Appointment of special adviser to the Board



Paragon Resources PLC

("Paragon" or the "Company")

(AIM: PAR)

Appointment of Geoff Tyler as Special Advisor to the Board

22 August 2013

Highly experienced agribusiness investment specialist

Paragon, the AIM quoted agribusiness investing company, is delighted to announce the appointment of Geoff Tyler as Special Adviser to the board of Paragon to bring his significant experience to the Company and provide invaluable advice on the implementation of its agribusiness Investment Policy.

Geoff has over 30 years' experience of agribusiness investing in Africa and Asia. He began his overseas career in Malawi and then joined Tate and Lyle as an agricultural economist involved with sugar in Thailand, Ethiopia, Kenya and in the Sudan. He also advised on major rice, cotton and wheat irrigation schemes in Thailand, Pakistan and Swaziland and on an EU-funded rubber planting project in Thailand. 

Geoff later joined the Commonwealth Development Corporation, ("CDC") serving as Country Manager for Zambia and then as Director - Agribusiness, Food and Beverages. As well as greenfield and expansion investments in sectors including oil palm, sugar, cotton and arable farming, Geoff supervised a number of strategic acquisitions, including rubber in Cote d'Ivoire; horticulture in Kenya; a brewery in Mozambique; tea and rubber estates in Sri Lanka and arable farming in Zambia. He worked on competitive bids for state-owned sugar factories and a large-sale rubber, tea and banana plantations in West Africa and negotiated the acquisition of minority stakes in food companies in Thailand, South Africa, Ecuador and Nicaragua.

Since leaving CDC in 2000, Geoff has acted as an independent agribusiness adviser and is currently a member of the Investment Committee of the Africa Agricultural Development Company (AgDevCo) and a member (pro bono) of the Programmes Advisory Committee of FARMAfrica. Geoff holds an MA in Economics from Cambridge University and an MSc in Agricultural Economics from Oxford University.

Simon Hunt, Executive chairman of Paragon says: "I am delighted that someone of Geoff's calibre and experience has agreed to become Special Advisor to the Company as we move forward quickly to implement our Investment Policy. His wide experience and knowledge in this sector will complement Andrew Beveridge's strong operational background. It is hoped that he will join the Board in due course."

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