St Brides Partners Weekly Brief, 15th March 2020

Client News:

MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: MXC) announced the first patients have begun treatment this week in the Phase II Clinical Trial in partnership with the University of Notre Dame Australia in Perth, evaluating the effects of CogniCann® in treating dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The Trial is looking to confirm the clinical efficacy of the drug (CogniCann®) and determine the therapeutic individual dose response. Results of the trial are conservatively expected by the end of Q3 2021.

Armadale Capital Plc (AIM: ACP) announced positive results from an Improved Mine Plan, which incorporates a staged ramp up to 500,000 tonnes of processed ore per annum after two years and to 1 million tonnes ore after four years at its 100% owned Mahenge Liandu graphite project in Tanzania.  This anticipated production profile increases production output by 100% compared to the March 2018 Scoping Study and is anticipated to significantly transform Definitive Feasibility Study economics currently being finalised.  Crucially, significant further upside remains as this Improved Mine Plan is based on less than 25% of the Resource over a mine life of 17 years.

Oracle Power Plc (AIM: ORCP) noted the strong support for the development of a mine and 1,320MW power plant, in addition to a coal gasification plant, at the Company’s 100% owned Thar Block VI Project in Pakistan, as highlighted in a letter from the Minister of Energy for the Government of Sindh to the Chairman of the CPEC Authority.  The Company will shortly submit the final LOI application documents to the Private Power and Infrastructure Board and a Joint Investment Agreement and Shareholders Agreement will be drafted is expected to be signed in mid-2020.

United Oil and Gas (AIM: UOG) has appointed Rockhopper Exploration Plc CFO Mr Stewart MacDonald as a Non-Executive Director of the company.  The appointment follows United’s recent acquisition of a 22% interest in the producing Abu Sennan field in Egypt from Rockhopper.  The deal was part settled in shares and as a result, Rockhopper now holds 18.5% of United.  Under the terms of the transaction, for as long as Rockhopper has a stake of 10% or more, it is entitled to appoint a director to the Board of United.  A win win all round, as United stands to benefit from Mr MacDonald’s intimate knowledge of Abu Sennan and his experience in Egypt.

Board moves at Europa Oil and Gas (Holdings) Plc (AIM EOG) this week.  In comes current co-CEO of Reabold Resources Stephen Williams as a Non-Executive Director and out goes Roderick Corrie who is stepping down after 12 years of service.  The change also prompted the appointment of Brian O’Cathain, who has been on Europa’s Board since January 2018, as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director. Mr Williams come with a great track record at Reabold, where he has overseen the building of a diversified portfolio of investments in the UK, Romania and the US and the company’s participation in nine wells, eight of which resulted in discoveries.

You may have missed…

Colin Firth’s production company Raindog Films received investment with BFI to expand into streaming content.

Tesco has sold its Asian Lotus chain in a £8billion deal.

The second person in history has been cleared of HIV.

HSBC’s gender pay gap his 47.8%.

No or low alcohol beer sales are up 30% since 2016.

Recent surveys show Britain misses its empire more than other colonial powers.

It also can find its roots in Medieval Times when King Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of Knights Templar on (you guessed it!) Friday 13^th October 1307. Some unfounded claims were made against the Catholic crusaders by an excommunicated member and gave King Philip the opportunity to persecute them (conveniently allowing him to seize their wealth) and burn them at the stake. The Grand Master of the knights cursed those that persecuted them whilst burning: ‘God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death’ – and cursing all Friday the 13^ths with bad luck thereafter.

The superstition is so widespread that fear of the date is called Paraskevidekatriaphobia or Friggatriskaidekaphobia. One of the most famous people that suffered from this phobia was former US president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was mildly superstitious and would never start an important trip on a Friday and would avoid sitting at a table of thirteen, if he could avoid it.

In pop culture, it gained its infamous status after Thomas Lawson’s novel Friday, the Thirteenth from 1907, telling the tale of a stockbroker who deliberately crashes the stock market on the date. It reached the peak of its infamy in 1980 when the Friday the 13^th movie franchise begun with its main villain Jason inspiring Halloween costumes, merchandising, TV shows, and video games decades on. And in the Harry Potter series, the divination teacher Sybill Trelawney refuses to sit at a table with 12 people: ‘Nothing could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!’

People’s superstitions have a strong effect: most buildings will not have a thirteenth floor marked (91% of New York buildings), hotels will skip out the thirteenth room, and planes are unlikely to have a thirteenth row. It is estimated that there is a routine loss of $700-900million in revenue on Friday the 13^ths with people being more cautious buyers, and stock prices tend to fall as well. Flying is of course much cheaper on Friday the 13th as people tend to avoid it. And of course, some tragic events have occurred on this fateful date such as the 1940 bombing of Buckingham Palace, Tupac’s death, and the Andes plane crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. However, let us not forget that there is a silver lining: it means the start of the weekend!