ShareSoc Sirius Shareholders' Group (SSSG)

Latest News

Campaign Halted – 14/11/2023

Campaign members will be aware that there has been little reportable progress over the past year.

This has not been due to lack of effort on the part of the volunteer team, who have continued to press for further information to support a legal redress claim.

The team’s efforts have been consistently hampered by certain parties, most notably the Infrastructure and Projects Authority who have resolutely refused to comply with requests for information.

Three years have passed since the acquisition of Sirius Minerals by Anglo American. There has been no tangible information to report to campaign members for quite a while, and there is no realistic prospect of a breakthrough in the foreseeable future.

We also note that Anglo American’s latest cost estimate to bring the Woodsmith mine into production is $9bn, three times that estimated by Sirius Minerals. This runs counter to many investors’ views that the project was sold at an undervalue or that it could have been commercially funded as a standalone asset.

For these reasons, it is ShareSoc’s view that it would be irresponsible to keep the campaign open at this point, suggesting to members that a positive outcome is in sight.

We have therefore taken the decision to halt the campaign.

That doesn’t mean that all activity will cease. The team will continue to explore the events, documentation and actions that led up to Sirius’s capitulation in 2020. But we won’t communicate further unless there is positive reason to do so.

It is always of huge concern to see large numbers of individual investors pulled into unrealistic projects by naïve, incompetent and ill-advised directors.

ShareSoc Sirius Shareholders’ Group (SSSG) and SiriusClaim (www.SiriusClaim.com)

ShareSoc invites individual shareholders in Sirius Minerals Plc (SXX) to register your interest with the ShareSoc Sirius Shareholders’ Group (SSSG) and SiriusClaim.

Group Objectives

Many individual investors lost money through their investment in Sirius. An offer was accepted for the company, which crystallised losses and which leaves shareholders with limited options.

ShareSoc agreed to create the SSSG to help individual Sirius shareholders to communicate and work together for the best collective outcome. More than 1,200 Sirius shareholders have already joined as ShareSoc members and the more we have the more we hope to achieve on your behalf.

The SSSG had the following objectives:

facilitating shareholder communication (both between themselves and with relevant parties)
helping shareholders to review and evaluate their current situation and options
acting as a shareholder voice to involved parties, to relevant bodies and to the press where appropriate.

The choices facing shareholders when it was formed were limited, and the SSSG can make no promises that its activities will improve or expand those choices.

SiriusClaim has the objective of investigating the potential to make a claim or claims for legal redress for Sirius Shareholders.

It is important to take time to properly review the events leading up to the failure of the company to progress the Woodsmith mine independently.

We will do this with a panel of legal funders to establish whether there is support for a no-win-no-fee approach. This has the dual benefit of weeding out claims without merit or without reasonable chance of success while removing the need for ex-shareholders to throw further money at the Sirius debacle.

Warning and a note of caution

ShareSoc is very nervous about suggesting there may be a viable claim before establishing whether that is indeed the case. ShareSoc has to be careful not only to avoid making libellous claims, but also not to over-promise to shareholders about what might be achieved. It would be very wrong of ShareSoc to encourage irrational exuberance amongst shareholders. ShareSoc will do its best, but we will also continue to feedback to you our view of what we think can reasonably be achieved. In the past, ShareSoc’s views have not always been what some shareholders have wanted to hear and there has been some criticism of ShareSoc’s role; however, ShareSoc’s role is not to raise expectations and we will not do so, even if some of our comments may not be what you want to hear. ShareSoc, SSSG and SiriusClaim wish to be able to attract the best lawyers and legal funders (if there is a viable case), but making unprofessional claims at this stage will prejudice our ability to do that.

Potential Claimants

If you are not already a member of the ShareSoc Sirius Shareholder Group, it would be helpful, if you are interested in potentially joining a claims process, if you would please register your interest and join SiriusClaim using the form below. This will also give you free membership of ShareSoc (unless you request to opt-out of this). We would, of course, prefer if you join ShareSoc as a full member which costs only £45 a year.

The SSSG and SiriusClaim is run by Cliff Weight from ShareSoc and by Paul Anscombe, Ian Martignetti, and Nigel Hodder who are Sirius shareholders.

Group Updates

Introduction to the SSSG: ShareSoc Sirius Shareholder Group (SSSG)

Update #1 24th January 2020 – Letter Sent to the Sirius Board and Meetings Requested

Update #2 28th January 2020 – Shareholder Register Analysis

Update #3 30th January 2020 – Pressure from the Press and Support from the Law Commission

Update #4 5th February 2020 – Meeting with Sirius and Writing to MPs

Update #5 10th February 2020 – Scheme of Arrangement Published

Update #6 15th February 2020 – Clarification to MP Letter. More Meetings and Press Coverage

Voting Considerations 22nd February 2020

Update #7 25th February 2020 – Crucial Meetings, Funding Initiative and Latest Press Coverage

Update #8 6th March 2020 – Offer approved, voting issues and next steps.

Update #9 14th March 2020 – Launch of SiriusClaim Group

Update #10 29th May 2020 – SiriusClaim Group – the Work Continues

Update #11 7th August 2020 – Sirius Legal Judgment and Implications

Update #12 8th December 2020 – Sirius Webinar Post Takeover Review and Next Steps

Update #13 15th December 2020 – Webinar Report and Next Steps, With Links to Recording and Slides

Update #14 19 May 2021 – Latest news on the Sirius Claim Group

Update #15 20 December 2021 – Update on claims progress

Update #16 15 January 2023 – Update on claims progress

SSSG Forum

Full members can also access our dedicated SSSG Forum, to discuss matters related to Sirius (as well as all our other forums and proprietary content). Details of full member benefits can be found here.

CLARIFICATION

It has been brought to our attention by Sirius that our original MP Template Letter contained certain inaccuracies.

At the time of drafting the template, we had received the impression that Sirius had been negotiating the takeover with Anglo American for a year and a half, including the period covering the 15p open offer and placing. The company confirms, and we accept, that this was not the case.

We would also like to clarify that our reference to a protracted marketing campaign by the company was not intended to imply any breach by Sirius of FCA rules in relation to any open offers.

If you have written to your MP on the basis of the original Template Letter you will need to correct it in order to ensure you do not unintentionally libel Sirius and/or its directors. We would suggest that you do so by using the text of this notice.

Thank you, and apologies.

Register

Use the form below to register your interest in this group and, optionally, report your shareholding. Rest assured that your personal data will be held securely and confidentially, in accordance with our privacy policy. Unless you opt-out or are already a member you will be registered as a free associate member of ShareSoc and will receive the associate member benefits described here.

ShareSoc is a not-for-profit organisation with a Board of Directors who are all unpaid, working to improve the rights of retail shareholders and working with companies, regulators and the Government with this objective.

ShareSoc is reliant on our members’ subscriptions and donations to cover our operating costs, including our office costs and the cost of hosting, maintaining and enhancing this website.

Please support us by becoming a full member of ShareSoc, which involves paying a modest annual membership fee and brings you numerous benefits. You can do this by selecting the “ShareSoc Full Membership” option below and completing your card details, when asked. Doing so will automatically set up an annual subscription @ £45 p.a.

Full members can also access our dedicated SSSG Forum, to discuss matters related to Sirius (as well as all our other forums and proprietary content). Details of full member benefits can be found here.

If you wish to make a voluntary contribution to support the activities of ShareSoc please go to this page of our web site: Donations.

Cliff Weight – SSSG Co-ordinator tel: 07712 793114

Post Date: January 23, 2020

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