ShareProphets - Potential Red Flags?

Good morning,


The term "red flag" is an interesting one that seems to have evolved over the past few months to become an unofficial synonym for "something that can be potentially twisted out of context and or to my advantage", with Mr Tom Winnifrith of ShareProphets being the number one user of this term. 


In regards to this and although I have (to use the popular term) "no beef" with Mr Winnifrith, I thought that it would be interesting to try and find some potential "red flags" within ShareProphets itself, for irony's sake at least.


According to the ShareProphets webpage, they are a subsidiary of ADVFN:

"As we are a subsidiary of ADVFN PLC, we strive to ensure that ShareProphets meets the highest standards of balance and accuracy."

Sadly, ADVFN never answered my email regarding if ShareProphets was fully owned by ADVFN, which likely would have cleared up a lot of the information below, but they did answer the emails of a few others I'm associated with, who relayed to me that according to ADVFN, ShareProphets are not part of the group.


So, regarding the involvement of ADVFN, we're getting a lot of mixed messages being banded about from each side of the pond.

ADVFN then apparently is registered in Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gables, Fyfield Road, Ongar, Essex, CM5 0GA:

"ADVFN Plc (“the Company”) is principally involved in the development and provision of financial information primarily via

the internet and the development and exploitation of ancillary internet sites.

The company is a public limited liability company incorporated and domiciled in England and Wales. The address of

its registered office is Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gables, Fyfield Road, Ongar, Essex, CM5 0GA."

Now according to a credit analysis report I have in front of me, the principal shareholder of Shareprophets is actually the The Eden Moor Trust, with the sole director being a Mr Darren Atwater.

The particularly interesting part though is that the Registered Office of Shareprophets Ltd is recorded as 91-95 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5BX, which is also the address for The RealMan Pizza Company, which is apparently owned by Mr Tom Winnifrith.

So, in short, Shareprophets Ltd (if you ask them) is apparently a subsidiary of ADVFN plc (who apparently have no relation to ShareProphets) - who have their registered office in an “Office Suite “ in Ongar Essex - but then again is also owned by the Eden Moor Trust and has its registered office in a The RealMan Pizza Company in Clerkenwell. The RealMan Pizza Company then seems to be controlled by a trust shut up for the beneficiaries of Mr Winnifrith, which is then being controlled from the Isle of Man - presumably for tax purposes. 


In fact, Mr Darren Atwater's Linkedin account seems to summarise it pretty well with the following:

"Director of one of those financial media/Manx-Italian restaurant companies that you are always hearing about"

To conclude, the point I'm trying to illustrate is that effectively any standard piece of company information has the potential to be misused. In this case, SharePhrophets could be throwing up a "red flag" or it could just be that it's been structured in this way for a perfectly legitimate and normal reasons - it's almost certainly the latter, but I don't think that people in glass houses should throw stones.


Holding companies like Quindell in particular have the potential to get complicated as a result of their constituents, but I don't think that this should put people off and I think that all future "red flags" need to be thought about in practical and relative terms before they're acted upon in reference to investment decisions.

Extra Reading:

Investigation Into Irvington Street:
http://themaskedstocktrader.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/investigation-into-rivington-street.html

Tom Winnifrith - An Open Letter To ADVFN:
http://themaskedstocktrader.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/tom-winnifrith-open-letter-to-advfn.html

All the best,

The Masked AIM Trader