Tiger Royalties And Inve... Share Discussion Threads

[yasx] 14/6/2011 09:38

Dear Simon,

Referencing your post 146.

Mindful of the fact that he is suffering from ill health, I sympathise with Rowan. However, there is no reason why shareholders should suffer a loss of opportunity as a result. He should make way for someone else to lead this outfit, at least until his health recovers.

But there is an even more baffling point. If his health does not permit him to take stakes in companies on behalf of shareholders in TIR (I do not know about this but rely on your assertion), then how is it that, notwithstanding this illness, he personally took a sizeable lump of Rare Earth Minerals (a cash shell looking for investments in the resource sector with Lenigas on board) late last year and only a few months ago took a near 25% stake in Legendary Investments (another cash shell).

Surely illness would not prevent him from investing for shareholders in this company whilst at the same time not restrict him from investing his personal wealth.

It seems certain that he would have to offer an explanation other than illness to justify this.

I have no position in this company.

Regards

Yas

[witteklip] 13/6/2011 13:05

Thursday is the 23rd?

[witteklip] 13/6/2011 12:56

The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held on Thursday 21 June 2011 at 3.00 pm at the Pelham Hotel, 15 Cromwell Place, London SW7 2LA.

[furgus ferret] 12/6/2011 18:51

Simon

An excellent analysis and summary. Rowan's time is up but the equity distribution and specifically his holding is a blocking point.

What puzzles me is why Nolan and Bird - both respected and successful professionals continue to associate themselves with this self-centred and incompetent failure of a company. They clearly have so little influence over Tiger policy that I guess they just sit there and take Director's fees.

Time for a change.

[simon cawkwell] 12/6/2011 13:20

Gentlemen,

I trust that as many as possible can turn up for TIR's AGM on 21st June. Not that this will interest all but I am really incensed by Bruce Rowan's failure. When he claimed illness as an explanation and reason for tolerance on my part I decided that enough is enough. This guy pays himself £80,000+ to do virtually nothing. We all have to chip in. And he knows it.

Simon Cawkwell

[witteklip] 11/6/2011 20:25

rangerover - 11 Jun'11 - 19:46 - 150 of 150

Re: "I think small investors should hold tight and not get swayed by some on this board who no doubt have an agenda."

Some investors have 'held tight' for almost a decade. All they want is fair return - if that's an agenda then I have got one.

What's yours?

b.t.w. Right now Simon has enough support from like minded shareholders to call an EGM - so he is far from alone. The points he's raised are spot on and echoed by many others.

[rangerover] 11/6/2011 19:46

Bit sceptical of Simons agenda here. Bruce is very close to rivington. simon the same. Yet there seems to be friction. Come on Simon we did not all come up the canal in a bubble. Prices of resource stocks have come down again a lot of them to old levels and maybe fall further. These guys are sitting on cash ready to pounce and enjoy the next leg up in the boom for resources. this time though they will just keep going up and up until the bubble bursts. Discount to cash with rowan and bird at the helm who wouldnt want the stock. I think small investors should hold tight and not get swayed by some on this board who no doubt have an agenda.

[witteklip] 11/6/2011 16:49

Great letter Simon -

Thank you!

[skyship] 11/6/2011 15:50

Simon - excellent.

I wish you the very best with your wholly justifiable campaign.

[simon cawkwell] 11/6/2011 12:14

Bruce Rowan Esq., 11th June 2011
Tiger Resource Finance plc,
2 Cromwell Place,
London SW7 2JE

Dear Bruce

Tiger Resource Finance plc's performance

When I originally sought a meeting with you and so agreed one set for 11th March 2011 my purpose was to agree as to where we agree and where we disagree. Since that meeting's cancellation by you it has seemingly been impossible to arrange a subsequent date.

Of course I also seek (insofar as I am able) to influence your thinking and thus direct the subsequent course of action. I appreciate that you are under no obligation to do what I say. But, the longer common sense is absent from the handling of the company's assets, the greater the damage through current delays.

However, there is one point, which must be stressed before any reasonable review can occur. You have more than once raised the point that you have in recent years been seriously ill for prolonged periods and that, even as I write, matters are far from resolved.

Hardly any Tiger shareholder would wish you ill. But the fact is that you have undertaken to be CEO of Tiger and that means if your health is not up to it you should resign.

That may mean that there is an immediate problem for you as to the handling of your near 30% holding. Whereas I am sure that there is a cure to your dilemma whether through partial or entire liquidation of Tiger or through transferring your holding to new and competent management (indeed quite possibly in relation to an entirely new direction for the company), the fact is that delay is not a cure.

You have offered disingenuous claims that the company is doing well. For instance, you have cited the large profit that was taken during 2010 and the fact that a high proportion of the company's assets has been in cash for years. However, and as you must know, a portfolio such as Tiger's will from time to time throw up an exceptional gain and it is merely that you have elected to take such a gain in 2010. In short, this is most certainly not evidence of skill in management – merely evidence of random movements and opportunities when handling resource stocks.

As for the claim to effective management through conserving cash, words almost fail me. The fact is that only an idiot would have failed to grasp the opportunities that kept on arising from early 2009. Your policy of liquidity has been a disaster. And I make the further point that you personally have not hesitated to subscribe for resource stocks outwith Tiger and on your own account. It is simply misleading to imply that you were unaware of these opportunities for Tiger when you yourself were taking them up.

I might be respectful of your claim to have managed the company properly had you made any effort to generate trading income or underwriting commission possibly through a subsidiary for tax purposes. But there has been no such effort. Why?

I am also concerned as to the contributions of Mr Bird and Mr Nolan. They are recognised as people who are acquainted with the resource sector. Yet seemingly little has been in practice developed as a result of their efforts. Why?

Further, the aggregate overheads of the company of the order of £384,000 ignore the fact that this amount is totally disproportionate to a fund of £8 million deployed in portfolio investments (i.e. where no trading income has been generated). It might be different if this level of costs were a one-off. But the fact is that this company has been drenched with costs with little likelihood of a reasonable return for many years. This is at best idleness and stupidity on your part.

As it happens, I myself have made a useful seven figure sum on resource stocks over this last two and a half years and am perfectly well aware of the pitfalls and challenges. I think it is not so much amazing as intolerable that Tiger has so spectacularly missed the boat. I hold you responsible.

I know that you have said in the 2010 Operations Review that you have declared that you are exploring ways of bringing the share price closer in line with net asset value. But this strikes me as a latter-day conversion which has been so delayed as to fail to achieve credibility. Certainly, only a fool would rely upon it.

I have considered various avenues available to me and others, including litigation if necessary based upon oppression of minorities legislation and brought against you personally. I therefore urge you to take what I have here written very seriously.

Given your time of life and the fact that you have quite enough money for your personal needs I think you should avoid being considered to have wilfully engaged in demeaning behaviour and avoid charges of dereliction of duty to Tiger's shareholders.

Please can we urgently discuss these matters.

Finally, please could you see that I can enter and speak at the company's AGM as a result of my younger daughter's holding which is of the order of 2,500,000 shares and held through Charles Stanley's nominees.

Yours sincerely,





Simon Cawkwell

[topvest] 09/6/2011 20:55

New World Oil investment seems to have gone down well with the market - top gainer today!!

[curt3] 31/5/2011 10:12

I just wish somebody with a substantial holding would move for a voluntary windup and we could all get our rightful dues to invest elsewhere !!

[topvest] 29/5/2011 17:11

All very quiet after the results. What do people think?

Admission that they have been too prudent with their cash pile...well too late now - should have been invested at the bottom 2 years ago rather than arguing with each other!

Admin expenses are £364k inc. directors' emoluments of £187k up by 31% and 78% respectively on the prior year. No dividend. Running costs and directors' emoluments are 4.5% and 2.3% respectively of closing net assets. Too high for the inactivity encountered.

Only bright spot is some more concrete evidence of some real investments, and they do seem to have a reasonable record in this regard. We need a couple of good investments. Personally though, I would like to start seeing some return on my investment. It only seems to be the directors that benefit here. OK my investment is up 100% in 10 years, but at a 50% discount it's not really done anything in the last five years or so. I'm not prepared to sell at this share price though so it seems a longer wait is required.

[tiltonboy] 27/5/2011 07:28

I see our directors took a stake, on our behalf, in NOP, just in time for a significant downward revision on some of it's Dutch assets.

Time this little baby wound up, and returned funds to shareholders. Enough is enough.

[curt3] 26/5/2011 10:54

Where is our dividend ?? where is our return of capital ?? where is the pleasure in owning this share ?? The only pleasure left is in berating the abject management ! sorry (mismanagement) of this ROARING TIGER !! Perhaps its just a comedy show. But heres a question ? Do CLOWNS make you laugh or cry!!

[traderabc] 24/5/2011 12:07

Why does this company called itself a 'resource' company?
I wonder why they insisted holding cash for years when the whole idea of investing in 'resources' was to avoid currencies and put the money into so called 'resources', cash is no real resource, it's paper, what anyone investing into resources is trying to avoid in the first place.

[curt3] 24/5/2011 11:43

Around £4M held in cash throughout the year !! would it not have occurred to them to carry some of it in Aus $ and Canadian $.?? Their report states the bleeding obvious that according to their ANALYSIS that these were the currencies to surge.

[curt3] 24/5/2011 11:12

same old, same old blah blah b lah!! Management exps up by how many percent ? I couldnt be bothered to work it out because it wont change anything !! On paper a good result ?? - but will the market take the slightest bit of notice?

[skyship] 24/5/2011 07:41

A small extract from today's Finals:

"We have been careful to preserve shareholder value within Tiger and the NAV per share at the 4.27p level reflects this. We are conscious that the market also needs to value Tiger at the sum of its parts and we will work to bridge the current discount between share price and NAV and to position Tiger as capable of underpinning its Balance Sheet value with the potential to secure superior returns from well negotiated investment decisions. The level of cash held for future investment purposes has been overly conservative and the Board will seek to utilise the Company's cash more efficiently to benefit the Company's performance and to give value to shareholders in the period ahead."

[topvest] 22/5/2011 11:58

Yes, you may be correct!

[curt3] 16/5/2011 10:43

topvest - Ithink this is run as his no risk pension find !!!

[topvest] 13/5/2011 21:10

curt3 - lol, yes you are probably correct. Why it takes so long to get their results out is also very unimpressive. Don't get me wrong, BR has made some stellar investments, but for some reason he doesn't like putting them into this vehicle.

[curt3] 12/5/2011 18:32

If they cant find anything to do with OUR CASH PILE, and they obviously cant, then please please buy back their own shares and enhance the NAV. OK, I'm stating the BLEEDING OBVIOUS again.