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Articles by Matt Earl, The dark Destroyer

Atkins... as night follows day: time to short

Coming up to two years ago I sold short in Weir Group (WEIR) with a market cap of £2.4 billion at 2,094p.

I quickly covered the short about a month or so later at around 2,300p. I closed in the midst of a sharp run up in Weir's price, driven by spurious bid speculation and a short squeeze; short interest at the time was 12%. The market then was also fairly unforgiving for shorts, still being juiced by QE, statements of "whatever it takes" and all that.

By Matt Earl, The dark Destroyer | Published 2015-11-11 02:16:34 |

Globo: two and a bit reasons ... why the cash might not be there.

As the ceramic dust settles from the self inflicted smashing of plates over the heads of Globo shareholders, the last straws are being clutched at. Does the company have all that €47 million of net cash it reported in its interims to 30th June 2015?

By Matt Earl, The Dark Destroyer | Published 2015-10-29 01:01:48 |

Just Eat ... more fine dining than Grub?

Pursuant to yesterday's warning by the US listed online restaurant order and delivery service, GrubHub (GRUB US, market cap $2.2 billion), I sold short a few shares in Just Eat (JE) - market cap £2.9 billion, the UK listed online restaurant order and delivery service.

By Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer | Published 2015-10-28 00:54:53 |

Dialight... more expensive than you think?

Dialight (DIA) has defied gravity of late. I wonder if buyers realise how expensive it likely is. Bloomberg consensus earnings expectations for full year 2015 are set at 21.7p per share. That would suggest DIA trades on a relatively pricey 32x this year's earnings. But it's likely no where near that cheap.

By Matt Earl, The Dark Destroyer | Published 2015-10-19 02:40:44 |

HSS Hire Group - stone cold: strong short, shares will collapse

I've struggled to get much in the way of borrow in HSS Hire Group (HSS), the tool and equipment rental company, capitalised at £100 million. This is a pity, as barring a perfunctory dead cat bounce as the suckers pile in, I've convinced myself it's heading considerably lower.

By Matt Earl, The Dark Destroyer | Published 2015-09-09 00:50:25 |

Optimal Payments ... a gamble in China? A sure fire short bet

Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer, posted this on hs own website two weeks ago. It is a compelling reason to short Optimal Payments (OPAY). It is not historic numbers but future earnings you should focus on. Matt writes: Pursuant to the latest crackdown (see below) by Chinese authorities on online gambling, I've sold short in OPAY the online and mobile payments processor

By Matt Earl, the Dark Destroyer | Published 2015-08-27 00:25:06 |

Apps, Apps, Apps, Apps ...

Each week I will typically see between three to six companies that are either looking to raise capital or that are on the road to raise their profile and expectantly their share price. No doubt I could see more but six is quite enough for me over a five day stretch.

By Matt Earl, The Dark Destroyer | Published 2015-06-15 01:27:35 |

Tungsten ... now you see it

A few weeks back, the CEO of Tungsten Bank, Mr Phil Ashdown, moved from that position and departed Tungsten's board to go over to Tungsten's Centre for Intelligent Data Analytics. He is one of a number of board members to depart over recent times.

By Matt Earl, The Dark Destroyer | Published 2015-05-12 01:22:36 |

Dialight ... here we go again?

I reckon Dialight (DIA) is a grossly overvalued business. All I see is a business capitalised at £255 million, with little in the way of IP, and a dismal record of free cash flow generation. For example, on my calculations it achieved a free cash outflow of £4.6 million in 2013, as compared to a paltry free cash inflow of £2.5 million in 2012.

By Matt Earl, The Dark Destroyer | Published 2014-12-17 09:19:13 |

Avanti Communications ... questionable quality of sales

Avanti Communications (AVN) 2014 accounts were released yesterday and while the group's year end statement (from September 15th 2014) revealed that debt continues to pile up at an alarming rate (the debt rises), the accounts show that the quality of its revenues remains questionable as ever.

By Matt Earl, The Dark Destroyer | Published 2014-11-05 04:30:25 |

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Paul Mathieson writes…

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Recent Comments

TOM23 Sep 2026

Not blocked any of his postings , i think they speak for themselves

Letter to Baker McKenzie – the Police would like to speak to Paul Mathieson

BAGHOLDER7923 Sep 2026

Good article, Tom. As we know, paid promotion is always a bit of a red flag, and while I was aware that Medpal had paid spivs like Richard Gill and for research reports and had done a couple of interviews with Zak Mir, I wasn't fully aware of the extent of their engagement with the loathsome Mir. I also wasn't aware that Medpal was engaging Twitter rampers, who have presumably either taken undisclosed payments or potentially own the stock, as you mentioned. However, the biggest red flags to me are the history of the Drummond Brothers and the company's reluctance to provide meaningful updates on its cash position or (presumably lack of) profits. I see that Jason Drummond is happy to blather on about revenue growth in the pharmacy arm, but from what I can see, there has been no update on operational cash burn since the March annual report, where cash burn was allegedly £4 million/year. One would assume that cash burn is now significantly higher, considering the company has seemingly burned through approaching £8 million (perhaps £7.5 million net) raised through the April and July placings, hence the latest placing. I cannot say I can remember many other companies which have raised funds on 5 occasions in 10 months, almost immediately after floating.

Who is pumping Medpal AI and why?

Lloyd23 Sep 2026

Has he stopped making posts on this website or are you just not letting them through?

Letter to Baker McKenzie – the Police would like to speak to Paul Mathieson

TOM23 Sep 2026

https://youtu.be/WOw3EDawJh4?si=NddyHNGHlOT4N39i

Paul Mathieson writes…

EXEOST23 Sep 2026

Remember the Frank Muir advert for a famous chocolate? I don't know why that's just sprung to mind. LOL.

Paul Mathieson writes…

TOM23 Sep 2026

I could put you in touch with AR if you drop me an email

Tom Winnifrith Bearcast: Andy Burnham’s chilling attack on your freedoms & two victory laps for the Sheriff

YIANNOS1123 Sep 2026

Has got some serious issues this kid!

Paul Mathieson writes…

RIZZLE12323 Sep 2026

Hey Tom Genuine question , I’ve been looking more at PBX and am more inclined to want to have a bit of a decent position here -> not large enough to warrant an individual approach to opti but I wonder if there were enough on this board who could offer some liquidity to opti for some cheaper PBX stock vs what I imagine will be a hefty discount if placed out through Reynolds Is this something that’s possible if we had enough interest ?

Tom Winnifrith Bearcast: Andy Burnham’s chilling attack on your freedoms & two victory laps for the Sheriff

BAGHOLDER7923 Sep 2026

I think he does! He also wrote "share prophet's".

Paul Mathieson writes…