Blog owner told: 'render up your sources'

 by DOUG COLLIE

The identities of mysterious informants who have allegedly supplied this Not Just Sheep & Rugby blog with information about the activities of the Avocet 'disruptive technology' businesses must now be exposed, according to Group chairman Martin Frost.

Following another flurry of legal activity - Avocet's directors claim to have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds pursuing criminal and civil complaints in recent months - Mr Frost has told shareholders in his company that "Avocet has obtained the right to oblige Mr. W. Chisholm to render up his source names".

Bill Chisholm, a retired journalist, is the proprietor of the blogging website which has reported extensively on developments within the Avocet empire including the liquidation of Avocet Infinite Ltd, the administration of Avocet Farms Ltd, and the lodging of a bankruptcy petition against Mr Frost for £4 million in Scarborough last week.

Much of the information we have conveyed via these columns has come directly from statements made by Mr Frost or by Avocet company secretary Eirlys Lloyd in communications with hundreds of investors in the company. The chairman has issued repeated warnings that the contents of his shareholder letters must not be forwarded to third parties.

There is no indication in today's document headed 'A quick update' as to the identity of the individual or authority bestowing the right on Avocet to demand that our sources should be named or (perhaps more topically) unmasked!

In a further disclosure Mr Frost claims Avocet has also secured "the right to oblige Mrs. Aileen Orr to render up the true names and full ownership of the purported Avocet Shareholders Forum."

The forum has provided a platform for disgruntled shareholders and concerned investors to voice their opinions on the lack of progress in obtaining a return for their cash. There is no indication that Mrs Orr, a frequent target for verbal abuse and criticism by Mr Frost is involved in the administration of the forum or the rest of the shareholders' website.

So far as Not Just Sheep & Rugby is concerned, Mr Chisholm told us: "I was under the impression that Mr Frost and his fellow directors already knew where our information came from thanks to the tracking devices attached to each email sent to investors. I would certainly be interested to know the source of the legal ruling in favour of Avocet. Perhaps that will become clear in due course".

He added that the blog stood by everything it had written about Avocet and its management. 

An opportunity had even been given to the directors to respond to very serious claims made by Northern Ireland farmer James Christie that his involvement with Avocet had resulted in the destruction of his farm. But the specific issues raised by Mr Christie were not addressed in a response which was published in these columns.

Earlier this summer Mr Frost announced his intention to have the Avocet Shareholders' Forum shut down after contacting the Israel-based technology company providing the facility. However, the forum continues to function and carries strident criticism of Avocet.

Mr Frost is currently asking shareholders to approve changes to the company's Articles of Association to facilitate a proposed injection of money by unnamed potential investors who are said to want to take control of Avocet Natural Capital PLC. But there has been some opposition to the move by contributors to the forum.

One post asked: "When will the shareholders be provided with the redrafted Articles of Association? Eirlys Lloyd (Frost) has assured us that it is 'a small change in the Articles, and Frost told us on August 30th that 'On Friday 28th August, London Lawyers HFW commenced the process of drafting the required Drag-Along Rights revision'.

"Surely, it cannot have taken experienced lawyers three weeks to draft such a 'small' change. So why haven’t we been given the redrafted Articles for our review yet? And when we do receive them, of course, we will need sufficient time to carefully review and compare them to the existing Articles."

And he or she added: "As you can see, although this has been presented by Frost as a simple matter, there really is a lot to consider. I think that taking sufficient time to carefully consider all of these issues would be the better course of action for the shareholders.

"I believe that if - however unlikely - the buyers back out at the last minute, the shareholders at minimum need to be left with Articles that are more aligned with their interests and needs."