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Quoted Micro 20 February 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
Forbes Ventures (FOR) has taken a 0.84% stake in potential challenger bank Civilised Investments in return for £200,000 in cash. The cash investment was raised through a placing of shares at 0.5p each with Gravity Investments, which owns 62.1% of Forbes. A further six million shares were issued at the same price to settle fees. Civilised is applying for a UK banking licence in June 2016. The strategy is not to have branches but local bankers will provide loans and business banking products by attracting personal savings.
Kryptonite1 (KR1) has invested £99,905 for 25,811 tokens in Melonport AG, which is building its own blockchain protocol for digital asset management built on the Ethereum platform. Melonport raised $2.5m in 14 minutes.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £128,750 at 0.8p a share. For working capital. Daniel Stewart has been appointed as corporate adviser.
FT8 (GFT) has failed to secure the agreed monthly payments from Billyst Holdings and this means that trading in the shares of FT8 has been suspended because of the company’s uncertain financial position.
AIM
Floorcoverings manufacturer Victoria (VCP) has moved into Continental Europe through the acquisition of Avalon and GrassInc for an initial £9.7m in cash with deferred and contingent payments of up to £12m over four years. This is an important part of the overall strategy for the group and it also takes Victoria into the artificial grass market. The deal should be immediately earnings-enhancing with the two businesses making a 2016 operating profit of £3.6m.
Construction dispute resolution services provider Driver Group (DRV) has raised £8m at 40p a share – a 15% discount to the market price – in order to reduce borrowings and grow the business. There is also a one-for-26p open offer at 40p a share that could raise up to £500,000 – closing on 8 March. Driver has negotiated new banking facilities of £8m, down from £12m, and this expires in 2020. Net debt was £9.9m at the end of September 2016. Driver made a loss in the year to September 2016 but it moved back into profit in the second half. In the past year, Driver has reduced annualised overheads by £1.3m, cut underperforming fee earners, improved cash collection and implemented more rigorous bidding controls. Driver plans to scale down the project management operations and the main businesses should be sold by the end of this financial year. South America and eastern Europe have been identified as growth areas. New non-executive director John Horgan has been appointed as a replacement for David Webster.
Fuel cell technology developer AFC Energy (AFC) has raised £6m, £5.5m net of expenses, at 10p a share – a 40% discount to the market price. Up to £2m more could be raised from a one-for-15 open offer at the same share price – closing on 2 March. The cash will be used to deliver commitments on the joint development agreement with De Nora, additional testing and a scoping study with Peel Environmental for potential projects. Jim Gibson has been appointed as chief operating officer.
Middlesbrough-based pawnbroker Ramsdens Holdings (RFX) joined AIM on 15 February. The placing will raise £15.6m at 86p a share, valuing the company at £26.5m. The share price ended the week at 95.5p.
Tracsis (TRCS) disappointed the market with a warning that delays in contracts means that this year will be even more second-half weighted and there is still uncertainty whether certain software contracts will complete in this financial year. The transportation optimisation software and services provider still believes it can achieve this year’s forecast profit but the market was not as sure. The share price fell by nearly one-third following the trading statement and Downing is one investor that has added to its stake having previously taken profits. Interim revenues will grow from £13.1m to £15.5m but pre-tax profit will only be slightly higher than last year’s figure of £2.9m. The full year outcome could depend on the rail franchise bid timetable.
Higher LED sales helped Holders Technology (HDT) to increase overall revenues by 2% to £11.4m but the LED business is still losing money and a German business has been closed. The underlying loss increased from £141,000 to £195,000, prior to restructuring costs of £183,000. An increases in trade creditors meant that cash improved to £781,000. A final dividend of 0.25p a share is proposed. There are signs of an improvement in demand for printed circuit board materials and new smart lighting products should boost the LED business.
Vela Technologies (VELA) has raised £550,000 from a bond issue via the UK Bond Network. This should enable Vela to complete the additional investment of £150,000 in Portr, the airline passenger facilitation and baggage transport service, taking its stake to 4.27%.
Collagen Solutions (COS) is raising up to £8m from a placing and one-for-five open offer at 5p a share and this will be topped up with a £4m bond issue to Norgine Ventures, which has a coupon of 10% and 6.77 million warrants exercisable at 5.911p each. The cash will finance the expansion of the medical collagen business, commercial medical device products and launch ChondroMimetic, which is a collagen-based implant to treat small cartilage and bone defects, later this year.
Online gaming business generator Veltyco Group (VLTY) says that its 2016 figures will be significantly better than expected. An EBITDA of more than €2m, up from the initial forecast of €1.4m, on revenues of more than €5.7m, ahead of a forecast of €4.9m, is anticipated.
Evgen Pharma (EVG) has signed a services agreement with APTrans, a Cheshire-based consortium of drug developers that can provide technical expertise, for the development of SFX-01. A US patent has been granted covering the manufacturing process for SFX-01. The patent lasts until 2033. Further patents are expected to be awarded around the world.
Ascent Resources (AST) raised £3m at 1.85p a share in its latest fundraising via PrimaryBid.com. The cash will be spent on developing the Petisovci gas project in Slovenia.
Self-storage operator Lok’nStore (LOK) says that self-storage sales were 3.9% higher, thanks to higher occupancy, and document storage sales 8.8% ahead in the first half. There is a pipeline of two owned and two managed stores, which will add 14% to capacity. NAV is expected to be 404p a share at the end of July 2017.
PowerHouse Energy Group (PHE) has raised £2.5m at 0.8p a share on the back of last week’s deal with Peel. Hillgrove will receive £2m as part-payment for its loan with £1.4m converted into shares at 0.5p each. A G3-UHt waste to energy unit is being shipped from Australia and should reach the UK in March.
Allergy Therapeutics (AGY) is starting a phase I clinical study for safety and tolerability of Acarovac MPL as a house dust mite allergy vaccine. The trial will be in Spain, covering 32 patients and lasting one year. The global market could be worth $1.5bn a year.
Patient monitoring equipment developer LiDCO Group (LID) says that its 2016-17 revenues will be slightly lower than forecast but it will make a small profit. The loss of a US customer held back growth with revenues 8% ahead at £8.2m, although revenues from group products were 14% higher this was partly offset by lower sales of third party products.
EP Minerals has terminated its lease over the County Line Diatomite project, so Sunrise Resources (SRES) will need to find an alternative method of commercialising the potential project.
Keras Resources (KRS) says that there is a JORC-based inferred mineral resource of 36,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 6.1g/t for the Copenhagen deposit. This means that the Warrawoona gold project has a JORC mineral resource of 410,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 2.2g/t. The focus will be the higher grade Copenhagen deposit, which has more potential.
Mariana Resources (MARL) has completed three of seven planned drill holes at the Ergama project in Turkey and two of these have found large but low grade deposits.
Executive chairman John Hawkins has been given the push by Pebble Beach Systems (PEB) as part of the closure of the group’s head office following the disposal of the Vislink broadcast equipment business. Hawkins received £260,000 a year as chief executive and £100,000 a year as chairman and his contract stipulates 12 months notice. John Varney becomes non-executive chairman. The bank apparently remains supportive and the 2016 figures will be published on 31 March.
Cloud-based telecoms software supplier CloudCall Group (CALL) says that customer relationship management software provider and corporate partner Bullhorn is deploying CloudCall’s software with its US staff. This will provide a reference for potential US customers of a combined software package. Full year figures will be published on 28 March and these will be in line with expectations.
MAIN MARKET
Simian Global (SMG) has signed a non-binding letter of intent to buy BVI-incorporated media and advertising business GVC Holdings Ltd. Standard list shell Simian Global floated on 10 January when it raised £769,500 at 15p a share. This valued the company, which was seeking a technology, media and telecoms sector acquisition, at £935,000. Trading in the shares was suspended at 17.5p.
Avation (AVAP) is trading at a discount of around one-fifth to its NAV of 249p a share at the end of 2016. In the six months to December 2016, the aircraft leasing company’s revenues were 43% ahead at $45.1m and pre-tax profit 50% higher at $8.4m. Bid discussions for 22 ATR 72 aircraft continue but management wants a significant premium to the NAV.
PRE-IPO / OTHER TRADING FACILITIES
Former AIM-quoted Clinical Computing, which is currently traded on Britdaq,has initiated a strategic review and this could lead to the sale of the healthcare IT company. In the year to March 2016, revenues fell from £1.67m to £1.5m but a loss of £204,000 was turned into a profit of £23,000. There is £825,000 in the bank and net assets of £654,000, which is more than its market capitalisation on Britdaq.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 31 October 2016
ISDX
Via Developments (VIA1) says the Canal Street project in Manchester should be completed next March, while another Manchester site is attempting to gain enhanced planning permission that would enable 71 apartments to be built. Via expects deposits of 15% of the purchase price of the eight flats in Canal Street before the end of 2016 and this should generate £329,000. The Napier House project in Luton has been granted permitted development for 26 one-bedroom apartments. Additional planning permissions for an extra floor and a change to the facade of the building have been submitted. Via has received firm commitments for £1m of additional 7% debenture stock. This will take the debentures in issue to £4.5m.
Ganapati (GANP), the developer of apps for social media and games, reported an increase in its interim loss from £7.47m to £8.41m following the opening of a London office. Revenues fell from £2.3m to £1.34m. A unrealised foreign exchange loss of £5.71m on Yen borrowings. Management hopes that the Yen bonds in issue will be extended when they come up for repayment. There was £1.5m in the bank at the end of July 2016 but Ganapati wants to raise more money via a share issue to invest in further research and development. .
Ashford Borough Council has granted planning permission for the new Curious Brewery on a 1.6 acre site in the town centre. The Chapel Down Group (CDGP) brewing subsidiary raised money to build the brewery through crowd funding.
Miton Asset Management has increased its stake in rail safety products developer Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) to 10.2% following the latest share subscription. WB Nominees has increased its stare to 9.2%, while JM Finn Nominees has raised its holding to 8.5%. Chief executive Gerhard Dodl increased his shareholding by 500,000 to 4.215 million shares, giving him 2.4% of Wheelsure.
AIM
Symphony Technology increased its offer for the remaining subsidiaries of Bond International Software (BDI) and the 121p a share bid by Constellation Software Inc has lapsed after gaining total acceptances of 47.4%. Constellation says that it will vote in favour of the disposal to Symphony for £22.8m. The proceeds and the other cash held by Bond will be distributed to shareholders as part of a liquidation process. Between 127p a share and 129.5p a share should be distributed with an initial distribution of at least 126p a share. Constellation originally bid 105p a share and it had acquired the majority of its 29.9% stake in Bond at 75p a share back in 2010.
Cyprotex (CRX) is recommending a bid from German drug discovery firm Evotec AG. The 160p a share cash bid values the contract pharma research services business at £41.7m. The share price has not been at the level of the bid since 2014. Cyprotex believes that it needs a partner to help it grow its operations further and Evotec will help it to grow in Europe.
Sunrise Resources (SRES) has revealed details of the results for the phase 2 drilling at the Bay Street silver project in Nevada. There was no positive news from this drilling and further exploration and drilling is required.
Eastern Europe-focused oil and gas explorer Ascent Resources (AST) has raised £3.5m via a placing at 1p a share and a further £1m via a loan note issue. Some of the cash will be used to repay a £871,510 loan facility from Henderson, which has also deferred the redemption of £8.2m of loan notes to 19 November 2019. The rest of the cash will complete the drilling of two wells and connect them with a refurbished central treatment station. This should enable Ascent to commence gas production by next spring and the gas will be initially be sold to Croatia.
South Africa focused miner Ironveld (IRON) is raising £1.8 at 4.5p a share with some of the cash going towards the development of the 15MW DC smelter for the iron, vanadium and titanium project in the Bushveld complex. The cash should last until next June and the shares come with a warrant to subscribe for another share at 6.75p for 12 months after the shares are issued. The Industrial Development Corporation has approved facilities of R244m for the project and negotiations continue for the remaining debt requirements. The total finance required is R841m. An offtake agreement has been finalised for the high purity iron powder that will be produced over a five year period from the commencement of production. Offtake agreements were already secured for titanium and vanadium.
Workforce optimisation software provider eg solutions (EGS) has won its first direct contract in Asia. The £500,000 contract is with a Singapore-based financial business and 50% of this will be recognised in the year to January 2017. This underpins the current expectations.
There has been further good drilling news concerning the Hot Maden project in Turkey, including some improvements in grade, and Mariana Resources (MARL) expects to report the preliminary economic assessment in late November. This assessment will provide the first guidance about the economics of the project.
Futura Medical (FUM) has raised £12m at 57p a share in order to fund the development of its portfolio of products. This includes the commercialisation of erectile dysfunction treatment MED2002 and trials for pain relief products TPR100 and TIB200. There was £2.9min the bank at the end of June 2016. Henderson will maintain its stake in Futura at just below 20%. The CSD500 condom has received European approvals for an extended shelf life of 18 months for the products manufactured in India. The European supplier has applied for the same shelf life extension.
Arian Solver Corporation (ACQ) has extended the exclusivity period for the Notche Buena gold silver tailings project in Mexico until 27 December. Recovery levels have been poor even though gold grades have been commercial so more tests are required. Arian is assessing an advanced silver exploration project in the US.
Share (SHRE) has made another add-on acquisition of customer accounts and the existing business is trading in line with expectations. The purchase of a book of 8,000 customer accounts with £200m under administration should be completed in April 2017. The Share Centre has maintained its market share of a peer group of brokers revenues, excluding interest, at more than 10%. In the third quarter, revenues were 7% ahead, while customer assets have increased by one-third to £3.6bn. Dealing commission and fee income have both grown but interest income fell by more than one-third. Share is still expected to make a small underlying loss this year.
MAIN MARKET
Nasdaq OMX-quoted AB Traction has increased its stake in engineering and environmental consultancy Waterman Group (WTM) to 14.3%. AB Traction went above 3% in April 2013 and has been building up the stake since then. AB Traction (www.traction.se) is an active long-term investor which does not focus on any particular sector. The strategy is to grow NAV.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 1 August 2016
ISDX
Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd (AWLP) made a further loss in the year to February 2016, although subsidiary Meyer Asset Management did make a profit – albeit slightly lower than previously. Revenues fell from $1.73m to $1.2m, while the loss increased from $79,000 to $150,000. Directors fees increased from $209,000 to $216,000. Asia Wealth is still seeking further acquisitions. There was $1.28m in cash at the end of February 2016.
South Africa-based Inqo Investments Ltd (INQO) fell into loss in the year to February 2016 following a number of one-off costs. The social impact company has renegotiated loans and that will save R30m of interest charges. The DBSA loan was settled after the period end and this will improve the financial position of the business.
Ganapati (GANP), the developer of apps for social media and games, is still hoping that its application to the UK Gambling Commission will be successful but there are still issues being discussed. In the year to January 2016, revenues increased from £216,000 to £2.3m but intangible write-offs totalling £4.56m meant that there was a reported loss of £7.47m. There was £1.28m in the bank.
Diversified Gas & Oil (DOIL) has taken the amount of 8.5% unsecured bonds 2020 in issue to £9.93m following the issue of an additional £460,000 of bonds.
Queros Capital Partners (QCP) has raised a further £150,000 from the issue of 8% unsecured bonds 2025. This takes the bonds in issue to £1.665m.
AIM
Satellite Solutions Worldwide (SAT) has made two more acquisitions that will be earnings enhancing this year. This more than doubles the customer base to more than 75,000. The satellite broadband services consolidator is paying £11.7m for Breiband and SkyMesh and it has raised £12.1m at 6p a share. Breiband offers broadband services in Norway so it fits in with the company’s strategy of consolidating the European market but SkyMesh is based in Australia so it is outside of the core strategy. The deals also move the group into the top five global satellite broadband suppliers. At the beginning of July, Satellite Solutions acquired UK-based Avonline for £10m and secured £12m of funding from the Business Growth Fund.
Bricks manufacturer Michelmersh Brick (MBH) reported flat revenues of £15.3m in the first half of 2016. Pre-tax profit edged up from £2.5m to £2.6m, while strong cash generation in the past 12 months has helped Michelmersh move into a net cash position. A kiln replacement project will be completed in the second half. First half brick sales dipped from 35.7 million to 35.1 million. Michelmersh has forward orders for 47 million bricks.
Learning management systems provider NetDimensions (NETD) says that interim revenues are lower than expected because of delays to customer roll outs. These delays could continue so the full year revenues forecast have been cut by $1.2m to $27m but, thanks to lower than anticipated costs, NetDimensions could break even this year.
Mineral sands miner Sierra Rutile (SRX) has received a bid of 36p a share in cash from Iluka Resources Ltd.
Information management software and services provider IDOX (IDOX) is acquiring Open Objects Software for up to £5.2m in cash and shares. Open Objects provides digital services to social and health care and it has a similar public sector customer base to IDOX. In the year to March 2016, the acquisition made an operating profit of £630,000 on revenues of £2.9m.
Publishing software and services provider Ingenta (ING) is acquiring advertising software company 5 fifteen Ltd for up to £990,000. This will widen the portfolio of products that Ingenta can offer and also broadens the customer base to newspaper and magazine publishers. The business loses money but costs can be reduced and sales can be made in new geographies. A subscription is raising £780,000 at 130p a share.
Mariana Resources (MARL) says that the mineral resource for its HotMaden project has been increased by 31% to 4 million ounces of gold at a gold equivalent grade of 10.2g/t. Northland has nearly doubled its target price from 54p a share to 104p a share.
MAIN MARKET
Stem cell services WideCells Group (WDC) has raised £2m at 11p a share in its flotation on the standard list. The share price ended the week at 12p. The cash will be used to build an integrated stem cell services company but it is still early days. WideCells is launching the CellPlan healthcare insurance product, which will help people gain access to stem cell treatments.
Macfarlane Group (MACF) is acquiring Nelsons for Cartons and Packaging for up to £6.75m in cash and shares. There will be two deferred payments depending on the performance of the packaging distribution business in the next two years. Leicester-based Nelsons will widen Macfarlane’s range of shelf ready packaging and there is little customer overlap. In the year to December 2015, Nelsons made an operating profit of £800,000 on revenues of £7.9m. The acquisition should be earnings enhancing in the first full year of ownership. A placing at 58p a share has raised £5.8m and this will fund the initial cash payment of £4.25m. Macfarlane says that its packaging distribution operations are growing but sales of the manufacturing division are 3% lower so far this financial year. Interim figures will be published on 25 August.
Healthcare properties investor MedicX Fund (MXF) has contracted to acquire a new medical centre in Rialto, Dublin. The total cost will be €8.6m and it will he let to the health authority on a 25 year lease with five-yearly rent reviews, plus separate leases for a pharmacy and other medical services providers. This part of a strategy to invest more in the Republic of Ireland. The annualised rent roll for the company’s portfolio is £37.1m.
Standard list shell Falcon Acquisitions (FAL) has agreed terms for the acquisition of Orbital Multi Media Holdings Corporation, which operates in the over the top (OTT) broadcast services market. There are still a number of conditions that have to be met for the deal to go ahead. Trading in the shares has been suspended.
Anglo African Agriculture (AAAP) has announced a strategic review which could lead to the sale of the business or the securing of a partner for the business. The chairman argues that the existing business is not large enough to justify a quotation and it has been difficult to secure additional acquisitions.
ANDREW HORE
Mariana Resources Doubles But Boss Sells
Mariana Resources MARL Chief operating officer, Philip Roth has sold a great chunk (2,800,000 ) of his holding in the company he runs but still leaving him with 4,781,906 shares. The sale was completed on Friday at 3.5p per share. At 2.30pm the shares made a sudden leap upwards to 3.8p and closed the day at 3.75. Strange that for 8 months the share price languished at well under 2p but suddenly took off from 1.74p on the 21st April before hitting 3.97p on the 24th May. Having doubled his money in 6 weeks, one can only wonder why Mr. Roth chose to dispose of nearly a third of his holding at this particular time..
Amino Technologies AMO is raising its interim dividend by 10%, after a strong first half, especially in South America. Orders for the 6 months to the end of May were at record levels.
EasyJet EZJ May passenger figures showed a rise of 5.7% in passengers carried but load factor slipped by 0.1pp
Luxury Villas and Houses For Sale In Greece; http://www.hiddengreece.net
Quoted Micro 9 May 2016
ISDX
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) generated a much higher profit from its core operations in 2015. There was a swing from an overall loss of £1.54m to a profit of £1.61m, on revenues up from £12.4m to £14.3m. This includes a profit on fixed asset sale of £722,000, up from £365,000 in 2014.Net cash was £1.69m at the end of 2015. The profit from the nursery business was flat. The number of racing days increased from 28 to 30 and attendances improved by 7% to 210,000. There was an increased contribution from conferences and events. Further redevelopment of the racecourse will be underway this summer. At 500p (475p/525p) a share, Newbury is valued at £16.7m.
Diversified Gas & Oil (DOIL) is raising a further £3.5m from the issue of 8.5% unsecured bonds. This means that Diversified Gas & Oil will have raised more than £10m. The oil and gas producer has entered into a letter of intent to acquire assets in Ohio for $5.2m – a 50% discount to future cash flows. This deal will take the number of operating wells to more than 7,300, producing 510 barrels of oil per day and 23,500 mcf per day of natural gas.
AIM
Recruitment software provider Bond International Software (BDI) has sold Strictly Education, which provides outsourced back office services to schools, for £7m in cash and a £4.3m loan note, which should be paid within six months. In 2014, the business made a profit of £1.8m on revenues of £10.2m. The initial proceeds will repay debt of £5.9m. This is the first disposal following the recent strategic review. Cash from this and other disposals will be returned to shareholders.
Pharma services provider Ergomed (ERGO) is acquiring Haemostatix, which is developing products to treat surgical bleeding, for an initial £8m. A placing will raise up to £13m at 140p a share. The total cost of the acquisition could rise to £28m depending on achievement of milestones. The additional cash raised in the placing will help to accelerate the development of two treatments. PeproStat, a topical liquid haemostat to control bleed during surgery is ready for phase IIb trials. ReadyFlow is a preclinical treatment that is a gel packaged in a pre-filled syringe for use with irregular bleeding sites.
Security and facilities management services provider Mortice Ltd (MORT) says that revenues will be at least 40% higher at $124m in the year to March 2016. The UK business acquired last September has performed strongly and will contribute one-quarter of the revenues. Singapore-based security business Frontline Security has also done well since acquisition. The full year figures will be published during August.
Nostra Terra Oil & Gas (NTOG) is seeking finance to complete the acquisition of assets in the Permian Basin, New Mexico from Alamo Resources. Nostra Terra has extended the closing date for the deal to 31 May. Kayne Anderson Energy Fund V has received 282.1 million shares at 0.1p each in return for the extension of the closing date. The purchase price of the 50% working interest in the assets will be reduced by $370,000 to $2.5m and debt funding is being negotiated.
Conroy Gold and Natural Resources (CGNR) has raised £1m at 18.5p a share and there are warrants attached to the ordinary shares exercisable at 37p a share. This will help to finance the development of the Clontibret resource in Ireland. There is a 600,000 ounce gold resource at Clontibret even though little of the site has been explored. A starter pit could have a net present value of $22m at a discount rate of 8% and using a gold price of $1,250 an ounce. The exploration target is 5 million ounces.
Online education provider Wey Education (WEY) plans to add a premium brand service next January. This will be a semi-selective service for students with top quality academic results. There is £1m in the bank to finance the development of the new service and marketing expenses. The main service, which offers GCSE and A level subjects, is not selective and it is also expanding the range of subjects on offer. In the six months to February 2016, revenues were £700,000 and the loss was £467,000. The underlying InterHIgh trading business is profitable and the overall group loss includes £328,000 of flotation and legal costs.
House broker Northland believes that security and tracking products developer Starcom (STAR) could breakeven this year. Starcom lost $1.8m in 2015 but new product launches should help it to do much better this year. The outcome may depend on the timing of the launch of the WatchLock Pro by its partner Assa Abloy, which has invested around $500,000 in upgrading the original product. Delays to the completion of the new product have held back Starcom but it should be on sale in the second half of 2016. Starcom raised £450,000 so it has cash to keep it going while it waits for sales to build up.
Mariana Resources (MARL) has raised £6m via a placing at 1.82p a share. TSX-listed Sandstorm Gold Ltd has taken a 7.56% stake. Northland has increased its share price target from 4.8p a share to 5.4p a share. This takes into account a further £2m fundraising at the current market price in 2017. Mariana has plans for a dual listing on the TSX Venture Exchange. This process should be completed in three months Mariana withdrew from the Nassau gold project so that it can concentrate on the 30%-owned Hot Maden gold copper project in north east Turkey, which has an indicated gold resource of more than two million ounces.
MAIN MARKET
Packaging and labels supplier Macfarlane Group (MACF) is acquiring Glasgow-based protective packaging distributor Edward McNeil for up to £1.8m. Edward McNeil generated revenues of £3.6m in 2015. The business is a good fit with Macfarlane’s Linwood business. This follows the acquisition of Colton Packaging Teesside last month.
Asia-focused consumer businesses investor Symphony International Holdings Ltd (SIHL) is, along with a partner, acquiring the holding company of luxury furniture brand Christian Liaigre. The brand has 26 showrooms in 11 countries. No purchase price was revealed. At the end of March 2016, Symphony’s NAV was $1.37 a share, helped by the strengthening of Asian currencies. That is nearly double the current share price.
Peterhouse has resigned as broker to analytics technology company Trendit (TRIT) following the revelation that it has received less than one-fifth of the £4m it thought it had raised when it joined the standard list at the beginning of 2016. Trendit was expecting to receive funds from the sale of shares by Amnon Freudman, Ben Raelbrook and David Cohen. The flotation price was 5.53p a share and it has fallen to 4p (2.5p/5.5p). Trendit had no revenues in 2015.
ANDREW HORE
Quoted Micro 16 November 2015
ISDX
Even though Daniel Thwaites (THW) has sold most of its brewing and related assets to Marstons it still managed to increase its profit in the six months to September 2015. Pre-tax profit before interest swap movements rose from £4.8m to £4.9m with the contribution from discontinued brewing activities down from £1.3m to £100,000. Revenues from continuing activities improved from £40.1m to £41.8m. Net debt was £29.1m at the end of September 2015, while the NAV is £177.6m. At 117p a share, Daniel Thwaites is valued at £70.5m. The interim dividend is unchanged at 1.1p a share. The hotels, pubs and inns businesses have grown revenues with inns growing the fastest. Central costs have been reduced.
A contribution from the bull semen business bought last year helped National Milk Records (NMRP) to grow revenues by 4% to £10.1m in the six months to September 2015. However, overall trading has been tough due to the reluctance of dairy farmers to invest in the company’s newer services when the milk price is low. The traditional milk recording and payment testing services are trading ahead of the same time last year. Pre-tax profit fell from £850,000 to £599,000 as the new genetics operations made a loss and there was a goodwill amortisation charge. At 71.5p (70p/73p) a share, NMR is valued at £5.4m. There is a pension liability of £8.4m.
IP Group is providing a loan facility of up to £1.5m to Green Chemicals (GNCP), which is developing cleaner and safer consumer and cleaning products. This could be converted into shares. IP Group already owns 8.1% of Green Chemicals and along with two other associates IP Group has a total interest of 29.5%.
Ecovista (EVTP) has raised £269,000 at 0.05p a share, which is the mid price, and the cash will be used to make further property investments. The new shares equate to 35% of the enlarged share capital. Ecovista has completed the acquisition of the remaining 49% of Willow Cottages, which owns a cottage and 2.25 acres near to Stanstead. There is also an option to acquire a nearby cottage for £300,000 – the option cost £10,000.
UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) started trading on the ISDX Growth market on 12 November.
AIM
Panmure Gordon has upgraded its forecasts for AB Dynamics (ABDP) on the back of the better than expected full year figures from the automotive testing business. In the year to August 2015, revenues grew from £13.8m to £16.5m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £2.68m to £3.82m. The interim dividend was raised to 2.75p a share. AB benefits from a strong international spread of revenues and growth is coming from track testing services. Cash flow is strong and net cash was £7.97m. This means that AB has plenty of cash to finance the construction of its new facility in Bradford-on-Avon. The facility should be completed by early 2017 and AB will still have a cash pile after this additional investment. The 2015-16 earnings per share forecast has been raised from 18.8p to 20.8p and for 2016-17 from 21.3p to 23.6p.
Blackstone Funds have set up a vehicle to acquire Japan Residential Investment Company Ltd (JRIC) for £152.6m. The offer is 72p a share in cash and is recommended by the board although it says there is a potential rival offer at the same share price. At the end of May 2015, the JRIC NAV was 56.3p a share. JRIC floated on AIM at 100p a share back in October 2006 – during a period when a number of property investment companies joined the junior market. In July 2013, the life of the investment company was extended to 2018. Blackstone has been building up its Japanese residential property interests since 2013.
Fully listed-Volution (FAN) is making a recommended 345p a share bid for Energy Technique (ETQ), which values the manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning components at £9.25m. Energy Technique has complementary technology and a customer base that are potential customers for Volution products. The deal should be earnings enhancing in the first full year.
Security and facilities management services provider Mortice Ltd (MORT) has acquired 51% of Singapore-based security services and products supplier Frontline for up to £1.89m (S$4.03m). The initial payment was £600,000 (S$1.28m) and the rest is dependent on the level of EBITDA for 2015. If the performance is poor then the vendor may have to pay back some of the initial payment. There is an option to acquire a further 25% of Frontline within three years. This is the first operational business acquired in Singapore even though Mortice has its corporate base there. Frontline provides services to 73 sites in Singapore and takes Mortice into selling surveillance equipment. In 2014, Frontline made a pre-tax profit of S$590,000 on revenues of S$4.25m.
Mariana Resources (MARL) has reported further positive drilling news from Hot Maden in Turkey and it expects to more news flow over the coming year. Two more drilling holes have been completed on the Turkish gold project and one of them shows 39 metres @ 5.8 grams of gold/tonne and 0.7% copper. This is from 88 metres downhole. There is further potential to extend the resource. Mariana is assessing drill prospects for the Dona Ines gold-silver project in Chile so that drilling can commence in the first quarter of 2016. Asset Chile can earn-in to a 50% stake in the project in return for $1.65m of funding.
Xeros Technology (XSG) has raised £40m at 225p a share in order to boost marketing to commercial laundries of its polymer bead-based cleaning technology that reduces the use of water. The cash will also be used to finance a move into new markets. Xeros will have pro forma cash of £55m and this should last for more than two years. By the end of July, there were 106 machines installed in commercial laundries and growth has been helped by subsidies in North America but last year’s revenues were a modest £466,000. Cash burn is £1.25m/month and this could rise with additional R&D. Xeros is developing a domestic product and a leather processing version. The year end is being changed to December.
Rurelec (RUR) has launched an open offer to raise up to £3.54m at 1p a share. If the cash is not raised then the South America-focused electricity generator will not be able to pay its creditors. The offer price is lower than the 2p a share par value so there will have to be a capital reorganisation, which requires shareholder approval. Rurelec intends to sell its Peru hydro electricity assets. The one-for-1.58800245 open offer closes on 7 December.
MAIN MARKET
Silver Falcon (SILF) is the latest small shell to float on the standard list. The board includes Peter Redmond and Geoffrey Dart who have been involved in a number of shells, predominantly on AIM. The focus is on fintech and financial services businesses. Silver Falcon raised £1.3m at 3p a share. Initial share issues were at 1p a share. After expenses, there is about £1.4m in the bank. By the end of the week the share price had risen to 3.25p, which values the shell at £1.95m. The cash in the bank may covers less than three-quarters of that market value.
ANDREW HORE
Mariana Resources – Transformed by 3,000,000 oz Gold Equivalent resource
In 2011 the share price of Mariana Resources MARL stood at over 50p based on its prospects at Los Calandrias in South America. Then, as nothing seemed to happen it went into decline, reaching a low of 1.03p in 2014.
But in the meantime Mariana reinvented itself with a 30% stake the the Hot Maden gold project in eastern Turkey and slowly, slowly the sp began to reflect the growing interest in the new possibilities and a 52 week high of 3.45p was reached.
The great awakening began with the recognition that resource news was not only going to be six months from discovery, rather than the usual year or two but that it was also going to be very impressive. And it was. The company described the results announced yesterday, as “a defining moment and a milestone” for the company.
Earlier this month Rick Rule of Sprott Holdings put Mariana as one of the top 3 miners putting out good news, albeit he warned that the price of gold was unlikely to rise until the USD began to weaken. Brent Cook of Exploration Insight said that he could not find anything wrong with Marianas Hot Maden project.
Yesterday the maiden Mineral Resource estimate for Hot Maden, showed;
Indicated; 1.52 m. oz gold and 102,000 T copper( i.e. 2.03m oz gold equivalent)
Inferred. 0.64m oz gold and 65,000 T copper (i.e. 0.97 oz gold equivalent)
Total estimate = 3m. oz gold equivalent in which Marl has a 30% interest i.e. 900,000 oz gold eqivalent at a grade of 11.2g/t
The sp responded immediately but not spectacularly so and closed at 2.55p up from the previous days 2.23p and having reached a high of 2.97p. Today it is down to 2.4p. Not much recognition in that for 900,000 oz gold equivalent, even if gold and copper continue to slide.
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