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At this stage it's difficult to see how the administrators could NOT take action, given the dodgy conduct and transactions and the missing millions. It's early days in the administration, let's see how it pans out. They'll have a good idea already what Cochran's about, and won't want to leave overt poor conduct and worse unchallenged. It could come back and bite them, particularly if Cochran does reinvent himself and does the same again. FRP won't want a headline like this in a couple of years time: "Cochran jailed. FRP Advisory failed to spot fraud in previous venture".
Massey and Allen are both IPs regulated by the IPA (Insolvency Practitioners Association). That's another port of call for shareholders should they fail in their duties.
The good news is that the Investigations section still refers to the possibility of antecedent/voidable transactions, and investigations of directors' conduct.
Well done and thanks to all shareholders who've engaged with the administrators re HALO/Cochran's conduct in recent years, and provided them with information and voiced their concerns. The administrators should have a lot to ponder by now.
FRP would be well advised to investigate thoroughly. The evidence of wrongdoing is compelling. If FRP don't, then they're going to look pretty stupid at best, and probably professionally negligent, when Cochran reincarnates down the line and screws up his next venture too...
"I can only hope karma comes round and something very unpleasant is on its way to him. (AC) "
...Ditto !!
Dutch TTF now €247 per MWh, purchase or our gas assets must be deal of the century. We were producing about 4000MWh per day, so close to €1m PER DAY !!
Yes, Andrew Cochran is a crook.
Here is a collection of some of the more prescient posts over the years - well done to those!
14 April ‘21; Easyinvestor
On this one investors taken for mugs and treated with contempt. Our only hope is to take HNL cochran to task at a hopefully in person AGM this year and get firm date for relist whether market conditions are good, bad, or just plain ugly no excuses
20 Feb ‘21; MTSparky
I guess it comes down to the integrity of Andrew Cochran in the end.
3 Feb ‘21; BBaggins
Why cant they just say 'we're not relisting and we're keeping all your money' ?
2 Feb ‘21; Tarquoid
6p looks good now eh?
26 Sept ‘20; Luckylurker
just checking in & nothing has changed good to see Cochran still stringing the usual lot along! See you next year !
June ‘20; RobNic
Investors have a nice warm feeling that we have paid the salaries etc for Cochrane and his cronies. People need to wake up and realise they have no intention to re-list, and never had. My prediction is they will either drain the company down or sell, with a sale structure that gives very little of the sale proceeds to the investors...
The AIM regulators and the Administrators have not covered themselves in glory. They have done nothing for us. I would not invest in AIM again having seen how this debacle has turned out.
Ghost - thanks for all your efforts and commentary over the years. You tried hard to get Cochran bought to account, but many of the larger shareholders didn’t want to join. You at least can say “I told you so”, but that is not much consolation… Not blaming them, understandable that they wanted to give Cochran a chance to communicate and be a competent & honourable CEO/Chairman – which he abjectly failed to do. He is a disgrace, a conman.
Nothing for the shareholders then?
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03793723/filing-history
Yes this needs an investigative journalist on the case.
Agree that is a likely outcome. Amazed that the press aren't picking this up as a clear example as to how AIM is fundamentally flawed, as it shows a crook can deliberately getting his company de-listed so he is then free to run it into the ground, whilst sucking it dry, with no thought to shareholders. You would think this kind of debacle would cause some kind material negative change to the perceived risk of investing in AIM, and so the powers above would want to at least give the appearance of wanting to penalise fraudsters who damage the perception of AIM stocks, especially when they aren't even British...
PROPOSAL
We believe & propose that all PIs should get absolutely nothing and the individual(s) involved in destroying the Company and cheating the PIs out of their investment get all existing assets left in the Company to start again or sell to the highest
bidder.
This should not hinder the Company directors from being able to operate in the UK markets in the future and
pull off the same scam again with unsuspecting PIs.
There concludes the rip-off
Thank you
Schooner and shortly apply for the licences Neptune didn’t take up in 32 round.
CCS - imho OGA would be reluctant to award a CCS licence to AC now
For what it's worth, only Valand and Small have their correspondence address at FRP, the other two still have Bath
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03793723/officers
jscriven,
Yes, would recommend you send in your concerns to the Administrators. I think the additional point raised/implied in posts by Glenmorangie/Olderandwiser is also likely correct, ie that Cochran has deliberately pushed HALO into Administration for his own gain. That point / suspicion is also worth pursuing with the Administrators.
The concern is that the game Cochran has played here is basically this -
- Cochran lent some money to HALO in 2016 (see 2017 Annual Report on pages 44 (section 9 - Group Restructuring) and 60 - Section 27; the latter mentions that in 2016 Cochran funded Vermeer GBP 46,257 for "working capital needs".) I am unclear whether that is the extend of him acting as a creditor. I believe he will try to add to the list of things he is a creditor for.
- Since de-listing (which he may have engineered deliberately) he has worked (with PR company Camarco in cahoots, facilitating the effort) to keep shareholders in the dark while he has kept drawing his salary (and Camarco's fees being paid) - worth over one million GBP to Cochran since delisting.
- Cochran has driven the company into the ground (not clear if that is incompetence or negligence, or both) and at some point he realised that the value of his 8.6% equity was worth less than recovering his loan (and his continued salary)
- Possibly with pressure from the other main investors (speculation), he agreed to put the company into Administration once he felt he had drawn out getting his salary for as long as possible, to at least get back his loan (with whatever terms that came with, ie interest?), likely leaving Shareholders with nothing once creditors are paid in full...
- So basically he has denied Shareholders the right to recover their investment in favour of him drawing down a salary - and recover his personal loan - without obviously informing or asking the Shareholders what they think about that.
You may also consider asking the Administrators direct questions, in the hope that they have a professional duty to respond, eg "Did Cochran himself instigate Administration proceedings, or was it the other Directors?" or "Is there evidence that the Viaro deal was authorised properly within the Company?" or whatever one thinks is a clear, specific question that it would be good to ask.
can we freeze the assets , just a thought .
Great.!!! I have been keeping up to date with the "chat" over the years and am disappointed that it now appears I have lost the money I invested. Not a fortune, but more £££ than I am happy to throw away. I have a copy of the template email posted on here around Christmas time, is is worth me sending this to the Administrators...? Any help / guidance would be useful.
Thanks,
Yip that's the response I got.
The bit I don't like is 'A confidential report is submitted to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in this regard'.
Does this mean that we do not get the chance to examine their findings ?
I got the same standard response.
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the Company.
Please be advised the Joint Administrators have a statutory duty to maximise the Company’s assets for the benefits of its creditors and investigate the management and affairs of the Company preceding the Joint Administrators’ appointment. A confidential report is submitted to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in this regard.
If you have any detailed information that may assisted the Administrators with their investigations please do send this across.
Sent my email to administrator for good it will do. Would be be advantageous for small pi like ourselves to have a either and teams or in person meeting hammer out feasibility of any possible legal proceedings given total lack of transparency from HALO
If HALO's insolvent the administrator/liquidator can and should investigate AC, and take proceedings against him if appropriate. Can't believe it's come to this :(
A movie should be made
AC is a coward and a liar...
He has been fraudulent with investors..
His name should be dragged through the media so he cannot do it again..
Antofelli ,we had money in the bank but he didn't bring us back when he should.
We could have all made our money back and more if he brought us back after 12/18 months