Shellbay Appoints New Chief Executive Officer

27 September 2024

Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Shellbay Appoints New Chief Executive Officer and Change of Director's Shareholding

The Board of Agronomics announces that Shellbay Investments Limited ("Shellbay"), the adviser to the Company providing portfolio management and investment services, has appointed Dr Philip Boigner as its interim Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.

The appointment of Dr Boigner follows a strategic review by Mr James Mellon, the non-executive chair of Agronomics, and indirectly the sole owner of Shellbay.

Mr Anthony Chow, the former Chief Executive Officer, has left Shellbay with immediate effect. Mr Chow, however, will be available to Shellbay, Dr Boigner and the Company, to ensure an orderly handover or responsibilities, and continued good relations with the Company's portfolio investee companies.

Dr Boigner serves as Director at New Agrarian Company Limited, an active investor in cell agriculture and fermentation technologies (and an affiliate of Agronomics, having a number of portfolio companies in common, also advised by Shellbay). In addition, he has managed capital for sovereign wealth funds and investment companies with a combined AUM in excess of many US$ billions. He has global experience and a successful track record of executing venture capital, private equity, and fund investments. Dr Boigner has a diverse skill set ranging from private markets and alternative assets to innovation, ecosystem building and company turn-arounds.

Shellbay is a related party of the Company, as Mr Jim Mellon is indirectly the sole owner of Shellbay and Mr Denham Eke is the sole director of Shellbay. Mr Mellon and Mr Eke are directors of Agronomics.   

Commenting on the appointment of Dr Boigner, Mr Mellon noted :

"Philip is a first class executive, with years of experience identifying and realising value from great companies and technologies. I have worked with him for a number of years at New Agrarian Company and I have great confidence that he will provide the necessary skills to bring success to Shellbay, and in particular the Agronomics portfolio. The share price remains extremely disappointing notwithstanding general poor market conditions and sentiment, and the discount to the Company's net asset value is unacceptable. I would like to thank Anthony Chow for his work building the portfolio, but between Philip and I, supported by the rest of the Board, we will ensure investors understand the great value opportunity that exists currently, the enormous strides that have been made by companies in the portfolio recently, and the great potential of these technologies."

Change in Director's Shareholding

Separately, following a review of Jim Mellon's shareholding, the Company has identified an error which resulted in an understatement of those shares held by Galloway Limited. Jim Mellon's corrected interest is in a total of 156,106,552 Ordinary Shares, representing 15.46% of the total issued capital of the Company which remains at 1,009,411,584 Ordinary shares with a nominal value of £0.000001. Of this total, 151,410,944 Ordinary Shares are held by Galloway Limited (not 147,591,813 as previously reported) and 2,313,647 Ordinary Shares are held by Shellbay, companies which are both indirectly wholly owned by Jim Mellon, and 2,381,961 Ordinary Shares are held directly by Mr Mellon. Denham Eke is a director of Galloway Limited and Shellbay Investments Limited.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU No. 596/2014) AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND SUCH PERSONS SHALL THEREFORE CEASE TO BE IN POSSESSION OF INSIDE INFORMATION.

About Agronomics

Agronomics is a leading London-listed company focussing on investment opportunities within the field of cellular agriculture. The Company has established a portfolio of over 20 companies in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to invest in companies owning technologies with defensible intellectual property that offer new ways of producing food and materials with a focus on products historically derived from animals. These technologies are driving a major disruption in agriculture, offering solutions to improve sustainability, as well as addressing human health, animal welfare and environmental damage. This disruption will decouple supply chains from the environment and animals and improve food security for the world's expanding population. A full list of Agronomics' portfolio companies is available at https://agronomics.im/.

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Nominated Adviser

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter referred to in it.