Disgraced financier Crispin Odey has placed a gold investment firm he controlled into liquidation, City AM can reveal.
Tri-Star Resources, which owned a stake in an antimony and gold production facility in Oman known as SPMP, is to be wound up amid “serious concerns” over the viability of the project.
Odey was the sole director of the company and had a controlling interest in the business via a series of closely-held entities.
“Given the significant and ongoing losses being incurred by the plant and serious concerns over the commercial viability of the operation; and the ability of the company to service and repay its existing debt obligations to loan note holders; the director has taken the decision to discontinue capital commitments to the SPMP project and appoint a liquidator to wind-up the company,” Odey said in a corporate filing.
“I would like to thank our partners, the management team and our shareholders for their dedication, commitment and efforts throughout the project; and it is with regret that a decision has been taken to place the company into liquidation and wind up operations.”
Tri-Star had £2.3m in outstanding loans prior to the decision to liquidate the business, company filings show, of which the majority was owed to companies belonging to Odey.
Gold project loses its shine
Tri-Star Resources was previously an AIM-listed company which had invested in SPMP in 2014 in a joint venture alongside The Oman Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund, and Dutco, a Dubai-based infrastructure fund. The plant had been expected to generate turnover of around $245m (£185m) per year once fully operational.
After a “frustrating period” in which SPMP suffered a series of production setbacks, the precious metals processor said funding required to scale up production would have to be “increased enormously.”
Tri-Star refused to invest further in the business and instructed SPMP to seek debt finance. The company eventually reached a settlement which “provided greater certainty of funding for SPMP”, a deal which saw Tri-Star’s stake diluted from 40 per cent to 16 per cent.
Tri-Star’s shares tumbled following the imbroglio and in late 2020 the company opted to delist from AIM with Odey, then the majority shareholder, becoming the sole director. The company had a market cap of around £30m shortly before delisting.
Odey appeared optimistic about Tri-Star’s future, writing in late 2023 that production at SPMP would reach 40 per cent capacity by the fourth quarter and could hit 70 per cent in 2024.
But multiple Tri-Star shareholders told City AM they had not received any new communication from Odey in over a year. Now, the company is to be shut down.
Odey libel claim
The company’s closure comes as Odey gears up for a high-stakes legal battle with the Financial Times over the paper’s reporting into allegations of sexual misconduct against him from 20 women, including former employees.
Odey reportedly wrote to former employees of Odey Asset Management in October, telling them that the newspaper had “grossly misrepresented” him.
Odey denies the misconduct allegations.
The financier is also involved in a legal case involving AIM-listed tech firm Big Technologies, in which founder Sara Murray is alleged to have forged correspondence with Odey, a major investor, prior to its London float. Murray denies the allegations and there is no suggestion of any misconduct by Odey.
Odey was banned as a corporate director by the Financial Conduct Authority in March.