3912 days ago
Two day ago my colleague Ben Turney rightly pointed out that whoever invested £750,000 in perennial dog Verdes (VMP) at 0.75p (giving it a £7 million valuation when the only asset is cash of c£550,000) was insane. So who is this lunatic? I tracked him down and the reality is that he is incredibly switched on… let me explain.
The investor is a new fund The Helium Rising Stars Fund. It is run by a well-regarded “grey hair” David Newton. Newton already manages the Helium Special Situations Fund. It had made 440% in eight years. That is a compound rate of growth of 24% per annum, 1 percentage point better than Warren Buffett.
4161 days ago
Shares in AIM Cesspit listed Verdes Management (VMP) were suspended today at 0.55p because the company had failed to publish its half year report on time. This begs all sorts of questions especially as this company has a track record of putting out statements about its financing which turn out to play fast and loose with, what you and I might term, the truth.
You can read about Verdes and is porky pie RNS statements here
But in light of the latest developments I ask just three questions:
4190 days ago
You kind of thought that cash for questions was just a bit nineteen nineties. that after the expenses scandal the Westminster stable had been cleansed. Wrong! Those greedy mothers in parliament, not content with gunning for inflation busting pay rises are at it again, taking bribes for asking questions. Panorama has exposed not only Patrick Mercer MP but also three Lords for taking cash for asking questions about Fiji on behalf of a bogus lobbying company.
Other MPs lined up to join Mercer's all party Fiji Group, one asking if he could take his wife on the first "fact-finding mission." Mercer described most of the recruits as freeloaders. I'd describe the entitre political class as freeloaders.
Right now the political class is taking yet another well earned holiday. But the MPs and Lords will be back soon. And in that vein I ask for captions to the picture below. Post your captions in the comments section below.
For what it is worth my entry is "At the annual AIM awards dinner the Jim Ellerton and the directors of Motive TV and Verdes Management tuck into the main course and discuss how important it is to remunerate senior staff appropriately in order to attract the right talent"
Post away....
4212 days ago
Last weekend I exposed how Verdes Management (VMP) a company listed on the AIM Cesspit market had misled investors in a series of RNS announcements as it struggled to say afloat in recent months.
Verdes is a tin pot company rapidly running out of cash. The big questions are for WH Ireland, its nominated adviser (Nomad) and broker. The questions go the heart of who misled investors and the failure of the regulatory system on the Cesspit AIM market.
You can read my original expose here
On AIM the Nomad must sign off on any statement. A Nomad must therefore satisfy itself that the statement is true. If a company issues misleading statements ultimately it is the Nomad that should carry the can, although on the Cesspit this never seems to happen. The broker raises money for a client and takes a commission of (usually) 5% for doing so. Both Nomad and broker are paid a retainer by clients such as Verdes.
Questions for WH Ireland:
4216 days ago
Er…yes I suppose I am if you call raising utterly legitimate issues mischief making I am guilty as charged. That was the allegation put to me by the CEO of AIM Cesspit listed Verdes Management (VCM) today as I asked him about the Alfa Romeo his company bought from him. He has promised to get back to me about the suggestion that he tried to get a new Linen suit put on expenses but was refused. I had a few other questions for him but it appears that Adam Webb is not my new best friend and does not want to speak to me anymore.
I am almost in tears.
To read about the Alfa Romeo bought by this company that was making no revenues click here or perhaps the staff jolly to Le Mans is more interesting – that story can be found here.
And I am not finished with Verdes yet…
4216 days ago
At the weekend I exposed how Verdes Management (VMP) a company listed on the AIM Cesspit market had misled investors in a series of RNS announcements as it struggled to say afloat in recent months. I detailed the pay accorded to the main man Adam Webb while the company played “jeux san revenues” with other folk’s cash, that is to say money raised from investors. But where did all the money go?
4216 days ago
At the weekend I exposed how Verdes Management (VMP) a company listed on the AIM Cesspit market had misled investors in a series of RNS announcements as it struggled to say afloat in recent months.
I detailed the pay accorded to the main man Adam Webb while the company played “jeux san revenues” with other folk’s cash, that is to say money raised from investors. But where did all the money go?
4217 days ago
AIM does not do irony but if it did Verdes Management (VMP) would win all the prizes. This is a typical tale from the Cesspit, directors and advisers keen on trousering the moolah, shareholders screwed and misled. If AIM was credible this company would be put out of its misery at once but the long running farce just keeps on going. No-one gives a damn about rules on the Cesspit.
Verdes, I am not making this up, describes itself thus:
“Verdes Management was established to support UK companies who have encountered difficulties during this economic climate. Drawing on our collective expertise in the City, the Verdes Team have unique resources that enable us to identify weaknesses in UK PLCs and offer independent advice and solutions.”
Fabaroonie. That sound great. Until you note that this company itself has been a total train wreck with its shares plunging from more than 3p three years ago to 0.09p on Friday. The company is – by my estimates more or less out of cash and has debt and is loss making. But at least there is the vast City experience of the board. Would that be the board that has failed to get a meaningful placing away? Has failed to compete on any advisory mandates? That said it had raised money last Autumn but er…did not? That misled investors in at least two RNS statements in the past six months? Yes that board. You could not make it up.
This reminds me of an entry in the “worst letter I wrote” contest.
Dear Jim
Can you fix it for me to appear on It’s a knockout?
