Oakmount & Partners Ltd has had such a productive year that chief executive Glenn King and his team could quite easily go into hibernation for the winter, ready to start with a clean slate in 2023.
But by no means is the Essex-based financier just going put his feet up until Christmas, as there’s some important business happening in the coming weeks, including a listing for one corporate finance client company and planning for next year.
“We as a small company over the last three years have been very successful, bringing in £1.5-1.8mln as gross operating profit.
“So we're just in a position now where we're going to carnivorously expand the business next year and help some companies expand their businesses too.”
Oakmount specialises in raising expansion capital, tapping its pool of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth investors.
Having provided capital for London-listed miner NQ Minerals, the current focus is on fellow Australia-focused InterGroup Mining, which was due to float in London but has switched to an ASX listing.
King expects over the course of the next month, InterGroup will be in a position to upload its prospectus, pinpoint a valuation and set a listing date.
“Thereafter, while it will also be open up to institutional capital, we will continue to assist with capital raising as they build their first kaolin plant for production and then for a major metakaolin plant as they scale it up from there.”
Once used only in the paper and ceramics industries, kaolin or china clay is now a “white gold” new-economy commodity, when processed into metakaolin or high-purity alumina, which is used in battery applications and advanced electronics.
In the build-up to Christmas, while the stock market is likely to continue roiling as it has in recent months, King says the company will “do what we've always done but in a much more relaxed level for the coming months – but will remain busy focusing on strategy for Q1 and Q2 next year”.
Raising money for mining projects has been central to Oakmount's winning formula, particularly working with venture capitalist Walter Doyle, who is CEO of InterGroup, founded NQ and was with King an early investor in Strategic Minerals and Sirius Minerals.
But, while King rails against diversifying too much – “there’s a danger you get into areas you don’t know enough about” – he says mining is “not palatable for all investment clients”, so is looking at one or two new angles.
Direct Energy Holdings, another Doyle-founded vehicle, offers up a green angle with its focus on green hydrogen production and solid oxide fuel cells, while there are also plans to move into commercial real estate by hiring a specialist to lead this push.
“We've also got connections at present with a green energy storage and vertical farming companies, and we’re tentatively looking at other new vehicles now and going forward,” says King.
“These companies will be looking to go public but are not at the InterGroup stage yet.”
As well as a more diverse investment offering, it is likely to be a reassurance for some investment clients that King will be joining them in taking a stake in these new ventures, and he still has “a large amount of equity and capital invested” in InterGroup Mining, built up since 2013.
“In my opinion, you can't promote a company or expect your clients to engage and take up a position in an opportunity that you've got no flesh in the game yourself. That makes no commercial sense to me because if the client’s in it, why aren't you?”