Geldof director link to Regal affair

PHILIP Caldwell, a director of one of Live8 organiser Bob Geldof's companies, has emerged as a key figure in the Regal Petroleum affair.

Caldwell, an investment manager based in Guernsey, acts for former Regal Petroleum chairman Frank Timis as well as for offshore investors who appear to have sold their shares before the Regal bubble burst.

Last week, Timis was forced to resign following exaggerated claims over the company's Greek oil prospects. Regal shares have dropped more than 75% since it admitted in May that its Aegean Sea oilwell was non-commercial.

Timis family trusts are managed by Caldwell Associates and CA Fiduciary Services in Guernsey. Caldwell Associates is run by the former stockbroker, who is a non-executive director of Geldof's media group Ten Alps Communications, which joined the stock market after it took over the quoted Osprey Communications with which Caldwell was already involved in 2001.

Caldwell represented two British Virgin Islands companies, Voldemort and Alker International, which held 4.2m Regal shares at the time of the flotation in 2002 - shares transferred to them by Timis or his associates.

Both companies disappeared from the share register in 2003 and 2004. Shares in Regal floated at 60p and rose to a peak of 509p this year.

Caldwell Associates holds just over 8.8% of Regal, including Timis's 7% shareholding, once worth £45m. However, in September 2004 it held more than 12m shares - or 9.3% - including Timis's shares.

Timis had not sold any of his holding by the time he was forced out. Caldwell represents investors who hold 10% of Ten Alps, which is producing the BBC documentary Geldof in Africa to be shown ahead of the G8 summit next month.

Attempts to contact Caldwell, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, were unsuccessful.