Monday, 16 November 2009

ALLIED BRANDS SHARES CONTINUE SLIDE AS ASX ACTS AGAINST ILLEGAL ACTIONS BY DIRECTORS

Despite massive open market Allied Brands Ltd share purchases (activity that accounts for most of the activity in the shares on the nominated dates) by Chairman and Director Lachlan McIntosh recently, the share price continues to collapse as word of the critical Baskin Robbins supply problems circulates from the franchisees to the general public.

A company like Korda Mentha is well aware of all the trickery and deceit that goes on by directors desperate to avoid a collapse of their company. Will Korda Mentha have any fiduciary responsibility to the franchisees and share holders when Allied Brands collapses? Korda Mentha partners have been blocked in accessing daily information about Allied Brands Ltd. on their company computers - a firewall that would do the Chinese communists proud! Information still is coming from these disgruntled partners who are witnessing the tarnishing of what was formerly their good name.

This collapse comes on top of court orders exposing more LIES by Allied Brands, which has been systematically withholding important information from the ASX that are leading to court sanctions against the Directors and senior Management.


Monday, 9 November 2009

ALLIED BRANDS TRYING DODGY INVESTMENT COMPANIES FOR BAILOUT CASH - ASX AND ASIC AGAIN INVOLVED

In addition to Elders Corporate and Leadenhall VRG, management at Allied Brands Ltd (ABQ) and executives tied to Korda Mentha have been trolling for money at the most dodgy money lenders in Australia. Desperate to get more operating capital, Allied Brands is now talking to Tricom Futures Services P/L.

Tricom has been the subject of numerous ASX complaints and ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. Recently the ASX Disciplinary Tribunal said of Tricom, "The Appeals Tribunal regards the actions of Tricom Futures as a serious contravention of the Operating Rules". What Tricom has been caught doing is "cooking the books". ABQ could teach them a thing or two about dodgy accounting.

Banned Tricom employee Peter Cameron is rumoured to be in on the scheme to secure more cash for Allied and sources inside claim he has been seen there with management. Cameron has been BANNED by ASIC and the ASX for stock manipulation of penny and illiquid shares, much like the situation at Allied Brands where shares are bid up at the close of the day. It's still being investigated by ASIC if his manipulations have extended to the bizarre trading pattern at Allied Brands Ltd.

And all while this nonsense is going on, executive management are attempting to lease new expensive cars from CARFLEET, already spending the recently-raised cash. CARFLEET is looking askance at the attempted finance of these new, unnecessary vehicles.

A big "hello" to all the blog readers at Korda Mentha. Note that your email is being tapped by your company, so send your tips from home!

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

ALLIED "MEGA DEAL" COLLAPSES, ANNOUNCES INSTEAD JUNK "PURCHASE" OF ANOTHER FAILED COFFEE SHOP CHAIN AND MORE CAPITAL RAISING FOR OPERATIONS

As reported in SMART COMPANY, the "big deal" that Allied Brands claimed was being negotiated has failed to materialise. Insiders report that financiers necessary for this "big deal" rejected the idea after reviewing the poor state of Allied Brands balance sheet, with cash still bleeding to support crashed operations. This has included Elders Corporate, which reportedly rejected the deal earlier in the week.

Instead, Allied Brands purchased the parallel coffee shop/homewares division of Freedom Furniture, Bayswiss. Freedom, a SUCCESSFUL company with a much better offering than Villa & Hut, was so anxious to divest these coffee shops that they GAVE THEM to Allied Brands for NOTHING! This a huge turnaround from 2003, when Freedom Management said that "Bayswiss is number one growth vehicle". From that to giving the stores away to Allied Brands, the franchise garbage collectors of Australia. But for the Allied Brands formula, which is designed to overcharge, squeeze, crush, intimidate, and churn the franchisees instead of servicing them, nuturing them, and growing them, a failed chain of coffee shops is ripe for the plucking. Wait until the Bayswiss franchisees find out how much Allied Brands is planning to "overcharge" them for rebranding their stores. It's called Franchisor Rape, mates. Enjoy it!

So immoral has Allied Brands become that places like the Southport School are now ashamed to be in the company of these directors.

And Allied, embarrassed by the collapse of the "big deal" that they were touting, is now spinning this Freedom Bayswiss deal as a "great thing". It's a great disaster, that's what it is.

Buy one overleveraged, failed concept (Villa & Hut's 26 stores), combine it with another 13 failed stores so burdening Freedom that they GAVE them to Allied Brands so that could get these cash burns off the Freedom books, and announce to the world about your "big score" of 13 more junk operations, sucking cash from the company.

It's vintage Peter Graham bullshit. Staff can't even walk around the offices at the Gold Coast there's so much bullshit in the hallways. This will make the second "big deal" that Allied Brands has failed to close (the first being the insane Wendy's acquisition, which couldn't be funded even with money flying out of the banks).

The final hoot is Shane Radbone's claim that Allied Brands will be the home of "entrepreneurs who don't know how to franchise". IT ALREADY IS HOME TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO FRANCHISE! Baskin Robbins failed operations (over a 15 year period) are testament to this failure!

Baskin Robbins promised 200+ locations in 2004. The number has hovered in the 80's for a dozen years or more, with more stores being lost just these last few weeks. When will Allied Brands learn how to franchise???

As always, victims are the franchisees for the Freedom/Bayswiss locations who will be told that they are "required" to rebrand and accept massive pricing increases from Allied Brands. The same immoral strategy that Radbone is now calling the "Franchise Services Division". The only service is to the pockets of select Allied Brands management, with the franchisees left to rot.


Thursday, 29 October 2009

ALLIED BRANDS FAILS TO PROVIDE "FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH" TO BASKIN ROBBINS FRANCHISEES -NOW FIVE MONTHS!

Baskin Robbins franchisees have written to confirm that Allied Brands, despite contractual obligations to franchisees and Baskin Robbins USA, have failed to provide the FLAVOR OF THE MONTH FOR FIVE MONTHS ! ! !

The FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH is the key to being different in the market for Baskin Robbins franchisees, and a programme going back SIXTY YEARS.


While Allied Brands staff including Trent and Daniele were telling furphys to angry franchisees about the missing flavours the first couple months, they have now stopped, knowing how damaged front-line management is when they continually LIE to the franchisees. As a result franchisees inquiries on this subject are just ignored by everyone from Peter Graham to Lachlan McIntosh.

Both of these directors know how to embellish the truth as well, as the LAST ANNUAL REPORT can confirm.

This flavour shortage, now compounded with reports of only 20 flavours available to the franchisees as summer arrives, has angered franchisees across the country and forced two NSW franchisees out! 31 Flavours is only a dream.

Allied Brands is now trying to scrape up cash by pretending to buy another distressed franchise system. Elders Financial, originally said to be ready to provide this cash injection, is now rumoured to have run away from what their financial analysts could see revealed as flushing money down the dunny.

PETER GRAHAM - WHERE IS THE FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH WE DON'T GET ANYMORE?


Tuesday, 27 October 2009

TRADING HALT NOW BECOMES ASX SUSPENSION FROM QUOTATION - DUE DILIGENCE REVEALING MASSIVE PROBLEMS TO NEW SUCKER-INVESTORS!

ALLIED BRANDS LTD. on Monday asked for a "trading halt" pending an announcement on an acquisition - the announcement to be made by open of trading this morning.

Little surprise to those inside the company that this was another LIE by the company, and now the ASX has suspended quotation in the shares. The company says they need "more time".

Over 2800 "hits" on this website since Sunday night indicates that the corrupt actions of this company and parent Dunkin Brands are getting widespread coverage and making it all but impossible for ABQ to continue the pyramid-type actions they have been engaged in. The widespread flight by Baskin Robbins and Cookie Man franchisees, as well as the continued CASH BURN by ABQ (with huge bonuses being paid to non-performing management) is now seriously being investigated.

The ASX already has several concurrent investigations underway, as does the ASIC.

The biggest question - why was so much cash needed a few months ago to buy an all-but-bankrupt "Villa & Hut"? Where did all the cash REALLY go? And when is the company going to disclose the full nature of legal actions against Peter Graham & David Graham, for which the Allied Brands has massive liability?

More lies by Allied Brands, - is anyone surprised?



Monday, 26 October 2009

ALLIED BRANDS CALLS TRADING HALT FOR "NEW ACQUISITION"

ALLIED BRANDS (ABQ) has asked the ASX for a trading halt while it can work out details of a proposed acquisition.

Details of the acquisition strategy and their use of Korda Mentha can be found here:


Wonder if they've spoken to the ripped-off ex-owners of "Awesome Water".

Had an interesting chat with several staff at Leadenhall VRG in Adelaide this arvo. They were very chatty indeed. . .

More soon. ..