This is a potentially relevant point, thanks for raising it. NTI did allude to this when we spoke to them (as we discuss in section 3.1).
In determining our rating, a key thing we needed to work out is: does NTI have all this money for arbitrary reasons (e.g. they have a chunk of money leftover from previous work)? or do they have high reserves for good risk management reasons (e.g. the “reserves” aren’t really reserves because they plan to spend them down)?
We believe that it’s for arbitrary reasons because they told us that this was the case (see the reference to the LEU bank in section 3), and confirmed in writing that they don’t expect to use the money and that it’s intended as a backup in case their fundraising is insufficient.
They did also indicate that the reserves might be needed because the amount they raised was less than the amount they spent last year. If we believed that they were managing their reserves in a thoughtful manner, we would have happily accepted this as a rationale for holding high amounts of money (although we might not use the word “reserves”). However, despite our encouragement to demonstrate to us that they had plans to spend down their reserves, NTI declined to share any such plans (if they exist).
This is why this post includes a reference to NTI sharing such plans as a key reasons why we might change our minds in the exec summary.
This is a potentially relevant point, thanks for raising it. NTI did allude to this when we spoke to them (as we discuss in section 3.1).
In determining our rating, a key thing we needed to work out is: does NTI have all this money for arbitrary reasons (e.g. they have a chunk of money leftover from previous work)? or do they have high reserves for good risk management reasons (e.g. the “reserves” aren’t really reserves because they plan to spend them down)?
We believe that it’s for arbitrary reasons because they told us that this was the case (see the reference to the LEU bank in section 3), and confirmed in writing that they don’t expect to use the money and that it’s intended as a backup in case their fundraising is insufficient.
They did also indicate that the reserves might be needed because the amount they raised was less than the amount they spent last year. If we believed that they were managing their reserves in a thoughtful manner, we would have happily accepted this as a rationale for holding high amounts of money (although we might not use the word “reserves”). However, despite our encouragement to demonstrate to us that they had plans to spend down their reserves, NTI declined to share any such plans (if they exist).
This is why this post includes a reference to NTI sharing such plans as a key reasons why we might change our minds in the exec summary.