Ripple energy "strike off"

[cojmh]

With respect to the Co-op side of things is this the previous issue is still being dealt with?

FCA register

I notice that there are no new accounts or returns on there yet, so I was just wondering if this is something else?

I have to admit I chalked up the previous issue to just a slip and human error, so let it play out. But with this second issue now I want to know more about it all.

Will be interesting to see what happens.

Something else I noticed is that I am not seeing Sarah Merrick's name in any of these filings, which surprised me as I would have thought being the CEO of Ripple would mean she was a person of control within some of these other entities.

[cojmh]

Interestingly, it seems that Bruntwood have the same opinion of how their investment is being managed and have put someone in as a director - the CFO no less. As you say that might be a good thing for the governance - but I wonder why they were not put in there from the start and whether or not this might affect the balance between the KH coop and Bruntwood - as you say they have equal voting rights but now they have a directorship too? - Genuine question as I am interested to know the structure now.

Just as an update.

One of the directors that resigned yesterday "Kevin James CROTTY" would appear to be heavily involved with Bruntwood as he is listed as a director on loads of Bruntwood ltd companies.

Which kind of negates my concern about Bruntwood gaining additional power over the SPV.

However, it could also mean that Bruntwood have dropped the ball too over this situation and this is not necessarily a "taking over" of the governance which we initially thought ... simply passing the baton over to someone else within Bruntwood.

We really need an explanation from Ripple.

[nowty]

I believe the KH Coop side of things has potentially been resolved but the strike off notice takes time to be removed.

From the AGM, I think the explanation was the larger number of members in KH caused a lot more auditing work before the auditors were satisfied to sign off the accounts.

[Joeboy]

I hope and expect that it will all play out OK for the investors.

From a three month absence from Ripple perspective

I can say that the comms from investors are reading as more strident than ever and the same problems that made me leave are still cropping up along with a few new ones. (DW & WB)

I think they are as professional as they'll ever be with the current structure and people in place and have no plans to strive for higher.

Nonetheless I hope they do well for all the investors as the idea is great.

Just too much poor communication and reads constantly like amateur time which became a personal irritant

[cojmh]

Sorry, I seem to be the main one posting questions on this.

I know we are waiting on Ripple coming back with explanations - but while we do is anyone able to explain how the potential strike off will be viewed by Virgin Money (Clydesdale bank) who have 6 unsatisfied charges against the company? As I imagine their actions may well have separate and different consequences to the strike off application but don't know what these might be and whether they might be ongoing after the strike off issue is dealt with?

Incidentally - I had a good look around trust pilot too just to see what other people thought of things in general and I have to admit I was very surprised at the manner in which Ripple chose to respond to some of the valid feedback as clearly it could not be removed being on a independent platform.

[nowty]

I'm not sure whether the lender will even be involved, on one hand they may take a rather dim view and demand to know what's being done governance wise. On the other hand as long as the Coop / Bruntwood continue to keep the loan payments coming they may keep them at arms length. If they default then they are likely to be entitled to penalty payments with the comfort of being first in line with seizure of the assets if it truly goes tits up.

They certainly may think twice before lending any further loans to future projects.

[cojmh]

I'm not sure whether the lender will even be involved, on one hand they may take a rather dim view and demand to know what's being done governance wise. On the other hand as long as the Coop / Bruntwood continue to keep the loan payments coming they may keep them at arms length. If they default then they are likely to be entitled to penalty payments with the comfort of being first in line with seizure of the assets if it truly goes tits up.

They certainly may think twice before lending any further loans to future projects.

Thanks for the response,

I guess where my concern comes from is that normally with loans there are sets of conditions that can trigger a request for immediate repayment (or repayment within a specified short time period) and I would "imagine" that these clauses will exist in agreements with limited companies due to their limited liability structure. That is certainly my experience in distant past.

Were this to come to pass this would be more serious than the strike off notice (which I imagine they should be able to sort out).

Sorry just thinking out loud in case anyone can help me understand.

[cojmh]

Hi all,

I have been following the forums and community sections of the ripple site more closely the past few days and thought I would highlight something that is going so that you are aware if you want to get involved.

There are quite a few people who want to force and EGM as they unhappy with the situation and they are following through on the coop rules of how to do this (which seem quite onerous!).

The post is here: Ripple Community Forum - Link for EGM

There maybe other things going on on other social media channels (Facebook, X etc.) but as I don't use them I am not aware of them.

I have nothing to do with any of these actions - just bringing it to people's attention in case you want to join the request for the EGM.


[Edited - Sorry got the link wrong]

[nowty]

I note that Ripple's CFO has now resigned from the DW SPV as well as the KH SPV.

[cojmh]

Ripple have now emailed everyone the following:

Message from the Kirk Hill Coop Board

Dear

Further to the email from Sarah Merrick, CEO of Ripple, I wanted to issue a short statement to reassure you that the Kirk Hill Coop Board is fully aware of the current situation.

As your Board, our first priority is you, the members, and we are working hard with the investment partner, Bruntwood, to ensure that Kirk Hill Wind Farm Ltd (the company known as a special purpose vehicle or SPV which owns the wind farm assets and in which both the Coop and Bruntwood are shareholders) to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. We will give careful consideration to any findings and recommend changes as necessary to secure the long-term health of the Coop.

As you may be aware, the issue with both Companies House (for the SPV) and the FCA (for the Coop) relate to the accounts and both parties have now instructed independent accounting advisors and auditors to investigate and resolve the situation. Companies House has already agreed to defer action for approximately 8 weeks to enable the SPV to bring the filing requirements up to date.

I know that this must feel like a very unsatisfactory position to many of you and I have received a small number of representations calling for an EGM. Rather than a formal general meeting with a long notice period the board proposes instead a members meeting that can be called more quickly once the situation is clearer. Members would then be entitled to call an EGM afterwards if unsatisfied.

We will look to find a date when we can, and in the meantime, we will send a weekly update with whatever we can tell you until this situation is resolved. Please bear with us as we deal with this significant commitment in addition to our day jobs.

Kirk Hill Coop Board




Message from Sarah, Founder and CEO of Ripple

Further to my email on 26th February and the Coop Board statement above, we will continue to work closely with the Coop Board and SPV on this matter.

I also want to let you know one member of Ripple’s senior leadership team no longer works for the company and has stepped down as director of the Kirk Hill SPV and Derril Water SPV. They are in the process of stepping down from the Graig Fatha SPV board as well. (Note – the SPVs are the companies that hold the assets of the respective projects.)

It is essential that all members have access to the same information directly from myself, and at the same time. Therefore, all communications will be via email, which will now be your sole source of information on these important matters in place of Community and live chat.

Sarah Merrick