A few thoughts from Chairman Dan. Last week as I sat snowed in at Philadelphia international airport awaiting what I hoped would be a short stop over (turned out to be 6 hours) while the plane was fueled and readied for my return back to that wonderful city in the North West of England, Manchester, I began to ruminate on the past 6/7 weeks. The events of which have to all intents and purposes (in my opinion) put Sefton Resources in a far healthier position than they were on Feb’ 2nd 2015. At that time, the eventual demise of the Company looked the most likely scenario.
Share-holders have rightly got many questions “How do we progress on new assets, potential sale of existing assets, how do we fund new assets, rebranding, new management, advisors, etc..” The questions are many and varied. But I believe in the future for Sefton, although I cannot actually answer those questions here and now, because that would not be right or feasible. We are progressing at a pace that is fast enough but not too fast that we sacrifice prudent due diligence. Every aspect of the turnaround is subjected to rigorous investigation by the Board and its advisers. Costs, efficacy, integrity, honesty, share-holder value, all need to be added to each and every aspect of the turnaround process. We have to stick within the rules.
The strategy, now that the $4,000,000 contingent liability of the Bank of the West loan has gone, should allow us to progress substantially. The removal of this liability was the single biggest obstacle to progress. On the CEO question, as you know from the Company’s past announcements, one of my key objectives on joining the Board, was to help find the right team to move the Company forward, and that process continues. We are now speaking to candidates for different roles. But it must be remembered that we will not return the Sefton keys until we have the right people, and that is particular true for the CEO. That person has to have a proven record of success and integrity. Gone are the days of largesse.
It has been for me a gruelling six week odyssey that has had many twists and turns along the way. Some have been pleasant, others not so much. I had been suffering from constant jet lag coupled with headaches while in the USA. Colorado is several thousand feet up and the air is thin. I ran every morning down the Cherry Creek Trail, trying to shake them off, sadly for my detractors no Grizzly Bears came to their rescue. A slip in the water when running through the shallow creek will have to do them.
The schedule of the last few months has been hectic the recent deal with Bank of the West and Hawker was a hard fought battle. It was by no means a shoe in. Right up until the Thursday, 24 hours before the announcement, the deal was still on a knife edge. Apparently one of the BOTW vice presidents thought that you only had to drill further down to get more oil from any well. That should tell you how difficult it was to negotiate the best terms possible.
We will now seek to progress Sefton quickly bringing in the right people to take the company forward. We now have a clear way ahead with no anchors dragging us down. The Denver office has closed the UK office has opened Sefton are now open for business. It is onward and upward!
Viva
Dan
