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Quoted Micro 26 January 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Cardiometabolic health products developer ProBiotix Health (PBX) increased sales by 45% to £2.72m in 2025 and reduced the loss. During the year, ProBiotix entered the Korean market and submitted applications for two new clinical trials. There was £1.27m in the bank at the end of £1.27m. The order book is worth £1.3m. The business has been structured to cope with further growth. There will be a focus on growth in Asia Pacific. In Europe, the company is seeking to substitute its LP LDL product for Monacolin K as a cholesterol lowering ingredient in supplements. There are opportunities in the US, but they could be delayed by the trade background.
AIM-quoted Pulsar Helium (PLSR) has issued a further 145,434 consideration shares to Aquis-quoted Oscillate (SRVL) as part of the deal to acquire Quantum Hydrogen. This takes the stake to 80% with an option to acquire the rest for $400,000 in shares issued in five equal instalments.
Astrid Intelligence (ASTR) has acquired TaoFi, which provides transactional and liquidity services that are essential to the operation of the Bittensor ecosystem. This strengthens the company’s position in protocol-level services. The consideration was paid in TAO tokens.
Connecting Excellence (XCE) has received settlement of 10 Bitcoin for the first XCE BTC Bond, issued on 31 December 2025 with a BTC price of £65,104.26. the company has 51.35988275 Bitcoin.
Bitcoin investor Stack BTC (STAK), formerly Kasei Digital Assets, returned £3.5m to shareholders and that was the major reason behind the 84.6% decline in the share price to 2p.
Ethereum and technology investment company Ethtry (ETHY) is seeking to develop activities in quantum technology, AI and energy transition services. It has bought 500 Ethereum at £2,412 each. A partnership has been secured with AMINA Bank, which will provide access to regulated banking infrastructure and digital asset services.
Ajax Resources (AJAX) has entered newly negotiated terms for the purchase of the Paguanta project in Chile. The initial payment is $50,000 in cash $350,000 of shares at 25p each. Deferred consideration is $500,000 on proved reserve exceeding 25 million tonnes at more than 5% zinc equivalent and/or $500,000 on proved reserve exceeding five million tonnes of copper.
Bitcoin investor and wed development company The Smarter Web Company (SWC) has bought ten Bitcoin at £67,210 each, taking its holding to 2,674 Bitcoin at an average price of £82,800 each. The total value is £221.4m. The company is moving to the Main Market on 3 February.
Shares in Valereum (VLRM) returned from suspension 10% lower at 11.25p. A share subscription agreement has been signed with Quorium Global Photonics (QGP), which will subscribe for 243.5 million shares. There is a lock-in agreement until the shares are listed on Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange, except for 1.44% of the shares each month. In return Valereum will receive $200,000 of medium term notes with an annual coupon of 7.95%. That will generate $15.9m/year for five years. A $1bn bank facility is provided for. There will be $200,000 in fees paid to QGP, which will also receive warrants. Guild Financial Advisory has been appointed corporate adviser
Sulnox Group (SNOX) has obtained another patent in South Africa. This is for an improved oil/water separation methodology for its emulsification products. Sulnox Group has issued 1.4 million shares to Eastern Pacific Shipping Pte Ltd based on the volume of Sulnox Eco it bought.
Brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP) says beer volumes fell 6.6% in the first half, while own beer volumes slipped 11.6%. like-for-like pub sales were 4.5% ahead following a strong Christmas period. Tenanted pubs income was 3.1% higher. The interim results will be announced on 18 March.
Maiden figures from Delta Gold Technologies (DGQ) show an interim loss of £126,000 with no revenues. This is to October 2025, so it is before the quantum computing company joined Aquis, raising £2.5m at 10p/share. There is a sponsored research agreement with the University of Toronto.
In the year to August 2025, Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) generated revenues of £1.04m and there was a loss of £1.31m due to reductions in the value of investments. Excluding that, there would have been a profit. NAV was 72.86p/share. There is no dividend.
TechFinancials (TECH) has signed an agreement to acquire up to 60% of the Dilotiko iron ore project in Kenya. The issue of 57.1 million shares has led to the acquisition of 25%. A mining permit is going through an evaluation process. A further 50 million shares would be issued to take the stake to 60%. Gathoni Muchai Investments introduced the deal in return for 20 million shares. Hyde Park Holdings has disposed of its 5.78% stake.
Dr KS Tan bought 16,005 shares in Inqo Investments (INQO) at 47.8p each. He owns 35.6%.
BWA Holdings (BWAP) has generated significant sample results at the Aracan gold project in Cameroon. There were 50 samples that reported gold values greater than 15ppb.
JP JENKINS
Bigblu Broadband (BBB) has not come to an agreement over deferred consideration for the disposal of Skymesh. The buyer was due to pay up to $6.9m before Christmas. Shareholders have provided funds to support the company in its attempts to resolve the dispute.
AIM
Kitwave Group (KITW) is recommending a 295p/share cash bid from OEP Partners, but it is not supported by all analysts. The bid values the grocery distributor at £251m. The acquirer will support further growth through acquisitions. Interim figures show a 21% increase in revenues to £802.7m, but there was a like-for-like decline of 1%. Underlying operating profit rose 12% to £38m despite the increasing overheads due to higher staff costs. Net debt is £57.3m, down from £63.7m one year earlier. The May 2021 placing price was 150p.
TruFin (TRU) subsidiary Playstack has signed a contract with a global technology platform for a new video game to be released in the second half of 2026. The game will be developed and owned by Playstack. There will be a series of contractual payments and performance-based fees. The board of Playstack is establishing a new management incentive scheme, which could issue up to 15% of the fully diluted share capital in B and C shares. The B shares only vest if a minimum value of £19.6m is achieved on an exit, while the C shares only participate if the value is £45.9m, which increases by an annual interest rate of 12%. TruFin has launched a £6m share buyback.
Goldstone Resources (GRL) is raising £2m at 1p/share, which was more than double the share price ahead of the announcement. The cash will fund exploration at the Homase mine in Ghana to expand the JORC resource and to evaluate other gold projects, including one in Sierra Leone. Asian Investment Management is converting £1.45m of interest on its gold loan to shares at a conversion price base on a gold price of $4,250/ounce, taking its shareholding to 29.9%. This leaves 250 ounces of interest and the principal gold loan of 1,871.31 ounces. Directors are also taking 50% of fees owed in shares at 1p/share.
Phoenix Copper (PXC) says that the increased copper price means that the post tax NPV10 trebles to $185.2m. This is based on the copper price changing from $4.45/lb in the original estimate to $5.58/lb. Indigo Capital has converted $2.1m of loan notes into 26.98 million shares at 1.483p each and is selling 24.2 million shares to European investors.
Water mediation services provider MYCELX Technologies (MYX) grew 2025 revenues by 1405 to $11.7m and this, along with cost controls, has enabled the company to achieve an expected profit of around $360,000. A loss was previously forecast.
Oil and gas company Block Energy (BLOE) has completed the farm-out of licence XIQ (Project IV) following approval from the government of Georgia. Block Energy is fully carried through the staged work programme which could cost $95m. Aspect Georgia will earn up to 75% with an option to increase this to 92.5%.
Genetics based testing company GENinCode (GENI) has raised £3.9m via a placing and subscription at 1p/share – that is more than the £3.5m minimum sought. Up to £500,000 more could be raised by a retail offer, which closes on 26 January. The company has been working with the FDA to gain 510k approval for the CARDIO inCode-Score test. Highlighted deficiencies are being attended to, including a greater emphasis on African American community data and further clinical validation. The cash will fund this and expansion in the UK and EU.
Kromek (KMK) moved from loss to profit in the first half. In the six months to October 2025, revenues jumped from £3.7m to £15m due to a large payment from Siemens Healthineers for imaging technology expertise. Advanced imaging revenues were higher even if that payment is excluded. The CBRN detection division more than doubled revenues. Cavendish is maintaining its full year forecasts with more modest full year growth of revenues from £26.5m to £27.1m, which reflects the second half payment from Siemens last year. The underlying growth of the rest of the business continues. Forecast pre-tax profit is £2.3m. The share price has soared in the past six months.
Airea (AIEA) says demand for its floor tiles was softer in the second half, although full year sales were still 1% ahead at £21.4m. Uncertainty ahead of the Budget hit sales. International sales were 4% down. Operating profit should be better than that reported for 2024. The new manufacturing facility is in the final stages of commissioning.
Loyalty platform provider Eagle Eye (EYE) did better than expected in the first half with underlying growth in revenues of 16% to £22.4m, although the previously announced lost contract meant that the reported figure is 5% lower. Annualised recurring revenues were higher at £42.2m due to contract wins. EBITDA fell from £5.9m to £4.3m. A small full year pre-tax profit is now forecast.
Oil condition monitoring equipment supplier Tan Delta Systems (TAND) generated revenues of £1.2m in 2025, which is one-fifth higher than anticipated. There are customers undertaking trials of equipment that should be near to making purchasing decisions. Net cash was £1.4m at the end of 2025, but a fundraising may be required depending on the rate of new orders.
Iron deficiency treatment developer Shield Therapeutics (STX) expects to achieve an operating profit in 2026, having generated $1m in cash from operations in the fourth quarter of 2025. In 2025, revenues rose from $32m to $50m with $46m coming from iron deficiency treatment ACCRUFeR through a combination of higher prices and more prescriptions. There were 61,000 prescriptions in the fourth quarter, up from 41,000 one year earlier. Cash was $11.6m at the end of 2025, although there is still net debt.
Firering Strategic Minerals (FRG) intends to exercise the next tranche of the Limeco Resources option, which will take its shareholding to 36.2%. Firering Strategic Minerals boss Yuval Cohen will step down and concentrate on his role as chief executive of lime producer Limeco Resources in Zambia. A new kiln will increase production capacity. Youval Rasin will be interim chief executive of Firering Strategic Minerals.
MobilityOne (MBO) has formed a mobile money transfer collaboration in Bangladesh with bKash. It will share fees on remittance transactions by bKash account holders. There will be a modest contribution this year.
More good news for Oracle Power (ORCP) from drilling at the Kalgoorlie gold project in Australia. It has intersected shallow gold mineralisation at the Northern Zone Intrusive Hosted gold project. The best result is 8 metres at 5.81g/t gold. There are a further 16 drillholes due to report results in two batches. It is possible that there is a 600 metre wide zone of shallow oxide mineralisation overlapping the Northern Zone porphyry system.
Trading in Landore Resources (LND) shares recommenced after it published an updated mineral resource estimate for the BAM gold project in Ontario. It includes estimates for the B-47 nickel copper cobalt PGE deposit and VW nickel copper cobalt deposit at the Junior Lake nickel deposit. BAM has indicated gold of 622,300 ounces with 33,700 ounces inferred. B47 has indicated resources of 3,428 tonnes at 0.6% nickel, 0.41% copper, 0.05% cobalt, 0.13g/t platinum, 0.48g/t Pg and 0.03%g/t gold. VW has indicated resources of 3,428 tonnes at 0.4% nickel, 0.05% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.03g/t platinum, 0.04g/t Pg and 0.01%g/t gold. Strategic options are being considered for Junior Lake. There are potential changes at subsidiary Landore Resources Canada Inc.
Online retailer Huddled Group (HUD) generated revenues of £19m and an EBITDA loss of £2.5n in 2025. There is a new agreement with Temu and an expansion of product range on Amazon and OnBuy. This provides a showcase for the company’s own websites.
MAIN MARKET
Foam manufacturer Zotefoams (ZTF) had a strong fourth quarter with an improvement in the construction market and continued growth elsewhere. Full year revenues were £158.5m and pre-tax profit 38% ahead at £21.1m. The one weak region was Asia, but the new Vietnam factory should change that.
London BTC (BTC) has appointed Marex, which recently bought Winterflood, as joint corporate adviser as part of its plans to float on Nasdaq.
Golden Rock Global (GCG) is planning to acquire SSS Matrix Corp, which is described as “operating at the intersection of applied AI, commodity market and supply chain management, blockchain-based digital finance and payment systems”. There will be a share issue to pay for the acquisition. Trading in the shares is suspended.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 3 November 2025
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Digital assets investor KR1 (KR1) is planning a move to the Main Market. A prospectus has been published, and the switch is expected on 25 November. There are also plans to raise money from a placing programme of up to 125 million shares if it is agreed by shareholders at a general meeting on 20 November. This will broaden the shareholder base. KR1 chairman Rhys Davies has been paid a bonus of 580,000 shares. NAV was 50.9p/share at the end of September 2025.
Valereum (VLRM) says COINGT, the infrastructure tokenisation project representing the Interoceanic Corridor of Guatemala, will be listed on tokenisation venue VLRM Markets. The token represents a project to create a logistics and trade route between the Atlantic and Pacific.
SulNox Group (SNOX) generated record second quarter revenues of £679,300, which is 30% above the first quarter. Fuel emission reduction additive volumes were 39% higher. So far this year, revenues are 173% ahead at £1.2m. Cash was £1.36m at the end of September 2025.
WeCap (WCAP) holds 806,022 shares in WeShop, which intends to join Nasdaq, as well as a 23.5% stake in a company that owns 2.08 million WeShop shares. The other investment is waterway cleaning technology developer Bio2pure. The 10% stake is valued at nil. WeCap had net assets of £6.77m at the end of April 2025.
Healthcare IT developer DXS International (DXSP) improved full year revenues from £3.31m to £3.47m and the loss was reduced from £4.95m to £175,000. Slow NHS decision making is holding back progress. Even excluding the previous year’s asset impairment of £4.38m the loss is lower. Turnover is expected to be flat this year and there will be another loss.
Lift Global Ventures (LFT) says it is extending the loan to investee company Trans-Africa Energy to 31 January 2026.
Igraine (KING) has received £3.91m of fundraising money and is still waiting for the other £3.24m.
UTXO Management GP has belatedly stated that it has reduced its interest in The Smarter Web Company (SWC) from 26.6% to 12.99%.
Adnams (ADB) interim chair bought 1,650 B shares at 1805p each, while finance director Andrew Driscoll bought 500 A shares at £10 each.
There will be a 150-for-one share consolidation at Nyce International (NYCE) on 3 November.
Unigel Group (UNX) is paying an interim dividend of 2.5p/share.
IntelliAM AI (INT) is switching to the Apex segment of Aquis.
ASSET MATCH
Zytronic (ZYT) has disposes of all assets except for the freehold property in Blaydon. Completion of the sale has been delayed. An environmental survey will be received later in November. The estimated return to shareholders is still 48p/share to 58p/share.
Greenshields Agri (GAH) says draft accounts for 2024-25 show a swing from a loss of £317,000 to a profit after tax of £2.68m. NAV is 158p/share.
AIM
Empire Metals (EEE) is raising £7m at 40p/share. The cash will be used to finance work on the Pitfield project in Australia. This includes metallurgical test work, resource expansion and commencement of pilot production of Ti02 product samples for end users. This will initially be for the titanium metal supply chain. A listing on ASX is being considered for 2026.
Kromek (KMK) says interim revenues will be at least £14.5m, up from £3.7m. This includes revenues from Siemens. There is still underlying growth of 70%. An interim pre-tax profit is expected.
Belluscura (BELL) is appointing an administrator.
Shareholders did not agree to the proposed fundraising by Anglesey Mining (AYM) and management is preserving cash as it seeks alternative forms of financing. Without that the company will go into administration. Alumni Capital had agreed to offer equity funding of up to £2m.
Conygar Investment Company (CIC) is selling its 203-acre brownfield land at Rhosgoch in Anglesey to Rhosgoch Property, a subsidiary of Stena Lin. The net proceeds will be £18.3m, compared with a valuation of £2.5m. NAV was £63.8m (107.5p/share) at the end of March 2025, but since then there has been a £750,000 loss on the sale of a Virgin Active gym. Premier Miton trimmed its stake from 13.9% to 12.8%, while First Equity has cut its interest from 13.2% to 12.8%.
European Green Transition (EGT) has entered an exclusive six-month option agreement to sell the Pajala copper project in northern Sweden to Recovery Metals Cyprus. Historical drilling confirms copper mineralisation. Recovery Metals Cyprus will fund due diligence during the option. Copper prices are moving towards record highs.
Caledonian Holdings (CHP) has entered an agreement with Mousdale Investment and Nevis Investments which will each swap 250,000 AlbaCo shaes for 6.25 million Caledonian Holdings shares at 0.004p each. This will take Caledonian Holdings’ sake in new smaller company focused bank AlbaCo to 5.47%.
One Health Group (OHGR) has made a positive start to the financial year. Surgical procedures jumped 16% and interim revenues were 17% higher at £15.5m, which is 10% ahead of forecast. EBITDA is expected to be higher than the previous year. Cash is £10.8m. There have been delays in building the surgical hub, but it should still be open by the end of 2026.
Specialist cleaning services provider React Group (REAT) says full year revenues were 21% ahead at around £25m, which includes an initial contribution from 24hr Aquaflow, which was acquired last October. Dowgate edged up its 2024-25 pre-tax profit from £2.1m to £2.2m. Strong fourth quarter trading meant that net debt was higher than expected at £5.2m.
Cancer treatments developer ValiRx (VAL) is raising £750,000 at 0.25p/share and a WRAP offer could raise up to £300,000 more. The offer closes on 3 November. All subscribers get one warrant exercisable at 0.5p each with every new share. The cash will fund R&D, including the preclinical development of potential breast cancer treatment Cytolytix.
Construction disputes and professional services provider Diales (DIAL) expects a 2024-25 operating profit of at least £1.3m on slightly lower revenues of £42.6m, due to weaker Asia Pacific business. Pre-tax profit should also be £1.3m. Net cash was £3m at the end of September 2025. There is a strong pipeline of disputes business.
ABCrescent Cooperatief U.A. has sold 8.22 million shares in Pulsar Helium Inc (PLSR) at 38p/share. ABCrescent, which is associated with Pulsar Helium director Brice Laurent, still has a 4.81% stake plus 15.5 million warrants. Brie Laurent owns 17,570 shares. This follows the proposed acquisition of Hybrid Hydrogen, which owns mineral rights to 6,742 acres in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, for $80,000 in shares.
Great Western Mining Corporation (GWMO) says soil sampling at the Huntoon copper project in Nevada shows elevated levels of tungsten, copper and zinc. The soil geochemical anomaly has been extended to more than 2.8km. The consistency of anomalies suggests a larger than anticipated mineralised system. Further analysis will help to design a new drilling campaign.
Resources explorer 80 Mile (80M) says its US joint venture partner has announced that an independent report confirms the world-class potential of the Jameson Land Basin in eastern Greenland. This estimates more than 13 billion barrels (P10) of gross unrisked recoverable prospective oil resources. 80 Mile has a 30% post earn-in share. It has a free carry on the initial drilling planned for the second half of 2026. March GL is earning up to 70%. This followd an announcement that 80 Mile has revised the terms of its acquisition of Hydrogen Valley, which operates a biofuel site in Italy.
Versarien (VRS) has signed heads of terms with a UK quoted company for the sale of Total Carbide and the other remaining assets for £100,000 in cash and £100,000 in shares. The buyer will also take responsibility for £5.7m of loans plus interest. Versarien can operate with the support of creditors until the end of November. If the transaction goes ahead Versarien will become a shell.
MAIN MARKET
Cindrigo (CINH) has completed the acquisition of an 85% stake in a company that is developing three geothermal projects in the Upper Rhine Vally in Germany, and this enabled it to return to the Main Market. Cindrigo raised £2.06m at 12p/share and £9.3m of convertible loans have been converted into shares at an average price of 17p/share. At the placing price, the market capitalisation was £40.1m.
Georgina Energy (GEX) has gained drilling approvals for the Hussar prospect in EP513 in Western Australia. There was cash of £112,000 at the end of July 2025 and since then £1m has been raised.
New Frontier Minerals (NFM) had cash and liquid resources of $1.8m at the end of September 2025. There have been good results from the Harts Range rare earths project. The NWQ copper project is also progressing.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 22 September 2025
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Vehicle electrification technology developer Equipmake (EQIP) has received a £5.45m order from Agrale to supply electric drivetrain systems for 50 buses. Agrale had previously ordered five drivetrains. The new order will be delivered from now to mid-2026 and there will be payments in advance for each delivery. Equipmake has an order book worth more than £10m.
WeCap (WCAP) investee company WeShop has filed with the SEC for a listing on Nasdaq. The SEC has to review the filings before the listing can happen. WeCap has a direct stake of 5.189 million shares in the shoppable social network. Peel Hunt holds 17.2% of WeCap. The share price increased 43.6% to 2.8p. Hot Rocks Investments (HRIP) owns 150,000 WeShop shares.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) has concluded due diligence on the Dilotiko project in Kenya and a 25% stake in Dilotiko Ltd will be acquired for £200,000 in shares. There is an option to acquire up to 60%. TechFinancials is raising £250,000 at 0.25p/share. The company plans to change its name to Ubunto Mining and Metals Inc.
BWA Group (BWAP) has entered a binding option and earn-in agreement to acquire 70% of Aracari Resources, which holds the Aracari gold project in Cameroon. There is a 90 day due diligence period plus spending of €25,000, then a further €100,000 of spending will earn 10%, €400,000 to take the stake to 51% and an additional €1m to take the stake to 70%.
Global Connectivity (GCON) investee company PLUG has completed its pilot copper cable extraction contract in Brazil. PLUG has been added to Telefonica’s preferred supplier list for the service in Brazil and around he world.
Cannabis medicines developer Ananda Pharma (ANA) says chief executive Melissa Sturgess is presenting and attending a panel discussion at the 8th Cannabinoid & Endocannabinoid Drug Development Summit, taking place in Boston, Massachusetts in mid-October.
Mendell Helium (MDH) says dewatering has started at the M3 Corporation Rost-1-26 well in Fort Dodge, Kansas. Mendell Helium has an option to acquire M3 Helium, and the option has to be exercised by 30 September. A move to AIM is likely when Rost starts production.
Valerium (VLRM) is accelerating the strategy to build a blockchain-powered finance ecosystem, and it is selectively investing in leading operations in this area. This should enable larger and faster revenues.
Amazing AI (AAI) plans to start buying crypto assets this month, starting with Bitcoin.
Vault Ventures (VULT) has launched a new website and interactive hub at investors.vaultplc.com. A further purchase of 47.48 ETH means the total holding is 818.85 ETH and 2,201.1 SOL.
ASSET MATCH
Isles of Scilly Steamship Company (IOS) reported a slight increase in full year revenues to £21.7m, while pre-tax profit edged up from £2.95m to £3.04m. Net debt was £7.5m at the end of March 2025. A 15p/share dividend has been proposed.
AIM
Scotland-based housebuilder Springfield Properties (SPR) is refocusing on the North of Scotland. It still has projects in central Scotland, but new land buying will be in the North. There were £60.5m of land sales during the year and there is still more to come from the sale deal with Barratt Redow. That helped to cut net debt to £20.9m and it should fall to £10m by May 2026 when more disposal proceeds are received. That will enable the buying of additional land in the North. The land sales helped to nearly double pre-tax profit from £10.6m to £20.1m. Springfield Properties is planning to hold on to some of the homes it builds in the North and lease them to infrastructure providers so that they can house their workers.
Audio products supplier Focusrite (TUNE) performed strongly in the six months to August 2025. Revenues improved from £81.6m to £87m during the period. This is despite negative currency movements. New product launches helped and offset lower spending on audio reproduction equipment. Gross margin is improving despite tariffs. The 12-month revenues rose from £158.5m to £168m. EBITDA is in line with expectations of £25.2m despite the better revenues. Net debt was £11m at the end of August 2025. The new financial year end is February.
Advanced imaging and biodetection technology developer Kromek (KMK) moved into profit in the year to April 2025 thanks to revenues from its collaboration agreement with Siemens. A loss of £3.2m was turned into a pre-tax profit of £4.1m, helped by the high margin nature of the Siemens income. The Siemens income will be lower this year, but the rest of the business should grow. Kromek will remain profitable but gross margin will be lower. Regular orders from Siemens are expected in 2027. Net cash is £1.2m and there is no requirement for any share issues, because cash should build from this point.
Fiinu (BANK) has entered an exclusive strategic partnership with Manx Financial (MFG) subsidiary Conister Trust to launch Plugin Overdraft in the UK. It will be launched initially with one million plus retail customers and then rolled out to other customers. It will be branded “Conister Bank Plugin Overdraft®, powered by Fiinu“. There is a profit-sharing agreement.
Sexual health products developer Futura Medical (FUM) says 2025 revenues will be much lower than expected and it has widened the strategic review to include all options to create shareholder value. US sales of Eroxon remain weak and there are stocks left from the original order. Other markets are also weaker than expected. The $2.5m milestone payment from Haleon for granting of a US patent has been delayed until next year. Full year revenues will be between £1.3m and £1.4m. Cash was £2.71m at the end of August 2025. This should last until January 2026. Cost savings are being made and funding sought. Interim results will be published on 30 September.
Renalytix (RENX) has signed a collaboration agreement with Tempus AI which will help to accelerate the adoption of the company’s kidneyintelX.dkd test to help slow kidney disease. The test is for predicting “progressive decline in kidney function in type 2 diabetes patients with diagnosed chronic kidney disease stages 1-3b”.
Plant-based detergent ingredients developer Itaconix (ITX) increased interim revenues 30% to $4.8m and it is on course to reach $9.5m in the full year. A halved loss of $900,000 is forecast, which is slightly higher than previously expected. Reporting has been changed so that there are two main sources of revenues. Performance ingredients and SPARX formulated solutions. The latter is growing faster.
TV and film fleet services provider Facilities by ADF (ADF) reported a quiet start to the year, but momentum is improving. Interim revenues were 14% ahead at £17.4m. The loss increased from £800,000 to £2m. More productions were facilitated, but the average income was lower. One-fifth of the fleet has been placed in storage.
Acoustic products supplier Autins Group (AUTG) is suffering from volatile conditions in the automotive sector. In the five months to August 2025, revenues fell from £8m to £7.7m and the loss was reduced from £714,000 to £258,000. JLR is a major customer, and it has been hit by a cyber attack. JLR production stopped on 1 September and that will hold back Autins revenues.
Architectural and construction software provider Eleco (ELCO) continues to grow recurring revenues at an impressive rate. Annualised recurring revenues could each £32.6m at the end of 2025. That is helped by acquisitions but there is still organic growth. Recurring revenues were 81% of interim revenues.
Caledonian Holdings (CHP) is stepping back from a wider marketing of its proposed fundraising. It is focusing on talking to institutional investors. If these are successful a broadening of the fundraising will be considered. The cash will be used to invest in investee company AlbaCo to provide regulatory capital.
Employee benefits and insurance provider Personal Group Holdings (PGH) improved interim revenues 11% to £23.3m. Annualised recurring revenues ae 12% ahead at £45.7m. Pre-tax profit was 72% higher at £3.8m. The dividend was raised by 26% to 8.2p/share. The 2025 pre-tax profit forecast has been edged up to £8.2m.
Digital loyalty and promotions platform operator Eagle Eye (EYE) had already flagged up the full year figures and announced the loss of a major client. In the year to June 2025, revenues rose 1% to £48.2m, but the core revenues increased at a faster rate. Revenues will fall this year, and Eagle Eye will make a loss before rebounding to profit next year.
Cyber security software and hardware supplier Corero Network Services (CNS) had a tough start to the year, and order intake reduced. Interim revenues fell 10% to $10.9m. However, annualised recurring revenues grew to $21.6m. Customer retention was 98%.
Battery technology developer Gelion (GELN) subsidiary OXLiD has been awarded £533,000 of grant funding from the DRIVE35 programme in the UK. This will be invested in development of lithium-sulfur multi-layer pouch cells. This supports a £1.1m project which Gelion is working on with QinetiQ. There will be demonstrations of the technology in September 2026.
MAIN MARKET
Mears (MER) is acquiring Pennington Choices for £9.5m in cash. This will add to the group’s compliance activities and it could contribute annual EBITDA of £1.5m.
Life Science REIT (LABS) has completed a strategic review and decided on a managed wind down. The slow pace of leasing activity has held back further investment, and the share price has been trading at a large discount to NAV. The wind down is expected to take around 18 months. The board is in discussions with the investment manager. A circular will be sent to shareholders to gain approval for the proposals.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 24 February 2025
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Aquis-quoted healthcare procedures supplier One Health Group (OHGR) plans to move to AIM. As part of the process, it raised £5.2m from a placing at 180p/share and existing shareholders have the chance to take up shares in an open offer of up to £500,000. A WRAP retail offer could raise up to £500,000 more. The cash will be invested in the first owned surgical hub. This will cost up to £9m and it could generate £9m of income each year. It should be earnings enhancing in the first full year of operation. The employee benefit trust (EBT), the chairman and chief medical officer are selling £2.2m worth of shares. The EBT will repay a £750,000 loan to the company. The retail offer closes on 24 February. The minimum subscription is £100.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has signed a partnership with Frontier Power, and it will provide the partner with flow batteries for potential projects supported by the UK’s long duration cap and floor mechanism, where applications should commence in the summer. Frontier Power has reserved up to 2GWh of manufacturing capacity to underpin its bids. There will be an upfront fee when projects have been won. There could also be international opportunities.
EDX Medical Group (EDX) has developed a new test for prostate cancer. The test can identify cancerous cells, whether the cancer is early stage or late stage and how aggressive the cancer is. More than 100 biomarkers are measured by the test, which is more than rival tests. Accuracy should be better than 96%. There are 55,000 cases of prostate cancer in the UK each year. Founder Professor Sir Chris Evans acquired a total of 320,000 shares at an average share price of 13.68p each, plus 20,000 shares at 13.5p each, taking his stake to 37.3%. Chief executive Dr Michael Hudson bought 45,888 shares at 10.87p each, taking his stake to 5.84%, and deputy chair Martin Walton purchased an initial 85,000 shares at 10.717p each.
Valereum (VLRM) has entered into an agreement with DMC Markets Inc for a cash raise of £19m. Previously it was expected to be £13m. There will be 130 million shares issue at 10p ach and 20 million shares issued at 20p each, plus a further 20 million shares at 10p each that were previously under option to Blue Sky Vision. This will be done via a new company called Valereum Inc, which will hold 48.9% of Valereum. A UK investor will invest an additional £1m at 20p/share. The cash will be invested in minority stakes in four strategic assets sourced by DMC.
ProBiotix Health (PBX) has an agreement with Kemin China Technology, which will sell LP LDL as a cardiometabolic health ingredient in China, Hong Kong and Macau. The sales will be co-branded. Chief executive Steen Andersen has been granted 9.05 million options with an exercise price of 9.5p. They last ten years and performance criteria have to be met for them to be exercised.
Vehicle electrification technology developer Equipmake (EQIP) has signed a development agreement with JC Bamford. It will develop specific power electronics for JCB. This is an initial six-month development agreement.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) says portfolio company Otomato Web3 Agent Protocol, which has commenced the launch of the Otomato.xyz platform. The public launch is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025. The platform streamlines Web3 interactions. As well as its stake, Coinsilium has the rights to 7.5% of revenues generated by the platform up to the Token Listing Event.
Ananda Pharma (ANA) has completed the manufacture of a final technical batch of MRX1 CBD drug candidate. This enables the next step of the process to achieve MHRA clinical trial approval.
Arbuthnot Banking Group (ARBB) is trading in line with expectations and is set to achieve a 2024 pre-tax profit of £34.5m.
Tap Global Group (TAP) has raised £1m at 2p/share and this will be invested in the fintech app platform and growing its database of registered users.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) non-exec Nicholas Fairfax has bought 91,350 shares at 87p each. SulNOx has secured a patent in Malaysia covering a range of formulations for emulsifiers and fuel conditioners.
Mark Lyttleton has a 3.11% stake in WeCap (WCAP). Stephen Hill has 3.7% of Igraine (KING). Kasei Digital Assets (KASH) director Bryan Coyne bought 1.06 million shares at 11.22p each, taking his stake to 18.9%.
ASSET MATCH
Marshall of Cambridge (MCH) says the MoD has sold 12 ex-RAF C-130 aircraft to the Turkey government. Marshall has undertaken life extension work on seven of the aircraft and it will do the same work on the other five aircraft for the Turkey government. The value of this contract is £200m and it includes ongoing maintenance. This work will last until 2028. The US authorities are required to approve the deal.
JP JENKINS
Hotel chain operator Studio Stays Hotel Group (SSHG) has joined JP Jenkins. This is a company that was formed by chief executive Grant Bovey on 7 February 2025. It has raised £50,000 at 0.5p/share. The plan is to develop a business that generates income from hotels and AIRBNB.
Deltex Medical Group (DEMG) has departed AIM and moved to the JP Jenkins matched bargains platform. The share price ended on AIM at 0.024p. Deltex Medical has developed ultrasound-based oesophageal doppler monitoring equipment for surgery and intensive care use.
Tribe Technology (TRYB) has also left AIM. The last share price on AIM was 0.075p. Northern Ireland-based Tribe Technology is a developer of autonomous mining equipment.
AIM
Cash shell Rosebank Industries (ROSE) is in discussions with Cerberus Capital about the acquisition of Electrical Components International Inc (ECI). US-based ECI is a supplier of critical electrical distribution systems to a range of industries. No price has been put on the acquisition, but it will require a significant share issue and a new debt facility. The deal is subject to due diligence and will require a document for readmission to AIM. Trading in Rosebank Industries shares has been suspended until there is a document. Rosebank Industries joined AIM on 11 July 2024 after raising £50m at 250p/share. There was cash of £48.1m at the end of 2024.
Greatland Gold (GGP) released maiden drilling results for the West Dome Underground target at the Telfer prospect. This deposit is 800 metres below the West Dome open pit. There were 16 out of 19 holes that intercepted significant mineralisation. The weighted average intercept is calculated as 23 metres at 2.95g/t gold and 1.07% copper. This could extend the mine life. There will be a second phase of drilling.
Rail software and technology company Tracsis (TRCS) has won the contract to provide the ‘tap converter’ ticketing technology that will enable pay-as-you-go travel across the UK rail network. Tracsis previously supplied a similar service to some train operators. This will generate a small, fixed payment to Tracsis with every journey and could generate highly significant revenues. If 10% of journeys are via PAYG then this could generate £3m of annual revenues. The technology will not be deployed until 2026 and will take time to roll out, so it does not affect the 2024-25 forecasts and is not included in the 2025-26 pre-tax profit forecast of £15.3m. The Department of Transport has published a document outlining plans for Great British Rail and this should lead to the ending of uncertainty of the future of rail.
Medical and radiation technology developer Kromek (KMK) has received the initial payment of $25m from its deal with Siemens. This will enable Kromek to be profitable this year. The total agreement is worth $37.5m. The rest is payable over four years. The deal was announced at the end of January and is for producing cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) applications. This is a non-exclusive agreement and could lead to deals with other companies. Cavendish forecasts a 2024-25 pre-tax profit of £4.9m after a recovery in revenues in the second half. This could fall to £2.1m next year. Net cash is expected to be £1.8m at the end of April 2025 and Kromek is likely to stay in a net cash position for the next two years.
TheraCryf (TCF) is raising £4.25m at 0.25p/share. The previous closing share price was 1p. The cash will finance the pre-clinical development of Orexin-1, which came with the acquisition of Chronos Therapeutics. Orexin-1 is a potential drug for a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including addiction and anxiety. This market could be worth $67.6bn by 2034. The preclinical data generated will help to attract potential partners. TheraCryf was previously expected to have net cash of £900,000 by the end of March 2025. Former Avacta boss Dr Alastair Smith has been appointed as TheraCryf chair. He will take his fee for at least 12 months in the form of shares.
Film and media localisation services provider Zoo Digital (ZOO) expects full year revenues to be at least $50.5m and a return to positive EBITDA of at least $1m. These are below expectations, though. Trading recovered following the writers’ strike in Hollywood, but there have been delays and cancellations. Zoo Digital is a preferred fulfilment vendor for Amazon Prime Video and there is an increase in potential work, predominantly for existing content. Original content production remains subdued and may not recover until nearer the end of the year. This year dubbing revenues will be lower than last year. Fixed costs have been cut by one-fifth over the past year and margins are improving.
Scotland-based housebuilder Springfield Properties (SPR) is selling land holdings in central Scotland to Barratt for £64.2m and could sell further sites. This will contribute a significant profit in the year to May 2025. Springfield Properties will refocus on the north of Scotland. Trading has been weak so far in this financial year. Interim revenues declined 13%, but better margins meant that pre-tax profit recovered from £2m to £3.8m. Singer has downgraded its 2025-26 pre-tax profit forecast by 14% to £14.2m, but the dividend is expected to continue to recover. A net cash position is expected by 2027.
Transense Technologies (TRT) reported interim figures showing revenues 36% ahead at £2.46m, although pre-tax profit was 13% lower at £550,000. Hiring is going on to build up the business to cope with further growth and this is holding back short-term profit. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to edge up to £1.6m this year, before slipping back to £1.3m in the year to June 2026. It should then return to growth. The company recently secured a new distribution agreement with Haltec Corporation, a US tyre valve company focused on mining, truck and aviation sectors. Cash was £1.19m at the end of 2024, but it rose to £1.87m at the end of January 2025.
Cambridge Cognition (COG) has submitted a letter of intent to the FDA under the Drug Development Tool pathway. This relates to the development of digital cognitive assessments reliable measurement of Cognitive Impairment Associated with Schizophrenia (CIAS). Cambridge Cognition does not require regulatory approval for its assessments, but the FDA qualification would help to broaden the adoption. The FDA has a backlog, and it could take more than two months to get a response. The next step would be to submit a detailed plan. Cambridge Cognition’s CANTAB platform has been used in the analysis of two phase 3 rials that were used in the FDA approval of Cobenfy from Bristol Myers Squibb. Cobenfy is the first antipsychotic drug to be approved with a new mechanism of action was approved in September 2024.
Compliance and resource management software provider AdvancedAdvT Ltd (ADVT) is winning new business and generating renewals on improved terms. Demand for cloud and digital services is growing. Singer expects EBITDA of £9.6m, having previously forecast £8.4m. The 2026 EBITDA forecast has been raised from £8.8m to £10.1m. AdvancedAdvT is still at an early stage of its buy and build strategy. Net cash is estimated to be £88m.
Media marketing platform developer SEEEN (SEEN) says 2024 revenues grew from $2.1m to $3.2m following a strong second half. This suggests that the business is gaining momentum and the current annual run-rate for revenues is $5m, which is in line with forecasts. A large publisher has contracted SEEEN to manage its video library on YouTube. SEEN has IP that can maximise the income from these videos. Revenues were below forecast but the outlook is positive.
Biome Technologies (BIOM) is planning to leave AIM and is holding a general meeting on 13 March to gain shareholder agreement. Access to additional funding is difficult with a depressed share price due to trading disappointments. Management believes it will be easier to raise cash as a private company without a public share price. It will also be easier to enter into transactions without having to make announcements. There will also be cost savings. JP Jenkins will provide a matched bargains facility.
Allergy Therapeutics (AGY) says published data from its phase III G306 study for its grass allergen immunotherapy Grass MATA MPL shows a 20.3% improvement, which is much higher than for trials of other treatments. The treatment requires six injections rather than up to 100 injections and tablets of other treatments. The quality of life improves by 27.7%. A marketing authorisation application has been filed in Germany.
Totally (TLY) chief executive Wendy Lawrence has stepped down and the board is seeking a replacement for the healthcare services provider. This follows the trading statement at the end of the previous week when the company lost a contract. Totally is still expected to make a pre-tax profit of £700,000 for the year to March 2025, but Canaccord Genuity has cut its 2025-26 forecast from £1.6m to £700,000. Professor Prasad Godbole is interim chief executive, although he is not on the board.
MAIN MARKET
Helium and hydrogen explorer Georgina Energy (GEX) has paid the A$50,000 deposit to AIM-quoted Mosman Oil and Gas (MSMN) as part of the acquisition of the company that owns the EPA155 permit. This covers Mt Winter, where previous drilling has identified helium and hydrogen, along with natural gas. The final acquisition is dependent on government authorisation of the exploration permit. This will trigger the second payment of A$300,000. Seismic data is being reprocessed. At the Hussar project, the Environmental Impact Survey is being completed.
First Tin (1SN) says crushing test work at the Taronga tin project in Australia shows it is possible to obtain up to 89.5% up to 89.5% of the contained tin. The average is 87.1% across seven samples. Testing is ongoing.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 24 January 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Good Energy (GOOD) has agreed the sale of its generating assets ahead of the 11 February general meeting called by Ecotricity where it wanted shareholders to vote on any disposal. The initial payment by Bluefield Solar Income Fund is £16.4m, less a distribution of £700,000 since the lockbox date. Deferred consideration of up to £8.1m based on the performance of the assets. The book value was £17.7m. This will leave Good Energy substantially debt free with cash in the bank. This will enable further investment in Zap-Map and other transport and decentralised energy businesses.
Broker Arden has initiated research on CBD products and testing company Goodbody Health (GDBY) and set a 10p a share target price. The growth is coming from testing services and Goodbody Health is expected to move into profit this year. Currently 94% of testing revenues relate to Covid, but other blood tests are set to be in the majority by 2023.
Brewer Adnams (ADB) has decided to announce an interim dividend having not paid a dividend for more than two years. The A shares will receive 39p a share and B shares 156p a share. The ex-dividend date is 27 January.
Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI) has signed a letter of intent with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which will review the waste plastic to hydrogen technologies.
Cross border e-commerce technology provider Samarkand Group (SMK) has agreed a three-year contract extension with TEMPLESPA.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) says that investee company European Metals Holdings has published an update to its 2019 pre-feasibility study for the 49%-owned Cinovec lithium mine in the Czech Republic. The post-tax NPV8 has increased to $3.09bn, although the upfront cost has also increased to $644m.
Recent new admission Kasei Holdings (KASH) has made $3.65m of cryptocurrency investments since joining Aquis. It has also made a $25,000 initial investment in Game-fi ecosystem company ZONE. Kasei had £3.7m available for investment.
Investment company Gledhow Investments (GDH) had cash of £525,000 at the end of September 2021, having raised £850,000 in a placing during the year. Net assets increased from £1.3m to £2.78m.
IamFire (FIRE) reduced its interim loss from £162,000 to £86,000. Since the half year end, IamFire has raised a further £4.75m.
NQ Minerals remains in administration and has been withdrawn from Aquis.
AIM
Pawnbroker and foreign currency exchange services company Ramsdens (RFX) reported a £600,000 pre-tax profit on revenues of £40.7m in the year to September 2021. Jewellery sales were strong both online and in stores. The foreign exchange division was hit by the lack of travel. This year the foreign exchange business should recover although it is difficult to assess by how much. Even so, there should be a jump in profit this year as Covid restrictions are removed.
Interim figures from small company finance provider Time Finance (TIME) reported flat interim revenues of £11.8m and pre-tax profit of £1.2m. Full year profit could improve from £2m to £2.9m, although earnings per share could be flat, but a much bigger jump is expected next year. NAV remains above the market capitalisation and there is a conservative provisioning policy.
Pressure Technologies (PRES) reported flat full year revenues, but the underlying loss was reduced. A good performance from the Chesterfield Special Cylinders, helped by defence orders, was offset by weak oil and gas demand for precision machined components. Net debt was £4.9m. There should be a return to profit this year. Demand for cylinders for hydrogen refuelling is building up and should become significant over the next few years. Oil and gas demand is also improving.
Ilika (IKA) expects to start to build up production at its new Stereax battery plant in Chandler’s Ford by the beginning of the next financial year. The production lines have been installed and the process and product qualification is underway. Revenues were £195,000 in the six months to October 2021. These came from grants relating to the Goliath technology. The Goliath battery technology is at an early stage and is suitable for uses where larger batteries are required, such as electric vehicles and consumer appliances. There will be minimal group revenues in the second half with the growth coming in 2022-23. Cash outflows will continue but there will still be cash going into 2024.
Kromek (KMK) had a tough first half due to component supply problems, but the imaging and detection technology company expects to have a much stronger second half. Interim revenue edged up to £4.71m, while full year revenues are expected to be £15m. There is 96% visibility based on current second half orders. Kromek continues to be loss-making, but it is still expected to have net cash at the end of April 2022. That is despite increasing component stocks. Kromek has won a seven-year imaging contract worth $17m.
Credit hire and legal services firm Anexo (ANX) says that 2021 revenues and profit have exceeded expectations. There were 2,300 credit hire vehicles on the road at the end of 2021. Progressive has upgraded its underlying pre-tax profit forecast from £20m to £24.5m.
Boku (BOKU) has sold its identity division to Twilio for up to $32.3m. This will stop those losses and help group profit to increase. In 2021, the payments division increased its revenues by one-fifth to $61.9m, while EBITDA rose by a similar proportion to $22.9m. Stripping out the identity division loss means that the 2022 pre-tax profit has been upgraded from $15.3m to $16.8m.
Growth is accelerating at domain name and online marketing services provider CentralNic (CNIC). The 2021 full year growth in revenues of 37%, was better than expected and higher than the 29% growth in the first nine months of 2021.
MAIN MARKET
LED lighting and wiring accessories supplier Luceco (LUCE) says that 2021 operating profit will be £39m as expected. There was strong growth last year, but this year will have tougher comparatives. Price rises have offset cost inflation but 2022 may be second half weighted in performance terms.
Tibergest is making a mandatory offer for Photo-Me International (PHTM) after acquiring 7.7% and taking its stake to 36.5%. It has to offer the 75p a share it paid for the latest stake. Tibergest is associated with Photo-Me chief executive Serge Crasnianski. There are no plans to cancel the listing.
CYBA (CYBA) is still in talks concerning the acquisition of PolySwarm, which has issued the Nectar (NCT) cryptocurrency token. The NCT price has increased to 17.34 cents and PolySwarm owns 339 million NCT.
Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) has terminated the acquisition of Greenview Gas. Rockpool should get £1.25m back from Greenview.
GSTechnologies (GST) has acquired a Lithuanian crypto exchange licence through the acquisition of UAB Glindala. Change of control has to be approved. There are plans to open a crypto exchange in the second quarter of 2022.
Executive chairman John Rigg has bought more shares in IT services company Triad (TRD). He acquired 35,000 shares at 164.3p each and 50,000 shares at 133.5p. He owns 27.8% of Triad.
Toople (TOOP) has opened a second contract centre, which is supported by BT. The south Cheshire centre is up and running and will focus on new small business customers gained through BT. The company’s other contact centre is in South Africa.
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies (OCTP) had cash of £12m at the end of November 2021. Phase I clinical trials for OCT461201 for the treatment of neuropathic and visceral pain could commence in the first quarter of 2023.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 19 July 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Good Energy (LON: GOOD) has rejected the bid from rival renewable energy supplier Ecotricity. It believes that the indicative offer of 340p a share in cash is too low even though it is a premium to the previous market price. Management believes that it has a clear strategy for the company. The focus is energy as a service and mobility as a service, particularly through Zap Map. A new tariff, called Green Driver, has been launched offering a choice of off-peak electric vehicle charging periods. The potential bid values Good Energy at nearly £57m. However, Ecotricity already owns 25.06% of Good Energy.
Voyager Life (VOY) has secured a preferred supply deal for its CBD and hemp oil products with independent pharmacy group Inphaserve, which supplies more than 30 independent pharmacies in England and Scotland.
Rogue Baron (SHNJ) reports another record month for its Bin 1301 bar. Sales were $95,000 in June, which is one-third higher than any pre-Covid month.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) has raised £2.59m at 30p a share. The cash will be used to build up the sales capability and finance the hiring of additional management and staff. There will also be further investment in R&D. There are 58 ongoing trials for its emission reduction product.
Hydro Hotel Eastbourne (HYDP) generated interim revenues of £186,000, but it lost £383,000. The hotel has been trading for a limited time in the six months to April 2021. Refurbishment of bathrooms was undertaken during the period. The hotel will fully re-open on 19 July.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has reached an agreement with White Prospecting to set up a joint venture to mine gold at the Mount Cassidy project. Tectonic will get a 7.5% gross production royalty. This deal will enable Tectonic to concentrate on Specimen Hill.
BWA Group (BWAP) reports positive sampling results at the 90%-owned Dehane rutile sands project. It is still early days, but the elevated levels of rare earths is a good sign.
Evrima (EVA) had £164,000 in the bank at the end of 2020, while the NAV was £461,000.
Chapel Down Group (CDGP) raised £6.88m at 59.5p a share, which includes £5.45m raised via crowdfunding. NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £35,000 at 7p a share. All Star Minerals (ASMO) has raised £257,000 at 0.02p a share and converted £54,000 of liabilities into shares. Ananda Developments (ANA) has raised £350,000 from an issue of convertible loan notes, with a conversion price of 1p a share, and a further £200,000 is committed by investors.
AIM
Building materials sector consolidator SigmaRoc (LSRC) acquiring Finland-based limestone supplier Nordkalk acquired for £402m, including debt. SigmaRoc has raised £260m in a placing at 85p a share, while a retail offer raised £1.6m. A new bank facility will help to fund the deal and £43m of shares will be issued to Rettig Group.
Energy efficiency as a service provider eEnergy Group (EAAS) has trebled full year estimated revenues to £13.5m. Organic growth was 75% and there was a small pre-tax profit. The smart metering service has been rebranded as MyZeRO and the first combined LightAsAService and smart metering contract has been won. Short-term profit growth is being sacrificed for longer-term growth.
Solid State (SOLI) marginally beat previously upgraded expectations for its figures for the year to March 2021. Revenues dipped slightly to £66.3m, but underlying pre-tax profit was 15% ahead at £5.4m following a reduction in overheads. The total dividend was 16p a share. Computing and communications products did well, but there was a decline in power products revenues. Acquisitions made a small contribution.
Glantus (GLAN) has made its first acquisition since joining AIM, but the software company still remains at a discount to its placing price. The $9.3m acquisition of Technology Insight Corporation led to an earnings up grade for 2022 from 6.4 cents a share to 7.1 cents a share.
Iodine producer Iofina (IOF) says iodine prices are back to pre-pandemic levels at $35-$37/kg. First half production is in line with guidance at 249.4Mt.
Kromek (KMK) had a better second half of the year to April 2021. Manufacturing had been closed in the first half and revenues improved. Full year revenues still fell from £13.1m to £10.4m. There is already 75% visibility over this year’s forecast revenues of £15m. Biodetection equipment for Covid-19 and other airborne viruses will provide a new market for the company. The medical imaging market is recovering.
ULS Technology (ULS) continues to invest in its DigitalMove platform, and it has net cash of £24m to complete its development. More services will be offered on the platform. Conveyancing completions fell last year and revenues declined 18% to £16.9m.
Zoo Digital (ZOO) moved into profit in the year to March 2021. A pre-tax profit of $900,000 was made on revenues of $39.5m with further improvements in profit expected in the next two years. Demand is increasing from subtitling and dubbing services for TV and film back catalogues and Zoo is also adding additional services. Zoo is extending its geographic reach in line with demand from customers.
Chains and transmissions manufacturer Renold (RNO) reported a 13% dip in revenues last year, but underlying pre-tax profit improved by one-fifth to £5.9m – that was due to £2.4m of restructuring costs the year before. Net debt was reduced to £18.4m. The cost base has been cut and efficiency improved through capital investment in facilities. In July, a £11m military contract was won by the torque transmission business.
Personal protection and insurance products provider CPP Group (CPP) says that trading in India has recovered in the past few weeks, but there had been a sharp reduction activity in April and May. The back books continue to generate revenues, although they are declining. Overall trading is in line with expectations.
MAIN MARKET
Standard list shell Hawkwing (HNG) has agreed to acquire ecommerce aggregator Internet Fusion Group, which owns nine speciality retail businesses. It has developed the Reactor platform which brings together retail businesses and brands. Trading in the shares has been suspended.
LED lighting and wiring accessories supplier Luceco (LUCE) has continued to improve its performance in the first half. Interim revenues are expected to be £108m and underlying operating profit of £19m. The second half will be even stronger. Luceco expects full year revenues to be at least one-quarter higher at £220m and underlying operating profit 30% ahead at £39m.
Maternity wear retailer Seraphine Group (BUMP) raised £61m at 295p when it joined the premium list last Friday. The cash will be used to pay off loans and finance growth. The share price started conditional dealings earlier in the week at 305p and subsequently fell back, opening at 280.05p when dealings were unconditional. The share price ended the day at 279.4p
HeiQ (HEIQ) has signed a collaboration agreement with LYCRA and the first product should be launched by the autumn. This will combine freshness and antiviral benefits with LYCRA stretch fabrics.
Nuformix (NFX) expects to develop a phase 1-ready formulation of its NXP002 inhaled treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in the next 18 months. This could be a time to seek a partner.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 15 February 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Oberon Investments Group (OBE) has joined the Access segment following the reversal of the wealth management business into standard list shell Baskerville Capital. Assets under administration are more than £400m. Oberon was formed in 2017 and acquired investment manager MD Barnard. It also has a corporate broking business, and it is joint broker to MyHealthChecked (MHC). There was £1.44m raised at 4p a share at the time of the reversal.
Brewer Curious Drinks is being placed into administration and the business will be acquired by Risk Capital Partners, which was founded by Luke Johnson. This will have to be agreed by the HMRC and the secured creditor HSBC. There should be no redundancies Majority owner Chapel Down Group (CDGP) is offering small shareholders in Curious Drinks a share swap. There will be 1.57 Chapel Down shares issued for each Curious Drinks share. In 2015, Curious Drinks raised £1.71m via a crowdfunding with Seedrs, which equates to a market capitalisation of £17.7m. That funding was equivalent to 9.66% of Curious Drinks and there were 886 shareholders. The share swap should provide around 50% of the initial investment. There will be less than 1% dilution for Chapel Down shareholders. Chapel Down net debt will be slashed from £7.2m to £100,000. There was a loan from Chapel Down to Curious Drinks of £7.77m included in the 2019 accounts.
Coinsilium (COIN) holds $1.98m of cryptocurrency and tokens, which is a 17% increase in fewer than three weeks.
Gunsynd (GUN) has sold all its shares in Angold Resources. This raised £163,000. Chris Akers has increased his stake in Gunsynd to 5.36%.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) continues to have a 100% success rate for its exploration drilling. According to managing director Brett Boynton the latest hole shows “multiple stacked veins somewhat like a palm tree spraying out mineralised fronds from the primary fault zone”.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £301,000 at 7p a share from one institution and private investors. Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised a further £185,000 with some shares placed at 3.6p and some at 4p.
Western Selection (WESP) has bought a further 150,000 shares in Bilby (BILB) at 29.8p each. The total stake is 11%.
AIM
Joules (JOUL) has acquired the Garden Trading Company, which takes it into the home and garden market and adds annual revenues of £168m. Joules is paying £4.5m in cash and 2.83 million shares. Peel Hunt has increased its 2021-22 pre-tax profit forecast by £2m to £10.6m.
Engineer Avingtrans (AVG) maintained its interim revenues at £54.1m and the stemming of losses at recent acquisitions has helped pre-tax profit to nearly double to £3.5m. It offset the lower demand from the oil and gas sector. The recent merging of the MRI operations with Magnetica, will enable niche MRI products to be developed, but it will take time for the revenues to come through. Meanwhile, Avingtrans is stopping supplying third parties. The valuable Luton site could be sold in the next year or so if market conditions allow.
Kromek (KMK) is raising up to £13m via a placing and open offer at 15p a share. The cash will be used to accelerate the commercialisation of its bio-security products and boost the marketing of medical imaging and nuclear detection products. Intuitive Investments Group (IIG) is investing £250,000 in the placing.
Packaging manufacturer Robinson (RBN) is acquiring blow moulded containers producer Dhela Plast for up to £7.7m. There will be additional investment of £2.4m in the Danish company. The customer sectors are similar to Robinson and the deal widens its geographic reach.
MAIN MARKET
Motor finance provider S & U (SUS) expects a rebound in demand when lockdown restrictions are eased. In the past two months new deal transactions are running at nearly 80% of previous levels. Investment in Aspen Bridging has been increased because of the strong demand. A second interim dividend of 25p a share has been announced.
A planned demerger of assets by Aseana Properties Ltd (ASPL) has been stopped because the banks have not agreed to the proposal.
Castillo Copper Ltd (CCZ) confirms an extension to the 100%-owned Big One deposit and JORC modelling is underway.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) intends to acre 320 acres in Texas where it will build a new mining facility in the next 12 months. The overall cost will be $17.5m in shares.
UP Global Sourcing (UPGS) grew interim sales by 11%. Beldray represented 28% of sales, with the next biggest contributions coming from licenced brands Salter and Russel Hobbs.
One Heritage Group (OHG) is taking advantage of the share price rise over the past two months to raise £548,500 at 30p a share. The residential developer floated before Christmas at 10p a share. One Heritage plans to buy an office block in Stockport, which can be converted into residential. Plus House will cost £725,000.
Tirupati Graphite (TGR) is increasing the planned flake graphite capacity of the first module at the Vatomina project by 50% to 9,000 tonnes a year. The project will be commissioned in the second quarter. Carboflamex and other expandable graphite products produced by the company have gained certification to be sold in the EU.
Avation (AVAP) has entered into a lease with an Asian airline for an ATR72-600 aeroplane, which should be delivered in March.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 18 January 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
British Honey (BHC) generated revenues of £1.5m in the nine months to December 2020 with more sales online. There was £2.4m in the bank.
Rutherford Health (RUTH) has agreed to provide cancer treatment to NHS Trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England. The initial agreement is for two years.
A subsidiary of Noble Group has sent a letter of intent to Eastinco Mining and Exploration (EM.P) saying it wasn’t to purchase a significant portion of tantalum and tine production from Musasa in Rwanda. There will be immediate payment on agreement of the grade. There has been a further cash injection of £150,000.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has discovered further gold mineralisation at Specimen Hill in Queensland. There is a 100% success rate with holes drilled. A drilling programme has started at Mt Cassidy and once completed drilling will recommence at Specimen Hill at the sites that are prospective for copper.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says that the Hellyer mine in Australia produced 38,319 tonnes of lead concentrate, up 53%, and 19,019 tonnes of zinc concentrate, up 22%, in 2020. There was 5,452 ounces of gold and 1.1 million ounces of silver produced. Gross revenues were A$63.3m and net income was A$22.7m.
Preliminary sampling at one of the Cameroon licences owned by BWA Group (BWAP) has identified mineralisation. The Dehane project has elevated titanium, zircon and aluminium multi-element associations. More cash is required to fund further exploration.
Gunsynd (GUN) says that Peterhouse has been appointed as corporate adviser to Rogue Baron ahead of a proposed flotation on Aquis in the first quarter. Rogue Baron is a spirits company and Gunsynd has a £500,000 convertible repayable at the end of March. The Gunsynd NAV increased from £2.36m to £2.47m at the end of July 2020. There was £838,000 in the bank.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised £100,000 at 4.5p a share. SulNOx Group (SNOX) has raised £50,100 at 41.75p a share. Further cash will be required. Altona Energy (ANR) has raised a further £42,000 at 6.5p a share. MiLOC Group (ML.P) has raised £237,000 at 28.5p a share and started litigation against a distributor.
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) boos Joe McTaggart has bought 30,409 shares at 49p each.
AIM
Toilet tissue manufacturer Accrol (ACRL) reported strong interims even before a contribution from the recently acquired LTC. In the six months to October 2020, revenues slipped from £64.5m to £62.3m but that reflects panic buying in the last two months of the previous year that reduced this year’s figure. A contribution from LTC should increase full year revenues from £135m to £154m and pre-tax profit could nearly double to £9.2m. Accrol intends to pay a final dividend of 0.5p a share.
Online fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) reported a 6% increase in revenues to December 2020, following a £1.6m reduction in marketing spend – mainly in December. This includes growing sales via John Lewis and Next. The loss was more than halved. Net cash was £3.9m at the end of 2020.
Kromek (KMK) reported a 14% decline in interim revenues to £4.58m, which was a resilient performance considering the disruption in the period. Kromek has moved into a net debt position but management is confident that it has enough funds for its requirements. The second half should be stronger. The long-term outlook for MRI, imaging and radiation detection products remains positive.
Battery technology developer Ilika (IKA) is on course for Stereax battery production to be scaled up by the beginning of 2022 and more significant revenues will flow through from then on. The total investment is £4m. The pilot line is running at full capacity so there is unlikely to be growth in short-term revenues. There is also the longer-term potential for Goliath batteries for electric vehicles. There should be £9m in the bank at the end of April 2021.
Voucher products supplier Appreciate (APP) had a strong third quarter and free cash reached £33.5m. The focus on digital products is paying off.
Law firm Gateley (GTLY) grew earnings by 7% in the first half, but full year earnings are expected to decline from 12.5p a share to 9.1p a share. There could be scope for an upgrade if utilisation levels remain high.
Ariana Resources (AAU) says that the 50%-owned Kiziltepe mine produced 18,645 ounces of gold in 2020. The processing plant capacity is being quadrupled.
Filtronic (FTC) has won a contract with more than £1m with a UK defence customer. Filtronic will design and supply battlefield communications hardware.
In 2020, Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) increased palm oil production by 24% to 4,824MT and the average price obtained was ahead by a similar percentage. The price has started 2021 at a much higher level and even if the price does not stay as high Dekel should be able to at least move nearer to profit in 2021.
Franchise Brands (FRAN) will report 2020 figures ahead of consensus. The business has been strongly cash generative and the consumer-facing franchises did better in the second half. Metro Rod was classed as an essential service and trading recovered after an initial slump. Allenby forecasts 2020 earnings of 4.3p a share and this could improve to 4.8p a share in 2021.
Environmental and life sciences company Deepverge (DVRG) generated revenues of £4.4m in 2020 before any contribution from the recently acquired Modern Water. This year’s revenues should more than double, although the business should still lose money. There are large projects that are being bid for that could contribute to this year.
SourceBio International (SBI) has signed a deal with a high street retailer to provide lab testing services. This will start with a limited number of stores and could then be broadened. Demand for Covid testing is likely to continue to be high for many months.
MAIN MARKET
BATM Advanced Communication (BVC) has secured an option deal to sell its NGSoft communications technology services business to Aztek Technologies for $33m in cash. This is around ten times operating profit. The cash can be reinvested into the other activities.
Telecoms business Toople (TOOP) increased revenues from £2.45m to £3.44m and gross profit from £479,000 to £1.1m in the year to September 2020. The purchase of DMSL helped to grow revenues. Admin expenses were slightly higher at £2.44m. The underlying pre-tax loss edged up from £1.24m to £1.31m. That excludes a £1.1m provision for bad debts and restructuring costs. Directors pay increased from £278,000 to £312,239 last year. Net debt was nearly £1m at the end of September 2020. Debt in the form of a loan note is repayable at the end of 2022. The cash outflow from operating activities reduced from £2m to £1.6m.
InnovaDerma (IDP) reported a one-fifth decline in interim revenues. The personal care products supplier was hit by the closure of high street shops in the UK. International sales improved. The new chief executive is still assessing the business and will report plans and impairment charges in the coming weeks. A non-executive director is loaning the company £500,000 until 13 July.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 1 July 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
NEX Exchange company of the year
National Milk Records (NMRP)
Dairy and livestock services provider National Milk Records has been on NEX for more than a decade. The share price has increased by more than 500% over the past decade. In the latest quarter to March 2019, revenues improved from £5.32m to £5.56m, even though the number of cows on the database had declined from 743,054 to 713,379 over a 12-month period which hit milk recording revenues. Income from specialist testing has increased. Overall, growth was not as strong as in the first six months, which benefitted from one-off income. An oversupply of milk in recent weeks has hit the milk price and this has held back spending by farmers.
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Wealth management group AFH Financial Group (AFHP) is raising up to £20m via a convertible unsecured loan stock issue. The conversion price is 420p a share, up from 360p before the issue was announced, and the interest rate is 4%. This cash will fund further acquisitions. There are five that are already in due diligence.
Health and community care properties developer and modular buildings supplier Ashley House (ASH) is not likely to achieve financial close on three projects, so it will lose money in the 14 months to June 2019. The second half will be profitable. The company should return to profit in 2019-20.
Property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has increased the valuation of its portfolio by 22% to £86.9m at the end of April 2019. Annualised rental income is £6.5m.
Investment company Angelfish Investments (ANGP) had cash of £1.48m, but debt was £3.35m and net liabilities of £543,000 at the end of 2018. This means that the preference dividend cannot be paid because there are no distributable reserves. The decline into net liabilities was mainly due to a £942,000 write-down on loans made to OME. Pre-revenue investments are included at cost.
PCG Entertainment (PCGE) has appointed First Sentinel as its corporate adviser. PCG has not replaced its nominated adviser so it will lose its AIM quotation. Acquisition talks continue.
First Sentinel (FSEN) has invested £75,000 in fintech company Capable Finance in return for a 50.01% stake and a £25,000 loan with an annual coupon of 15%. First Sentinel directors have participated in a £110,000 placing and they own most of the rest of the shares. First Sentinel has gained a Euronext Dublin listing for its 7.5% bonds, May 2024. Some of this cash will be invested in the activities of Capable Finance.
Shareholders in Valiant Investments have approved the change of name to Eurocann International (BUD) and the focus on medicinal cannabis. It has disposed of its investment in Flamethrower one of its own directors and raised £263,000 at 1.5p a share. Valiant had £1,289 in the bank at the end of 2018. There is still a £200,000 convertible investment in All Star Minerals (ASMO). The company has a stake in North Bud Farms Inc, which has a cannabis production facility in Quebec.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) has raised £250,000 at 0.1p a share. This ash will contribute to the £700,000 investment in Apollon Formularies. Executive chairman David Lenigas has bought 17 million shares at 0.11941p each.
Ananda Developments (ANA) has formalised the joint venture with Anglia Salads and JE Piccaver to create DJT Group. Ananda and Anglia which each own 50% of DJT, which will apply for a licence to cultivate and supply cannabis. Ananda had £141,000 in the bank at the end of January 2019.
Sativa Investments (SATI) subsidiary PhytoVista Laboratories has completed an independent blind test consumer cannabidiol products for The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis. Many proved to have too low or too high a content of relevant ingredients.
MetalNRG (MNRG) has terminated its heads of terms with Mkango Resources relating to earning up to 75% of the Thumbani licence because it could not come up with the finance required.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) increased its revenues from $8.2m to $10.9m, although the loss doubled to $1.89m. That is mainly down to a $797,000 loss on an equity sharing agreement. The cash outflow from operations fell from $904,000 to $813,000.
Via Developments (VIA1) reported an increase in interim loss from £10,000 to £259,000, because of higher finance costs.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) is raising £1.6m at 0.11p a share and this will fund the investment in the Amapa iron ore project.
Auxico Resources Canada Inc (AUAG) is leaving NEX on 26 July. The minerals explorer has been on NEX for less than nine months. It does not believe it is large enough to benefit from a quotation on NEX as well as the Canadian Securities Exchange.
Small Cap Awards 2019 winners
Company of the year
Beeks Financial Cloud (BKS)
Beeks Financial Cloud provides cloud-based connectivity and infrastructure services provider for automated trading of financial assets. It also provides cyber security services to prevent distributed denial of service attacks. Beeks was formed in 2010 and has consistently grown its revenues. Beeks joined AIM in November 2017 and in May it acquired the trading assets of US-based Commercial Network Services and this adds 1,000 customers. Progressive Research forecasts a rise in pre-tax profit from £1.2m to £1.4m in the year to June 2019.
IPO of the year
Cake Box Holdings (CBOX)
Egg-free cakes supplier Cake Box won this award the day before its first anniversary on AIM. Cake Box raised £16.5m at 108p a share and at one point the share price was nearly double this level. There is still a premium of more than 60% to the flotation price. In the year to March 2019, revenues increased from £12.8m to £16.9m and underlying pre-tax profit improved from £3.3m to £4m. Two new distribution centre sites have been acquired. There is scope to more than double the business, which currently has 113 stores.
Impact company of the year
Kromek (KMK)
Kromek has developed a range of radiation detection and imaging products based on cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) technology. The company focuses on three sectors – medical imaging, nuclear detection and security. Kromek has been winning multi-million pound international contracts and it has a strong balance sheet following a recent fundraising. Revenues increased by 23% to £14.5m in the year to April 2019. Kromek is losing money, but it is on course to reach breakeven in a couple of years. The orders that are already won underpin the revenue forecasts for the coming years.
Executive director of the year
Mike Creedon, chief executive of Scientific Digital Imaging (SDI)
Mike Creedon has been on the SDI board since 2010, having previously been a finance director of two former AIM companies, Ideal Shopping Direct and Ninth Floor. SDI is an acquisitive digital imaging and sensor control technology company. The acquisition record is good. A trading update has led to a small pre-tax profit upgrade to £2.9m. The 2019-20 pre-tax profit is maintained at £4.1m.
Analyst of the year
George O’Connor, Stifel Nicolaus
Journalist of the year
Simon Thompson, Investors Chronicle
Fund manager of the year
Marlborough Nano Cap Growth
Lifetime achievement
Andrew Buchanan
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AIM
Zoo Digital (ZOO) slipped back into loss in the year to March 2019, but it should return to profit this year. Demand for film and TV localisation services continues to grow but momentum has not been as expected.
Wynnstay (WYN) had already warned about tough second quarter trading, but underlying pre-tax profit held up reasonably well, falling 15% to £4.3m, even though revenues were 19% higher at £218.5m. The increase in revenues was mainly down to commodity inflation. The warmer winter weather hit demand for animal feed, although fertiliser demand has been strong. The agricultural merchanting depots acquired in the past year are moving towards profit. There has been some rationalisation of the depot network. The interim dividend has been raised 4% to 4.6p a share.
China New Energy Ltd (CNEL) has applied for a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and it will ask shareholders for permission to cancel the AIM quotation, subject to a successful Hong Kong listing.
Harwood Wealth Management (HW.) has increased its assets under influence to £5.3bn, helped by recent acquisitions. There is a strong pipeline of additional acquisitions. Interim pre-tax profit improved from £930,000 to £1.63m.
MAIN MARKET
BATM (BVC) is raising $18m, 20% more than initially sought, at 42.5p a share. Most of the cash is earmarked for the cyber and networking activities. The rest will go towards medical activities. The cash will help in securing partnerships with larger technology companies.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) has varied and extended its contract with Canadian data centre provider GPU.one. This will provide access to 14MW of power at lower prices. This increases capacity by 47%, utilising the equipment that has already been ordered, and cuts power cost by 39%. The deal starts on 25 June and lasts three years. Argo can give four months’ notice. A previous deposit of £1.44m has been turned into an investment in GPU.one.
Tex Holdings (TXH) says the engineering operations have started the year slowly, but trading should return to previous levels. The plastics division is trading in line with expectations and there is investment in new machinery. The shares remain suspended.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd (COPL) has joined the standard list. The oil and gas company is focused on Nigeria and sub-Saharan African.
Avocet Mining (AVM) is holding a general meeting on 18 July to gain shareholder approval for a voluntary liquidation. Avocet has sold its interest in the Tri-K gold project in Guinea for $21m. This leaves a small residual cash sum. There is unlikely to be anything substantial left to distribute to shareholders.
Oil and gas company Aminex (AEX) shareholders have approved the switch from a premium listing to a standard listing. It is also cancelling its Dublin listing. It may have been difficult to get the full benefits of the lighter regulation of a standard listing if the company were still listed in Dublin.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 21 January 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Sport Capital Group (SCG) is acquiring Italian football club Palermo for a nominal sum. The deal also includes the project for a new stadium for the Serie B team, which is currently five points clear at the top of the table. Promotion back to Serie A would boost revenue generation and it would also trigger an earn-out payment. There is also potential for more sponsorship and match revenues. There is a plan to raise up to £10m from a bond issue that would be traded on NEX.
Clinical decision support technology provider DXS International (DXSP) reported a lower interim loss in the six months to October 2018. Revenues edged up from £1.61m to £1.69m and the loss declined from £92,000 to £35,000. Tax credits meant that there was a post-tax profit of £70,000, up from £28,000. The GPSoC tender has been delayed but it is expected to be completed this year.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) says that its priorities for 2019 are to demonstrate the potential of the blockchain investments that it has and to take advantage of the growing sector. There were record levels of investment in the blockchain sector last year. Management wants movements in the share price to reflect progress rather than the movement of the price of bitcoin, as has been the case in the past year.
KR1 (KR1) has set up a subsidiary in Gibraltar. KRX Ltd will sponsor token-based projects that will list on the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, which operates the first regulated blockchain exchange. The subsidiary will generate fees from clients and there are a limited number of sponsors.
AFH Financial Group (AFHP) has acquired fellow wealth management firm Hayburn Rock for up to £3.5m. The initial payment is £900,000. In 2017, the firm made a profit of £400,000.
TechFinancials (TECH) is selling its stake in MarketFinancials, which no longer trades, for €100,000. The investment had no value on the balance sheet.
Smaller company investor Gledhow Investments (GDH) had £167,000 in the bank at the end of September 2018, having made a small profit in the period. The NAV is £793,000.
Ashley House (ASH) is changing its year from April to June. This is the end of the first six months period for joint venture Morgan Ashley Care Developments LLP. There will be interim results for the six months to October 2018 reported at the end of January.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has commissioned the Hellyer processing plant and in the fourth quarter generated £3.2m of revenues from lead, zinc and pyrite.
Ascent Resources (AST) is attempting to raise cash at 0.3p a share, which is a 20% discount to the market price, via PrimaryBid.com. Ascent has successfully raised cash via the platform in the past. The broker handling the deal is Stanford Capital Partners. Ascent, which has €400,000 in the bank plus a deposit for a bank guarantee of €200,000, is refocusing its expansion outside of Slovenia because of regulatory hold ups in the country. Revenues from the export of gas from Slovenia totalled €2.1m in 2018 but gaining permission to process the gas and sell it to the national grid has proved difficult.
Knights Group Holdings (KGH) has acquired Leicester-based legal services business Cummins for £1.57m in cash and shares. This fits well with the existing east Midlands operations. In the six months to October 2018, group revenues were 37% ahead at £23.9m and organic growth was 10%. Underlying pre-tax profit doubled to £4.4m. The maiden interim dividend is 0.6p a share. Net debt was £9.5m at the end of October 2018. Average fees per fee earner was one-quarter higher at £66,000.
Concrete levelling equipment supplier Somero Enterprises Inc (SOM) did better than expected last year. The 2018 pre-tax profit forecast has been raised by 5% to $29m. Net cash is $25m and 50% of the excess over $15m will be paid in a special dividend on top of the ordinary dividend. Somero has also paid $2m for concrete pouring and line dragging company Line Dragon and this broadens the product range.
Student accommodation activities fuelled the growth of Watkin Jones (WJG) last year but private rental will become increasingly important from this year onwards. Richard Simpson has taken over as chief executive.
Kromek (KMK) is making progress towards breakeven and it has plenty of cash in the bank to take it there. The imaging and radiation detection technology developer has a strong order book. There was a dip in first half revenues because of the transfer of production to a new site in Pittsburgh. Even so, full year revenues are forecast to increase from £11.8m to £15m and the loss should reduce from £2.5m to £1.9m.
Tri-Star Resources (TSTR) is selling its antinomy exploration interests in Turkey. The company’s main asset is the 40% shareholding in the Sohar antinomy and gold production facility in northern Oman. Some engineering problems have to be sorted out before the plant is fully up and running. More cash will be required. The venture has requested $10.5m from its shareholders.
The market was disappointed by news from Verona Pharma (VRP) about the clinical trial results for COPD treatment Ensifentrine (RPL554). Two different does were used in combination with Stiolto Respimat. The treatment did work better than the placebo, but the improvement in breathing was not statistically significant. The share price slumped by more than one-third, although there was a small subsequent recovery.
CH Bailey (BLEY) has decided to cancel its AIM quotation and it is asking for shareholder approval. The company is offering to buy back shares at 100p each via a tender offer.
Ariana Resources (AAU) says that its 50%-owned Kiziltepe mine produced 27,110ounces of gold in 2018. Ariana expects its $33m development loan to be fully repaid during 2019.
Tax Systems (TAX) had reduced net debt from £20.5m to £13.9m by the end of 2018. Pre-tax profit of £5.8m is forecast for 2018.
Ideagen (IDEA) is acquiring Cork-based Scannell Solutions, which provides environmental health and safety software, for £3.5m. Annualised revenues are around €1m, of which, two-thirds is recurring.
Consumer engagement technology provider Pelatro (PTRO) has confirmed that 2018 figures are in line with expectations and there was improved cash generation in the second half. Net cash was $1.8m at the end of 2018. finnCap expects 2019 pre-tax profit to double from $2.9m to $6m.
Plexus Holdings (POS) plans to buy back 4.95 million shares owned by LLC Gusar. The price will be 50.5p a share. Gusar will use the cash to buy two POS-GRIP wellhead systems, which it announced it was going to buy one year ago.
Midwich Group (MIDW) has acquired MobilePro AG, which expands the audio visual products distributor into Switzerland. The business has annual revenues of CHF25m.
Pharmaxis has completed a toxicity study for two LOXL2 inhibitors in which Synairgen (SNG) has a 17%carried financial interest. Pharmaxis can brief potential licensing partners with the information gained.
Tracsis (TRCS) is acquiring Compass Informatics, which is a data analytics and systems development business. Tracsis is paying up to €5.15m for the Dublin-based company, which made a pre-tax profit of £600,000 last year.
Portmeirion Group (PMP) has achieved record sales in 2018 and beat the profit forecast of £9.5m. The fastest growth came in the home fragrance division.
Iofina (IOF) achieved record iodine production levels in the second half of 2018. Full year production was 17% higher at 588.8 million tonnes. There should be a further rise in production this year and that could move Iofina into profit.
Brandon Hill has initiated coverage of Karelian Diamond Resources (KDR) and it has valued the company’s Lahtojoki diamond project in Finland at $32.9m, based on an average diamond price of $100/carat.
The People’s Operator (TPOP) has postponed the appointment of an administrator as negotiations with interested parties continue.
Kestrel Opportunities has increased its stake in Pebble Beach Systems (PEB) from 22.2% to 23.1%. Little more than one year ago the stake was below 15%.
Caledonia Mining Corporation (CMCL) has cut 2019 gold production guidance for its Blanket Mine and WH Ireland has downgraded its forecast from 61,200 ounces to 55,500 ounces, which is at the higher end of the guidance. There was 54,5000 ounces of gold produced in 2018.
MAIN MARKET
Athelney Trust (ATY) is holding the requisitioned general meeting on Tuesday 22 January. Robin Boyle has requisitioned a general meeting in order to get himself reappointed. He left the board last year after a disagreement over the future of the investment company. He wanted to stay on as a non-executive director to shepherd the change in investment management for the trust. The plan is to get Gresham House involved in the investment management. Boyle also wants David Lawman and Paul Coffin to be appointed and the three existing directors, Dr Emmanuel Pohl, Simon Moore and Jemma Jackson, to be removed.
Path Investments (PATH) has signed heads of agreement with ARC Marlborough. The plan is to acquire ARC, which has a nickel and cobalt project in Queensland, via a share issue. Path had £31,000 in the bank at the end of June 2018.
Challenger Acquisitions Ltd (CHAL) has agreed to sell its $300,000 investment in the Dallas Wheel project back to the developers. Challenger has received $27,000 in interest and will receive $50,000 a month, plus interest, for six months.
Gresham Technologies (GHT) has sold its VME mainframe software business for £2m.
Shefa Yamim (SEFA) has sufficient cash to finance continued exploration in the first quarter of 2019. By the middle of the year the gems explorer will be able to estimate how much cash it requires to start trial mining.
Andrew Hore