in the process of being developed against those who have caused damage.

“I can say that Bartercard has been in business for almost 16 years, and was only listed for 18 months, so it is a ridiculous proposition that we will cease to operate or go bust by not being public. This unfounded speculation has been propagated by a small number of people, particularly competitors. We can categorically state that the company is solvent and will continue to operate for many years to come.

“It is business as usual for the company. Shareholders now hold shares in an unlisted public company. The same board controls the same management who direct the same staff to service the same clients. We have achieved record trading month on month for both Australia and the UK in recent months. Life goes on and gets better for those loyal shareholders who have stuck by us and believe in our business.”

Sharpe said the operational subsidiary licenses of the business services franchise in Australia, the UK and Dubai are forecasting profits this year.

“The Australian operation is growing again and profitable and, based on current activities and trends, will be back to its record breaking best next year,” he said.

“The rollout of EFTPOS is starting to take effect in terms of streamlining client transactions and reducing time costs for Bartercard and members. In addition, the increased interest rates and drought are looking to push the economy into a cash-constrained, barter-friendly economic cycle for at least the next two or three years. As a result, next year is genuinely looking to be huge.”

Sharpe said the sale of the Bartercard franchise Australian headquarters building at Southport, on the Gold Coast with a 10-year leaseback for approximately 80 per cent of the space in the building has freed up $1 million per year in cash flow capital repayments.

”The sale and lease back provides all the capital we need to achieve our goals and continue to drive growth and profitability.”