PKF Francis Clark acts on Tungsten West IPO

We were delighted to support Tungsten West Plc’s successful flotation on the London Stock Exchange by acting as reporting accountants for the company’s initial public offering (IPO).

Tungsten West raised approximately £39 million from investors on admission to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), giving it a market capitalisation of £106.2 million on its first day of trading. This initial investment will help to fund its plans to restart mining at Hemerdon, near Plymouth.

We appreciated Duncan and his team’s dedication and professionalism over what was an intense but ultimately extremely successful process.

The company was incorporated in 2019 as a special purpose vehicle to purchase the Hemerdon Project out of receivership. It is focused on rebuilding and restarting the mine to supply two critically important strategic minerals – tungsten and tin – to the Western hemisphere. Hemerdon mine is the world’s third largest tungsten resource.

Duncan Leslie, managing partner at the Plymouth office of PKF Francis Clark, said: “Working with Tungsten West, we are well aware of the business’s potential to be a driver of economic growth in our city and region over the coming years, so we were delighted to be asked to support our clients in delivering their IPO.

“As reporting accountants, we worked closely with our colleagues at PKF Littlejohn in London to provide comfort to investors on Tungsten West’s historical financial information and are pleased that the flotation was such a great success in raising the finance needed to drive forward their ambitious plans.

“This was an exciting project to be involved in on a number of levels. Restarting mining at Hemerdon has huge potential for job creation, and seeing Tungsten West listed on the London Stock Exchange helps to put the South West on the map for international investors. We look forward to seeing Tungsten West bring the mine back into full production in the near future and wish them every success.”

Nigel Widdowson, CFO of Tungsten West, said: “We were grateful for the services provided by PKF Francis Clark during the preparation for admission to AIM. We appreciated Duncan and his team’s dedication and professionalism over what was an intense but ultimately extremely successful process. We look forward to working with PKF Francis Clark over the next phase of Tungsten West’s development, as we move towards restarting Hemerdon, a significant project both for the UK and globally due to its substantial tungsten resource.”

Proceeds of the share offer, together with a £36 million project financing facility, will be used to fund planned capital expenditure of £44.6 million on plant rebuild and refurbishment, enabling Tungsten West to bring the Hemerdon mine back into commercial production by the end of 2022.

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