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Zoggz
I suggest you email info3@ascentresources.co.uk & address to James Parsons or Andrew Dennan directly. They are obliged to answer you if you are a genuine investor.
I have also contacted the Midas financial column at the Mail on Sunday again.
Without generalizing I have worked in a Sales capacity at various organisations & in a couple of cases the guys at the top have been Accountants with MBA qualifications. I found their blinkered attitude to be very frustrating. They only saw the business in terms of bottom line & often several opportunities were missed.
James Parsons & Andrew Dennan do not possess the skills to develop AST or their other businesses. Unfortunately AIM generally encourages this. They are not capable of adding any measurable value - instead the intention is to keep the story going for as long as possible & hopefully feeding off investment to keep the figures churning.
As a result after 2 years at the helm, they have produced no tangible results. It has already been remarked on how the Management structure is top heavy & because they generally regulate this, it is allowed to happen.
As investors, we are kept in the dark as to what is really happening. The most overriding factor which everybody, even the FCA turn a blind eye to is the fact that the business trades with virtually no income while incurring massive running costs.
As I'm now fed up of saying, contributors to this Board need to approach journalists & the company itself to publicise what is really going on not just here, but elsewhere!!
As a few of us have said...it is best to express your feelings to AST or Vigo Consulting directly. Also worth approaching any financial journalists. I myself have done all of this but it needs others to do the same. This company's activity over the last 5 years should be publicised for what it is.
When is shareholder returns going to be given some priority??!!
Retrosec,
Unfortunately I have to agree with you. Putting all of the waffle aside are the usual words of "we expect, - shortly - placing - new shares- Riverfort - continue" when really nothing has progressed.
Still no end to the Slovenia legal case.
I recognise Align Research to be no more than a Marketing outfit - goodness knows what they are getting out of this? They talk about a target share price near 20p!!!! How??
I just want my investment back so I can move on.
Zoggz,
My understanding also - this concerns me greatly but hardly surprising given the history of the company. As investors, the BOD are accountable to us & we are not being kept informed at all. Once again, this is very misleading. Get this Board out & employ an Administrator at one third of a Director's salary!! That is all that is required until the lawyers get back to AST.
Blazini,
I fully agree, all this was outlined in March 2020 and what has changed since??
I filtered Oldblue ages ago but as a recent investor he fails to realise that of AST's existing wells, the pressure was decreasing and required re-stimulation which can't be done. It is probably being witheld from investors but I would think the output from these wells would now be minimal to say the least. The Board reported the increase in gas prices but it is not clear how much is being produced currently. In my opinion, that RNS was put out in the hope of boosting the share price.
So worst case scenario is wells have stopped production, AST have no income and are paying several Board members at huge expense! Goodness knows if anything is happening on the case with Slovenia or the Cuba project - if so, why has nothing been reported.
As per previous request - investors should politely contact either AST directly or Vigo and enquire what is happening to recoup their investment???
I wonder what Align Research have been told and what they must be thinking now???
I recognise that they are very much a marketing company but it is clearly evident that little progress has been made and very little attention has been given to hitting any target dates.
As been said before, nothing will change unless investors voice their concerns to either AST direct or Vigo Consulting.
Meanwhile, money continues to sift away and as investors we have no idea if AST has any income at all!!
No problem,
The main points that I have asked for clarification:
In what capacity are Vigo employed? Do their recognise their role and how it affects investor sentiment and share price performance.
How do Vigo see their role as a PA company and would they be prepared to comment on the general lack of progress and the performance of the share price during their tenure?
Are the AST Director's aware of how investor sentiment is currently and it's influence on the share price.
What is the current situation with appointing legal representation for the Slovenian court case.
Who is overseeing the work being done in Cuba?
What is the role of each specific Director?
Why are members of the BOD working part time and will this situation change?
Are they aware of how disappointed share holders have been with where money has been spent and would they be able to comment on the actions of previous Board Members also (J. Buggenhaagen?.
Are they aware of how disappointed shareholders have been with direct share purchases from Directors and how this is viewed by the market?
What is the aim of an investor presentation bearing in mind the share performance over the last 2-3 years?
Are they prepared to comment on where they feel particular progress has been made by the company over the last 2 years?
Who is responsible for appointing the Board of Directors?
Hopefully that will give fellow investors a snapshot of the questions I would like clarification on. I appreciate that this will probably be passed onto AST directly and they will hide behind confidentiality/disclosure.
As I have stated all along I no longer have faith in this business and feel in my opinion I have been misled. If I can get some of my investment back that would be great. However, I feel that as an investor, I am entitled to know what is going on and this is not happening.
Still no acknowledgement to my email to Vigo Consulting which leads me to suspect that correspondence is being copied to AST. Messages to info3@ascentresources.co.uk have received direct replies from Dennan/Parsons offering a telephone discussion. There seems little point in having dialogue due to confidentiality & to be honest I have no faith in either party.
As investors though we have been failed and this just looks set to continue until funds are required.
All I would say is...
How about employing someone on half the salary who is interested in doing a decent job??? Pay them a bonus also based on results.
Why are AST in my opinion just paying leeches to bleed the company dry? They have no special expertise other than Accountancy qualifications which is hardly rocket science!!
It speaks volumes about the industry as a whole where people make careers doing this & the authorities & journalists do nothing about it??
Someone tell me if I have it wrong - in some countries this would be viewed differently from a legal perspective...
Parsons invests through a SIPP so it is likely that any investment is a punt to save tax (He is an Accountant after all!!)
As suggested I have contacted Vigo Consulting outlining a number of questions that I feel it is reasonable to ask.
As investors this company is failing us in every department and the share price speaks for itself!!
Winniemandala,
They have also selected a solicitor who has still not confirmed taking on the Slovenian case. So no progress there also. AST surely do not require a BOD to administrate this business at present. Would surely be more prudent to save money currently. Just what are these guys doing??
As I've stated previously the only way that any action will be taken is if investors contact both the company & it's relevant partners directly & put forward their questions. As investors they are entitled to do so providing the enquiry is polite. it would also be worth approaching relevant financial journalists. I have done this myself but it is up to others to do so also. In my opinion it is clear that the BOD are earning vast sums & making little progress as well as failing shareholders. I do not see why it is unreasonable to make them accountable. I'm also perplexed why James Parsons has quoted that it is difficult for the Board to influence the share price - begs the question then why hold investor presentations??
I fear the only people who will make any money out of this episode have already done so - them being the BOD. Host an investor presentation, say a few empty statements to keep the story going, continue to take salary while dangling a few snippets of superficial information. Hey Presto - money runs dry & off to the next project!
The share price is a true reflection of what this company is all about. In my opinion the regulators have been turning a blind eye here for years.
It is shameful what investors have been fed for the last 5 years & is reflected in how their investment has performed.!
All my opinion of course...
While I agree, I have very little faith in the current BOD to deliver anything. Progress in every dept has been painfully slow and over the last 12 months they haven't achieved any positive results!!