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Hi Friedman, I dont think I or anyone else heard that they are going to market SweetBiotix themselves. What I heard was that OPTI are not a marketing company and they would sell through partners. On pricing its an open debate but I dont think you will find many business people looking to sell a premium product at a commodity price as it devalues the proposition. These discussions are interesting but the main takeaway for me is that investors have seen and tasted SweetBiotix and all reported its a clean sweet product slightly sweeter than sugar. Lets reflect on what has been achieved and look forward to a future launch and with it a rerating of the SP.

I cant see any evidence of prebooked sells or a a long term seller on Level2 and when I asked my broker he said he cant see it either. Can you let me know how you can see this.

HI Direcon, AN has raised around £300m+ with £150m+ in their recent IPO. Its a manufacturing and marketing group not a science and development group and has no unique ingredients or products. They do what they do really well but its not comparable to a company creating new ingredients.

Some good discussion points here. Just to pick up a few and give my understanding. OptiBiotix is not a marketing company, they work through partners who do the sales and marketing. I noted the point made about the changing weight management market due to the disruption caused by the GLP1 drugs changing the type of company succeeding in this area (alternative GLP1 products gaining success and traditional weight management companies struggling) and was pleased to see how SlimBiome fits into this new post GLP1 market. I wouldn't confuse the company value with the market cap as everyone knows all the junior markets are struggling with valuations (unless AI or oil). OPTI wasnt worth 130p 8 years ago and is now worth more than the £6m market cap. If they spun out SweetBiotix I suspect the would get a valuation of £8-10m alone. I suspect most people there last night were hard core investors who may top up a little but they need to share this progress more widely to get this moving back up to 20p+.

Hi Friedman, You did mis hear. SOH didnt say it wasnt a sugar replacement. He said he didnt see it being used widely in baking as a sugar replacement as sugar in baking provides other elements like structure and texture. He was clear that it was a sugar replacement and that is what the slide showed - the first application is a table top sugar replacement and then applications in confectionary, dairy, beverages etc.

This looked and tasted better than I ever imagined and as shareholders we have been part of developing something that is so unique no-one else has achieved it, despite far more resources than the team of 7 at OPTI. Lets recognise that developing a new ingredient and the holy grail - a sweet healthy fibre - is a major moment in OPTI's, and probably the food industries history. As this becomes more widely known and products start being used in the market I can see the value of this Company being 10-20X what it is now. Lets enjoy the journey.

Hi,

Not sure I understand your logic Fried.

1. I cant see how you can describe it as a buyers market when the shares have been suspended pending an investigation which has been going on since the middle of February. It takes 3 months for a full external audit so there is some risk here.

2. I have reviewed all the RNS's and reports and cant see any comment saying that OPTI wouldnt sell SBTX shares. In fact to the contrary. The strategy to sell £7m of SBTX shares after buying for £650K is in virtually every annual report.

3. I cant see how you can link this to SweetBiotix. I suspect no existing shareholder would want OPTI to raise funds at the current SP. If you follow the market you will see it is very hard to raise funds (unless mining/oil etc) and discounts average 26% - with warrants. Selling SBTX has meant OPTI has not had the same shareholder dilution as SBTX or PBX

4. Finally, I am totally dumbfounded by you saying this si a great sign for SBTX holders. in a share that is suspended with an ongoing enquiry since mid Feb and it looks like another 2-4 weeks before we see anything.

I am a SBTX shareholder and I hope I am wrong but like others have mentioned this is looking very difficult for SBTX shareholders. Lest hope of betetr times ahead.

Sounds like a sensible move as OPTI has a broader base and is more international with its market cap about the same as the combined value of PBX and SBTX.

Hi, This is a NHS study and will have routinely gone through assessment of the number of participants required to show a statistical difference to get approval and funding. This looks a really exciting study at the leading edge of NHS research into improving NHS outcomes and cost savings. Nice to see. As the RNS suggests it may open up another revenue stream which could be substantial if WellBiome shows an effect.

Hi, I suspect the NOMAD has been behind the over use of currently as they like to qualify every statement.

Hi, The value of OPTIs assets (PBX and SBTX) are around £8.4m whilst its market cap is around £7.5m. I would expect both SBTX and PBX to increase in value this year as they are close to profitability. PBX looks incredibly cheap compared to M&A deals in this market which are typically 10-20X sales. With sales just reported on £2.7m that would give a valuation of £27m plus at the lowest multiple. It looks from Opti Q&A responses that Amazon and China ecommerce will soon be profitable so with the big increase in sales in Asia would expect a big change in OPTi valuation this year if it shows strong progress towards profitability. A launch of SweetBiotix would also be a big multiplier in SP.

This fits nicely into the growing interest in gut health and its impact on overall health - just the areas OPTI are in. Could be good timing.

The issue you have on AIM is that with the new MAR regulations from a few years ago there are now very few research reports and very few investment journalists writing in the Times/Mail etc. TW and Elric have filled this gap with less knowledge and expertise and with TW personal vendettas. AIM has recognised this in their recent report to the FCA - extract below

3. Bulletin Board Challenges

AIM’s strength over the years has been that it attracts a range of investors. However, we recognise

the regulatory and commercial challenges for companies to attract sufficient research coverage and

ensure that the research that is written is distributed to the widest audience of current and potential

investors. We have contributed to the Investment Research Review led by Rachel Kent and support

her findings and the subsequent work the FCA has done to make it easier for institutions to pay for

equity research. We also recognise that whilst progress continues to be made in this area, many

investors, particularly individuals can find it difficult to access high quality research on smaller

companies. In some cases, this can lead to a vacuum which is filled by bulletin board users.

Many bulletin board users act responsibly and in compliance with UK law. However, respondents

have noted the challenge for AIM from bulletin board users who target a company, its directors and/or

nominated advisers in a manner that is inappropriate and/or seek to influence the share price.

We have been discussing with the FCA our concerns in respect of the conduct of certain platforms,

social media influencers and bulletin board users and have highlighted potential cases that give rise

to concerns of market abuse. We would encourage companies, market practitioners and bulletin

board users who have reasonable cause for concern of this type of

behaviour to report matters to Contact us | FCA. The FCA has

confirmed that posting information which gives, or is likely to give, a

false or misleading impression about an issuer - where the person

knew or should have known this would be the case - may constitute

a breach of UK MAR. This applies to both positive and negative

statements. In addition, the FCA has confirmed to us that while a

genuine, reasoned opinion is unlikely to breach UK MAR, an opinion

expressed in a way that misrepresents facts or is intended to create

a misleading impression can still amount to market abuse.

We also note the conduct of some of these bulletin board users gives rise to concerns from companies

that they are being subjected to unacceptable public abuse that would be unlikely to arise in private

markets, and the feedback is that this is a disincentive for companies and individual directors to join

AIM. We consider it is unacceptable for AIM companies and directors to be exposed to such pressure,

and the Exchange will make detailed referrals of any incidents we identify to relevant enforcement

agencies,

Hi,

I dont think I have ever seen an 'official statement' from the Company saying they have never spoken to TW or Elric. I have seen periods when they have said they have not spoken to TW and/or Elric over specific comments. I think the company has gone very broad too quickly for its size (I think 7 people) building sales teams and partnerships in multiple countries around the world and having first and second generation products. This dilutes focus on one area and means funds are spent on building partnerships and health claims from studies on first generation products and research and development of second generation products which are very expensive. On the up side the investment in these ares should now be complete and they should be able to reduce costs whilst building sales. if they can launch SweetBiotix this year and/or the other second generation product there should be a big upside.

letitrun has written the most sensible blog i have seen on this bb for many months. sbtx have diversified their portfolio and risk, increased sales, and are now close to profitability. the governance issues are a typical tw modus operandi to destabilise a share price. just look at his 'cut and paste' ************* blogs. the same noise with his cut and paste 'gotchas' and personal attacks on ceos and boards with the name changed. this is from a guy who failed as a fund manager and couldnt even run a pizza business and now runs a gossip column.

Hi Jansy, I thought there sales increased 102% and margin from 40% to 54%. I dont like the soup either but love the bars and gummies.

This is a very informed post. Thank you as it helps me understand. Just to share some work I did . As a numbers man I looked at how much money they raised on the market by going through all the RNS's (sad but true) and found they have raised £10.4m. However, they have given £10.3m back to shareholders through a dividend in ProBiotix, have sold over £6m shares in SBTX (from a £650k stake), and still have £9m of assets on their balance sheet. This to me looks as if they are building a business using their investments in PBX and SBTX to give an early return to shareholders (PBX dividend) and fund development of the second generation using SBTX shares - without going back to the market and raising funds and diluting shareholders. If the second gen work out this will be seen as a brilliant strategy and not the usual annual fundraise we see on AIM from lifestyle companies. Fingers crossed and hope I am not over analysing this.

Hi, Not sure your post reflects the facts or reality. It sounds like your information comes from the BB's and not from reliable sources. The interims report show they have reduced the number of NEDs to the minimum (2), removed the PR Company and broker, and only have 7 people in the team covering multiple territories and products. The RNS shows they are spending money on overcoming the manufacturing challenges with SweetBiotix and not just on SlimBiome. I have never seen a 'promise' of a future dividend reported and whilst PBX is illiquid if you take time to gather facts and type into google 'Probiotics mergers and acquisitions' you will see this is an area of high activity - at 10-20X revenue. Lets not repeat Tom Winnifriths gossip and base our blogs on the facts.

Hi, Mogrosides (from Monkfruit) and Stevia (from the Stevia leaf), sucrose and FOS are not artificial so this would be a natural sweetener with nutritional (as its a fibre) and health benefits - something which currently doesn't exist. This sounds like a turning point.

This makes a lot of sense and if the case is unique with massive potential. Thanks for your insight.

What a strange post suggesting TW as someone who has never built a business, has a record of failure and was implicated by KPMG in missing money (£100k) as a CEO and Chairman. This is when the Company is showing a record growth in sales (100+%), increasing margin, and is launching products in new territories.