Investors tracking the Sharestock September 5 speakers lineup will find a programme that now includes Jim Mellon, Nigel Wray, and fund manager Mark Slater, with just 12 of the original 100 seats still available for the day-long event on the banks of the River Dee, between Chester and Wrexham.
Two Britain’s Buffetts on the Same Stage
The event’s organiser, Tom Winnifrith, has traditionally secured one of the investors nicknamed Britain’s Buffett as the headline act. This year both Jim Mellon and Nigel Wray are confirmed: Mellon speaks just before lunch, Wray just after. Final timings for the other speakers are expected to be announced shortly.
Alongside them, Winnifrith describes Mark Slater as the most gifted small-cap fund manager in Britain. Slater co-founded Slater Investments in 1994 and chairs its Investment Committee. The firm manages a hedge fund, two unit trusts, two OEICs, and portfolios for pension schemes, charities, and high-net-worth individuals.
His track record at the flagship vehicle gives some context to that billing. According to the Slater Investments fact sheet for the Slater Growth Fund (Class A Acc), cumulative performance since inception stood at 242.8% as of 31 July 2024, against 73.6% for the IA UK All Companies benchmark over the same period. At that date, 42.5% of the fund was in micro-cap stocks and 36.7% in small-cap stocks, consistent with the concentrated small-company approach Slater has applied since the firm’s founding.
His background adds another layer for those who follow investment history. Slater is the son of financier Jim Slater and in 1992 helped research and edit ‘The Zulu Principle,’ his father’s book on identifying small to medium-sized growth companies. Before co-founding Slater Investments he worked as a financial journalist at Analyst plc and the Investors Chronicle.
Bitcoin, AI, and the Sharestock September 5 Agenda
Two sessions address themes that have dominated markets this year. The bitcoin debate pairs Winnifrith as the bear against Andrew Webley, chief executive of The Smarter Web Company (LSE: SWC), which has listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and positions itself as Britain’s largest publicly listed bitcoin holder. Webley has said the Main Market listing ‘marks the next significant milestone’ in building a long-term British public company aligned with Bitcoin.
The company’s treasury policy, disclosed in a February 2026 announcement, sets out an ongoing commitment to acquiring Bitcoin as part of what The Smarter Web Company calls its 10 Year Plan, with the board treating Bitcoin as an appropriate store of value and growth for its reserves. That makes SWC materially exposed to Bitcoin’s price, which gives the bear-versus-bull format at Sharestock a direct real-money edge for anyone considering the stock.
The AI session features Barry Downes and Brian Kinane examining whether the sector is a bubble, which listed companies face disruption, and how artificial intelligence may reshape working lives across industries.
Company Bosses in the Hot Seat
Peter Brailey will interview two company chief executives. One is Cathal Friel of European Green Transition (AIM: EGT), which focuses on acquiring and optimising revenue-generating services businesses in the critical infrastructure sector across the UK and Ireland, with Friel serving as Executive Chair.
Friel has a track record investors in growth companies will recognise. He co-founded Amryt Pharma, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2016, dual-listed on Nasdaq in 2020, and was subsequently sold to Chiesi Farmaceutici for $1.48 billion in April 2023, according to Vox Markets. Upon EGT’s admission to AIM, Raglan Road Capital Limited and Friel held interests of 8.64% and 2.86% of EGT’s ordinary shares respectively, a combined 11.5%, per the FCA National Storage Mechanism admission filing.
The second company boss is Chris Gilbert of Eco Buildings. Details of that session were not disclosed in the original announcement.
The Practicalities
Sharestock is a full-day event. Returning attendees will know the format: the evening before brings a pizza gathering, chef Vijay’s lunch runs through the day, and the evening closes with cold salmon and home-made ice cream. There is croquet, a plum and ginger cake stand, and Bara Brith at tea. Camping by the river is available for those who want to stay over; contact Winnifrith directly for logistics.
With 12 seats remaining from 100, the session that tips the balance for late-deciders may well be the bitcoin debate: Webley’s next move on SWC’s treasury, announced publicly after the session, would be the clearest signal of how that bull case is progressing.
