Versarien Share Discussion Threads

[emzero] 25/8/2018 15:44

Alchemy, with regards to Vanadium not greatly. No real reason why, gut feeling? Dunno! I have lurked on this board for a while now though so once again thank you for all the informative posts and links everyone. Good Luck all long term holders.
Maybe a pot of gold at the end of the Rainbow. ;-)

[superg1] 25/8/2018 15:39

Manora

I suspect there is little chance anythime soon VRS will go main market.

I know the AIM bosses very much like companies such as VRS and would do all they could to keep them.

You may have noted VRS at lunch with those guys and it wasn't the first time.

I also know AIM bosses would like the FCA to become active on the AIM scam companies and 'tipsters'.

Let's hope that will develop in the next year or two.

[loveder] 25/8/2018 15:39

You lasted well Fest ! must have been distracted by the maid !😊

[tmoon] 25/8/2018 15:31

Graphene first came to my notice with AGM just before they floated and I probably would have bought some if I was able, anyway that fell by the wayside. Then I read about VRS receiving their first order for £100k of copper foam and after a bit of research bought £15k worth for a small punt in June 2015. As they hadn't done much share price wise I didn't partake in the fundraise and basically ignored them until I read this BB late last year where Superg1 impressed me so much I started researching avidly and have kept adding since November last year to a grand total now of just over 827k shares 50-50 ISA and share a/c. Hugely impressed with our CEO and his team and most of all his honesty and integrity.
A bit of a long post - sorry.

[festario] 25/8/2018 15:23

Get that stock market.... OPEN !!!

[alchemy] 25/8/2018 15:21

Good luck Emzero.Did you research Vanadium by any chance too?

[emzero] 25/8/2018 15:17

Hi,

First post from me. I am pretty new to investing in individual shares rather than funds, but heard about Graphene from researching Lithium. This lead me here in a roundabout way via the usual internet rabbit holes. I am a bit late to the party at around 1.35 average. I am really hoping for good things from this company and all my research, thanks in no small part to contributors on this BB, looks positive.
Hopefully 1.35 won't be too late, but I am still a bit nervous!!!!

[skyliteandy] 25/8/2018 15:17

Talking of the strange correlation between AIM scams and Aussies. Some time back I ended up working in Perth WA. Now it is without doubt one of the best and most livable cities I've ever been to; it literally has everything. It's also built on the same founding principles of a frontier town, which isn't too far removed from the truth. It had and probably still has a very distant relationship with morality. I was once dragged along to a stag night, masquerading as a corporate presentation by a company called Firepower, delivered by a guy called Tim Johnston. He claimed he could produce a pill that one could put in any engine to reduce emissions and increase miles per gallon. He also said buyers would lap it up and he didn't have to prove its efficacy. You'd think it might ring some alarm bells; not for that room it didn't, they lapped it up and couldn't get their wallets out quickly enough. It turned out to be the biggest scam in Australian corporate history but he's still seen there, esp in Perth, as some kind of lovable Aussie larrikin; along with the likes of Alan Bond. The guys I went with lost pretty much everything they had.

Incidentally one of Johnstons' Firepower partners was a guy called Frank Timis, another Perth and now London resident, who is behind some of AIMs recent dodgy mining con jobs. In fact I'd bet good money that if you looked at small cap mining companies on AIM over the last 10 years and Aussies, esp those once based in Perth, associated with the company; well I bet that company has gone belly up.

[pshevlin] 25/8/2018 15:16

If it starts to get near to that sort of price Teepee we may have share splits to make it more liquid.

[1teepee] 25/8/2018 15:14

100pounds per share that is

[pcjoe] 25/8/2018 15:14

Has Neil got a heir & spare in mind? - Hopefully so - Not sure if topic for a light twitter chat though likely a few up to it - Clubbie?

[1teepee] 25/8/2018 15:14

I think £100 will not be unreasonable in a year or 2 at this pace

[pcjoe] 25/8/2018 15:11

So what makes VRS different different from umpteen other jam tomorrow Aim Con stocks & why have I risked a very substantial bet (for me) here at this time?

It has to be the quality & clout of our potential fellow Con victims - from the Chinese State - to the cream of UK academia - to the EU Graphene Flagship project - To HM Govt - The latter has recently seconded two high flying & presumably very bright DTI types to oversee VRS expansion at the highest level within the Co. - Would they have lasted two minutes ( or have been welcomed in by Neil) if it is a Con?

If its not a Con. then its real & with the proviso of Neil keeping his health, then this is good a bet as anyone could wish for in this uncertain world

I have one or two reservations - The state of commercial dispersion techniques for plastics/pre-pregs etc is one, but I dont think this is unresolvable ( just a matter of time in a very new industry - It may even have been solved for some polymers already, such is the secrecy surrounding whats going on) & there is so much else to go for (batteries, electrical cicuitry etc, rubber etc, etc) - So risk very well spread IMHO

[campbed] 25/8/2018 15:06

Manora #29211


I don’t think you can expect VRS to confirm they meet the criteria for BPR.

Rather it’s for the shareholder (and his advisers) to satisfy himself on the basis of VRS published information (which is what HMRC would use if ever they challenged a claim for BPR) that the criteria are met.

[campbed] 25/8/2018 14:53

I first came across VRS when it had a stand at an investor show in London in April 2017. NR was there explaining his vision for graphene (which I had heard of) with SuperG in support. NR’s open style stood out. But I was sceptical of what such a small company could achieve, even in potentially such a big market space, and of why the likes of Manchester and Cambridge Universities would engage with it rather than with others. However there was potential IF (a very big if) VRS and graphene production could be developed in the ways envisioned by NR and SG. So I kept a watching brief on VRS. The share price at that time was around 20p but Total Carbide, its initial operating company, was depressed by a weak oil industry.

I continued to monitor the share price and research the company until September 2017 which saw RNSs for the contract for Total Carbide and the graphene tender win with CPI. That timing coincided with change at Henderson/Lombard Odier who wanted out of their ca 20% holding. My first share purchase was 6 Sept at 15p and I continued buying for both beneficial and non-beneficial interests during Sept and Oct at around that price. I missed out on the placement via Primary bid on 3 Nov at 18p. But the large oversubscription was encouraging and my last large purchase was just thereafter but at under 20p.

Since then I have only added slightly on dips but at well under £1.

I explained my reasons in post #25730 on 10 August for thinking the valuation at the then share price of 120p was supportable and some of the reasons why I (and non-beneficial interests I control) remain invested.

Since then the share price has risen to the current 150p for a market cap of £235m (148.665m shares in issue at 30 June plus options of 8.223m, all in the money, increases that to 156.888m).

That’s a very rich valuation for a loss making company with last reported annual sales of £10m and cash of £2m (but with invoice discounting payable of £1.1m and HP financing of £0.9m).

I shall want to see some news on the shape of the deals in China before even contemplating any further share buying at over 150p. I certainly would not support people using monies earmarked for such things as mortgage payments or house deposits to buy shares -- as I’ve read in the last few weeks a few posters are doing.

[ratpat999] 25/8/2018 14:49

My first purchase was in Nov 2017 the day after fundraise just caught my eye as it was so oversubscribed had just sold a £50k boat so banged 40k into two isas me and the old lady (38). Sold 100,000 shares at 62p and gave my daughter £50k for a house deposit.Holding tight to 100,000 shares until £5 ish then will take some profits probably leave 50,000 for long term and dividends 🤞

[dafad] 25/8/2018 14:17

Interesting to note that Aecom have a base in Spain-could Neil have been visiting them on his trips to Spain??

[1teepee] 25/8/2018 14:07

Do you pay for the lse site? Or does everyone have access to the content you described? Cheers

[manora] 25/8/2018 14:04

Prior to the discussion started by Lovat at 28967 (on 24Aug at 1226hrs)about VRS and AIM/IHT, I sent the following message to VRS on 23 Aug at 1328hrs:

“I emailed you a few weeks ago regarding VRS and IHT information on your web site; however, I received no answer!

May I be more specific. Could you please state, clearly and prominently on your website, VRS’s qualifying status for IHT relief under ‘Business Relief’ rules for AIM shares. My concern is that should VRS, at some future point, move from Aim to the main market, shareholders would lose their IHT relief unless they sold their shares before the move takes place. I believe that you should provide this information to your shareholders and advise them that you would inform them about these rules should VRS move to the main market. There is no provision in the rules to say that if you die, say, a month after a firm has moved to the main market and you had therefore held qualifying shares for one year and 11 months of the two-year period required, you get 23 24ths of the relief!

Once one has sold shares that are about to leave Aim, one must reinvest the proceeds in other qualifying stocks as soon as possible. It’s true that in theory the rules give you plenty of time to do so – the exact stipulation is that you must have owned qualifying assets for a total of two out of the five years preceding death. But no one knows when they are going to die, so it’s best to reinvest the money in other qualifying Aim shares straight away.

There are further rules: one must reinvest all the money and it must be the “same” money: there must be a clear connection between the cash raised from the sale of the original Aim stock and that used to buy the new shares. This means, for example, that one cannot sell the first share, use the proceeds to invest in something else, then borrow other money to buy qualifying Aim shares. Investors should ensure they keep evidence that the “same” money was used to buy the new shares and that their executor has access to the relevant documents.

If an Aim firm is bought by a fully listed company the same rules apply, but one must make sure that the shares are sold before the transaction becomes “unconditional” – don’t wait for the actual completion of the deal. There are other more complex rules. HM Revenue & Customs has a useful guide online at gov.uk/business-relief-inheritance-tax, so if anyone remain in any doubt they should be told to seeking advice from a tax expert who is familiar with this area.”

I await a reply to my messages.

[handykart] 25/8/2018 13:53

First found out about Versarien via an article in the local free newspaper " forest review " a few years ago. Did a little research, and bought some shares. Best newspaper tip I have seen. :0) Although not strictly a tip. Thanks to Forest review.

[superg1] 25/8/2018 13:33

1teepee

I use the London stock exchange site.

All AIMs can be listed. I just use the summary page to list the last 5 years revenues/profit. Check out the MC then finally check the chart to see if it's active, oversold etc.

It only takes a quick glance and I note those sutiable for a futher viewing.
A no revenue miner is generally of no interest to me but the share price moves may be interesting for trading.

Pick a letter and go through them imo. I checked the A's recently having not done it for months. I have about 8 of those to look up futher.

[richardc77] 25/8/2018 13:33

I held CPX for a very short time then sold at small profit to put more into VRS, just don’t see the CPX management as being good enough. Clearly the battery space will be exciting but not cool confdent enough CPX will be a winner.

[cheek212] 25/8/2018 13:24

I have to thank Shavian for putting me onto VRS last November whilst mentioning them on the REDT BB. At the time I was already invested in AGM and HAYD so thought I had covered my Graphene options but thankfully I also put a VRS on my watchlist after the discussion with Shavian. After a few weeks I sold all of my AGM and HAYD shares and invested the money in VRS instead, and mighty glad I did. All of my ISA funds are invested in both VRS and REDT and I am glad to say that both companies have had a couple of great weeks - different industries but both disruptive and both will hopefully make me well off! I also moved my pension after being made unemployed and put it into a SIPP with £30k invested into VRS which is now the best performing part of my SIPP. My one worry is that I might now exceed the lifetime allowance limit on my pension because of VRS, but a nice problem to have if and when it happens!

[garethwc] 25/8/2018 13:22

I initially got a tip about VRS, which triggered my research. First purchase was in the teens, Oct 16. Since then I have been steadily topping up on dips. The highest price I have paid is £1.27 and the most recent purchase was at £1.22. Average price of my VRS share holding is 62p, so I am content, but I remain a LTH.

[sandbag] 25/8/2018 13:07

rwatson2,

Re CPX:

Those of us of old enough remember that decades ago the top con men in the world were Australian. So when I invested in CPX some years ago it was with a little trepidation. I watched an interview with the CEO in which he stated that the company had plenty of money and if they ever went for a fundraising it would be "on the back of good news", i.e., to build a new factory if they should get a huge order. In the event there was a fundraising and the CEO never did say what the "good news" was. After a time I lost patience with a stagnant share price and sold out.
There may be nothing at all wrong with the company and I don't want to sound as if I'm de-ramping it but with NR I feel far more comfortable, so much so that VRS is now over
80% of my portfolio.