Member Info for Fevertreeman

with strong decisions around insulating the business from the external environment:
1. Paying down debt early & putting in interest rate hedges
2. Energy hedges in place also a wise move: 75% of energy volumes hedged thro' 2023 to 2024; current year is 95%
Market sentiment dreadful but this will be in a very strong position when the clouds finally part, and at this level, it must be a tempting target for private equity....

raising cash at 80p would have been predicated on some positive conversations with the institutions. AN really needs to start delivering and he can start by getting the chairman to actively refresh the board. All talk of bids from Abbot at high falutin figures is just that, talk. I've been in the game long enough to know that this sector moves at its own sedate pace. Only way AN can force things along is by consistent delivery, proper commercial newsflow, and greater humility. He needs s/o with much stronger big company credentials to sit alongside him on this part of the journey.

October 2021 -Newly minted CEO leaves
January 2022 - strategic review announced
April 2022 - Interims comment on strategic review:."This work has progressed well with an assessment of internal and external market information nearing completion. The Board will provide an update during the second half of the financial year."
5 August: Executive chairman appoints himself as CEO....
30 August...Year end (or is it tomorrow)...still no bloody announcement

Conclusion: the company is a mess, the management of shareholder expectation is a shambles, whatever comes out after 8 months of review is likely going to be a massive disappointment

AN has pulled off a great coup with the FDA approval and is adamant that he and his team can develop this business via multiple revenue streams into something much, much bigger.....however as those of us who have worked and advised listed SMEs for decades and, in my case, worked in the sector, the concerns from investors and around the boardroom table are always the same.....this is what I wrote a few weeks ago....

".the question is there the management bench strength and depth to deliver and negotiate appropriate and importantly, timely, deals. From my perspective of having been on the exco of a Nasdaq listed biotech I know how tough and lengthy those negotiations are and I also know that as analysts the first thing they did would correlate cash burn to corporate story....companies always overestimated how long the cash would last and underestimated how long licensing deals etc would take to sign. I fear AN could be in same boat. The cash raise was unexpected and I think that is because of foot dragging by potential partners (twas ever thus), hence the sudden volte face.

The BoD is woefully ill-equipped for the next stage of development. Their credentials just don't stack up, and with the NEDs on £25k per annum there is little incentive to make any effort, so they have had a fantastic sinecure for far too long albeit not hugely remunerative.....Clear that AN is targeting US, but where is the senior NED expertise to guide him? And why is that an NED who's been on the board since 2018 doesn't own a single share? Total misalignment of interests between the board and its shareholders. This isn't speculation, it is fact, and is a signal that both investors and potential partners follow closely........

"Where's my money" is the constant refrain in Goodfellas from the bloke with the toupee..............well Harry2 wheres the money"...you have been promising it for years getting pool fit in Cyprus .............

Wynnstay +c25pc ; NWF +c40pc........

In what parallel universe do you live? Are you a board member of Carrs or the PR, because I cant think of anyone else who would come up with such tripe? I always find it useful to deal with the facts, it tends to anchor the mind....take the last 5 years:
FTSE Allshare in the period despite Covid is unchanged, which in itself is pretty dismal, but our Cumbrian heroes.....
Fact closing price of Carrs on August 11 2017= 143.75
Fact closing price of Carrs on August 10th 2022= 131.25p

So Page elevates himself to CEO (nice earner for him).To take this long on an executive search, and then to announce an internal appointment is scandalous, and I will asking at the AGM how much the headhunters were paid for this sleight of hand. Reasons for the outcome are set out below.....the Board is awful and has sat doing sweet fanny adams as the company's performance and share price has stagnated

- The Board could have saved us oodles of time, effort and money by accepting the fact that no one would join, and just bloody handing the reins to Page much earlier....no CEO worth their salt would sign on the dotted line before the results of the strategic review were known!
- It seems blindingly obvious -as it was when Pelham exited - that the only way forward to break this mini conglomerate up.
- On the question, "Should this company be listed under this management lot?" Answer has to be a resounding 'No!'
_ On the question "Should the Group be broken up so the undoubted energy within the businesses can be released?" The answer is a resounding 'Yes'. The employees no longer deserve to be treated so badly by a useless board. Time for the company to be broken up and sold asap

Oh grow up....I was merely mentioning the fact that they are not bloody infallible you clown. I would more comforted if the company had a properly functioning Board of Directors. Hopefully the lads in Edinburgh can make that happen.

Baillie Gifford has had a marvellous decade as growth was the way to go, and James Anderson recognised that in a falling rates environment these businesses could borrow cheaply etc. Whilst they do have a fantastic track record of investing in this type of business, they are not the messiah , and recently they've been a rather naughty boy....James jumped ship cleverly ahead of the downturn in performance showing impeccable timing....Baillie Gifford’s draw down on its AUM was + 30% to c£240 billion in 1H 2022, which is pretty stunning. They see value here, but its going to be a long haul for us and them.

It isnt odd Carrie, it is downright scandalous that the NEDs remain passengers and not fare -paying ones either (actually getting paid for their incompetence and lethagy).

Not at all.....am absolutely not emotional, that is very bad from an investing perspective as it clouds judgement. Nope, am just suggesting that AN , whose baby this in, and who has invested years of blood sweat and tears, may be in need of some distance....humility by the way is a rare quality among CEOs

Dear God ! Give me strength.....

1. Being a share holder doesn't mean that I have been a on-line commentator
2. My pessimism as you call it is actually realism. I will change my view when the facts change, For along time I was more optimistic but at present, I feel that I need more evidence that the current crew -Board and managment- can successfully run a plc and deliver commercially. Jury I think is still out
3.If you don't see there is a risk of a cents on the dollar t/over then you haven't been operating in public markets for 30 years. There is ALWAYS the risk that a t/over happens when things aren't going well for a business, as much as if it is...there may well be a queue but it depends at what stage in the business cycle the company happens to be

1. Being a share holder doesn't mean that I have been a on-line commentator
2. My pessimism as you call it is actually realism. I will change my view when the facts change, For along time I was more optimistic but at present, I feel that I need more evidence that the current crew -Board and managment- can successfully run a plc and deliver commercially. Jury I think is still out
3.If you don't see there is a risk of a cents on the dollar t/over then you haven't been operating in public markets for 30 years. There is ALWAYS the risk that a t/over happens when things aren't going well for a business, as much as if it is...there may well be a queue but it depends at what stage in the business cycle the company happens to be

I really hope you are right. I think what is needed (and will be needed) is for AN to show some humility (little evidence so far) and accept that (1) this is completely new commercial territory for him and the company and that he doesnt have the all the answers (2) the skill sets needed are completely different from when it was a concept R&D business and the company needs to recruit (3) have a serious conversation with the BOD about the pressing need for refreshment

Well that assumes that management here is capable of maintaining some commercial momentum. Equally if the commercial momentum stalls or goes into reverse, then rather than a t/o premium , it could end up being taken out at cents on the dollar.....a cautionary tale of how founder/ceo can stymie perfectly acceptable t/o terms by living in a bubble of what they think the business is worth. About 20 years ago I was involved in a US listed biotech business with excellent tech, but with a funder /ceo who thought he was sitting on a goldmine and a business that would make a billionaire. The sp however was gradually started to slip away over a 12 -18 month period as quarterly earnings were met by cutting licensing deals at bad prices in order to meet next q earnings. Eventually that sort of thing catches up with you....however as yet it hadnt, and out of the blue the co was approached quietly with a proposal for a shares +cash alternative agreed offer (c60pc premium to prevailing sp) from a large European player. CEO was advised to take the deal by the Board and advisers - he refused to play ball, saying that the offer was ludicrously undervaluing the group. The proposer walked away, and 2 years later bought it a huge discount to the then crucified sp. Next ignore the role that ego and hubris play in these types of small caps, so any t/o could easily be a premium or discount

1. I have been invested here for c10 years
2. AN is a university contemporary so I have followed him for even longer
3. We have had AN-mishaps along the way, and each time I thought he'd learned his lesson he hadn't - The doleful comments about PI investors was crass, as was the 'we dont need to raise any cash' comments, previously issued
4. I am of course aware of the 'multiple revs stream' and the clinical labs....the question is there the management bench strength and depth to deliver and negotiate appropriate and imprtantly, timely, deals. From my perspective of having been on the exco of a Nasdaq listed biotech I know how tough and lengthy those negotiations are and I also know that as analysts the first thing they did would be correlate cash burn to corporate story....companies always overestimated how long the cash would last and underestimated how long licensing deals etc would take to sign. I fear AN could be in same boat. The cash raise was unexpected and I think that is because of foot dragging by potential partners (twas ever thus), hence the sudden volte face.

The BoD is woefully ill-equipped for next stage of development. THeir credentials just don't stack up, and on £25k per annum there is little incentive to make any effort, so they have had a fantastic sinecure for far too long albeit not hugely remunerative.....Clear that AN is targeting US, but where is the senior NED expertise to guide him? And why is that an NED since 2018 doesn't own a single share? Total misalignment of interests between the board and its shareholders. This isnt speculation, it is fact, and is a signal that both investors and potential partners follow closely.

Parsortix is clearly a fantastic breakthrough and I salute AN's perserverance, but, and it is a big but without the ability to execute again and again and again, and proper operational management depth, this feels very commercially fragile....hence my concerns

I think that is a tad unfair.....many of the folk on here have been invested for a long time in Angle. The problem is that as time has marched on, Newlands has started to believe he can walk on water, and a supine board has not reined him in. Frankly his talking about developing a multi billion pound business on the back of his team in GUildford is Walter Mitty stuff. If BTG with infinitely greater capital markets coverage, financial nous, business heritage, product portfolio, and management depth couldnt make it, forget Newlands ever appearing on the front page of the FT or Forbes Magazine.

The Dads Army of NEDs is an embarrassment: there is no way that their tenures should have been as long as this; their skin in the game is negligible, they have not looked after shareholders interests after AN said there was no need for another fund raise, they are placemen for AN and bring nothing to the table.

AN has been implying that they have been prepping for FDA clearance for years, and guess what now they have it, what are the plans? AN's interview was so full of fluff, and Walter Mitty navel-gazing, I was genuinely shocked as what I expected was a clear-eyed, realistic commercial vision of the future, recognising the need for collaboration and large pocket big med tech support, rather than the self serving stream of consciousness he served up about changing the world ....If the advisers cannot force through serious management and board changes I am afraid this is doomed

The quality of this Board of Directors is simply awful, as anyone who knows the sector in the US would recognise. Not only is AN out of his depth but the B0ard is woefully short of up-to-dat4 commercial expertise and knowledge of the US market.
THE NEDs have been there far too long (way beyond what is best practice) but that has suited AN because effectively he calls the shots. The fact that not a singel one of them has dipped into their pockets at the fund raising is uttelry scandalous. Newlands will drive this into the ground (seen this many times before here and on NASDAQ) without some serious heavyweight upgrading of the Board, and some sober analysis of how to commercialise the technology.

Merely having another £20m in the bank doesnt cut it, as AN can get through that very quickly, and labor inflation makes hiring esp in the US very very expensive. I now think back to when the American clinical expert resigned and think he could see that under AN the company faced serious issues. AN does not listen to advice and that is a major failing

p.s If you want to see a groundbreaking company that knows what it is doing check out Surface Transforms - not for the tech which is great - but for the way they have managed their comms, strengthened the Board, and been properly led by a strong chairman invested in the business emotionally and financially.