East Star Resources plc
FINPROM Findings
4“Alexander Walker and Alexander ("Sandy") Barblett, who are Directors of the Company, have both participated in the Subscription, subscribing in aggregate for 1,846,154 new Ordinary shares ... Following Admission ... Mr Walker and Mr Barblett will own 12.87 % and 0.77 % respectively of the Company's enlarged issued share capital.”
Director Walker now holds 12.87% of enlarged share capital having participated in the raise. Director concentration combined with the going-concern context makes this one of the higher-concern results.
“The Group's auditors included a material uncertainty related to going concern in the last annual report based on the ability of the Group to source additional funding in the 12 months from signoff of the annual report for 31 December 2024. Since 31 December 2024 the Group has sourced additional financing validating the Directors decision to adopt the Going Concern assumption.”
Half-year report discloses that prior auditors had flagged material uncertainty, resolved via WRAP raise. Transparent going-concern disclosure (positive) but confirms the earlier WRAP raise was distress-driven (red flag for the launch).
“Proposed Subscription for £ 250,000 & WRAP Retail Offer for up to £ 200,000 ... The Company expects to mobilise the drill rig in the East Region of Kazakhstan within the next week”
Raise combined with drilling programme timing — cash needed to mobilise operations. Later H1 report confirms a material uncertainty had been flagged by auditors; retail was solicited into a company that was going-concern dependent on additional funding.
“provides the following updates”
Balanced disclosure structure combining operational update with subscription — caveat applies to the corresponding going-concern finding above.
RNS Announcements
3Half-year Report
The Company is pursuing multiple exploration strategies: · Volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) exploration, which to date includes a deposit with a maiden JORC MRE of 20.3Mt @ 1.16% copper, 1.54% zinc and 0.27% lead, in an infrastructure-rich region, amenable to a low capex development · Copper porphyry and epithermal gold exploration, with multiple opportunities for Tier 1 deposits, initially supported by an initial US$500k grant from BHP Xplor in 2024 Visit our website: www.eaststarplc.com Follow us on social media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/compan…
Result of Oversubscribed WRAP Retail Offer
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. THE COMMUNICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS OR MATERIALS RELATING TO THE WRAP RETAIL OFFER AS A FINANCIAL PROMOTION IS ONLY BEING MADE TO, AND MAY ONLY BE ACTED UPON BY, THOSE PERSONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FALLING WITHIN ARTICLE 43 OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (WHICH INCLUDES AN EXISTING MEMBER OF EAST STAR RESOURCES PLC). ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO SUCH PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH SUCH PERSONS. THIS ANNOUNCE…
Proposed Subscription & WRAP Retail Offer
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. THE COMMUNICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS OR MATERIALS RELATING TO THE WRAP RETAIL OFFER AS A FINANCIAL PROMOTION IS ONLY BEING MADE TO, AND MAY ONLY BE ACTED UPON BY, THOSE PERSONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FALLING WITHIN ARTICLE 43 OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000 (FINANCIAL PROMOTION) ORDER 2005, AS AMENDED (WHICH INCLUDES AN EXISTING MEMBER OF EAST STAR RESOURCES PLC). ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO SUCH PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH SUCH PERSONS. THIS ANNOUNCE…
LinkedIn Activity
38Winterflood announces strategic partnership with Edison Group. Edison will provide research on WRAP transactions. Joe Winkley (Head of Corporate Services, Winterflood) quoted: 'will significantly increase the attractiveness of WRAP fundraises to investors'. Neil Shah (Edison) quoted: 'a genuinely differentiated route to market'.
Announces revised CLN terms and WRAP retail offer at 1.52p/share for up to £250,000. Contains: 'Reinforcing shareholder alignment, with existing investors offered participation on the same terms via a Winterflood WRAP offer'. Uses positive emojis (✅📈➡️). Links to RNS.
Delighted to give existing investors the opportunity to participate in the fundraise. Retail offer to raise up to ~£2 million via BookBuild platform.
More Exciting News! BookBuild is thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of the latest Retail Offer for Proteome Sciences plc which was significantly oversubscribed. Thanks to SP Angel.
BookBuild's own company page uses promotional language ('Exciting News!', 'thrilled', 'significantly oversubscribed') without any risk disclaimers. Contrast with RetailBook's posts which include risk warnings.
Delighted to have advised Andrew Webb et al on this latest raise. 2026 will be a very exciting year for CRISM Therapeutics as it kicks off Phase 2 trial. Retail offer now live on BookBuild.
Broker personnel promoting active retail offer on personal LinkedIn
Advised Tungsten West plc on £43m fundraising. £3m raised via oversubscribed retail offer via RetailBook platform. Fantastic result, exciting for UK mining.
Law firm uses promotional language ('fantastic result', 'exciting') about a deal where issuer had only £0.4m cash
Completed another successful Retail Offer supporting FTSE 250 Sirius Real Estate. Raised £77m. Congratulations to the team.
RetailBook includes risk disclaimer in company posts — better than BookBuild's practice
POATR era has begun. Joint open letter from AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown, interactive investor, and RetailBook CEOs to Chancellor. RetailBook led the effort (Stacey Parsons).
RetailBook positioning itself as market leader and lobbying for retail-inclusive IPOs alongside major platforms
Advised Mulberry Group on £21.2m fundraising and retail offer via RetailBook platform. Net proceeds to make targeted investments to accelerate future growth and meet medium term financial targets.
Law firm describes purpose as 'accelerate future growth' while the actual RNS disclosed material uncertainty on going concern and £49.7m operating loss. Significant disconnect between LinkedIn framing and regulatory disclosure.
KEFI advances Tulu Kapi with full funding secured. One of Africa's highest-grade gold developments. First gold production targeted for 2027.
Major milestone for institutional crypto in the UK. Satsuma Technology closed £100m+ fundraise. Lists Cel AI (#CLAI) among wave of London-listed firms embedding Bitcoin into corporate treasury strategy alongside SWC, V3TC, BTC (Vinanz).
Bitcoin treasury cluster being actively promoted on LinkedIn — same issuers appearing across WRAP (SWC, Vinanz) and BookBuild (Cel AI, Active Energy)
Panmure Liberum acted as Nominated Advisor, Joint Bookrunner, Joint Debt Advisor and Joint Broker on Revolution Beauty's £16.5m fundraise and strategic reset. Post announced their role alongside Zeus Capital in the placing and subscription.
Broker promoting fundraise for company under FCA investigation with £29.7m net debt. Framed as 'strategic reset' with no mention of FCA probe, accounting irregularities, or net debt position. Retail offer of up to £1.5m via BookBuild at 3p/share (14% discount). LinkedIn post URL found but content only partially accessible via web search.
CleanTech Lithium opens retail share offer via BookBuild at 5p/share alongside £4.3m placing. Retail offer oversubscribed, raising £250,000.
Proactive Investors shared article on LinkedIn. The placing price of 5p represented significant dilution from earlier raises at 16p. Company had noteholder forced review. No LinkedIn posts found from CleanTech Lithium's own company page or CEO Aldo Boitano specifically promoting the BookBuild retail offer, though the company page shares operational updates regularly.
Tasty raises £9.25 million via a Placing and Subscription and a further £0.87 million via a Retail Offer. Perivan's shareholder communications team worked with Cavendish Capital Markets on documentation.
Perivan promoted the deal on LinkedIn as a case study. 1,850,000,000 new shares issued at 0.5p represent 935% dilution of existing equity. Retail offer via BookBuild raised £0.87m at same 0.5p price. No risk warnings about extreme dilution. Tasty PLC's own LinkedIn page (1,230 followers) shows no posts about the fundraise -- only restaurant/hospitality content.
Construction is making excellent progress. On track to be the number 1 destination for a first class retail and leisure experience in the whole of the North of England. 4 million visits in year 1.
Earlier promotional post from company page. High engagement (169 reactions). No IPO-specific LinkedIn posts found from Mar-Apr 2026 promoting the RetailBook offer, though the project uses 'private equity returns' language in press coverage. Simon Waterfield (CEO) has LinkedIn profile but no indexed posts about the IPO found.
Describes the IPO as an 'exceptional opportunity for investors' offering 'private equity style returns, usually reserved for professional investors and developers'. Projected 21.75% pa IRR and 2.58x equity multiple.
FINPROM concern: 'Private equity returns' language used in promotion of AQSE-listed shares to retail investors via RetailBook. The projected 21.75% IRR is presented without caveats about construction risk, pre-let conversion risk, or the fact that AQSE Growth Market has lower regulatory standards than AIM or Main Market. Oberon Investments and RetailBook appointed as joint capital raisers. No direct LinkedIn post found but the language permeates all promotional materials that would be shared on the platform.
Announced Cobalt Holdings emerging from stealth mode. 6-year supply agreement with Glencore for $1 billion in cobalt. DRC controls significant market share. China controls ~80% of refined cobalt supply. Glencore and Anchorage Capital as cornerstone investors holding 20.5%. Initial $200m purchase of 6,000 tons at discount to spot.
CEO and sole director personally promoting $230m IPO on LinkedIn with no risk warnings. High engagement (191 reactions). Framed as strategic opportunity with geopolitical narrative. RetailBook ran concurrent retail offer at $2.56/share, minimum $650. IPO was subsequently cancelled in June 2025 over lack of investor interest -- less than 24 hours before trading was due to start.
London's biggest IPO in 2 years. Cobalt Holdings as 'only publicly traded entity offering pure-play exposure to physical cobalt'. Buying 6,000 tons at below-market prices during price trough. Frames as test for London's capital markets relevance. Asks whether investors will 'bet on long-term scarcity over short-term surplus'.
Financial commentator promoting the IPO with promotional language and no risk disclosure. 24 comments indicate high engagement and discussion. No mention that company had sole director structure or that cobalt prices had fallen 75% over 3 years.
Latham is advising on the planned IPO of Cobalt Holdings, a deal that could become London's largest float in nearly two years. Metals investment company looking to raise $230 million and list on LSE's main market.
Legal industry media promoting the deal through the law firm advisory angle. 144 reactions. Latham & Watkins team led by Anna Ngo, Shing Lo, Sam Newhouse and James Inness. High visibility post reaching legal/finance professional audience.
Cobalt Holdings has made the unexpected decision to cancel its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. Company initially sought to raise up to $230 million. Glencore planned to acquire 10% of IPO shares.
Cancellation announcement received zero engagement -- stark contrast to the 191 and 144 reactions on earlier promotional posts. The promotional posts had no risk warnings, and the IPO failed less than 24 hours before admission. Retail investors who applied via RetailBook were exposed to a cancelled deal.
Proactive Investors posted a LinkedIn video titled 'Zephyr Energy CEO on share placing, Paradox and Rocky...' discussing the company's share placing alongside its Paradox project and Rocky Mountain operations. Separately, references to a £3.15m equity placing and a crypto mining venture near its Paradox Basin operations were found. The crypto mining project would give Zephyr a bitcoin-adjacent revenue stream.
LinkedIn post URL: linkedin.com/posts/proactive-investors_zephyr-energy-ceo-on-share-placing-paradox-activity-7343619299841892355. Bitcoin treasury angle not explicitly confirmed in LinkedIn posts but crypto mining venture is documented. Cyber incident adds governance concern.
Savannah Resources' own LinkedIn page and Proactive Investors posted about multiple fundraises: a £9.2m oversubscribed placing and subscription (scaled back from higher demand), a £6.5m fundraise at market price made available to private investors via PrimaryBid (July 2023), a £6.1m placing and subscription, and a further £1m placing to a major shareholder. The retail offer component via PrimaryBid was highlighted as providing retail shareholder access. CEO also discussed Barroso lithium project funding on Proactive.
LinkedIn posts from company page: linkedin.com/company/savannah-resources-plc. Proactive post: linkedin.com/posts/proactive-investors_savannah-resources-ceo-outlines-way-forward-activity-7348705237223833601. Pattern of repeat raises with PrimaryBid retail component is consistent with the 'repeat raises' concern.
Blackbird plc's LinkedIn page mentioned a completed successful and fully subscribed top-up fundraising for elevate.io, their creator SaaS product. The company page describes Blackbird as 'the world's fastest, most powerful professional cloud video editing and publishing platform'. No posts specifically using the 'Figma for video' claim or discussing the BookBuild placing mechanics were found on LinkedIn.
Company LinkedIn page: linkedin.com/company/blackbird-cloud. Employee Tim Chaffee referenced fundraising for elevate.io product. The 'Figma for video' positioning was not found in LinkedIn posts specifically.
Blencowe Resources ran multiple BookBuild retail offers: (1) Nov 2024 - £195k retail offer via BookBuild alongside a £1.5m raise (£1m placing via Tavira Financial + £500k management subscription), retail window open 7:05am-5:00pm on 06/11/2024; (2) Apr 2025 - £100k retail offer via BookBuild at 3p/share, window open 4:40pm on 15/04/2025 to 7:40am on 16/04/2025 (approximately 15 hours). Alan Green posted on LinkedIn about BRES graphite developments. Company also announced a US$500k subscription with an African investor plus conditional US$3.15m subscription at 5p (premium to market).
Alan Green LinkedIn post: linkedin.com/posts/alangreenbranduk_bres-blencowe-resources-graphite-sales-activity-6877157754549665792. The 15-hour retail window (4:40pm to 7:40am) for the Apr 2025 BookBuild is confirmed by RNS data cross-referenced with LinkedIn company page content.
Faron Pharmaceuticals' LinkedIn page and Proactive Investors referenced a €7.1m share offering (late October 2024) and a larger February 2025 accelerated bookbuild placing that was 1.8x oversubscribed, raising EUR 12m (upsized from EUR 10m target). 6,976,744 shares issued at EUR 1.72. The placing was explicitly designed to address financial covenant requirements. Company acknowledged that without the raise, it could not meet minimum cash covenants agreed with lender IPF.
Faron LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/faron. Post about new CFO: fi.linkedin.com/posts/faron_faron-pharmaceuticals-moving-into-next-phase-activity-7049404979370958848. The covenant breach risk is well-documented in RNS but LinkedIn posts from the company itself do not highlight this risk prominently.
Ariana Resources plc: Proposed conditional Placing and Subscription to raise approximately £1.15m. Links to external RNS announcement.
Company page post. No risk warnings, no mention of 3-month cash runway context. Purely factual announcement linking to RNS. The fundraise amount (£1.15m) is modest. Post does not mention BookBuild platform involvement. URL: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ariana-resources-plc_ariana-resources-plc-proposed-conditional-activity-7310599531937579009-oLAj
CelLBxHealth PLC (AIM:CLBX, formerly ANGLE) plans to raise £6.8 million through a share placing, subscription and separate offer for private shareholders at 1p per share. Also proposes share capital reorganisation splitting each 10p share into a new ordinary share (0.05p) and a deferred share (9.95p).
Posted by Proactive Investors (financial media). No risk warnings present despite significant capital restructuring. Does not mention 68% dilution figure or RetailBook/BookBuild involvement. Zero engagement suggests limited reach. URL: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/proactive-investors_cellbxhealth-plans-68-million-fundraise-activity-7398990897075511296-PAKt
RetailBook powered retail investor access to Frontier IP Group plc, seamlessly integrating retail participation into capital market transactions. (Mentioned across RetailBook company page and associated profiles but no dedicated standalone post found with full details.)
No standalone LinkedIn post found specifically about the Frontier IP RetailBook offer. RetailBook references Frontier IP as a case study on their profile/activity. No risk warnings, no mention of going concern. Nicholas Smith profile (4K followers) associated with RetailBook but his posts focused on Treasury Bills pilot, not Frontier IP specifically.
Tennyson Securities supported £6.83M equity raise for THE SMARTER WEB COMPANY (Sundae Bar's related entity). Describes it as 'UK's flagship Bitcoin Treasury vehicle for global equity capital' and notes 'enthusiastic support of UK retail investors'. References upcoming Bitcoin Conference in Vegas.
Post from broker at Tennyson Securities. Highly promotional tone ('flywheel is cranking up', 'launch velocity', 'onwards and upwards'). No risk warnings despite bitcoin treasury pivot. WRAP retail offer and accelerated bookbuild mentioned in post metadata/title. No disclosure of risks associated with bitcoin treasury strategy. URL: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alan-howard_result-wrap-retail-offer-accelerated-bookbuild-activity-7331730681594589184-ZnH-
Gelion 2024 Wrap Up article. CEO thanks investors for support in 'most recent capital raise last December'. Mentions £2.5m ARENA grant and ~£1m BESS revenue. Optimistic tone about delivering returns to shareholders.
Annual wrap-up article published on LinkedIn Pulse. References December capital raise but no details on amount, terms or dilution. No mention of going concern, cash runway to Jan 2026, or WRAP. No risk warnings present. URL: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gelion-2024-wrap-up-gelion-sjbuc
2026 outlook post highlighting clinical milestones: POLB 001 TOPICAL trial interim data expected summer 2026, Oral GLP-1 PoC topline data expected H1 2026. States company is 'funded through this catalyst-rich period, with a cash runway extending into 2027'.
No direct fundraise announcement found on LinkedIn for Poolbeg. This post emphasises cash runway to 2027. No BookBuild or retail targeting language found in any Poolbeg LinkedIn posts. A separate profile (Michael Fleming) mentioned participating in a Poolbeg share placing with £100k investment, but post not directly accessible. URL: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/poolbeg-pharma_polb-catalystrich-aim-activity-7415289997668360192-LCu-
DWF advised Zinnwald Lithium on £18.75m equity fundraise closed at a premium to share price. Cornerstone investment from AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group. Launched and closed in under 16 hours. Worked with Nomad Allenby Capital and co-brokers Tamesis Partners and Oberon Capital.
Post from legal adviser celebrating deal completion. Mentions AMG cornerstone but no mention of 29.57% concentration risk. No disclaimers.
MicroSalt PLC debuted on AIM with £18.5m valuation, raising £3m. Shares at 43p under SALT ticker. CEO Rick Guiney quoted on successful fundraise. Shares up 20% to 52p by Friday.
News coverage of IPO. Factual reporting with CEO quote. No risk warnings.
CurrentBody parent Beauty Tech Group heading for London IPO. Valuation range £280-£320m. Revenue £101m, EBITDA £22.9m. New shares raising £29m, total offer size £106.5m (~35.5% of issued share capital). Founded 2009, backed by eComplete and Simon Cooper.
Pre-IPO analysis post with detailed financial metrics. No risk warnings or disclaimers despite providing valuation and investment-relevant data. Describes as 'rare D2C brand with global traction and clinical credibility'.
"Mendell Helium plc has launched with InvestorHub." CEO Nick Tulloch discussed helium production from M3 Helium's Kansas operations, Rost well dewatering, plans for a Bitcoin treasury policy, and an intended move to AIM listing. Emphasised "building long-term trust" through shareholder communication.
Mentions Bitcoin treasury policy -- relevant to the HIGH-severity finding about bitcoin treasury + helium combination. No risk warnings.
Operational update: Rost well de-watering commencing, Jasper well issues in Nebraska, additional land leased at Fort Dodge. CEO quote: "it would be an understatement to say these next few weeks are going to be very exciting."
PIR (Paid Investor Relations) professional posting company updates. Forward-looking "exciting" language from CEO with no risk warnings.
Detailed post about Mendell Helium's Rost 1-26 well production initiation. Quotes: "The well is flowing more than 100 thousand cubic feet of gas per day with a helium concentration of 5.1% resulting in an estimated daily helium revenue of over US $1,600." Emphasises helium market growth from $4.1bn (2024) to $6bn by 2030. M3 Helium acquisition option discussed.
Market-positive framing emphasising commercial opportunity without counterbalancing volatility considerations or acquisition contingencies. Highest engagement (49 reactions) of all MDH posts found.
"Following on from the drilling and production success at the company's Rost helium well, Mendell Helium plc CEO Nick Tulloch talks to StockBox about the recent successful £700,000 cash raising to support the drilling of a second 'Twin' helium well expected to be 50% financed by an independent US investor group."
Chairman promoting £700k fundraise on personal LinkedIn with forward-looking expansion claims and no risk warnings.
Board of Directors
7| Name | Role | Appointed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Casey Walker | director | 2022-01-05 | active |
| Alexander John Barblett | director | 2021-01-26 | active |
| Anthony Neville Chisholm Eastman | director | 2021-01-26 | active |
| Christopher Philip Van Wijk | director | 2024-01-22 | active |
| Orana Corporate Llp | corporate-secretary | 2021-03-03 | active |
| Daniel John Shilton Maling | director | 2020-11-17 | active |
| Charles Ainslie Wood | director | 2020-11-17 | active |