Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

MetalNRG plc
(“MetalNRG” or the “Company”)

Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

MetalNRG (LON:MNRG), the London NEX Exchange quoted natural resource investing company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Johnson as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.  Paul was previously a non-executive director of the Company.

Christopher Latilla-Campbell, Chairman of MetalNRG plc commented:  “ I am delighted to welcome Paul into the role of Chief Executive Officer as the Company gears up to enter a new growth phase. 

The management team have been actively investigating new opportunities and have a pipeline from which we anticipate further developments will be announced in due course. 

The appointment of Paul as CEO marks an inflection point in the commitment of management time to developing the Company and I personally look forward to participating in the advancement of the Metal NRG business going forward.”

Paul Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of MetalNRG plc commented: “I am pleased to take on this new role at a key point in the natural resource cycle.  Junior companies have access to a tremendous array of opportunities and, with the prolonged cyclical downturn now morphing into what the Board believe is a recovery phase, the ability to create value for shareholders in a highly efficient manner is possible.

MetalNRG itself is well established on the NEX Exchange however its shares have not of late been actively traded, which is one area we will be working to change immediately. 

The Company must innovate from the beginning and grow its business in an inspirational manner that reflects the challenges of the resource sector.  Opportunities abound in this space currently however financing for resource projects is a limiting factor.  These are actually favourable conditions for an innovative junior company such as MetalNRG but such conditions will not last forever, so we now need to progress our activities with due dispatch.

I look forward to updating shareholders as material developments occur.”

NEX Exchange:

Investors wishing to consider trading in NEX Exchange quoted shares can access this market from numerous brokers, a full list of which can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.nexexchange.com/for-investors/find-a-broker/

The list accessed through the link above includes certain brokers offering online trading of NEX Exchange quoted shares.

Paul Johnson - Chief Executive Officer

Paul Johnson (aged 47) is a Chartered Accountant, Associate of the Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters and of the Chartered Insurance Institute.  Paul holds a BSc (Hons) in Management Science from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

Paul has held various board roles on listed and quoted public companies and private companies and he is currently a Non-Executive Director of AIM listed Thor Mining (LON:THR) plc.

Paul’s current and previous directorships in the last five years are detailed below.

Current directorships: 

Thor Mining plc, Metal NRG plc, Value Generation Limited, Tomas Capital Limited, Value at Risk Limited and NTZ Resources Limited.

Past directorships:

Catalyst Information Services Limited, Catalyst Strategies Limited, China Africa Resources plc, Commercial Assure Limited, ECR Minerals plc, Greatland Gold plc, Metal Capital Limited, Metal Tiger plc, Open 2 Barter Limited, Strathmore Accountants Limited and The Vitiligo Society.

Paul has a beneficial interest in 9,513,634 shares in Metal NRG plc representing 14.12% of issued share capital.  This is held through Value Generation Limited, a company controlled by him.

Contact Details:

MetalNRG plc Paul Johnson (Chief Executive Officer)	[phone]
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP James Caithie/Liam Murray	[phone]

Notes for Editors:

Metal NRG is quoted on the NEX Exchange in London with the stock code MNRG and is a natural resource investing company. 

The Investing Policy of the Company is as follows:

The Company’s proposed new Investing Policy is to invest in and/or acquire companies and/or projects within the natural resources and/or energy sector with potential for growth and value creation, over the medium to long term. The Company will also consider opportunities in other related sectors if the Board considers there is an opportunity to generate an attractive return for Shareholders. This will include natural resource technologies and fintech opportunities offering leverage to resource identification, processing, recording, storage and trading businesses.

Where appropriate, the Board may seek to invest in businesses where it may influence the business at a board level, add their expertise to the management of the business, and utilise their significant industry relationships.

The Company’s interests in a proposed investment and/or acquisition may range from a minority position to full ownership and may comprise one investment or multiple investments. The proposed investments may be in either quoted or unquoted companies; be made by direct acquisitions or farm-ins; and may be in companies, partnerships, earn-in joint ventures, debt or other loan structures, joint ventures or direct or indirect interests in assets or projects.

The Board may focus on investments where intrinsic value can be achieved from the restructuring of investments or merger of complementary businesses. The Board expects that investments will typically be held for the medium to long term, although short term disposal of assets cannot be ruled out if there is an opportunity to generate an attractive return for Shareholders. The Board will place no minimum or maximum limit on the length of time that any investment may be held. The Company may be both an active and a passive investor depending on the nature of the individual opportunity.

Where the Company builds a portfolio of related assets it is possible that there may be cross-holdings between such assets. The Company does not currently intend to fund any investments with debt or other borrowings, but may do so if appropriate. Investments in early stage assets are expected to be mainly in the form of equity, with debt potentially being raised later to fund the development of such assets. Investments in later stage assets are more likely to include an element of debt to equity gearing. The Board may also offer new Ordinary Shares by way of consideration as well as cash, thereby helping to preserve the Company’s cash for working capital and as a reserve against unforeseen contingencies including, for example, delays in collecting accounts receivable, unexpected changes in the economic environment and operational problems.

The Board will conduct initial due diligence appraisals of potential business or projects and, where they believe further investigation is warranted, intend to appoint appropriately qualified persons to assist. The Proposed Board believes its expertise will enable it to determine quickly which opportunities could be viable and so progress quickly to formal due diligence. The Company will not have a separate investment manager. The Company proposes to carry out a comprehensive and thorough project review process in which all material aspects of a potential project or business will be subject to rigorous due diligence, as appropriate.