Botswana Diamonds, the Africa-focused minerals explorer chaired by veteran investor John Teeling, has issued 15 million new shares to Mr Teeling and two of his fellow directors "in lieu of accrued professional fees".

The Aim-listed company, which has exploration prospects in Botswana and Cameroon, said the transaction had been cleared by its two independent, non-executive directors. Mr Teeling was issued with 9.7 million new shares to bring his stake to more than 15 per cent. Jim Finn, a long-time ally of Mr Teeling's, received 3.47 million to bring his share to 6 per cent. John Horgan, who has also worked with Mr Teeling for many years, got 1.8 million shares to bring his stake above 4 per cent. The company recently raised close to £300,000 from shareholders. MARK PAUL