Daily Record Financial News &
Monday, April 6, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 101 • Two Sections
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Jaguars offer new business program
Photo by Max Marbut
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Derek Distenfield, founder of NextGenJustice, said his Jacksonville business is based on a different model than the one in New York.
New state, new start?
Firm that got in trouble in N.Y. opens Downtown By Max Marbut Staff Writer A business that was fined for the unauthorized practice of law by the Supreme Court in Jefferson County, N.Y., has set up shop at 205 N. Laura St. NextGenJustice was doing business under the name Legal Docs by Me when it opened early in 2014 in Watertown and Syracuse, N.Y. Derek Distenfield said he opened the business to provide a service for military personnel, families and small business owners who had simple legal issues but could not afford to pay an attorney. Distenfield’s idea was to provide, for a flat fee, forms and instructions people could use to handle some of their own legal matters. Soon after the business opened, the
local Bar association in New York filed a complaint with the state attorney general, claiming the company was practicing law without a license. After an investigation, a judge signed an order in October prohibiting the company from being paid for the preparation of legal documents and offering legal advice. The order also prevented the company from selecting or providing advice to customers on the use of certain documents and offering opinions on what to include or omit in legal documents, among other prohibitions. Distenfield was ordered to pay a $15,000 civil fine and refund all fees collected from customers. “Whenever you disrupt an industry, there are people who don’t want change,” Distenfield said recently. Based on the action by the New York court, the business model was changed,
he said, as was the name of the company. Distenfield opened offices in Jacksonville and Tampa. When a customer comes into the office, the first step is for the customer to sign an agreement including a disclaimer that NextGenJustice is not a law firm, does not provide attorneys or legal services and cannot and does not provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion or recommendations. The customer pays a fee of $29 to $499, depending on the legal form they select. Forms available include those for prenuptial agreement, uncontested divorce, power of attorney, incorporation, copyright and federal income tax forms. Then, Distenfield said, the customer is handed an iPad connected to smartlegalforms.com.
When the 2014 season was in the books, Jacksonville Jaguars brass sat down to look at how well the team engaged fans over the year. That included reviewing tickets sold, what type and to whom. What Jaguars staff found was a lack of a key demographic. “We underserved the business community,” said Chad Johnson, Jaguars senior vice president of sales. Typically, Johnson said, corporate, business and hospitality account represent a 30 percent share for teams across the league. For the Jaguars, it’s 20 percent. “We told ourselves it’s an opportunity for growth,” said Johnson, “and what can we do about it?” Enter Jaguars Black, a new program to bolster the business offerings the team launched last year as part of its Jags 365 initiative. That three-pronged approach included a corporate offering, which provided networking events, promotion on the team’s website and a trade show at EverBank Field. Jaguars Black takes it up a notch, in what Johnson calls the “first of its kind in sports.” The concept includes year-round hospitality consultants to guide business owners on how to use the team as a business tool. That can include planning out custom game-day experiences for clients the businesses are trying to impress. Johnson said an example could be sending the CEO of a business’s biggest clients to a game with their family, allowing them on the sidelines for pictures, a locker room tour or having a gift dropped off to them in the stands. “We want to make it more than just coming to a game,” said Johnson. “We want to create that ‘wow’ moment.” There will be more opportunities for networking throughout the year at power lunches and events like “chalk talks” with coaches and staff. Jaguars... Continued Page A-10
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APR Energy doubles in price, but analysts leery
By Mark Basch Contributing Writer You probably wouldn’t be able to guess the top performing stock among Jacksonville-based companies in the first quarter, at least before you read the headline. APR Energy PLC is headquartered in Jacksonville, but most of its business is done overseas and its shares trade on the London Stock Exchange. So it’s easy to miss the movements in its stock price. While we were watching other
Public
stocks trading in the U.S., APR, which builds interim power plants on a fast-track basis, doubled in price during the first quarter this year to 380.75 pence. That’s good for investors who bought the stock at the beginning of this year but for longer-term investors, it hasn’t been such a good ride. APR was one of the worst performers among Jacksonville companies in 2014, falling sharply from its highs above 1,000p in late 2013. Despite the increase in the stock this year, analysts have a
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slightly negative overall outlook for the company with two rating it at the equivalent of “sell,” five at the equivalent of “hold” and one at “buy,” according to Thomson Financial. APR in December announced it was suspending operations in Libya and last month, it said the
loss of business in Libya would cause this year’s earnings to be “significantly below current market expectations.” Libya accounted for about 35 percent of APR’s revenue, according to a report by J.P. Morgan analysts. Jefferies & Co. analyst Will Kirkness, who lowered his rating on APR to “underperform” in January, said in a research note after last month’s announcement that he was concerned about the company’s debt-to-earnings ratio. APR may have troubled meet-
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ing certain covenants in its debt agreements, he said. “In our view, an equity raise is required and given reduced underlying earnings and material dilution we stay at underperform,” Kirkness said. However, APR last week announced a new agreement with its bankers that gives it “additional flexibility around certain covenants.” That will allow the company “to continue executing upon its business strategy as it positions for longer-term Basch... Continued Page A-7
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