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Hang on "" the decline of the share price but poor governance is not one of them imho""

That is complete nonsense. Who was responsible for the share suspension last July when Accounts had not been signed off within the required timescale?

Shishir assured Shareholders and the Market, last October funding was OK , then in January £1m bookbuild is organised.

As a result ! Broker resigned immediately, which indicates they were not consulted.

Against this background, Poor Governance is clearly a significant issue.

Without viewing the Shareholder Agreement, it would take just a simple majority to force the Company going private. The Poddars and "Friends" could pay out ordinary PI's what they considered a "fair" price. There would be no requirement to offer existing PI's shares in the Private Company.

Have seen it before and been caught. An experience I would not wish on anyone.

A Company I am thinking of, some 10 years ago, SWP Group. Directors in concert with one another forced PI's Out then after getting delisted announced the sale of an asset the BOD had kept quiet about, for several million.

PI's were screwed then. Hope the same is not happening here.

The Poddar Family could work in concert with other significant shareholders, and take the company Private, which will leave ordinary PI's high and dry.

Unless the Execs are stupid, they know the growing value of the mineral assets.

Some importa.nt facts to consider

Company produces a mineral that has a massive and growing market given the Global Energy transsition.

Company raised £1m less than 6 weeks ago

As a result Joint Broker resigned ( clearly not consulted regarding Fund raise)

Shares suspended last July due to late Publication of accounts, which Auditor eventually approved with a strong qualifying statement.

Shishir invited Investors to face to face meeting at his LOndon Office.

Amid this mayhem, the SP continues to collapse. The investor(s) who subscribed for new shares in January at 11p must be pig-sick.

Events of the last 6+months can only portray a company in complete dis array due to incompetent management.

We do need a fresh Board who knows what they are doing.

The current lot are like rabbits caught in headlights not knowing which way to go.

Heading towards going Private courtesy Messrs Poddar, or are they incompetent, which I do not believe.

Following the suspension last July due to lateness of producing accounts, could this be a corporate sting?

Planning Departments have become notoriously slow and often persuaded by Local Interest Groups who wish to retain properties as they are. There is well known Pub( not Marstons) close to where I live. The Landlord has been losing money since before Covid and as now decided to Sell until a very vociferous Local Group have engaged with the Local Authority to make the Pub a Heritage asset. If granted ( there is a growing number of Pubs that have achieved such status and are now managed by a Co-operative) Ultimately the issuance of Community Asset status places a huge obstacle for Freeholders to find Willing Buyers.

There are many Historic Pubs ( Coaching Inns) that should and are protected as part of our National Heritage. Unfortuneately by their very nature they are invariably in rural and often remote locations. Change of use of Coaching Inns is not impossible but not easy.

Any concern Carlsberg may have is covered to some degree, by the JV Marstons agreed when selling out the Brewery.

Carlsberg require Marstons to retain at least 50% of the Pubs, number. The base number being the date of the JV.

Marston's hands are shackled as would be a T/O Investor. Carlsberg hold the controlling cards.

Barchid, Public houses tend to come with occupation conditions which can create problems for a Venture Capitalist attempting to get change of use. Many Pubs, not just Marstons, tend to be in relatively isolated locations where change to the Local Housing dynamic meets well informed opposition. There is also another little known issue where a Pub has been approved as a community asset. This makes it virtually impossible to command Purchaser interest.

The simple fact that affects all Hospitality Business, is the change in Social Demand for Ale at Beer-Houses.Many youngsters see much better value in buying a dozen can at Supermarkets.

I stated sometime ago, Marstons needed to re-invent it's Business. It still could but given the debt pile, which continues to be understated here, makes pursuit of new enterprises very difficult.

The oiler is a bit of a puzzle. At least it pays dividends.

Not sure how a Rights could get away given the current SP malaise and Lenders ( Banks) have the company by the B****.

Hospitality generally is suffering from every finacial nightmare, cost of living, staff shortages, increasing wages, younger generation not patronising Pubs as many of us did in their age etc etc.

Maybe Justin is working on some miracle, lets hope so!

Labour have a nasty reputation to raise tax from private enterprises of all types, where potential profits can be seen.

The current lot are bad enough. We will get all the persausive empty words between now and the Election. Remember there is a very large demographic group who will vote for "Joe" who promises benefits to top up their stressed household incomes.

The silence from the BOD is deafening especially when, not so long ago, PI's were bombarded with news reports.

If the BOD are genuinely concerned about the parlous state of the SP, they must come forward and make clear(dispel) the rumours are untrue. This is the one way the market can be reassured, and restore the SP to a appropriate value now the China export of graphite is stopped.

DP you may recall I questioned the unclear cost implications to Delt, back in Mid January. The view seems to relie on moneterisation, which if so needs to be fleshed out and disclosed quickly. The drills are due June/July, so little time to faff about.. If nothing is agreed by the end of March, it is highly likely another express book build will be made as previous. Those of us who remember previous fund raises, know who will get the Lion's share of the enlarged equity.

As I see it Shell is driving the Bus, Delt have little choice but comply, finance and all.

I was happy to see Shell onboard 3 or so years ago, but not happy to see existing SH's investment diluted.

Let's hope the latter suggested fund raise does not happen and that some form of moneterisation happens that preserves existing Investors value.

Yet again the BOD shows the disdainful attitude they have towards Ordinary PI's

Have I missed something? Mention of various scenarios and costs associated with each development.

Can anyone see the projected costs each scenario will be apportioned DELT?

The company has a product of the age which could become the new gold. The problem is TGR has a Dynastic management not fit for purpose, which will be difficult if not impossible to replace.

....even the SP is static, which considering what is happening in Mid East is very strange.

It's code!!!

The NAV is a combination of declared values. Property values are reviewed annually on a 1/3 of the estate on a rolling basis. Many of the fixtures/fittings/machinery is valued at cost with a determined annual write-down. Intangibles are included as an asset ( £32.9m).This is very questionable as it includes Goodwill which is not a number easily valued ( it could be worth nothing , it depends much on what the market considers a true value. Liabilities are well documented and cannot be disputed.

Total Liabilties at yr end amounted to £1814.3m.

Total assets £2454m.

My word "opaque" seems to have been interpreted as " misreported".....Wrong. To further qualify my " opaque" statement, the accounts disclose an Impairment in respect of leases of £4.9m. The Brains estate is 100% Leased. It is therefore reasonable to conclude some of this Impairment relates to Brains, even though not split out, hence "opaque" .

Comment regarding the rationale put out by RF in respect of the PLatinum offer, should be considered alongside events taking place at the time. RF was negotiating the deal with Brains. John Rhys ( Brain's CEO) was under significant pressure from Banks to reduce debt, consequently a deal was hastily arranged. Meanwhile the PLatinum offers were kept in the background. The Platinum offer was reasonable and in the opinion of some here could have been improved. That offer now seems to have been far better than anything likely to materialise now. It should be noted both Ralph Findlay and John Rhys resigned their roles shortly after the agreement with Brains completed.

Within 12months, Brains placed it's Freeholds for sale.

Now examine the prediction of a 70p T/O. A predator will want around a 20% profit on INvestment.

To achieve 70p an asset-stripper will need funds around £2454m ( £1815 to clear debts and £443m to compensate SH's)

Capital Markets currently offer 6+% . It's a no Brainer, a predator can achieve a fair return just leaving money on deposit and no uncertainty with the value of an asset where values are questioned. A predator may be interested given the uncertainties, if value is closer to 40+p.

The External Auditors report requires scrutiny.

They comment on several areas " the valuation of Freehold Land and properties has a high degree of estimation uncertainty"

EOG needs the Taioseach to adopt the same attitude

Lejjb,thanks for the invitation. RNS invariably tend to provide only the good bits. One needs to dig into the small print.

For instance read the JV agreement with Carlsberg, it may open your eyes! Marstons are shackled to Carlsberg. Any potential suitor will do due diligence and discover any purchase of the property estate comes with conditions Carlsberg must agree.

The Brains estate of some 100 pubs are leased on a management agreement over 25 years. The returns on these pubs is a little opaque as incorporated with Marstons Welsh estate. In the prevailing economic climate the value of the Brain's estate is below the value at the beginning of the Lease agreement. It should also be noted, Brains sold the Freeholds of their estate to Song Capital in 2022. Song Capital will look towards extracting best value from the asset. This could involve restructuring of the Management Agreement.

You have commented on the declined offer made by Platinum in 2021. That offer was 107p at the 3 rd time and not put to SH's until completely declined by Ralph Findlay.

""So a high NAV means a business is comfortably solvent and can comfortably cover its debts""

Mmm the SP has been lingering in the low 30's for a very long time. The market must have doubts regarding such a large discount to asset value!!

Suggest the Director's Going Concern, statement is read, it is carefully crafted in a way that leaves doubts in their minds.

The best hope here is Jason Platt who officially begins a rejuvenation of the Company this week, is able to create the Shareholder value we all want/need.

.

"Anyone who has researched this company and its history since 2020 will know why I’m saying that."

Please elaborate?