Home » Posts tagged 'dsg'
Tag Archives: dsg
Quoted Micro 11 May 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) increased full year revenues by 6% to £23.4m, while pre-tax profit was flat at £1.1m. Race day attendances were one-quarter higher at 165,492. The final dividend is unchanged at 6p/share.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) is successfully reducing the cost of the Endurium vanadium flow battery technology and making other cost savings. A contract with a Hungarian customer has been delayed and a potential US contract will take longer than expected to contribute. Revenues guidance for 2026 has been reduced to £13m and the loss could be £25m. Cash should still be £7m at the end of 2026.
Majestic Corporation (MCJ) says that its Wrexham recycling facility is operational.
Delta Gold Technologies (DGQ) has provisionally filed a patent under the research sponsorship agreement with the University of Toronto. The patent is for novel transducer structures for quantum devices. The details of the patent will be confidential for 18 months while additional work is undertaken.
Mendell Helium (MDH) has published the circular to gain shareholder approval for the issue of shares and the taking up of the option to acquire M3 Helium. The general meeting is on 18 May.
Sulnox Group (SNOX) has secured a distribution agreement with Aditya in India. This will provide access to 400 commercial and industrial customers. A patent has been granted in Algeria for fuel oil reclamation.
EPE Special Opportunities (EO.P) had net assets of 428.69p/share at the end of April 2026.
BWA Group (BWAP) has engaged SRK Exploration to conduct a ground magnetometry survey and interpretation for the Aracari gold project.
Ethtry (ETHY) has participated in a loan facility for Cerulean Winds. It has committed £500,000 to the investee company to fund development of the Aspen Phase 1 floating offshore wind project. Cerulean Winds has three seabed leases with a combined potential capacity of 3GW. There is a likely to be a final investment decision in 2027. Ethtry is considering a move to AIM.
Shepherd Neame (SHEP) non-exec George Barnes bought 680 shares at 506.8p/share.
Connecting Excellence Group (XCE) has raised £125,000 at 1.75p/share through a new strategic investor and an existing investor.
Oberon Investments (OBE) chairman Michael Cuthbert bought 300,000 shares and Alexander Hambro acquired 857,143 shares all at 1.7535p each.
AIM
Pawnbroker Ramsdens (RFX) has published the third trading statement in three months. Guidance for 2025-26 pre-tax profit has been upgraded from £24m-£28m to £28.5m-£31.5m. The gold buying operations are part of the reason, but jewellery retail and pawnbroking are also doing better than expected. Foreign exchange is slightly weaker than anticipated due to lower margins.
Online performance marketing business B90 (B90) reported results in line with the recent trading statement and management intends to use the AI performance marketing technology it has developed to move into new sectors. Revenues more than doubled to €7.2m and pre-tax profit was €1.1m, up from €700,000. Importantly, there was €603,000 in cash generated from operations and net cash was €1m at the end of 2025.
Investment that Light Science Technologies (LST) has made into gaining approvals in additional sectors for its contract electronics manufacturing business is starting to pay off. An initial order has been won from a medical devices supplier. This is worth £160,000 and could be worth up to £650,000 annually. This follows an order earlier this week worth £410,000 for the supply of Injectaclad material for fire protection. The acquisition of the Injectaclad business was completed on 14 April. The company was previously only an installer.
Neo Next+ Energy Upstream, which is part of the largest North Sea oil group, has bid 7.7p in cash per share for Deltic Energy (DELT) and it has been recommended by the board of the oil and gas company. The value is £7.2m. The bidder is providing a bridging loan of up to £2.9m.
Acoustic and insulation materials developer Autins Group (AUTG) returned to profit in 2025-26 even though revenues fell from £19.3m to £17.6m. There was an underlying net profit of £170,000, helped by an improvement in gross margin to 36.4%. This was despite a cyber attack at a major customer. There was an exceptional charge of £807,000 related to the cyber attack disruption and a cost relating to the German flooring business. Net debt is £1.6m. New contract wins provide a solid base for the current year, although expected revenues have been reduced from £24m to £22m. Post-tax profit estimate has been edged up to £800,000. Further growth next year could mean post-tax profit of £1.4m.
EnergyPathways (EPP) will be awarded a gas storage licence by the North Sea Transition Authority for its MESH project. It covers up to 60 salt storage caverns. This is part of a project in the East Irish Sea. The gas storage facility could double the UK’s gas storage capacity.
NAHL Group (NAH) increased pre-tax profit by 129% to £4.97m in 2025. This helped net debt more than halve to £3.2m. This reflects the success of handling personal injuries claims through its own National Accident Law firm. Uncertainty about its future hit the performance of the critical care division, but NAHL has decided to retain it and has changed the management. However, currently more claims are being settled is greater than new enquiries and that will hit the performance of NAHL this year. There is no forecast for 2026.
Furnishings brand Colefax (CFX) has traded ahead of expectations in the second half. Like-for-like sales are 7% ahead in the three months to April 2026. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to be at least £10.5m.
The new board of mathematical modelling and biostatistics company Physiomics (PYC) has started a review of the business. Costs will be controlled and directors will receive part of their payments in shares that will be issued each year at the price prior to issue. The board says that it has identified new opportunities that can be exploited over the medium-term. Cash should last until 2027.
Dillistone (DSG) reported a 14% fall in 2025 revenues to £4.2m, but an improved pre-tax profit of £400,000. This relates to the original IT recruitment software business, and new management has come into the group to pursue a buy and build strategy. That means the company could be significantly different in one year. The current business appears to be stabilising.
Real-time equipment monitoring technology developer Tan Delta Systems (TAND) has received an order worth £395,000 from a leading manufacturer of large commercial and industrial engines. It is for real-time oil analysis systems.
Reabold Resources (RBD) consolidated 1,000 shares into one new share.
Trading in Trellus Health (TRLS) shares has been suspended because of financial uncertainty. There is enough cash to last until the middle of June. Options include the sale of the trading business.
Alien Metals (UFO) says its joint venture partner in the Munni Munni Platinum-Palladium-Copper-Nickel project has reported infill drilling results that have some of the highest grades so far.
MAIN MARKET
Distribution company Smiths News (SNWS) reported a 4% decrease in interim revenues to £515.7m, while pre-tax profit fell from £13.1m to £12.7m. The interim dividend is unchanged at 1.75p/share. The company moved into a net cash position. The core newspaper and magazine distribution operations have secured most of their expected revenues the next few years and the cash they generate can be reinvested in newer distribution operations, such as recycling and distribution of other products. Full year pre-tax profit could be slightly down at around £34m.
Online travel hostel agency Hostelworld (HSW) reassured investors that trading is in line and there have been no significant hit from the Middle East conflict as yet. There is weakness in demand for Asia, but intra-Europe travel is holding up well.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 9 February 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Sulnox Group (SNOX) has generated £1.69m in the nine months to December 2025, compared with £650,000 in the comparative period. A further £335,000 of sales have been generated since then. So far this year, emissions reduction additive volumes grew 265%. Cash was £1.12m at the end of 2025.
Delta Gold Technologies (DQG) shares have started trading on the OTCQB Venture Market in the US. This will help the quantum computing IP company to access US investors. Jonathan Mark Swain has increased his stake from 21.3% to 22.6%.
Connecting Excellence Group (XCE) purchased 1.065 Bitcoin for £64,000 using cash generated by the executive search business, which had revenues of £253,000 in January. The total holding is 52.425 Bitcoin at a total cost of £3.15m. The share price declined 35.9% to 1.25p. The original placing and offer price was 2.1p/share.
Ethry (ETHY) has bought 250 Ethereum at an average price of £1,997 each. It owns 750 Ethereum at an average price of £2,272.33 each.
B HODL (HODL) owns 160.388 Bitcoin after earning 0.093 Bitcoin during January. The company has shareholder permission to buy back shares, as well as entering an At-The Market equity offering via Canaccord Genuity. Share issues have to be at a share price that is a premium to the market value of the company’s Bitcoin holdings.
Pieter Scholtz and Gerhardus “Gerhard” Kotzee of Quorium Global Photonics SPC have been appointed as executive directors of Valereum (VLRM). Grant Gischen has also been appointed as an executive director.
Seneca Partners has reduced its stake in Probiotix Health (PBX) from 6.6% to just under 5%.
Stack BTC (STAK) has raised £6,000 at 1p/share. This will provide working capital.
Fenikso Ltd (FNK) has received a further $437,000 from Lekoil Oil and Gas Investments out of crude oil sales, leaving $33.7m owed.
Tamar Minerals (TMR) sats White Energy Company says that four holes of the Specimen Hill project drilling have been completed with up to nine more planned. Tamar Minerals has a 3% Net Smelter Royalty (NSR) on all future mineral sales.
James and Alexandra Peace have a 6.58% stake in brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP).
Falconedge (EDGE) shares have started trading on the OTCQB Venture Market in the US.
Marula Mining (MARU) has appointed Alpheus Nethononda, Martin Westerman and Boniface Mbithi as directors.
VVV Sports (VVV) has repaid a £250,000 loan from Campana Investments, which is controlled by VVV Sports chairman Jonathan Rowland.
ASSET MATCH
C4X Discovery (C4XD) will leave Asset Match after the final auction on 12 February. Further progress is required to secure partners for existing programmes. Operating costs have been reduced.
Gulfsands Petroleum (GPX) has closed the fractional share auction, and all the fractional entitlement shares have been placed.
AIM
Antennas components and systems supplier Filtronic (FTC) did well to report barely changed interim revenues of £25.3m given the exceptionally strong first half the year before. Investment in the business has increased costs, so pre-tax profit declined. There is a record order book. Full year revenues are set to be 4% lower at £54m and pre-tax profit could slip from £15.1m to £8.3m.
Chip designer and supplier EnSilica (ENSI) reported interims that were flagged in the recent trading statement. Revenues were 37% ahead at £12.7m with strong growth in chip supply revenues and design income for future supply. There is already 95% coverage of forecast full year revenues of £28m, which would lead to a return to profit. There are design deals that will become supply deals over the next couple of years, so future growth is already in the pipeline.
Online gaming marketing business B90 Holdings (B90) generated higher revenues than expected in 2025. Zeus has upgraded its revenues forecast by 11% to €7.1m. The pre-tax profit forecast is maintained at €1.1m because marketing costs have been increased to cover higher costs and continue the growth in revenues. Net cash is €900,000.
Specialist cleaning services provider React Group (REAT) increased full year revenues from £20.7m to £24.9m, helped by an acquisition, but pre-tax profit dropped from £2.1m to £2m and earnings fell further because of shares issued to fund the 24hr Aquaflow acquisition. There was an organic decline of 10% due to lower cleaning frequencies, but there was a stronger second half. Net debt is £2.2m, excluding leases. Investment in digital admin will help the LaddersFree business to grow.
Building products manufacturer Alumasc (ALU) has reported interim revenues that dipped from £57.4m to £50.4m, partly down to a £5.5m contribution from Chek Lap Kok airport in the previous period that was not repeated in the recent six months. Underlying pre-tax profit dropped from £7.5m to £4m. A further £1.1m of annualised cost savings have been achieved. The interim dividend was maintained at 3.5p/share.
Tungsten West (TUN), which owns the Devon-based Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine, published an updated project value on the back of strong metals prices. The NPV7.5% has increased from $190m to $1.7bn. Management followed this up with a fundraising of £44.4m at 18p/share, including a fully subscribed retail offer of £3m. The cash will finance the feasibility study and pay back the bridge facility. It will help to accelerate the move towards production in the third quarter. Debt financing discussions are continuing with multiple lenders.
Localisation and digital media services provider Zoo Digital (ZOO) is seeing signs of recovery in activity and has received initial orders from two major US studios. Gillian Wilmot and Mickey Kalifa are stepping down from the board after many years, and Nathalie Schwarz will replace Gillian Wilmot as chair. Two new non-executive directors will be appointed.
Image Scan (IGE) says a major defence contract that was going to use the company’s ThreatScan® portable X‑ray systems has been terminated. The was a 36-month programme that would have been a major contributor to 2026-27 and 2027-28 revenues. The termination reduces the order book from £4.67m to over £1m.
Advanced coating provider Hardide (HDD) continues to win new business and this has sparked an upgrade in the forecast for 2025-26. The latest order is from a North American energy company, and it is worth $1m. This should be delivered in the second half. Cavendish has upgraded its earnings forecast by one-quarter to 1.9p/share on a £1m increase in forecast revenues to £9m. That shows the operational gearing of the business.
Recruitment software provider Dillistone Group (DSG) announced a £1.5m fundraising at 10p/share. Management believes that the company has to become larger to take advantage of the AIM quotation. P&R Investment Management has taken a strategic stake of 26.8% via its fund. They are appointing Matthias Riechert and Aakash Vanchi Nath to represent them on the board.
Inspecs (SPEC) says that the votes received for the scheme of arrangement for the 84p/share offer by a bid vehicle established by Luke Johnson and Ian Livingsgtone would not be enough for it to go through. The general meeting has been delayed from 9 February to 23 February.
Trellus Health (TRLS), which has developed a digital platform to manage chronic health conditions, says it has enough funding for most of the first quarter of 2026, having reduced cash burn to $400,000/month, and it is in talks for additional funding. Revenues were $545,000 in 2025. Last year, the agreement with Pfizer to license patient support educational content for inclusion in Pfizer’s IBD digital application was renewed and it could be expanded this year. Trellus Health has begun launching the programme to support recruitment and enrolment optimisation for an ongoing mid-stage immunology and inflammation clinical trial sponsored by Takeda. There has been trimming of some major shareholdings in the company, including by Icahn School of Medicine, which has reduced the stake from 25% to 22.3%.
Sports and leisure products supplier Tandem (TND) improved revenues by 6% to £26.2m in 2025 despite weak consumer confidence. Bicycles and home and garden sectors grew fastest, offsetting the drop in toys, sports and leisure. Efficiency improvements mean that pre-tax profit should be slightly ahead of expectations of £500,000 – Cavendish forecasts £600,00. Management hopes to maintain the rate of growth in revenues this year. The results will be published on 23 March.
Huddled Group (HUD) has raised up to £730,000 from a share subscription at 1.75p/share and secured a debt facility of up to £600,000. There is also a retail offer of up to £100,000. The cash will fund additional stock for the retailer. New marketing initiatives are proving successful.
Financial market data software provider Arcontech (ARC) reported a 5% dip in revenues to £1.4m because of a loss of a contract and a decline in operating profit from £400,000 to £300,000. Reduced working capital helped net cash increase to £7.8m. Cavendish expects revenues to fall 13% and pre-tax profit to decline 30% to £700,000.
Automotive interior components supplier CT Automotive (CTA) expects to report adjusted pre-tax profit of at least $10m for 2025. This was after product launch-related costs of $400,000. Net debt was $7.7m at the end of 2025. Contracts have been won that will build revenues over the next few years. This year’s revenues will not get much of that benefit until later in the year and modest growth is expected.
Gold producer and explorer Ariana Resources (AAU) has settled outstanding loan balances due under the facility agreement with RiverFort Global Opportunities PCC, which issued a conversion notice. The outstanding balance of $782,575 was converted into 40.4 million shares and these are likely to be admitted to trading on 5 February. RiverFort is not likely to be a long-term shareholder so these shares could be sold in the near-term.
Chesterfield Special Cylinders (CSC) says the defence order book continues to strengthen following a new contract for specialised pressure vessels for French navy submarine. Management believes it could gain a major contract for hydrogen storage systems during this year. This year will be second half weighted and full year revenues are expected to be significantly higher. Revenues are forecast to be 18% ahead at £19.5m and the company should move close to breakeven.
Full year revenues at restaurants operator Various Eateries (VARE) were in line with expectations at £52.4m, but margins were better that expected and the loss was lower than expected at £2.4m. There was 2% like-for-like growth in revenues and there was a strong performance over the Christmas period. Zeus has reduced its 2025-26 loss estimate to £1m with forecast net cash of £1.9m.
MAIN MARKET
Bitcoin investor and wed development company The Smarter Web Company (SWC) moved to the Main Market on 3 February. The share price opened at 43p and ended the week at 36.75p.
Satsuma Technology (SATS) says that it has accepted the requisition of a general meeting by shareholders. The four resolutions proposed are for the removal of Henry Elder and Andrew Smith from the board and their replacement by Nicholas Lee and Paddy Dean. The board is aware that apparently the majority is supportive of these resolutions. It will make a further announcement.
Alkemy Capital Investments (ALK) says projections for the Front-End Engineering Design programme for its proposed lithium hydroxide refinery in Teesside are at the lower end of the global cost curve. Capex is US$243.6m and there should be an EBITDA of US$65.9m each year. The facility could produce 25,000 tpa of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate for batteries.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 26 August 2024
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Voyager Life (VOY) says M3 Helium, which it has an option to acquire, has commenced production at the Smith and Nilson wells and they will begin to generate revenues after being attached to the Scout Energy Partners gathering system. Once production is stabilised the helium content should be around 0.635%. The Rost well is the next to be brought into production.
Time to ACT (TTA) has separated Diffusion Alloys into a coating technology business, including the low-cost modular coating equipment being developed, and the plant-led coatings business in Middlesborough.
Kondor AI (KNDR) is considering a bid for Ora Technology (ORA) based on 0.9988 of a Kondor AI share for each Ora Technology share with the latter’s shareholders owning 53.4% of the combined group. The group would be worth £38.5m at the current suspended share prices. There is no certainty that the bid will be made.
EDX Medical (EDX) has entered an agreement with Oxford University to in-licence intellectual property developed in Oxford and Birmingham Universities in research funded by Cancer Research UK. The IP can be used to improve the test for safety and dose management for patients receiving 5-fluorouracil and other chemotherapy medications that carry serious side effects.
Equipmake (EQIP) says that an electric bus has started operation in Argentina, and it uses the company’s zero emission drivetrain. The bus operator DOTA plans to add to the electric bus fleet.
Vinanz Ltd (BTC) has started a new Bitcoin cluster in Texas and once the initial miners are up and running consistently more will be installed. This follows 100 Bitmain Antminer S19J Pro ASIC Bitcoin miners in Labrador, Canada.
Phoenix Digital Assets (PNIX) has bought three million more shares at 4.15p each. There are 3.5 million shares held in treasury. Toro Consulting’s stake has moved above 21%.
AIM
Oil and gas producer i3 Energy (I3E) is recommending a 13.92p/share bid from Gran Tierra Energy. The offer is one Gran Tierra Energy share for every 207 i3 Energy shares and 10.43p in cash for each i3 Energy shares. Shareholders will also receive a dividend of 0.2565p/share. The bid, based on a Gran Tierra Energy share price of $8.66, values i3 Energy at £174.1m. Gran Tierra wants to diversify its current Canadian resources.
TV and film services provider Facilities by ADF (ADF) has made the significantly earnings enhancing acquisition of Autotrak Portable Roadways, which hires portable roadways. This also diversifies the client base into outdoor events. The initial payment is £13.1m in cash and shares. Up to £8.2m of additional consideration is payable depending on EBITDA up until 2027. Cavendish has increased its earnings forecast for 2025 by 12% to 9.7p. The company raised £10m at 50p/share to fund the acquisition and could raise up to £500,000 from a retail offer, which closes on 29 August.
Maritime AI technology services provider Windward (WNWD) generated organic growth of more than 30% with a reduction in churn. Annualised recurring revenues reached $37.2m at the end of June 2024. Reported interim revenues were $17.6m and the ARR covers the rest of the expected revenues for this year. Maritime Invest Scandinavia has sold its 5.73% stake and West Elk Capital bought 4.99%.
Pawnbroker H&T (HAT) reported continued growth in pawnbroking, although higher than expected redemptions hit revenues, as well as improved performances in retail and foreign exchange. Gold purchasing and scrap is benefiting from the high gold price. Pre-tax profit was 13% higher at £9.9m. From now on, pawnbroking scrap will be reported with the pawnbroking division. The year-end will be changed to September from 2025 onwards.
Education software provider Tribal Group (TRB) can focus on the business now that a settlement has been reached with NYU. The latest figures were held back by the failed bid, which led to delays in client orders. Annualised recurring revenues improved 2% to £52.1m. The educational market is tough, but Tribal’s admissions software is still likely to be attractive to colleges and universities.
Recruitment company Empresaria (EMR) had a tough first half with like-for-like net fee income 15% lower, partly due to currency movements. It does not appear that trading will improve much in the second half. Even the outsourcing business, which has been the star recently, reported a decline because of less UK healthcare business. Cost savings will offset the decline in income in the second half and pre-tax profit is expected to improve from £3.5m to £4m.
Digital cognitive assessment technology developer Cambridge Cognition (COG) maintained interim revenues at £5.6m and the loss was sharply lower. A full year pre-tax profit of £100,000 is forecast for 2024. Expectations are underpinned by an order book of £14.6m.
Data analytics software company Rosslyn Data Technologies (RDT) has secured a three-year contract with a major technology company. This has a minimum value of £2m. Management says that the 2023-24 loss will be lower than previously forecast, but at £3m it will still be higher than in 2022-23. Before the latest deal annualised recurring revenues were £2.3m. William Black and Armstrong Investments reduced their shareholding from 10.4% to 9.51%.
A weak advertising market meant that first half revenues of media analysis company Ebiquity (EBQ) fell 7%. That hit operating margins, which slumped to 6%. Net debt is £15.3m. The second half should be much better, although just how good it will be will depend on trading in September and October and high operational gearing means that additional revenues will lead to a much bigger jump in profit.
Neometals (NMT) is lowering annualised overheads by two-fifths and the $3m at 4.5 cents/share raised from William Robert Richmond should last until the end of 2025. The focus will be the Primobius recycling operations. Net cash will be $9.3m and this will finance the company’s lithium-ion battery recycling business to the industrial validation stage. The Previous Metals Recovery option will not be taken up. Third-party funding is being sought for new lithium and vanadium technologies.
Touchstone Exploration (TXP) has declared the terms of its bid for fellow Trinidad-focused oil and gas producer Trinity Exploration and Production (TRIN) are final and says that it has irrevocable acceptances of 38.9% of the share capital. These irrevocable acceptances are obliged to vote against the rival, higher bid from Lease Operators.
Empire Metals (EEE) has identified a new deposit at the Pitfield project in Western Australia that adds to the value of the project. It is enriched with high-purity anatase formed from the weathering of the original titanite-rich, bedded sediments. The discovery also confirms high grades of titanium dioxide with very low impurities. Anatase is a feedstock for titanium chloride and titanium metal markets. Empire Metals continues to progress towards a maiden mineral resource estimate.
Nigeria-focused gold producer Thor Explorations (THX) sold 23,600 ounces of gold at an average price of $2,309/ounce in the second quarter. AISC was $802/ounce because of higher grade ore and guidance for the full year has been reduced to $900-$1,000/ounce. Quarterly revenues were $54m and EBITDA $38m. Net debt has fallen to $2.7m.
Electric hybrid systems developer Proton Motor Power Systems (PPS) says that its principal lender and major shareholder Falih Nahab will stop providing working capital at the end of 2024. At the end of July 2024, Proton Motor Power Systems has drawn down €110.4m out of debt facilities of €121.5m, plus it owes €37.8m in accrued interest. The facilities are repayable by the end of 2025, but the business is unlikely to be cash generative by then. There are talks with other potential providers of finance. Net liabilities were €111.7m at the end of 2023.
Recruitment software developer Dillistone Group (DSG) has raised £300,000 from a loan note issue from directors and £60,000 from a placing at 8p/share. Interim figures will show an improvement in profitability and cash generation. Markets continue to be weak, and the cash will provide a buffer for the business. The loan notes last 48 months and offer an annual interest rate of 9.85%. The conversion price is 14p/share.
MAIN MARKET
Packaging manufacturer and distributor Macfarlane Group (MACF) reported an 8% decline in interim revenues to £129.6m. Pre-tax profit was 3% lower at £11.6m. There was price deflation in the distribution business. Acquisitions increased manufacturing revenues but there was small decrease in profit contribution.
BATM Advanced Communications (BVC) reported flat interim revenues due to lower revenues from networking technology, but the outlook is more positive. In the six months to June 2024, revenues dipped from $60.2m to $60m, while pre-tax profit improved from $726,000 to $788,000. This was helped by the revaluation of a liability that reduced the total costs of the business in the period. Net cash was $27.2m at the end of June 2024, even though there was an increase in working capital. Cyber and diagnostics revenues grew, while networking revenues fell from $11.6m to $6m. New orders are being won in the networking division and there should be an improved second half.
MOH Nippon (MOH) was readmitted to the Main Market following the acquisition of its business by cash shell Bowen Fintech. The business provides crowdfunding services for real estate investment in Japan.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore -Quoted Micro 2 July 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Medicinal cannabis business investor Sativa Investments (SATI) has raised £500,000 from Miton Investment Management at 4p a share. Demand for the shares remains strong. Executive director Mark Blower has sold one million shares at 4p a share, having exercised options for the same number at 0.5p each, and Non-executive Noel Lyons has sold 500,000 at 4.25p each, having exercised 500,000 options at 0.5p each. Sativa joined NEX on 29 March after raising £1.1m at 1p a share. The share price had already reached 3.125p by the end of the first week. Sativa has founded the Sativa Foundation to fund academic research into medicinal cannabis.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) intends to change its investing policy so that it includes medicinal cannabis opportunities. A medical advisory board will be appointed and they will carry out due diligence on the opportunities. AfriAg (Pty) Ltd previously had the right to take a 60% stake in House of Hemp but this deal was terminated when the South African government delayed setting up the legal framework for medicinal cannabis.
High Growth Capital (HASH) joined NEX on 25 June and it plans to become a UK, Canada and Australia-focused medicinal cannabis products index tracker and investor. This will be achieved by giving direct exposure to medicinal cannabis-related companies. The strategy is to acquire up to 10% of an individual company or £150,000 in value, depending on which is the lower amount.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU), which was quoted on AIM as Stratmin until August 2017, also joined NEX on 25 June. Tectonic has gold exploration interests in Queensland, Australia. Tectonic raised £530,000 at 2p a share and then issued another 30.8 million shares to the one of the shareholders in the exploration assets that have been acquired and to advisers.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had a NAV of 41.73p a share at the end of May 2018. There are 18 investments in unquoted employee-owned businesses valued at £5.82m. The most recent was a £600,000 loan to Poole-based aerospace components manufacturer TG Engineering.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) still had £501,000 in cash at the end of March 2018, following its maiden £372,000 investment in CoalTech, which is involved in cleaning up the waste from coal mining. The technology that has been developed enables coal fines that have little or no worth to be converted into pellets, using a binding technique, to make them a commercial product.
There was a £93,000 cash outflow from the operating activities of investment company Startup Giants (SUG) in the year to January 2018. There was £686,000 in cash and £40,000 worth of investments on the balance sheet. There are plans to add up to 25 more investments.
VI Mining (VIM) says that the seller of the Ximenita de Casma project has cancelled the option over the three mining concessions and it has also exercised its charge over the company that owns the processing plant. VI Mining had held back payment of consideration because of claims for breach of warranty. Legal proceedings will be initiated.
AIM
Legal firms consolidator Gordon Dadds (GOR) grew revenues by one-quarter to £31.2m last year even though there were minimal contributions from some of the legal firms it acquired. Pre-tax profit was 23% higher at £2.96m. This is a highly cash generative business. The dividend of 4p a share reflects that the company was not quoted for a full 12 months.
IMImobile (IMO) continues to grow organically as well as by acquisition. Full year revenues were 46% higher at £111.4m and that includes organic growth of 7%. Pre-tax profit improved from £9m to £10.1m. The communications connections technology provider has 85% recurring revenues. The main markets are growing well but progress was held back in South Africa by the political situation and since this has been sorted out that market has returned to growth.
Following a cautious AGM statement by Dillistone (DSG), WH Ireland has trimmed its forecasts and that means that the recruitment software provider is expected to breakeven this year, while the 2019 pre-tax profit has been cut from £540,000 to £200,000. Software revenues have been hit by the loss of a major client and the GatedTalent product is taking longer to build up revenues.
SaaS-based app distribution platform developer appScatter (APPS) has revised the terms for its acquisition of Priori Data. The company is still paying £13.5m in cash and shares for data analysis business but more will be funded by shares. This means that only £1.6m has to be raised in a placing at 70p a share.
Transport group Eddie Stobart (ESL) is acquiring The Pallet Network Group for £52.8m, which will be partly financed by a £30m placing at 140p a share. The network comprises 106 regional transport companies and three central hubs.
Action Hotels (AHCG) has agreed a possible cash offer of 24p a share from its major shareholder. Due diligence is being undertaken. After the company was floated by Sanlam Securities at 64p a share in December 2013, there have been four changes of nominated adviser and broker.
EQTEC (EQT) is on course to raise £2m in cash to pay off the unpopular financing package it previously secured. That deal has hit the share price but EQTEC is making progress with potential projects for its gasification technology. At least one project should reach the construction stage before the end of year to June 2019. That could either be a project in the UK or a 12MWe power plant in Vietnam, which could utilise equipment that was going to be used on the project in Newry, which is no longer going ahead. This will mean that milestone payments will be received throughout the construction.
Omega Diagnostics (ODX) has sold its infectious diseases assets to Novacyt (NCYT) although it is retaining the Visitect CD4 test. The disposal will raise up to £2.175m and these assets generated a profit before overheads of £300,000 in the past financial year. The book value was £600,000. Omega will provide manufacturing and storage services for 12 months. The cash will be invested in the Visitect CD4 test, Allersys and realising the value of the food intolerance business.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) reported a 37% reduction in revenues in 2017 to $13.4m with software licensing revenues more than halving. Overheads were reduced but pre-tax profit still slumped from $4.05m to $116,000, although that was partly due to a $1.5m asset impairment charge. There was $3.5m in the bank.
Windar Photonics (WPHO) has signed a global distribution agreement with Vestas Wind Systems, which will sell the two beam light detection and ranging LiDAR system as a retro-fit product. The deal could provide access to around 14% of global installed capacity. This should help Windar to move into profit this year and make a significant profit in 2019.
CEPS (CEPS) has raised £1.33m at 35p a share and this will finance the repayment of a £1m loan plus interest. Sunline Direct Mail, which is 80%-owned, has been placed in administration and CEPS is unlikely to receive anything. Group trading is also slightly below expectations.
MAIN MARKET
Standard list shell Chesterfield Resources (CHF) has agreed to acquire Cyprus-registered HKP Exploration Ltd, which has seven prospecting permits covering three project areas on the island. The focus is copper and gold. At least £1.1m will be spent on exploration and drilling. A placing and subscription at 7.5p a share will raise £2m and each share comes with a warrant exercisable at 15p each. HKP is being acquired for 6.67 million shares at the same price. The original placing price last August was 5p a share.
Highland Natural Resources (HNR) has applied to acquire leases over 46,000 acres in Arizona, which management believes could produce commercial volumes of carbon dioxide.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 12 February 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Western Selection (WESP) maintained its NAV at 95p a share at the end of the six month period of December 2017. Net debt was £1.13m. A sharp upturn in the value of the stake in Bilby (BILB) and offset declines in other investments. The interim dividend is unchanged at 1.1p a share. The shares go ex-dividend on 8 March.
Gledhow Investments (GDH) has granted six million options to its directors and company secretary. Guy Miller and Brett Miller will receive 2.5 million options each and Geoffrey Melamet receives 1 million. The exercise price is 1p a share. They last for five years and would equate to 10.9% of the enlarged share capital if taken up. The current share price is 1p (0.75p/1.25p). Gledhow had a NAV of £714,452 at the end of September 2017, which is equivalent to 1.45p a share. Since the year end, a gain of £115,000 was achieved on the sale of Coinsilium shares and Gledhow retains a significant stake which in Coinsilium, where the share price is more than three times the level at the end of September 2017. That could add more than £100,000 to the Gledhow NAV but the Coinsilium share price is volatile. Directors and company secretary remuneration was £21,514 last year. There are 4.9 million warrants exercisable at 1.5p each but these expire on 6 March 2017. Bruce Rowan and related parties own 83.37% of the current share capital.
IMC Exploration (IMCP) is continuing with its plans to move to the standard list. IMC has signed heads of agreement with Trove Metals Ltd and this should lead to a joint venture for the project at Avoca, County Wicklow. The current Koza/IMC joint venture has been set aside. IMC has decided to focus on the 12 most prospective of its 15 licences.
Crossword Cybersecurity (CCS) says that its revenues more than doubled to more than £700,000 in 2017. There is customer interest in the Rizikon cyber security product and the General Data Protection Regulations will provide momentum when they come into force in May. Full year figures should be published by the end of April.
Sandal (SAND) says that radiators supplier Pitacs will be a distributor of the Energie MiHome range. Pitacs is launching a new boiler in April and the Energie MiHome thermostats and radiator valves can be sold with this. Pitacs supplies more than 2,000 independent plumbers’ merchants as well as Plumb Nation.
Angelfish Investments (ANGP) says that its investee company Rapid Nutrition plans to gain a quotation in London. Rapid, which is already quoted on the SIX Swiss Exchange, has developed a nutraceutical product range. One of the terms of the £150,000 loan to Rapid was that it should be admitted to the London market by the end of February but this date has been extended to the end of April because of delays in the flotation process. If admission to the market happens by 1 March, then the principal and interest will convert into Rapid shares. If it takes longer than the interest after the end of February is payable in cash.
BWA Group (BWAP) has issued £220,000 of 4% convertible loan notes, with £120,000 taken up by Bath Group, which is owned by BWA chairman Richard Battersby. Bath has taken £70,000 of the loan notes in lieu of cash owed by BWA investee company Mineralfields Group.
Trevor Lloyd has succeeded Philip Kirkham as chairman of National Milk Records (NMR).
Kryptonite 1 (KR1) has changed its name to KR1.
AIM
Shield Therapeutics (STX) disappointed the market with phase III patient trial results for the use of Feraccru in the treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in patients with chronic kidney disease that did not meet statistical significance requirements. The results are being analysed in order to identify the reason the trial failed. The share price fell by two-thirds.
Diversified Gas and Oil (DGOC) expects to complete the acquisition of Appalachian producing gas and oil assets from CNX Gas by the end of March. This will cost $85m (£59.9m), while the acquisition of Alliance Petroleum will cost a further $95m (£66.9m). A placing at 80p a share has raised £133.1m. The group’s net working interest production will increase by 173% to 28,133 boed. Management expects annualised EBITDA to be $70m-$75m.
OnTheMarket (OTMP) joined AIM on 9 February having raised £30m at 165p a share. The share price ended the day at 148p. The online property portal operator will make significant investment in its business over the next two years and this will lead it to fall into loss for a couple of years.
Draper Esprit (GROW) has made three new investments. Evonetix is developing the ability for parallel synthesis of DNA on silicon arrays. Droplet Computing has developed technology to decouple applications from the operating system for online and offline use. Kaptivo is developing products to provide whiteboard live streaming and image capture.
Seeing Machines (SEE) has published a trading statement to try to reassure investors following the unexpected departure of its chief executive. Interim revenues will be greater than the A$13.6m reported for last year. The fleet business is gaining revenues internationally. There is growing interest in the driver fatigue technology from Transport for London.
Recruitment software provider Dillistone (DSG) says that its 2017 figures will be much better than expected. This led to a pre-tax profit upgrade from £200,000 to £300,000. This is still a depressed figure due to the investment in GatedTalent and the future of the business depends on the take-up of this new product.
Engineering and technology recruiter Gattaca (GATC) says that weakness in the technology sector will hold back its progress and its chief executive has resigned. Underlying pre-tax profit is set to decline for a second year while the dividend could be halved to 11.5p a share in order for its to be twice covered.
Trading in the shares of BOS Global Holdings (BOS) remains suspended because of the resignation of RFC Ambrian as nominated adviser. BOS still does not have enough working capital so it cannot publish its 2016-17 annual report because the uncertainty over the AIM quotation scuppered a £1.2m placing.
Trading in Kennedy Ventures (KENV) shares will recommence on 12 February following the publication of its annual report. There was a cash outflow of £2.76m in the year to June 2017. The Namibia Tantalite Investment Mine run by African Tantalum has made its fourth shipment of tantalum to its North American customer and there are two more potential customers.
Croma Security Solutions (CSSG) says its first half figures will be much better than those reported for the first half of last year. The EBITDA will improve from £440,000 to more than £1.1m. The company’s largest ever contract was won at the end of the period. There has been an increase in demand for personnel from Croma Vigilant and it has won a five year contract. There is also improved demand for technology supplied by Croma Systems. The interims will be published in February.
BNN Technology (BNN) will lose its AIM quotation on 12 February. A matched bargain facility will be set up. The remaining board hopes to do at least one deal with the two US-listed companies it is in discussions with concerning the acquisition of all or most of BNN’s business.
Strategic Minerals (SML) has extended its access to the Cobre magnetite stockpile in New Mexico until the end of March 2019. This will provide cash to finance other projects.
Origo Partners (OPP) has sold 4.7% of Jinan Heng Yu Environmental Protection Co Ltd for the equivalent of $3m. This is in line with book value but it may take many months for the cash to be received. Origo retains a 7.2% indirect stake. The Origo NAV was $0.09 a share at the end of June 2017.
Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA) has secured additional exploration licences in Greenland. The 466 square km of land is in north west Greenland. Exploration work can be combined with existing licence areas.
Mercantile Ports and Logistics (MPL) says its port in Mumbai will receive its first revenues in a few weeks, following delays in the first customer sorting out its logistics. A further 200 metres is being added to the quay on the east flank of the facility.
Physiomics (PYC) has won a £70,000 contract from a major pharma company. The company’s Virtual Tumour computer model will be used for helping to predict outcomes in pre-clinical testing.
Warpaint London (W7L) says its 2017 results will be in line with expectations suggesting a pre-tax profit of £9.8m and a total dividend of 4p a share.
Polarean Imaging has relaunched plans to come to AIM. It had planned to float at the end of 2017 and the new proposed date is 22 February.
Fryer management services provider Filta Group Holdings (FLTA) says its 2017 revenues were 30% higher at £13.25m. The sale of the refrigeration business should increase the group margin.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) has pulled out of the sale of non-core operations because the buyer had still not obtained regulatory approval.
MAIN MARKET
Cadmium-free quantum dots producer Nanoco (NANO) has secured a material development and supply agreement with a major US firm that will provide funding to expand Nanoco’s manufacturing site in Runcorn. The deal covers the production of nano-particles for electronic devices. Commercial supply should commence in 2019.
Dukemount Capital (DKE) has secured a two month extension to its option on a property in north west England while talks with a housing association continue. Plans for the refurbishment of the building will be presented to the housing association. Gary Carp has increased his stake from below 3% to 5% in the past fortnight.
Flying Brands Ltd (FBDU) is negotiating to buy a North American medical imaging software developer, which owns FDA-approved medical imaging software that fits well with Flying Brands; own software. The cost of £500,000 would mainly be financed through a share issue.
Avocet Mining (AVM) has completed the sale of Resolute (West Africa) for $5m.
Path Investments (PATH) is still intending to raise cash and move to AIM in the first quarter of 2018. The farm-in deal to acquire 50% of Alfeld-Elze II licence and gas field in Germany is expected to go ahead in the near future.
Chuk Kin Lau has increased his stake in book publisher Quarto Group (QRT) from 20% to 25.6%. Cavendish Asset Management nearly halved its stake to 3.69%.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 2 October 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) reported a slightly lower interim operating loss of £268,000 on revenues 10% higher at £7.04m. More racedays helped the racing operations but there were fewer other events which offset that. The nursery business made a much better contribution. Investment in the racecourse continues and income from residential property development of £1.95m helped to fund this. NAV is £44.1m.
Interim revenues were 22% ahead at £4.98m at Chapel Down (CDGP) helped by a 29% increase in wine sales. Management has reassured investors that there was a good harvest in 2017, which will help to improve wine revenues. The Curious Beer brewery is about to commence construction at Ashford.
St Mark Homes (SMAP) has launched a crowdfunding offer via Crowdstacker to raise up to £2m from a bond offering interest at 6% a year. The bonds can be held in ISAs. The cash will finance residential developments, which will predominantly focus on the government’s Help-to-Buy scheme. The company’s NAV per share was 136p at the end of the interim stage.
Block Energy (BLOK) is acquiring the 31% interest in the Norio field in the Republic of Georgia that it does not own and becoming operator of the field. The deal also includes 90% of the Satskhenisi field. The cost is $310,000 in cash. This is classed as a reverse takeover and trading in Block shares is suspended. An assessment of the reserve potential of the oil and gas assets in Georgia ahead of a return to NEX and a dual quotation on AIM.
V22 (V22O) increased its NAV from 1.55p a share to 3.94p a share in the 12 months to June 2017. That includes £235,000 of cash. If the art portfolio is included at its revalued level then the NAV goes up to 7.47p a share. An uplift in the value of the property portfolio offset an operating loss.
Investment company Western Selection (WESP) made a 2016-17 profit of £850,000 and nearly all of this came from the gain on the sale of shares in Swallowfield. Dividend income fell because Northbridge Industrial did not pay a dividend last year. NAV was one-fifth higher at 95p a share. The stake in Bilby was increased during the period. The total dividend has been raised from 2.1p a share to 2.2p a share.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) lost money in the first half of 2017 but it expects token investments to generate near-term revenues. There was £344,000 left in the bank at the end of June 2017 and this has subsequently been boosted by the sale of the shareholding in SatoshiPay. Coinsilium’s NAV is £2.34m.
Chris Bateman has resigned as chief executive of Forbes Ventures (FOR) after the sale of £500,000 of loan notes in Primus Care to his company Gravity Investment Group. Gravity has handed back 1166.7 million shares in Forbes, which have been cancelled. Gravity still owns 49.7% of Forbes, which still owns stakes in K&C REIT and challenger bank Civilised Investments. Trading in Forbes shares remains suspended ahead of the raising of further cash.
Ace Liberty & Stone (ALSP) has purchased Princes House, Barnstaple, which generates annual rent of £190,000, for £2.325m and College Square Margate, generating annual rent of £630,000, for £8.3m. Disposals of residential properties have raised £3.25m. Ace has raised £500,000 at 71.25p a share.
BWA Group (BWAP) had two investments and £17,000 in the bank at the end of April 2017. Pre-paid cards provider Prego Investments has taken longer to build up its business than expected. Mineralfields Group is in the process of obtaining mining licences in Cameroon.
Trading has commenced in Doriemus (DOR) shares on the ASX. A$3.5m was raised at A$0.26 per share equivalent. The cash will be used to complete drilling on the Lidsey and Brockham oil fields in the UK
Healthcare IT provider DXS International (DXSP) says that growth has been held back by changes in the NHS and the benefits of recent development spending are not likely to show through until 2018-19. In the year to April 2017, revenues were 5% higher at £3.43m but pre-tax profit fell from £46,000 to £39,000. There was £166,000 in the bank at the end of April 2017.
IMC Exploration Group (IMCP) has commenced its drilling programme on the zinc licence in south west Ireland. The licence in County Clare is near to other licences where mining companies have achieved encouraging results.
Angelfish Investments (ANGP) is providing a £150,000 loan facility to healthcare company Rapid Nutrition. The interest rate is 10% a year until the end of February 2018 when it rises to 15% a year. If Rapid Nutrition floats before the end of February 2018 the loan is convertible at 13.32p a share. The loan remains convertible after that but it also becomes repayable in instalments over 18 months. Angelfish is still seeking to recover transaction costs related the repaid investment in 4Navitas.
Crossword Cybersecurity (CCS) has licenced blockchain intellectual property to defence-focused ByzGen, which has just raised £500,000 from Regulatory Financial Services Ltd.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £782,000 at 8.5p a share and paid £400,000 of expenses via a share issue at 10p a share.
Via Developments (VIA1) has raised a further £215,000 from a debenture issue that takes the total value of debentures in issue to £5.11m.
Gunsynd (GUN) has invested £160,000 in a 3.01% stake in standard listed United Oil & Gas. The average cost was 2.7p a share. United has an onshore UK licence and an Italian onshore licence.
AIM
Premier African Minerals (PREM) is raising up to £3.5m at 0.3p a share with the help of PrimaryBid.com. The cash will go towards funding the underground development of the RHA tungsten mine and repaying and cancellation of the YA II loan agreement and D-Beta equity swap.
AP Systems Holdings says that it is considering a bid for RedstoneConnect (REDS). The underlying business of AP has been going since 1985 but AP Systems Holdings is a couple of years old and has only published accounts as a dormant company. The share capital was recently increased followed by a sub division of the shares. It appears that David Anderson still owns 100% of the group.
ITM Power (ITM) is raising £25m via a placing at 40p a share plus up to £4.4m from an open offer at the same price. ITM has £20m of projects under contract and £17m under negotiation. The cash will help to service these projects and finance the winning of additional contracts. The open offer closes on 17 October.
Recruitment software provider Dillistone (DSG) is launching its new software product and this has held back performance in the first half of 2017. The full benefits of the GatedTalent, which enables executives to share their personal information with recruitment consultants on a confidential basis, will not be seen for more than a year. House broker WH Ireland believes that full year profit could fall to £200,000 and it expects the 2018 profit to be flat. Profit is then expected to more than double I 2019 but the exact pace of take u of GatedTalent will be a significant factor in how quickly profit recovers.
Photonstar LED (PSL) significantly reduced its first half costs so even though revenues fell from £2.53m to £2.26m the interim loss decreased from £914,000 to £604,000. Research and development of the new LED systems range is almost complete and the second half sales should be better.
Full year figures from Real Good Food (RGD) show a slump into loss while net debt increased to £16.2m at the end of March 2017. There has been a subsequent refinancing and corporate governance is being improved.
MAIN MARKET
Curzon Energy (CZN) is joining the standard list following the acquisition of coalbed methane licences in Oregon. Curzon believes that gas could be produced before the end of the year. Curzon is raising £2.3m and this will be used to connect five existing wells to a pipeline and drill two more wells. The average cost is $350,000 per well.
Papillon Holdings (PPHP) had £9,000 left in the bank at the end of June 2017 following the costs of the abortive acquisition of Myclubbetting. Papillon has agreed heads of terms to acquire Phestor and Greenway Activated Carbon, which are involved in ultra-supercapacitor development for energy storage and supply of active carbon produced from biomass.
Associated British Engineering (ASBE) says that the level of enquiries for its products are increasing.
Andrew Hore