Member Info for Serif

Hi Copperpot, link is not active on my iPad either, but entering the meeting ID into the app takes you straight to the meeting.

Good steps on comms imo. Much better website, uptodate presentation and now an open investor call. Looks like a thorough new start and showing more active interest in their current and potential investors. Thumbs up for this.

Not expecting new info on the call but a chance to clarify and elaborate. Hopefully they will cover whether the new role for CP is largely in support of the North African opportunities or if they are actively looking to add a fourth area of interest to their portfolio. Would be good to have a recording of this call put on the website for those of us who can’t make the call live or want to listen back more carefully.

@Anthony - great summary!

I may be slow on the uptake here, but I have just noticed a new and much more comprehensive presentation has appeared on the UPL website. A positive step and looks a lot better than what went before. Worth a read.

You could be right Tac, but there is nothing any of us can do about it until something emerges, so I’ve decided to check in a bit less at present for my own sanity! I notice that both edr and Eog are pretty dead at present and I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t both strapped for cash and sitting fingers crossed waiting for Wressle. So can’t see anything happening until then (end Oct?) unless ujo splash their new cash!

Perhaps slightly more positive I noticed that the Minister at DCCAE had started to sign off approvals for survey work, although so far this seems to be limited to decommissioning and repair work.

Hi Amnesic, your right someone somewhere will moan whatever you do - but companies only really have to ask themselves - do we think our shareholders are clear about our direction and what to be excited about to want to stay engaged/get more invested. Your third paragraph is very clear about the direction, but I can’t recall where I have seen this put so clearly in recent company communications. Changing CEO is a significant event and some official confirmation of what this means for company direction is appropriate and something along the lines of what you say would have sat very well in the last rns.
In any case thank you for continuing to post the information you find out elsewhere on to this board. I think this company has some great connections and has the potential to be that “dark horse” - just perhaps no need to be quite so dark!

Many thanks for the detailed update Amnesic. Unfortunately I find Twitter intensely irritating so will regretfully decline your invite!

Personally I am delighted that the company is talking to investors and “keeping them sweet” - so it should be - and as many as possible! II think my frustration is with the lack of communication with the wider base of investors. The company has gone through so much in the past 18 months but the level of official company communications is very slight as others have pointed out and now very out of date. A contributor on the other board raises some great questions about direction and strategy which must be in the mind of any serious investor or potential investor here - so there would be a great opportunity for an interview or such like for the company to reassure existing and excite new investors about where it wants to go and what it’s pursuing (without having to reveal commercial info). I would have thought the twitter groups request for such a conversation might have tipped the company off that shareholders generally need something like this here - especially if it would like to widen the shareholder base.

LoS - looks like a catch 22. If a lot of the experienced shareholders are unhappy about this share’s performance why would they be expecting others to invest more in here to raise the price so that they can then “dump” their holdings?

Not surprised, just frustrated. If you have a good story to tell why not tell your whole shareholder base? How do they think this looks to the wider shareholding - it’s hardly going to increase transparency, trust and confidence in the stories emerging secondhand!

Am picking up from the other board that UPL held some kind of conference to update some investors on progress/prospects. Does anyone here know what was said? Personally think that if they have something to say the company should be making it generally accessible and available to all investors rather than running these private briefings. What about using the more public channels -eg rns, newsletter, interview? We could do with more information/updates here.

What I don’t get is why they wouldn’t wait to appoint the new CEO to ensure a smooth transition and make it all part of their “strategic plan” - esp as CP is staying on as a Director. So am left wondering what drives his removal at this point and suspect there must be something going on in Tunisia (gone silent) or wider Malaysia (something brewing) that has set the timetable?
When CP joined as a a Director it was his MIddleEastern and African experience (not North African as you note) that was highlighted. Not clear why UPL keeps looking to widen its focus when it says there are plenty of opportunities in its current areas of focus. All a bit puzzling. The real mistake seems to have been the judgement to appoint CP as permanent CEO in Jan - so let’s hope the Chairman/interim CEO can compensate by delivering something concrete in the meantime. They do refer to their assets in Southeast Asia in the latest rns - so I would love to know what these are !

Just hoping that the rns phrase “expects to complete this in next 3 months” means that they already have someone lined up for the position. Seems odd timing for the announcement otherwise.

Thanks Amnesic for taking the time to share your thoughts in such detail - informative as always. If it is simply consensus around commercial issues then that can probably move forward very quickly. Will do as you suggest re the recent article you shared - things could get very interesting very quickly around here - which I say with some caution and not wanting to tempt fate after the horribly slow 18 months we have had!

@amnesic - also encouraged that this MOU came out on a Thursday before bank holiday - not the usual time to serve up the main course, so I read it as the enabler to a deal!
The website slide seemed to refer to a Sarawak licence, but this rns suggests we are still waiting for some “consensus” to emerge here. I had thought the path was now cleared with the recent statements, do you have any better understanding of what additional political announcement we are waiting for that would signal full steam ahead here, as it seems we know what we want. If all works out we could shortly find ourselves with additional opps in Sarawak, Brunei and Tunisia.

Looks like a good entry platform to Brunei. See MOU spells out a 60/40 split (don’t recall this detail from Sarawak MoU), so we can set direction. Hoping that this indicates that we already have targets in our sights.

Just seen this has now happened. Out have come references to “MOU in process”, “access to substantial funds”, “Sarawak licence”. The Hardsoft entry has been updated and still very bullish on UPLs ability to fund its strategy. Southeast Asia slide now titled “Malaysia/Sarawak -exploration onshore etc.” Looks like the as yet undelivered elements have been removed, but feel that this has given us insight into what could be released shortly - otherwise why would they appear in the first version? The Malaysia/Sarawak still sounds very specific “onshore exploration”, and Brunei and Sarawak still flagged - so fingers crossed that it’s looking good for positive news.

So bare minimum is a guarantee of £50k by 31 May 2021, with no associated costs or risks. Then the additional payments at each stage if and when a decision is made to explore further with wells.

About 25m shares traded this last week - signs that this share is finally stirring. The SP is beginning to react and with some solid news this could pick up speed. With all the rumblings would hope to see something come out of Sarawak (and possibly Brunei) in next few weeks, an update on Tunisian progress/opportunities and by the end of Sept we will hear from our “large international company” about their interests in our offshore UK licence P2478. At last plenty of potential newsflow to look forward to!

Hi Amnesic, Thanks for your response - yes I can see how that would work. Like you I have a working assumption that a fair proportion of the placing will also be up for quick sale. Companies always seem to be optimistic about the pledges of support they receive! Even so, not too much to work through - a 67mil placing with over 7mil going to the CEO and a sizeable proportion apparently going to "strategic" supporters. At current volumes should push through these before too long - especially if we DO get any news.

Good trading volumes over last few days hopefully eating up placing shares. Anyone have an explanation for the large sells around 0.71 - presumed they were from placing but why would you sell a 0.70 placing at cost? Wondered if the broker might get paid in shares and is cashing these in? Anyone any ideas?