Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
The legacy of Motif Bio: Arrogance. Incompetence. Greed.
I take responsibility for my own misguided decision in investing here. However the attitude and approach of the company has been truly disdainful of its shareholders, perhaps the worst example of all on the cesspit that is AIM.
GLA, I sincerely hope that others who have also lost heavily here can somehow make it back with better companies than this one, having learned a painful lesson.
Those responsible for this utter disaster had better be looking over their shoulders for karma. This was supposed to be a so called 'retirement maker'. Well, it's had the opposite effect for many...
Says a lot about what an utterly disgraceful 'deal' the RTO was that most investors would rather lose their remaining holdings than allow Motif's blatantly self-serving, inept and callous BoD to further decimate shareholder value in order to line their own pockets even more.
I lost £40640 here, I went all in thinking it was going to be my 'early retirement' fund. Stupid I now know! However, that £41k was only going to be worth around £1k after the RTO anyway...
This was my first ever holding. 5 years I've been on this BB.
I've since learned to invest in companies whose BoDs aren't as arrogant as they are inept, so the loss isn't as catastrophic as it could have been and I will definitely be claiming this absolute mess against any future CGT!
Shame on you Motif. Truly. Shame on Lumsden and Williams and Gold et al! The way they tried to sell this RTO to us, after already overseeing an utter shambles, reminded me of the expression "Don't pee down my back and tell me it's raining!"
A painful lesson indeed. Some PI's lives have been impacted upon badly here, for real.
The way the creditor was called in just before the GM where ICON were looking to have a massive cash injection voted in, smells very fishy to me.
A sly attempt to win up the company (knowing they didn't have the cash to hand yet) and getting the listing or whatever else for a penny in the pound probably. Also wouldn't surprise me if DS's filthy paws were on this somehow too.
However I believe they'd underestimated just how strong the backing is from OTT and EHGOS. Provided ICON have the legal nouse (BT is a lawyer? Good to know!) to sort this out asap, ICON will remove a fair bit of its taint upon relisting.
Shard have a lot to answer for in this situation. OTT made it clear that their attempt to wind up ICON wouldn't just smash shareholders but also the other various creditors.
Like I said, sly tactics by the look of it.
GLA.
Best thing I've read all day. Icon coming out fighting and if they can get this sorted there's no telling where the SP might go amid a mix of hope, hype and recovery!
GLA
Excellent points ettrading.
Suspension is ok, relatively speaking. If it wasn't suspended today the price would've absolutely tanked (gapped down on open of course so us PIs would be left holding the baby as usual).
At least there is a slight chance of the new BoD sorting this mess out and upon relisting ICON would hopefully be a new beast. Either way, seeing the old BoD and even the one before that (wishful thinking I know!) getting in trouble would be a silver lining.
Anyway, nothing we can do now except sit and wait and speculate and hope. It's out of our hands. Was a tainted share for sure. Time to see if the new BoD can back their recent bullish talk.
If there's any legal wrangling involved then this could really drag out. The ultimate hope is that it returns from suspension without facing any harsh financial penalties in the meantime. All the talk of an impending £50m cash injection at least gives hope of them paying a 500k bill to sort this legacy mess out.
GLA!
Definitely not 100% doomed yet. This is my take on the complex situation and you're welcome to correct me if I'm wrong in my assumptions. All we have access to is the RNSs. I've naively been in here since the WDC false dawn a few yrs ago:
Shard want their money back as ICON defaulted on a payment Friday.
ICON are going after DS and the old BoD. When DS was here, ICON lent greencastle (DS's com) £1m, who in turn gave them a juicy contract for the online work by the ex unilad crew. Then the ICON BoD jumped ship to greencastle taking the contract etc with them and keeping the £1m. Greencastle then sued ICON in a ploy to avoid repayment!
ICON are counter-suing greencastle cos they royally screwed us and possibly broke the law in doing so. So administrators coming in may well accelerate legal proceedings there and hopefully the greencastle mob might be sweating it more than ICON over this development.
Also, with all the recent talk of a £50m injection from existing backers EHGOF and acquisition of 'hot space' drone start up Sting, if this is real then there's no way they'll let a 500k debt fold the company and lose their main market listing in a situation the new BoD claim to have been working hard to turn around.
So, if the new BoD and all their talk is true and the administrators are fair, then they should be able to fend off Shard with a repayment plan, while also getting everyone to then redirect their guns at the greencastle mob.
If on the other hand they're all full of it and as bad as each other, then we will be doomed after all, but then it probably would've gone down the pan sooner or later anyway if this is the case.
I've been here since the WDC BoD bled the company dry with their egotistical bluster and lavish spending. Then DS stepped in with his false promises and trojan horse BoD from unilad.
Now the new BoD APPEAR to have been working hard setting up a new company in all but name and had to really pull up trees to get the last set of accounts out, such was the suspicious mess left behind by the greencastle mob. If Brandley et al are true to their word I can see this being sorted but it's unpleasant now for PIs that's for sure.
I was in REDX when Liverpool City Council called in administrators there. They were suspended immediately. It turned out REDX has totally reneged on their loan with the council (who were then being smashed by govt cuts) and didn't even try to repay anything after a big placing. Administrators helped start the process of a company restructuring whereby they were able to clear their debts, bring in a new BoD and since relisting they haven't looked back. So my previous experience of this sort of thing wasn't disastrous but obviously each case is different.
Anyway, sorry to be long winded but it's a muddy situation. What do you all make of this? Happy to be corrected. GL to everyone locked in here, let's see if the new BoD are who they say they are, and if they get through this, ICON sh
EIGHT speeding tickets? It was only up a few % after exciting news flippin eck, wonder if they'd issue that many if it dropped a few %
Anyway fundamentals are getting stronger all the time here. Once that deal is signed and the other stuff they're building up to sorted as per the RNS, we'll be laughing here long term.
GL
A two horse race for the 2.7p investment that will turn the mine into a cash cow. Everything poised now.
Good update IMO. 5p+ over the next couple of years is within our sights...
Well spotted F010, Ross is good. He oversaw a complete turnaround at REDX which was being run into the ground but has since recovered very well indeed. Bodes well and gives a bit more faith when averaging down. Still feel violated by the terms of the RTO for existing PIs though!!!
I thought the same Wf, good shout, could really be onto a winner here. Let's hope so anyway, cos Motif was my largest ever investment, in which I was 90% down at suspension price!
GLA
There must be sthg wrong with my screen. Says the SP is flat? Ludicrous market.
I'd say so. Microcap company with the cutting edge in a multi $bn market...
Agreed, just incredible news. Psoriasis is a HUGE market and I can't imagine anyone suffering from it to not want to take this food supplement.
Approvals should be straightforward. A lot to look forward to here over the coming years. What a great hold this has turned out to be.
Good vibes all round for both shareholders and itchy skin sufferers alike!!!
This is news we've been waiting on for years, and barely a peep here and the SP flat. Stephen could definitely have at least used a bit of hyperbole in his statement today!
Biggest onshore drill for decades but you wouldn't know it from that RNS...
GLA
I'm susprised the company haven't been able to do more with what they have. When you read about the advantages and benefits of Q-Sphera, MidaSolve and MidaCore, am susprised big pharma isn't knocking down their door.
Let's hope they can sort more licesning partners before the need for more funds. Definite potential here especially at this price.
Holding a pharma is a bit like being in prison: nothing ever happens but anything can happen! Crude analogy I know.
GLA.
Indeed: https://www.lse.co.uk/news/IKA/berenberg-initiates-coverage-on-ilika-at-buy-tvyczafh7zag1a3.html
Sell on news brigade strike again.
However another factor is low volume allowing MMs to do what they like with the price. Have seen on numerous occasions how good news like this sees an SP get dragged down cos some big player wants to fill their boots on the cheap.
Not very nice for us PIs but as an LTH I am happy to wait it out while the fundamentals continue to strengthen. It really is a great RNS as it's a serious validation of the tech by a massive company now looking to 'fast-track' it to market. Such situations present an opportunity for a top up IMO. Obviously DYOR anyone checking in here for the first time.
GLA.
Agreed TC, my guess is about 5p with the company keeping a bit for the coffers which makes perfect sense.
Tek gonna be a dividend machine over the next 2-3yrs and in the meantime I expect they'll be looking at picking up more uni-based startup IP for a bargain. Rinse and repeat.
GLA
Hi all,
Just checking in as a few may be nervy after reading the ODX ramp tweet?
We know Avacta has the best test, we know the CE mark is coming, we know AS says the biggest challenge will be meeting demand.
Soon we'll all be talking about manufacturing capacity and not much else. So, personally am just sitting on my hands and ignoring the daily fluctuations in the meantime.
It's coming. Just a matter of when. A couple of weeks doesn't make much difference when we're talking about having the world's leading covid test that will be needed pretty much everywhere for at least the next couple of years. Plus it's ideal at picking up new strains, along with any other particular outbreak (heaven forbid), such is the power of Avacta's diagnostics IP.
GLA.
Judging from the last and previous RNSs on funding, they sound very confident the JV cash injection will progress the pipeline etc enough to get the mine fully operational again.
i.e. "We now look forward to completion of the deal and the receipt of funds, with which we can unlock the value we have from our world-class tantalite mine, as well as accelerating developments in our diamond and HMS operations."
GL