18 days ago
As of today just under half the seats for the third Sharestock event on 7 September are now booked. If you have been before you know why but this year’s event will be bigger and better than any yet. Here is why you should make sure you have a seat HERE today.
68 days ago
If you have attended for either of the past two years you know what fun it is. My plan is to do at least two more years but we shall see. There are so many variables in life. Anyhow we are all set for 2024 and the date is fixed at Saturday 7th September. We now have a nearly complete speaker line up and it is top notch!
120 days ago
I start with Joshua’s bonus Welsh lessons then it is onto Boohoo.com (BOO) with my thoughts and those of matt Earl. There is Tintra (TNT) and also Belluscura (BELL) and TMT Aquisitions (TMTA). Finally we have a date for Sharestock 2024 ( 7 September) as you can see HERE
325 days ago
Despite the presence on its board as a NED of Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer, the 15 year AIM sewer career of Mirada (MIRA) is almost at an end. Unable to raise finance on the Casino and disappointed with its share price, though its inability to generate cash and its mountains of debt might just have something to do with it, the Spanish-based media software group is going to delist.
572 days ago
Some folks said that I did not give them enough notice about ShareStock 2022 so they were on holiday, could not find anywhere to stay or had accepted a prior engagement. So for 2023 I am giving you almost a year’s notice of an even more unusual event! We start with some amazing new speakers:
577 days ago
In today’s podcast, I look at Darktrace (DARK) as its shares slump again, Avacta (AVCT) , Novacyt (NCYT), UK base rate rises, nanosynth (NNN) and the dishonesty of journalist smearing and trolling Union Jack Oil (UJO). PS, Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer, tells me that he has added to his Darktrace short today.
586 days ago
A few logistics on shared cabs etc for Sharestock first. Then Darktrace (DARK), Funding Circle (FCH), Alien Metals (UFO), Cenkos (CNKS), FinnCap (FCAP), Shield Therapeutics (STC) and Restaurant Group (RTN)
604 days ago
Last week the Dark Destroyer agreed to do a conference call with a few fund managers to discuss Darktrace (DARK). Some sad feck recorded the call and passed the recording to the Sunday Times which ran a big story “exposing Matt’s undisclosed short”. If only financial journalists on the deadwood press understood that short disclosures are only visible over 0.5%. So, for Darktrace that would be c. £18 million, way too big for Earl’s Shadowfall oufit. Earl is hiding nothing.
604 days ago
Over the weekend I explained HERE why Boohoo.com (BOO) could go bust. Given the shocking corporate governance history here arguably it SHOULD go bust. Boohoo is just a bad actor on the PLC stage. Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer, was an early critic of Boohoo but even with the shares having crashed to 44p, giving a £560 million market cap, he warns of massive problems ahead and quantifies the extra cash need: £200 million.
642 days ago
Lucian Miers and I both warned that this would happen as, I think, did the Dark Destroyer Matt Earl. Chris Bailey is a non-drinker and disagreed. Never trust a non-drinker, as my pal Evil Knievil (not a non-drinker) would say. On 19 May Fevertree (FEVR) told us to expect flat FY EBITDA of £63 million to £66 million. Today, less than two months later…..
904 days ago
Aquis listed Pioneer Media (PNER) run by serial promoter and related party deal specialist Mike Edwards or, as he now likes to be known, “Mike Edwards”, has put out a release today about the acquisition of CryptoPunk 8869 in Canada. It is pure unadulterated gobbledygook but that is the point. I have asked several very smart folks including the Dark Destroyer and Jim Mellon if they understand it and can explain it but they cannot. Neither can I. But few are brave enough to admit it and so the narrative that this makes sense, that the Emperor’s New Clothes are just splendid goes unchallenged.
915 days ago
Since, a few weeks ago, Matt Earl launched his first bear dossier on Civitas Social Housing (CSH) its shares have fallen by 25% to 91p. The company did issue a response to the first dossier published by the bear raider known as “the Dark Destroyer”.
923 days ago
The RNS today is headlined “response to further letter from short seller. “ Sure Matt Earl’s Shadowfall is short but he is also a brilliant analyst who has exposed so many frauds over the years. Surely the correct headline should be “lack of response to brilliant analyst who has exposed so many frauds over the years.” For the other thing about this response is that it is not a response at all, it appears a recognition that Civitas (CSH), has no response.
1060 days ago
Matt and his Shadowfall company earned great plaudits when it came to exposing the Wirecard fraud. He has today published a report on lessons all should learn and some read across shorts. Enjoy.
1073 days ago
Thanks to the pressure applied by major dossiers and a string of exposed published by myself and by the Dark Destroyer, Matt Earl, a new management team at First Derivatives (FDP) has started to clean up its act. I got the FRC to force it to change its misleading accounts. And the old, very whiffy related party/Panama Pump deals of the ancient regime are gone. But yesterday’s results show that without the gloss of aggressive accounting and dodgy deals, what is left is a dull business but still one on a glamour rating. My original bear call – sell at £46 on 28 June 2018 – was spot on. The shares are now £22.25 to sell but still a slam dunk sell. Here is why…
1250 days ago
The short answer according to Matt Earl, the bear raider known as the Dark Destroyer, is No!
1255 days ago
Matt Earl of Shadowfall, aka the Dark Destroyer, has published a devastating dossier on £1.6 billion capitalised Blue Prism (PRSM). The company is yet to respond but it is hard to see what it can say in the face of clear dynamite. The dossier is below in full. The shares appear to be utterly uninvestable.
1432 days ago
Ouch. This is a compelling read from Matt Earl and his Shadowfall company which is short of Boohoo.com (BOO) and makes a very compelling case indeed as to why the shares are overvalued. The dossier is below , in full.
1446 days ago
At the ShareProphers shares show this weekend carson was a star happily explaining why Burford (BUR) could be a zero. If you have not watched the great man in flying form do so here. at the same event Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer, also weighed in. Now Carson has savaged Burford in a new dossier which I publish in full below. Explicity he accuses the company of misleading investors, noting:
1464 days ago
I view St James Place (STJ) as a long term short since it has always and continues to provide a truly appalling service to its customers. You can fleece punters to reward staff and shareholders for only so long but eventually you reap what you sow and for me that makes this company uninvestable. The Dark Destroyer offers up a more detailed financial analysis of why his Shadowfall fund is short. Enjoy
1501 days ago
The Dark Destroyer, aka Matt Earl, has branded Andrew Monk, the Banning Buffoon for his call to ban shorting in a fiery twitter exchange. I discuss why Matt is right on all counts. I chatted to Nigel Wray, Britain’s Buffett, at length today about the markets, individual shares, the coronavirus, the shape of the recession, consumer attitudes and most interestingly about commercial property, which he knows a bit about. I also discuss Sosandar (SOS), Finncrap (FCAP), Arden (ARDN), WH Ireland (WHI) and other Nomad/brokers and when the FCA will have to step in to check their solvency. Finally a few words on the Government’s daft £330 billion loan scheme.
1548 days ago
We have been all over Future PLC (FUTR) this week with a three part special as you can see HERE. But now Matt Earl, the UK’s smartest bear raider has gone short and published a major and damning dossier. You ignore the Dark Destoyer at your peril. His report is below.
1655 days ago
No doubt Roger Lawson reckons that Matt Earl should have run the dossier below by the Luxembourg based company first. It is long but damning and the shares are crashing on the back of it. Enjoy.
1700 days ago
In this seventh edition of the ShareProphets Radio podcast sponsored by Turner Pope, this week, in order I discuss why Burford scrutiny is so welcome then interview Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer, on Avanti (AVN) , Burford (BUR), IQE (IQE), First Derivatives (FDP), Versarien (VRS), Quindell (QPP)) and Kerry Group. After a few more thoughts from me on scrutiny of smaller AIM stocks I interview Steve O’Hara of Optibiotix (OPTI) and then discuss one area where I disagree with him on strategy. If you like this and can’t wait seven days for more of the same you should listen to my Bearcast every day.
To listen to episode 6 of Shareprophets Radio click HERE
To listen to episode 5 of Shareprophets Radio click HERE
To listen to episode 4 of Shareprophets Radio click HERE
To listen to episode 3 of Shareprophets Radio click HERE
To listen to episode 2 of Shareprophets Radio click HERE
To listen to episode 1 of Shareprophets Radio click HERE
1700 days ago
Burford (BUR) has today issued a statement regarding Napo and the 2013 accounts. The statement, below, itself fails to address the two critical key points and indeed raises a stack more red flags as I discuss in some detail having chatted at length about this to the Dark Destroyer, Matt Earl.
1720 days ago
Just to show that bears can tell jokes, here’s a Burford (BUR) tweet from Matt Earl. the Dark Destroyer.
1787 days ago
Shadowfall, the company run by bear raider Matt Earl, the “Dark Destroyer” has today published a 70 page dossier on 18 billion euro capitalised Kerry Group (KYGA). It is a pretty devestating analysis. The report can be accessed in full below.
2034 days ago
The September letter from Matt Earl to investors in his Shadowfall fund has found its way, via Winnileaks, into my possession. I gather Matt does not want it published but Winnileaks works both way Mr DD! I had a pop at First Derivatives (FDP) myself back in June despite it hailing from God's chosen lands of Ulster, as you can see HERE. Matt goes into far more detail in the 47 page document you can see below.
2183 days ago
And the next video is the bears with myself, the Dark Destroyer Matt Earl, the Bard of the Boleyn Lucian Miers and a cameo by Nigel Somerville on Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO). On the agenda Telit (TCM), Tesla (TSLA), Mitie (MTO), IQE (IQE), RM2 (RM2),Avanti Communications (AVN), AIQ (AIQ) and a good stack more.
2276 days ago
Matt Earl, the bear raider known as the Dark Destroyer is riding high after a string of recent big wins including Mitie (MTO). His next target is IQE (IQE) currently valued at c£890 million. Launching his new hedge fund Shadowfall Matt has produced a damning 36 page dossier which we reproduce in full below.
2347 days ago
I was uber bearish on Mothercare (MTC) in yesterday's bearcast and could easily see it go to zero as I explained in full. My confidence in that assessment is reinforced by comments made by Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer who is the Mothercare specialist in the global shorting conspiracy.
2449 days ago
With apologies to my fellow bear Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer, who is a NED at Mirada (MIRA) but today's trading statement moves swiftly from gushing about jam tomorrow to a a damning admission of the monumental cashburn which leave the balance sheet holed beneath the waterline. It is placing ahoy and for a company of this size that means bucket shops and a deep discount
2460 days ago
Infamous short seller Matt Earl, aka the Dark Destroyer, has gone to war with Purplebricks (PURP) questioning its absurd valuation and also its response to last night's hatchet job on the BBC Watchdog programme. Earl notes:
2714 days ago
Following yesterday's grim results from Mitie (MTO), the bear raider Matt Earl says that he went short at 210p last week and added to that short at 189p expecting the shares to halve or worse from here.
The "Dark Destroyer" comments:
3056 days ago
This was one of the sparkiest sessions at Gold & Bears and I loved it. Each of myself, the bard of the Boleyn (Lucian Miers), the Dark Destroyer (Matt Earl) and Baby Bear (Graham Neary) selelected two stocks we thought were going to zero and explained why. They were: Fastjet (FJET), AO World (AO), Gulf Keystone (GKP), Slater & Gordon (SGH), Avanti Communications (AVN), Plus500 (PLUS), Tungsten (TUNG) and - bugger me - I can't remember Matt's other pick. Watch the video to find out, its a stormer.
3076 days ago
We have now had a few last minute return tickets become available for Gold & Bears on Saturday and you can get your hands on them today. We will email them out tonight. And with speakers from across the world lined up Saturday looks set to be explosive. The SuperBears 7 big name stocks to go to zero session with myself, Lucian Miers, Graham Neary and the Dark Destroyer Matt Earl is set to really get the lawyers excited!
3240 days ago
In this podcast I look back to my own experiences of the dotcom bubble of 2000-2001 you see I remember it well, the lunacy, the excess and how it all ended in 2001-2002. It ended in tears. My mind is drawn to this as I contemplate the New Media bubble of 2015 and signs that it too will end in tears. I refer to two excellent articles, one on Zero Hedge HERE and the other on this website by Matty Earl, the Dark Destroyer (HERE). Both offer real insight. And I then speculate on why New Media will blow up and on the wider ramifications.
3349 days ago
After hours Tungsten (TUNG) responded to a dramatic fall in its share price with a statement that was so weedy that it almost makes me tempted to go short, something I have not done before. If this was aimed at getting punters to buy the shares it failed. CEO and AIM entrepreneur of the year 2014 (another reason to short) Edmund Truell still has serious questions to answer.
Quite pointedly he knows that Matt Earl’s analysis HERE and HERE has spooked investors but has not answered his points made by the Dark Destroyer.
The company had c£27 million of cash as at October 31 but seems to be happily burning c£2.5 million a month. Now I refer you to the statement and the underline is mine:
3477 days ago
So far the bear portfolio of Matt Earl (the Dark Destroyer), Evil Knievil (the fat man), Lucian Miers (the Bard of the Boleyn) and Tom Winnifrith (the Sheriff of AIM) is down by an average of 18.2%. Today one stock leaves the portfolio (New World) having duly collapsed and in its stead goes African Minerals (AMI) which will collapse. But which of our 10 shorts do you think will slump most by Christmas. The deadline for voting is midnight tonight as things are moving rapidly with at least one constituent.
3550 days ago
A month ago myself, Evil Knievil, Lucian Miers and Matt Earl (the Dark Destroyer) agreed on a sort of joint top ten UK stocks to short for the summer. Since then the FTSE 100 has fallen by 8%. As you can see below our average fall is 10.51% so we are doing okay so far. Only two of the ten are up.
3550 days ago
With a hat tip to EJ Thribb from Private Eye, Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer, has penned a poem in honour of joke China AIM company Naibu (NBU) after its comedy statement of today. It reads:
Mr Lin throw Quangang in the bin.
3571 days ago
Ten days ago, Lucian Miers, Matt Earl (The Dark Destroyer), Evil Knievil and I served up our top ten shorts in London. One of them, Avanti Communications (AVN), has already done the decent thing and issued a profits warning. So who will be next to see its shares price slump. Who do you think it will be?
As a reminder, the original article is HERE.
Deadline for voting is midnight Sunday in case one of the ten wishes to fess up on Monday Morning
3573 days ago
It is no secret that I am not a fan of Globo (GBO) – perhaps I shall have to treck up from the Mani to Athens for another visit. I sense things are getting exciting. For the bears.
Firstly I draw your attention to this absolutely devastating critique by Matt Earl, the dark destroyer out late yesterday.
3579 days ago
Anyone who was at UK Investor 2014 knows that the Bears session (HERE) saw some great calls. And so ahead of a long sweaty summer I asked Evil Knievil, Matt Earl (The Dark Destroyer) and Lucian Miers for their top 5 shorts of the summer and for good measure I add in my own. Between us we have thus compiled the top ten stocks to short in London!
Starring with the heavyweight – Evil Knievil. His top 5 are:
3591 days ago
You may not like short sellers but the bear raider panel at the UK Investor Show 2014 called things right on a range of stocks from blinkx (BLNX), to Globo (GBO), to Quindell (QPP) as you can see in the video below. Evil Knievil, Lucian Miers and Matt Earl (The Dark Destroyer) have all promised to return for another main stage masterclass at UK Investor Show 2015 on April 18.
The 2015 show will also feature Nigel Wray, Paul Scott, Ed Croft, Mark Slater, Ben Edelman, Amanda Van Dyke, Dominic Frisby, and Vin Murria – in fact 50 big name speakers. Tickets are now on sale at £60 (Golden Ticket) and £12 (Investor ticket).
The 2014 video is below…
