Member Info for AquaeSulis01

Interview Introduction

Stuart, this interview is to establish whether you are the best person to increase the value of a new Company I wish to invest my hard earned money into.

You have previously provided an application listing your achievements with SBTX where you state you were responsible for the signing of a partnership deal with Croda, launched the first revenue generating product for what was formally a R&D stage Company, Axisbiotix-ps, and further accelerated revenues by acquiring two Companies; Dermatonics and BTS.

I have also been provided with the views on your performance by a couple of referees;

Martin Hunt – Chairman of the Board

Until this year I have been really pleased with Stuart’s performance, he has managed to persuade numerous shareholders since his arrival to invest millions in what was a pre-revenue Company funding a lifestyle for the Board over a period of time that exceeded my expectations. However, having reached retirement age, I have suddenly had to consider the share price and the impact it will have on my 3,892,052 options at 0.9p and so looking at the performance with new eyes, have totally lost faith in Stuart.

Toyin – Long Term Shareholder

******* Man’s a nightmare. 66% down on my investment, forecasts ******* missed every year, expected the share price to reach 52p by end of 2025 instead it’s nearer 5.2p ****** ******* ****

Took the words out my mouth Toyin. The current share price approx represents the value assigned to SBTX by Singer without any Croda recognition. In terms of price movement, the initial resignation (not summary dismissal) RNS on 13th Feb saw the price fall back to 14p with the subsequent 16th Feb RNS which announced the recommended reversal of the royalties and potential misrepresentation led to the fall back to just over 5p at which point the panicked LTH's had sold. The price subsequently recovered to 12p at which point the traders got out and it pulled back to roughly today's price until the potential suspension on 01st Apr was confirmed as the results would not be out on time. Cue pull back to 6p before investors realised nothing had actually changed, the major LTH's were holding and new big hitters adding, at which point the share price unsurprisingly recovered to the pre-20th Mar RNS level.

Of the 20th March RNS had said all of that I would be amazed as well but it didn't. The only new information given was that the shares would be suspended from 01st April whilst the audit was completed. It did refer to the earlier RNS 16th February where it spoke of investigating misrepresentation which is not the same as fraud (Misrepresentation and fraud are not the same. Misrepresentation can be intentional or unintentional, while fraud is a type of misrepresentation that involves intentional deception. Fraud requires proof of intent, knowledge of the falsity, and reliance on the false representation. Misrepresentation can occur without intent, such as through negligence or innocent mistakes. The legal consequences and remedies for each vary, with fraud typically leading to criminal charges and civil damages, while misrepresentation can result in civil remedies like rescission or damages. ). Also, there was no mention of likely further Board Member dismissals as a result of the ongoing investigation, although of course that may follow if major shareholders are dissatisfied with any governance shortcomings revealed.

"What part of theoretically do you struggle the most with?" the lose the lot " bit.

The Company is not being suspended because it is out of cash and not generating revenue, it is because of a delay to the accounts whilst the forensic audit is completed. It will resume trading, probably within 2 or 3 weeks and the true theoretical bit is whether it trades higher or lower once the results of the audit are known , the accounts published and any commentary surrounding the Croda royalties

Seems like zenakine is in exactly the right space

https://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Article/2026/03/31/why-neuro-nutrient-beauty-is-reshaping-formulas-claims-and-wellness/?cx_testId=1&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=0&cx_experienceId=EXZ9TE59UYBO&cx_experienceActionId=showRecommendationsH133JQKXT2476#cxrecs_s

With you on that one Toyin although the royalty figure was even mor e specific than the rounded £0.77M it was actually £769K

Lol FS. More about finding a natural way to improve my sleep duration and feeling more chilled in the process despite the best attempts of the SBTX Board to send my blood pressure through the roof

Zenakine certainly not ignored by Croda

https://www.happi.com/live_from_shows/croda-beauty-creates-smarter-more-sustainable-beauty/

Rebarm, the when will be determined by market demand, however, shychap made a very valid point when he spoke of the attraction of having both a green and naturally product which will appeal to parts of the population that wont touch synthetics etc., others, as now, will purely be focused on the performance without considering the ingredient sources. Also, don't forget matrixyl is not a neurocosmetic and does not deliver results by delivering improved sleep patterns and reducing stress so will appeal to whole new set of Customers who currently do not use any "anti-ageing" products.

I have been lucky enough to try the zenakine night serum produced by Scandia Cosmetics kindly supplied to me by Elric. I shared it with my wife and after 23 days have just used the last of it. It has a pleasant feel and smell and is absorbed without leaving any sticky residue. I am a notoriously bad sleeper, 3 hour unbroken sleep being the norm and for over 2 weeks there was no noticeable difference in my sleep patterns, the last week has seen a marked improvement and a photo taken on day zero compared with day 23 shows visible differences in frown and expression lines.

I am of pensionable age and have never used any anti-ageing product before, but I can assure you because of the positive experience I have had with zenakine I will be a new regular customer as soon as it is readily available

Rebarm,

Why Croda Will Eventually Shift Attention Toward Zenakine™

Margin logic

Matrixyl® is a legendary peptide franchise, but it is also:

• mature,

• widely licensed,

• heavily price competed,

• and no longer margin expansive.

Zenakine™, by contrast, is:

• a proprietary biotech postbiotic,

• with unique neuro stress and sleep linked claims,

• with no direct market equivalent,

• and therefore capable of commanding premium pricing and premium gross margins.

Croda’s own financial targets reinforce this. They are aiming for >20% adjusted operating margins by 2028 and improved returns across Consumer Care. High margin actives are the only way to get there

Also, Croda rarely pushes a new high value active until a major brand has launched with it. Once a prestige or masstige brand goes public with a Zenakine™ product, Croda will immediately:

• add Zenakine™ to hero case studies,

• showcase it in formulation concepts,

• and push it in webinars and regional roadshows.

This is the single most important catalyst.

Rebarm, it doesn't preclude a VIP launching in the interim in which case there will be plenty of narrative to support the launch

Thanks All for your supportive comments, it at least sponsored a healthy debate with I think the consensus being that In-Cosmetics 26 wont be the likely vehicle for a major zenakine push. I believe the avoidance of prominently mentioning the anti-ageing aspects of zenakine has been more to do with not taking the limelight away from the new matrixyl promotion this year and the mention of zenakine as a must in future projects positions it for a centrepiece in 2027.

The 2026 Launch Landscape

Croda’s confirmed 2026 Paris line‑up is unusually dense:

A new Matrixyl® generation, positioned as a major peptide milestone.

A new luxury botanical active with premium facial‑contour claims.

A Heliami™ expansion with six new products and new hair‑performance data.

KeraBio™ K31 and HydroAvena™ HpO as the hair‑repair centrepieces.

A strong push on PEG‑free, multifunctional, climate‑adaptive systems.

This is a full‑spectrum portfolio refresh. In Croda terms, that means the 2026 show is already “spoken for” in terms of hero narratives

Zenakine™ is not part of the 2026 hero set

Croda typically gives each flagship active a clean runway. Matrixyl and the new botanical are the 2026 headliners; adding Zenakine™ would dilute both. Croda avoids that.

The 2026 launches don’t just coexist with Zenakine™ — they actively push its reveal into a cleaner, less crowded cycle. The logic is:

Matrixyl dominates anti‑ageing → Zenakine™ avoids competing for attention.

Luxury botanical dominates premium skincare → Zenakine™ avoids cannibalising the narrative.

KeraBio™ K31 dominates hair repair → Zenakine™ can later anchor a scalp‑biology story.

Heliami™ expansion dominates sensorial botanicals → Zenakine™ can later be positioned as “science‑heavy” rather than “botanical‑storytelling”.

This creates a strategic vacuum in 2027 that Zenakine™ is perfectly shaped to fill.

2026 = Repair, peptides, luxury botanicals, sensorial oils

Zenakine™ would not fit this architecture.

Zenakine™’s inclusion in the “future projects” section is not a throwaway line — it is Croda’s coded way of saying:

“This is important, but not yet. Watch 2027.”

2027 = Likely to be neuro‑wellness, stress biology, emotional beauty

Zenakine™ becomes the natural centrepiece.

2028 = Microbiome + neurobiology convergence

Zenakine™ could be extended into a platform.

In other words:

2026 clears the runway. 2027 is the take‑off window.

No it would cease to be matrixyl but the Mary Kay patent change with the narrative arround sleep related benefits infers that is possibly the direction of travel

Shychap, i don't believe there is a significant green element reason for adding zenakine to it and you are almost certainly correct that the upgrade to matrixyl is nothing to do with zenakine. That said, there would be a performance reason for using matrixyl alongside zenakine. Bit like hybrid cars aren't green plug in versions they do prevent pollution in towns and result in less fossil fuel being burnt. So we might well see end Customer formulators producing premium products containg both matrixyl and zenakine or separate products, a zenakine based serum or night cream in a pack with complimentary matrixyl products say?

Analysing the diagram a bit deeper, lot of redundancy there so probably not the intention to pair with the majority of them.

Likelihood is Croda wants formulators to see Zenakine™ as a standalone circadian hero, a modular add‑on and a narrative anchor rather than a mandatory booster for every active. These two pairings make strategic sense:

ceraMIX‑V + Zenakine™

Barrier repair is strongly linked to circadian rhythm and stress‑induced rhythm disruption affects ceramide synthesis. The pairing creates a “stress‑resilient barrier” story that is easy for brands to adopt.

Possible Matrixyl® 3000 + Zenakine™ product:

Matrixyl® 3000 is Croda’s flagship peptide and It is already widely used in night creams and repair serums. Zenakine™ adds a “restore the skin’s internal clock so repair peptides work in optimal conditions” narrative. This is commercially powerful and easy to sell to existing Matrixyl® customers.

These are strategic anchor pairings, not universal rules. Zenakine can be paired with many actives, but Croda will only showcase pairings that; reinforce the chronobiology story, align with high‑value commercial priorities, avoid regulatory risk and create compelling marketing narratives for brands

Sorry for all the typos using my kindle which is a nightmare

Try again with the ceramic-very link. https://www.crodabeauty.com/en-gb/products/product/5852-zenakine

Www.crodabeauty.com/en-gb/products/product/5852-zenakine

Looking at the diagram at the bottom of this link, I suspect Cross intend to blend zenakine in with every active ingredient listed; ceramix-V already is a https://www.crodabeauty.com/en-gb/trends/neurocosmetics/skin-chronobiology from product.

Regarding your toxicity comment, worth noting Croda's comments about matrixyl and the steps they have taken to make it greener. https://www.crodabeauty.com/en-gb/resources/blog/greener-peptides-for-skin