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Quoted Micro 29 June 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Vehicle electrification technology supplier Equipmake (EQIP) says second half trading has been in line with expectations. Trading was better than in the first half and full year revenues are set to be more than £8m, up from £3.5m the previous year. Finance director Ian Selby is stepping down, although he has acquired an additional 225,000 shares at 0.9p each, and Jason Abbott has become an executive director, who bought 100,505 shares at 0.99p each. Chairman Tim Metcalfe acquired 2.27 million shares for a total cost of £17,500, while chief executive Ian Foley bought 914,677 shares at around 0.875p each.
Trading in Supersearch Plus (SSP) shares was suspended on 23 June. Two directors have resigned leaving chief executive Foelan Wong as the only director, The frozen seafood company has sacked Guild Financial Advisory as Aquis corporate adviser. The 2025 results will not be published by the end of June.
Ethtry (ETH) had net assets of £4.47m at the end of 2025, including cash of £4.27m. Acquisitions of Ethereum started this year.
Global Connectivity (GCON) has written down its £175,000 investment in PLUG to zero. It has taken an 8% stake in successor company PLUG Networks LLC-FZ.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) says positive gold assays have been returned from the initial assay results from drilling at Red Setter in Western Australia. Shallow gold zones have been discovered. There will be deeper diamond drilling.
Coinsilium (COIN) had net assets of £14.6m at the end of 2025, with cash of £1.43m. There was a £1.22m cash outflow from operating activities during the year.
Sulnox Group (SNOX) has secured a four-year agreement with Eastern Pacific Shipping, which will broaden its use of Sulnox Eco to more than 50 vessels. This should amount to 1.2 million litres over the period. The customer has more than 350 vessels so there is scope for further expansion. Eastern Pacific Shipping is acquiring 5.5 million Sulnox shares at 2p each and a further 7.06 million shares will be issued relating to the original contract and introductions. This will take the shareholding to 10.8% and it could reach 14% by the end of the new agreement.
Zentra Group (ZNT) says completion at One Victoria in Manchester has been delayed to the end of the third quarter of 2026.
Marc Dixon has reduced his stake in Nomad Compute (NMD) from 6.88% to 1.5%.
Mollyroe (MOY) has appointed Cairn Financial as corporate adviser.
ASSET MATCH
Octagonal (OCT) has joined Asset Match. It owns broker Global Investment Strategy UK Ltd, which has offices in London and Hong Kong.
AIM
Pawnbroker Ramsdens (RFX) is recommending a 600p/share bid from Nasdaq-listed pawnbroker FirstCash, which previously acquired H&T. That is higher than the share price has ever been. Shareholders will also receive the 6p/share interim dividend and special dividend of 3p/share. This values the company at £203m plus £3m in dividends. The bid values Ramsdens at around nine times forecast 2025-26 earnings, although profit has been boosted by the high gold price increasing gold buying activity. A fall in profit is currently expected for 2026-27 indicating a multiple of 13, although there have been previous forecast upgrades for the current year and if gold prices remain high there is upside in this forecast.
Talon Resources (TAR) moved from the Main Market on 23 June after the reverse takeover of a North American gold explorer with a 90% stake in the Eagle Lake gold project in Ontario for £4m in shares at 1.25p each, plus £170,000 in cash. There was also £2m raised at the same price. The share price had been suspended at 2.75p and started at 2.125p before falling to 1.275p at the end of the week. That is a 53.6% decline, but the share price is still above the issue price.
Energy as a service provider eEnergy Group (EAAS) expects interim revenues to be £22m and full year revenues to be £32m, compared with £38m previously. That means that EBITDA would be £1,7m rather than £4.5m. These adjustments come after the appointment of John Gahan as interim chief executive. He is generating annualised savings of £2m and there will be a restructuring charge of £500,000.
Distribution Finance Capital Holdings (DFCH) has upgraded expectations because loan originations have exceeded expectations as newer products enhance the growth in inventory finance. Arrears and impairments remain low. Panmure Liberum has raised its 2026 pre-tax profit forecast from £19.4m to £22.4m. Tangible NAV has been increased from 84.5p/share to 85.8p/share.
Online music retailer Gear4Music (G4M) bounced back last year and took advantage of competitors going out of business in the UK. Revenues jumped from £146.7m to £190.7m. There was growth across the range of products both own brand and branded. Pre-tax profit soared from £1.8m to £10.2m – only the peak Covid profit in 2020-21 was higher. This year Gear4Music is moving into a new warehouse, so there will be additional costs holding back profit in the short-term, but revenues should continue to grow.
CPP Group (CPP) announced a general meeting to gain shareholder approval to leave AIM and raise money from a convertible loan note issue. Following disposals, the focus is insurTech platform Blink Parametric, which is still relatively early stage. The final $5m owed by the purchaser of the Indian business has not been paid yet and cash is required. Gresham House Asset Management is offering to invest £3m in convertibles as long as a total of at least £5m is raised and CPP leaves AIM. Shareholders are being offered a chance to subscribe for up to £2.95m of convertibles with a minimum level of £2m. The holders of convertibles will also receive V shares to enable them to vote at meetings. The general meeting is on 14 July.
Thalia Therapeutics (THAT), formerly N4 Pharma, is acquiring Sanmirna Therapeutics Inc, which is developing miRisten for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, for an initial £3.675m in shares and convertible loan notes. Thalia Therapeutics has raised £2.75m at 0.6p/share, with two-fifths coming from directors. The cash will fund the completion of the miRisten phase 1 clinical trial. The data is expected in the first half of 2027.
Publishing software provider Ingenta (ING) has held its AGM and stated that more than £2m of business over three years has been won so far this year. There are other potential contracts that could be gained in the second half. Cavendish expects a dip in 2026 pre-tax profit to £1.4m because of higher sales and marketing costs the benefits of which should show through in the future.
Aerospace composite kits supplier Velocity Composites (VEL) interims were in line with expectations, but the second half will be tougher. First half revenues were 19% lower at £8.4m due to delays in projects starting in the US. The company has closed its site in Fareham and that will generate cost savings. In the second half the costs of ramping up production in the US and lower margin UK work means that although there will be a recovery in revenues margins will be hit. The full year loss will increase from £1.1m to £1.6m. There is a potential second customer in the US.
Space and aerospace technology supplier Filtronic (FTC) says full year revenues will be in line with consensus forecasts of at least £55.5m, while EBITDA will be slightly better than expected due to improved margins. That means that pre-tax profit is estimated at £8.5m. Net cash is 311.3m. The new facility has capacity of £200m. The strong order book means that 90% of 2026-27 revenues expectations of £62.6m. A second contract has been won for satellite payload technology with a US-based customer worth £400,000. This will be recognised in the current year. The 2025-26 results will be published on 4 August.
Buccaneer Energy (BUCE) has increased net proved reserves by 18% for its Texas assets after a review in connection with its WAFD Bank credit facility. Forecast cash flow has increased by 27%. NPV9 has been raised to $11.8m. The oil price assumption is $70/barrel for 2026.
Kazera Global (KZG) has agreed a definitive settlement of $10.5m with Hebei Xinjian Construction in relation to the arbitration award concerning African Tantalum. This is a $7m loan repayment and $3.5m share sale component. There will be an initial payment of $500,000 in Namibia. The rest will be paid over a period up to the end of 2029 and Hebei will then own 100% of African Tantalum. If $9m is paid by the end of 2026 then that would be the total payment.
MAIN MARKET
Kitchenware retailer ProCook Group (PROC) is gaining market share in a weak market. In the year to March 2026, revenues were 23% higher with like-for-like growth of 11.8%. Operating margin improved from 4.6% to 5.7%. Pre-tax profit increased from £1.5m to £2.5m. The number of active customers rose 24% to 1.4 million. Despite new store openings and others refurbished in the new format, net cash increased to £4.4m. There will be a change in the management of the warehouse during the summer. It is being outsourced to DHL, and this should improve efficiency and help to maximise capacity. Like-for-like sales growth was maintained in the first quarter.
Structural steel supplier Severfield (SFR) has a new management team but they could not influence the underlying results for the year to March 2026. Pre-tax profit fell from £18.1m to £10.5m. That is before £47.7m of exceptional charges, which should represent the bulk of any write-downs by the new management. Net debt is £28.2m. The focus of the business will be higher margin contracts in the UK, Europe and India, plus sectors such as energy, defence and data centres.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 25 May 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Time to ACT (TTA) says that Ruth Herbert has been appointed chief executive of EET Hydrogen and power, which is a potential client, and final investment decision for the HPP1 blue hydrogen project is due in the second half of 2026. Time to ACT has completed the acquisition of MTE Heat Treatment for £500,000.
Unigel Group (UNX) has decided it is best to leave Aquis and is asking for shareholder agreement. A general meeting is planned on 5 June.
Ian Bagnall has taken a 5.78% stake in Tomahawk Minerals (TMHK), formerly Shortwave Life Sciences. The company is concentrating on its gold and antimony, and it is planning a move to AIM.
In the first quarter of 2026, SuperSeed Capital (WWW) improved to 141p/share or 136.4p/share after notional management fee.
B HODL (HODL) has launched the Lightning Service Provider platform, which provides programmable liquidity for Bitcoin.
Quantum computing technology developer Delta Gold Technologies (LON: DGQ) pointed out a Wall Street Journal article concerning the award of up to $2bn in grants to the quantum computing sector. The company issued 28,571 shares at a warrant price of 50p each.
In the six months to February 2026, Astrid Intelligence (ASTR) had a cash outflow from operations was £612,000. There was £338,000 left in cash. Income from digital assets was £516,000, up from £20,000 in the first half of the previous year, but there was a sharp increase in operating costs. There was a £3.76m drop in the valuation of the digital assets.
Mendell Helium (MDH) has completed the acquisition of M3 Helium and Paul Mendell, who has a 9.37% stake, has been appointed technical director.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) made a strong start to the year and loan balances edged up to £2.32bn by the end of April 2026. Deposits were 1% ahead to £4.26bn over the same period. Funds under management and administration were 5% higher at £2.8bn. No reductions in interest rates so far this year has been good for Arbuthnot Banking, and the income on its surplus funds.
Nomad Compute (NMD) has raised £3.124m at 0.125p/share. A capital reorganisation is required to reduce the apar value to enable the shares to be issued. The cash is for “developing and operating modular, containerised edge AI compute infrastructure for global enterprise and sovereign markets”.
IntelliAM AI (INT) has appointed Joel Crawfod as chief revenue officer. He will be based in Texas.
Energy B (NRGB) has appointed First Sentinel as corporate adviser.
Oliver O’Donnell, head of equities for VSA Capital (VSA), has been appointed to the group board.
Roundhouse Digital has changed its name to Roundhouse AI (ETHL).
AIM
Asia-focused oil and gas producer Jadestone Energy (JSE) reported a loss of $133.7m on revenues of $408m for 2025, but that figure is complicated by $126m impairment charge and the $18.5m write off for the abandonment of the SKUA-11 well. That masks the strong cash generation of the business last year. Cash generated from operating activities was $91.4m, helped by lower operating costs, and along with the $39.4m proceeds from a disposal this was more than enough to fund capital expenditure and interest charges. Net debt reduced to $89.1m. Jadestone Energy has refinanced debt through a $200m bond issue, which increases the cash available. Production in 2026 could be at the lower end of the 18,000-21,000 boe/day guidance range – last year it was 19,829 boe/day – because of a storm stopping production at the Stag field. That should generate enough cash to cover investment this year. The farm-out process for the Vietnam asset has commenced.
Medical devices developer Creo Medical (CREO) has raised £5.5m at 15p/share and the Bank of Wales is subscribing for £2m of convertible loan notes. Creo Medical plans to sell the remaining 49% interest in Creo Medical SL to 51% shareholder CME at book value. The sale of the 51% stake raised £24.7m after costs CME will continue to distribute Creo Medical products in Europe. Cash was £12.4m at the end of 2025 and there was a subsequent dividend of £1.6m from CME. Creo medical made an underlying operating loss of £13.7m on revenues of £6m in 2025 and the additional cash will help to accelerate growth in sales. First quarter revenues were 60% ahead and full year revenues could grow at a similar rate. Operating costs should be reduced by 15%.
Energy efficiency technology developer Sabien Technology (SNT) is entering into an agreement for a proposed strategic commercial partnership and financing that will help to accelerate commercial deployment of the M2G technology. The partnership with Haydale (HAYD) and SaveMoneyCutCarbon (SMCC) means that SMCC will be the M2G distributor in agreed commercial, industrial and public sector markets. Haydale would also help with improving manufacturing efficiency. Non-core investments are being reviewed, and additional opportunities will be assessed. A strategic investor group could acquire the 26.7% stake held by executive chairman Richard Parris and restructure the debt owed to Parris Group. A convertible loan note could raise up to £2m. Final terms have to be agreed. This announcement follows the settlement of a historical contract for £40,000 in cash and £50,000 in shares at 5.71p each.
Building and plumbing products distributor Lords Group Trading (LORD) has reported better than expected results. Pre-tax profit still fell from £3.8m to £2.8m. There has been a rationalisation of plumbing and heating distribution sites and there was a small dip in sales. Online builders merchant CMO made an initial contribution. Market share is improving. There could be a further fall in profit this year.
FIH Group (FIH) will pay a 40p/share special dividend from the funds from the £11.6m sale of the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company. The shares go ex-dividend on 5 June. Chief executive Stuart Munro gets a £478,000 bonus and finance director Reuben Shamu £293,000 for the successful disposal.
Gold producer Metals Exploration (MTL) produced 65,287 ounces of gold in 2025, but the higher gold price meant that revenues rose by 9% to $208.4m. Free cash generated from operations was 19% higher at $115.3m. Construction of the La India project in Nicaragua is one-third complete. The first gold pour could be in December. Gold production guidance for Runruno has been revised downwards to 40,000-48,000 ounces.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has won a project through FlexBase to design a GWh-scale vanadium flow battery to be deployed at the Technology Centre Laufenburg, Switzerland. This datacentre and technology campus required up to 1.5GWh and it could be expanded to 2.1 GWh. There should be phased manufacturing of the batteries.
Automotive interior components manufacturer CT Automotive (CTA) reported a 4% dip in revenues to $114.8m, while pre-tax profit improved by one-fifth to £9.5m. Earnings were 11.4 cents/share. A further improvement is expected this year.
TV programmes producer Zinc Media (ZIN) has won a $6m contract to produce an entertainment series in the Middle East. The international distribution rights should add extra income. The series has already been broadcast for 17 seasons, and it follows inventors developing ideas. Zinc Media has been brought in to refresh the format, and the programme will be shot in Arabic and English. Zinc Media is acquiring William Martin Qatar for an initial £400,000. The final purchase price will be up to £1.12m. This is an agency specialising in events and film in the Middle East and it fits well with the existing business in the region. Full year revenues of £3.4m and pre-tax profit of £300,000 are forecast.
Tap Global Group (TAP) recently launched the Tap Earn app and it has reached $3.5m of assets under management. The app offers a yield of up to 7% on supported stablecoin holdings, up to 3.5% on Ethereum and up to 2.5% on Bitcoin. Tap Earn is available across all the company’s markets and will generate revenues for the company by converting passive customer balances into generating income.
Fulcrum Metals (FMET) has secured surface rights to 270 acres of the Teck Hughes tailings project. This provides access and operational flexibility. The price is C$220,000 in cash and a 1.5% net smelter royalty. The net smelter royalty can be reduced to 0.75% for C$750,000 in cash and to 0.5% with a further C$500,000 payment.
Mkango Resources (MKA) subsidiary Mkango Rare Earths has filed a registration statement in the US concerning its merger with Crown PropTech Acquisitions. This helps to progress the proposed Nasdaq listing for Mkango Rare Earths.
Ariana Resources (AAU) is selling a 13.6% stake in the Zenit gold mining joint venture in Turkey to the majority shareholding for $19.5m – $17.2m after tax. Ariana Resources retains a 9.9% stake in Zenit, which could generate dividends, and has $29m in cash. The cash will be invested in the Dokwe project in Zimbabwe and the cash will fund the project up to the definitive feasibility study.
First quarter results from gold miner Thor Explorations (THX) show year-on-year revenues increasing from $64m to $74.3m and lower operating costs per ounce of gold. Net income rose from $34.4m to $46.7m. Net cash was $177.9m at the end of March 2026. A dividend of C$0.0275/share was announced. Full year production guidance is 75,000-85,000 ounces of gold with average costs likely to edge up.
Gene therapy technology developer 4basebio (4BB) increased 2025 revenues from £900,000 to £1.7m and it is forecast to rise to £2.5m. The loss was £17.9m. There should still be £8.5m in the bank at the end of 2025. The company has secured a clinical supply deal with a biotech company for supply of synthetic DNA to a phase II immunotherapy programme.
MAIN MARKET
Vehicle rental and claims management company Zigup (ZIG) traded strongly in the second half with profit at the upper end of expectations. Full year pre-tax profit is set to be around £160m. Cash generation has improved. The results will be released on 8 July.
Ground engineering and piling business Keller (KLR) reported stronger trading in the first four months of the year despite the global background. North America has done well. Higher costs are being passed on in new contracts. The order book is worth £1.7bn. The interim results will be published on 4 August.
New Frontier Minerals (NFM) has visited the NWQ Copper project with partner Austral Resources to inspect the Big One Deposit and Big One North prospect. The historical copper stockpile was assessed. Mt Storm was identified as an under explored near surface target.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 4 May 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Audit and assurance services provider Adsure Services (ADS) is increasing customer numbers and market share in the housing sector and education has also been a strong market. Other markets have been weaker. Working capital was reduced.
Ajax Resources (AJAX) has made a £200,000 strategic investment in Reveille Resources, taking a 25% stake in the Italy-focused uranium explorer that wants to join Aquis. Reveille Resources has interests in the Novazza and Val Vedello uranium deposits. Ajax Resources is taking an option over the acquisition of Minerva Metals, which holds the Sebera exploration licence in Italy, which is targeting antimony, tungsten and gold. Ajax Resources is planning a listing on Euronext Growth Oslo.
Marula Mining (MARU) has been fined £55,000, reduced to £44,000 for early settlement by the Aquis Stock Exchange because of social media posts that provided information that had not been published as official announcements on the market. It also repeatedly failed to produce accounts on time and was slow in paying Aquis fees. Marula Mining is continuing talks with WEEE Centre over their potential collaboration on a lithium-ion battery recycling centre in Kenya. Final legal reviews of the agreement are near to completion and phase one of the operations should start by the end of the second quarter of 2026.
Inqo Investments (INQO) has opened the Pabidi Lodge in Uganda. This is an eco-luxury hospitality asset located in Uganda’s Budongo Forest, within the broader Murchison Falls National Park.
Mendell Helium (MDH) has exercised the option to acquire M3 Helium. Completion is expected in May and £5m is being raised at 4p/share. M3 Helium already has helium production and potential to increase this through drilling and building infrastructure. Dividends are possible in 2027.
WeCap (WCAP) investee company WeShop published 2025 results. It remains an early stage business and there is an initial rollout of the social commerce platform and beta testing of the WeShop app in the US. The company is recruiting in the US. WeShop processed transactions with a GMV of $140m. The WeShop share price drifted down to $8.80, although it has still risen by 50% over the past month.
Digital asset company Coinsilium (COIN) continues to make progress with advancing its operating model. Otomato has launched its application across web and mobile. There is increasing activity on the Yellow Network, and it is moving towards the launch of decentralised perpetual futures contracts trading.
Sulnox Group (SNOX) generated record annual revenues of £2.62m, with like-for-like fourth quarter revenues nearly doubled. Cash was £822,000 at the end of March 2026.
Visum Technologies has changed its name to Nomad Compute (NMD) to reflect its new strategic direction. The focus is modular edge AI compute infrastructure. A fundraising is planned. It has acquired Crowdtech AB, a technology development company, for £414,000. This is being paid for in the form of the shares in subsidiary C and C Gordon at book value.
Energy B (NRGB) had £6,000 in cash at the end of January 2026. Chairman Neil Ritson has subsequently provided a £50,000 loan facility and £30,000 has been drawn down.
B HODL (HODL) has bought one Bitcoin at £57,802.
S-Ventures (SVEN) has invested £200,000 in Hybrid Drones. Defence company MBDA is a fellow investor.
NYCE International (NYCE) has raised £50,000 at 17.5p/share.
Woodland Capital, where Hot Rocks Investments (HRIP) managing director Gavin Burnell is a significant shareholder, has acquired 1.85 million shares at 1.1p each, 855,259 shares at 1.35p each and one million shares at 1.45p share. This takes Gavin Burnell’s interest to 19.2%.
JP JENKINS
Hydrogen Capital Growth (HGEN), formerly HydrogenOne Capital Growth, has moved to JP Jenkins as part of the managed realisation of its portfolio of clean hydrogen and energy transition technology investments.
ASSET MATCH
Infection prevention IP developer Byotrol (BYOT) says 2025-26 sales were flat at £4.33m, although product sales were higher. The loss was higher. Cash was £457,000 at the end of March 2026. There is expected to be a positive EBITDA this year.
Greenshield Agri (GAH) had net assets of 160p/share at the end of 2025. The company has hedged all its requirement for fertiliser for 2026. Costs have been cut and crop prospects are good.
AIM
Cosmetics supplier Warpaint London (W7L) was hit by US tariffs and weak consumer confidence in 2025 and this continued into early 2026. Full year revenues edged up from £101.6m to £105m, but it would have been lower without the brands acquired last year. Gross margin improved, but pre-tax profit dipped from £24.6m to £19.2m. It could rebound to more than £20m this year, but it is still early in the year. This year will be more second half weighted with a much larger Christmas order from Walmart.
Iodine producer Iofina (IOF) reported better than expected figures for 2025. Revenues increased from $54.5m to $66.5m. Earnings jumped from 1.52 cents/share to 3.26 cents/share. A large plant will start production later this year leading to a big rise in production in 2027. More plants are in the pipeline. X-ray demand for iodine is keeping the price high and Canaccord is anticipating it staying above $70/tonne. This year earnings could reach 3.9 cents/share, and the 2027 figure has been upgraded to 6.3 cents/share.
Property technology company Built Cybernetics (BUC) moved into profit in 2025-26 and smart buildings revenues exceed architecture revenues for the first time. However, the master systems integrator business has been hit by poor demand, and the group could fall back into loss this year. Built Cybernetics has raised £570,000 at 1.5p/share.
A positive trading statement by IG Design (IGR) has led to upgrades for the year just ended and the current year. Ongoing gift wrap and stationery business is better than expected, although consumer confidence remains weak. In the year to March 2026, revenues were $292m, while the pre-tax profit estimate has been increased from $9.5m to $11.5m. This year’s pre-tax profit forecast has been raised from $12.3m to $14.3m, helped by an earnings enhancing acquisition in South Africa. Net cash is $72m before the £3.4m spent on the acquisition.
Professional services provider Christie Group (CTG) beat previously upgraded profit forecasts for 2025. Pre-tax profit jumped from £2.6m to £6m, helped by the sale of loss making operations, and the dividend was raised 56% to 3.5p/share. Additional hires will increase costs this year, so profit is forecast to fall to £4.6m.
Xeros Technology (XSG) 2025 results show a reduction in loss from £4.5m to £3.5m. The sustainable laundry technology developer expects a sharp rise in revenues this year, albeit from a low base. All three parts of the business should start to grow royalty revenues.
Sanderson Design (SDG) did well in North America last year and that helped to offset the weak UK market. Group revenues fell 1% to £99.5m, while underlying pre-tax profit improved from £4.4m to £5.3m, helped by a better performance by manufacturing. The dividend is unchanged at 1.5p/share. Net cash is £9.8m.
Digital content technology and direct carrier billing services provider Bango (BGO) is focusing on higher margin and subscription business. Subscriptions revenues were 22% ahead at $22.2m and annualised recurring revenues 30% higher at $18.2m. Net revenues retention was 117% last year, which indicates the growth in spending by existing customers. Overall group revenues for 2025 fell 2% to $52.2m. Adjusted EBITDA was 7% higher at $16.4m, which was more than the capitalised development spending of $13.6m. There were exceptional charges of $6.4m, which relate to the restructuring of the business and cost savings. Net debt was $9.2m at the end of 2025
Membrane-free electrolyser technology developer Clean Power Hydrogen (CPH2) has signed a memorandum of understanding with ABE Gruppe concerning a potential supply and installation of up to 175MW of capacity over ten years. ABE is a subsidiary of BKW a large Swiss infrastructure and energy services group, and it also has operations in Germany and other European countries. This would be a significant deal for Clean Power Hydrogen, and it would generate service revenues.
ProService Building Services Marketplace (PRO), formerly HSS Hire, says 2025-26 revenues from continuing operations is expected to be £248m, which is lower than forecast. That is due to a lower ramping up of the new arrangements with Speedy Hire and the weak construction market. The company is investing in further automation of its marketplace platform. Speedy Hire volumes are improving, and the deal should be earnings enhancing this year. Net debt was £27.2m at the end of March 2026 and the debt should be refinanced by August. Guidance for 2026-27 EBITDA is between £9m and £12m. Consensus was previously £19.6m.
Digital health company MedPal AI (MPAL) has acquired the Remedi Solutions pharmacy facility in Runcorn from administrators for £310,000. Historical annualised turnover was previously around £10m. MedPal has been operating the pharmacy ahead of approval for the transfer of ownership to the company.
Scancell (SCLP) has received FDA Fast Track designation for iSCIB1+ in advanced melanoma. Plans are being advanced for a phase 3 trial which could start in the second half of 2026. Progression free survival reached 77% at 20 months, which is 30 percentage points above standard care. Additional data is expected in the first half of 2027.
Shield Therapeutics (STX) generated revenues of $18m in the first quarter of 2026 with ACCRUFeR making $9.9m and a $7.9m milestone payment from China. The US sales continue to grow, but NY-Medicaid now requires prior authorisation for prescription approvals.
MAIN MARKET
Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) investee company ALL.SPACE is being acquired by York Space Systems. It is a cash and shares bid. This investment was 15.9% of the net asset value at the end of 2025 and the value of the takeover should be similar to the current valuation.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore: Quoted Micro 29 October 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Auxico Resources Canada Inc (AUAG) has added a NEX quotation to its year-old Canadian Stock Exchange listing. Auxico has mineral properties in Colombia and Mexico. There is already a UK investor base.
Chapel Down Group (CDGP) had a bumper 2018 harvest that was 125% ahead of the previous best, thanks to the hot summer. Some vineyards produced their first crops.
Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) is paying this year’s dividend in three instalments: October, April and July. The first interim will be 0.83p a share and the ex-dividend date is 25 October. The sale of Hume House in Leeds has been completed for £3.9m, compared to a cost of £1.67m in March 2014. A 37-storey building will be constructed on the site.
Eight Capital Partners (MORE) is investing £250,000 in AIM-quoted Imaginatik (IMTK) with £160,000 subscription for shares at 1.1p a share for a 29.7% stake, and £90,000 in convertible loan notes with an annual interest rate of 7.5%. Eight Capital is issuing up to £2.5m of convertible bonds at 95% of their nominal value. The annual coupon is 5%. One warrant will be granted for every two shares issued.
Trading in the shares of Etaireia Investments (ETIP) has been suspended ahead of a potential acquisition of property assets from the Oyston family.
Gunsynd (GUN) will get a 4% stake in Human Brands when, or if, it floats on the standard list. Previously it would have been a 1% stake. Gunsynd has £289,000 invested in drinks distributor Human Brands loan notes.
Founder Sebastian Snow has resigned as creative director of pubs and inns operator Barkby Group (BARK) and Lana Snow has also left the group. Occupancy rates were good in September and there is significant demand for the Christmas period.
Ganapati (GANP) reported a reduction in interim loss from £4.54m to £3.56m, although total income was flat at £2.19m. There was cash in the bank of £2m at the end of July 2018. This could be added to by an initial coin offering by Malta-based blockchain subsidiary GanaEightCoin Ltd next spring.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £81,250 at 15p a share to provide further working capital.
The chairman and chief executive of DXS International (DXSP) have both bought shares in the healthcare technology company. Bob Sutcliffe bought 100,000 shares at 8.515p each, while David Immelman bought 20,538 shares at 8.66p each, which takes the chief executive’s stake to 10.3%.
Sativa Investments (SATI) has signed an option on a 298,806 square foot glasshouse for growing medicinal cannabis. Mark Blower is becoming a non-executive director.
Melissa Sturgess has acquired 590,000 shares in Ananda Developments (ANA) at 0.4496p each. The executive director of the cannabis-focused investment company owns 47.8 million shares. Ananda joined NEX on 4 July having raised £930,000 at 0.45p a share. The share price ended the first day at 0.975p and it has more than halved since then.
AIM
Chris Marsh has resigned as finance director of Patisserie Holdings (CAKE) having been suspended on 9 October. Previously undisclosed LTIP share awards have been revealed.
GB Group (GBG) has acquired Australia-based ID verification services provider Vix Verify Global for £21m. This has led to a 2.7% upgrade in the 2019-20 forecast earnings per share. Third quarter trading of the existing business was in line with expectations with organic growth in revenues of 11%.
Avingtrans (AVG) is acquiring Texas-based Tecmag Inc for $243,000. Tecmag manufactures instrumentation for magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance systems. This fits well with Avingtrans’ magnets business in the sector.
Energy supplier Yu Group (YU.) has shocked investors with accounting changes relating to accrued income and increases in impairment charges for trade debtors. This will slash £10m for this year’s profit turning it into a loss. There is £11.5m in the bank at the end of September 2018.
1Spatial (SPA) reduced its loss n the first half and is on course to cut its full year loss from £1.5m to £1m. The geospatial data services provider should move into profit next year.
HaloSource Corporation (HALO) says it has sufficient working capital until the end of the year, but up to $5m is required to add a further 12 months. The company expects to generate revenues of $2m-$2.5m in 2018 and the target is to treble that figure in 2019, which would reduce the loss.
EKF Diagnostics (EKF) says the record date for the distribution of shares in Renalytix AI is 23 October and the shares will start trading on 2 November.
Nexus Infrastructure (NEXS) expects 2017-18 profit to be in line with expectations and order books are strong. Infrastructure services provider Tamdown’s revenues will be slightly lower due to planning delays with the growth coming from utility connections business TriConnex. Net cash is £20m.
RA International (RAI) has won a $9.1m contract with URS Group Inc. This is a new client. The contract covers construction services for an asphalt runway in Somalia and lasts for 11 months.
Data analysis software and services provider D4T4 Solutions (D4T4) trebled its interim revenues to £14m, although the comparatives were weak. Net cash is £12.2m.
Gfinity (GFIN) is raising £6m at 8p a share and this cash will further develop the esports activities and the UK Elite series. The 2017-18 revenues were 82% ahead at £4.3m and losses continue.
Angling Direct (ANG) is taking advantage of its strong position in the fishing tackle retail market by raising £20m at 92.5p a share, which compares to the July 2017 flotation price of 64p a share. The cash will finance the opening of 20 stores and the launch of European websites. This accelerated investment means that Angling Direct will fall into loss this year.
Velocity Composites (VEL) has managed to trade in line with downgraded forecasts for the year to October 2018. Revenues will be slightly above £24m and there is net cash of £3.6m. The company is seeking a new chief executive and the former incumbent has left the board.
The cancellation of a contract and the failure to gain backing for an acquisition have hampered the progress of Image Scan Holdings (IGE) in the year to September 2018. Revenues fell from £5m to £3.5m, although the gross margin improved from 39% to 48%. Pre-exceptional profit will slump from £480,000 to £45,000. That was before the £245,000 cost of the failed acquisition. There was £780,000 in the bank at the end of September 2018. Sarah Atwell-King has been appointed finance director.
VR Education (VRE) has been hit by the delayed launch of its Titanic VR product on PlayStation. This should still happen this year, but 2018 revenues will be well below expectations. The timing of the launch will determine the outcome for the year. The ENGAGE platform will be launched before the end of the year as anticipated. Non-executive director Mike Boyce is helping out with sales.
SkinBioTherapeutics (SBTX) increased its research and development spending from £157,000 to £416,000 in the year to June 2018. The cosmetic application has started a human study and data should be available between November and April 2019. A clinical trial for an eczema treatment could start before the end of 2019. There was £3.2m in cash at the end of June 2018.
Rare books trader Scholium (SCHO) says it will move into loss in the first half, but it expects to make a higher full year profit than the £38,000 reported last year. Start-up Mayfair Philatelics is losing money but three auctions are taking place in the second half.
AfriTin Mining Ltd (ATM) is making progress towards production at its Uis tin project in Namibia. The first phase plant being constructed will be able to process 500,000 tonnes of pegmatite in order to produce 720 tonnes of tin concentrate a year. AfriTin has the cash required to reach production.
A strong performance from manned guarding meant that Croma Security Solutions (CSSG) increased its full year revenues by 59% to £35.1m and pre-tax profit was 400% higher at £2m. There were some one-off boosts during the year. Net cash was £2.1m. The dividend has been increased from 0.5p a share to 1.6p a share.
Property investment adviser First Property Group (FPO) has reduced its stake in Fprop Opportunities to 44.3% so it will no longer be consolidated in the group’s results. The plan is to lower the stake to below 30%. Fund management will be a greater contributor to profit.
More cash is required at meat and delicatessen products retailer Crawshaw (CRAW) for restructuring purposes and it also still needs a new nominated adviser.
Kemin Resources (KEM) will leave AIM on 29 October because it has not been able to find a replacement for Strand Hanson as nominated adviser. JP Jenkins Ltd will provide a trading facility.
OnTheMarket (OTMP) has signed up Belvoir Lettings (BLV) to its online platform. All Belvoir’s sales and lettings properties will be on the platform.
StatPro Group (SOG) says annualised recurring income has increased by 3% to £54.8m.
MAIN MARKET
Communisis (CMS) is recommending a 71p a share cash offer by consumer communications services provider OSG, which values the target at £153.8m. The combined business would be able to develop internationally because of OSG’s global strength.
WideCells Group (WDC) has signed a partnership deal with stem cell extraction and storage company Smart Cells. The deal is with the healthcare insurance subsidiary CellPlan, whose insurance plans will be offered to Smart Cells’ 60,000 clients.
Hemogenyx Pharma (HEMO) has signed a second agreement with US biopharma company Orgenesis Inc. The deal involves the development and commercialisation of the company’s Human Postnatal Hemogenic Endothelial Cell (Hu-PHEC) technology, which could develop cancer-free, patient-matched blood stem cells after transplantation into a patient. Like the previous agreement, Orgenesis will provide a convertible loan of $1m and this can be converted into shares in the Hemogenyx subsidiary that owns the technology. Orgenesis will pay a 12% royalty on net revenues generated by the technology.
North Midland Construction (NMD) says that full year revenues will be better than anticipated at between £340m and £345m, with net margins between 1.7% to 1.8%. The order book for delivery in 2019 is £222m. A new single identity for the group will be launched in November. HR director Karen Morris has bought 8,172 shares at 550p each.
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 13 August 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Brewer Adnams (ADB) grew its turnover by 7% to £35.5m in the first half of 2018 but there was an underlying operating loss and lower gains from asset disposals. The reported pre-tax loss increased from £284,000 to £840,000. The second half is always more profitable. Depreciation is higher due to investment in the brewery and the refurbishment of the Swan Hotel. Adnams own beer volumes increased by 4.8%, compared with the market growth of 1.3%. Carbon dioxide shortages have affected the second half. The interim dividend is unchanged at 78p/B share and 19.5p/A share.
KSE is offering £29,419.64 a share in cash for Arsenal Holdings (AFC) and that values the football club at £1.8bn. KSE already owns or has acceptances totalling more than 97% of the shares in the company.
Healthperm Resourcing Ltd (HPR) increased revenues by 184% to £293,000 in the first half of 2018 and 144 healthcare staff candidates were deployed in the period, which was nearly three times as many as in the first half of 2017. More students are being trained in the English language. Healthcare recruitment contracts have been signed in the UK and they cover nine hospitals. Contracts have also been signed outside the UK.
Angelfish Investments (ANGP) is subscribing for 0% secured convertible loan notes in Wallet Ads Ltd. The first drawdown is £50,000 and this will be followed by five monthly instalments of £20,000. On payment of the final instalment, or under certain other circumstances, the loan notes can be converted into 20% of the enlarged share capital of Wallet Ads, which has developed a mobile engagement platform combining mobile wallet passes, web and social media and this enables digital vouchers to be sent to smartphones. Angelfish non-exec Richard Walker will join the Wallet Ads board.
Pelican House Mining (PHM) is investing in battery minerals explorer Kalahari Key Mineral Exploration (KKME), which is exploring for nickel and platinum group metals in Botswana, near the South Africa border. AIM-quoted Two Shields Investments (TSI) is a co-investor in KKME and it increased its stake to 22.2%. Two Shields Investments also increased its stake in cobalt explorer Cobalt Blue Holdings to 49% before swapping it for a 11.26% stake in African Battery Materials (ABM), thereby gaining a wider exposure to technology metals licences.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) raised an additional £50,000 at 1p a share when it floated last year. Geremy Thomas holds a 3.1% stake.
Shareholders in Welney (WENP) have voted against the appointment of Mark Jackson and Mark Chapman as directors.
AIM-quoted TechFinancials Inc (TECH) joined NEX on 8 August. Monreal has changed its name to Eight Capital Partners (ECP).
AIM
Fryer management and commercial kitchen services provider Filta (FLTA) says that interim figures are in line with expectations. There will be a full contribution from GMG, which was acquired last year, while the sale of the refrigeration division has helped to improve margins. Revenues are growing from newer franchisees and the UK-based seals business also grew its revenues. The interims will be published on 4 September.
Former boss Philip Swinstead has sold his 9.82% stake in Parity Group (PTY) and Helium Rising Stars has taken a 10.9% shareholding. Parity is on track to achieve double digit profit growth this year. The IT recruitment and consultancy services provider is modestly rated on a prospective multiple of less than nine, even though the share price has risen following the share dealing.
Pebble Beach Systems (PEB) expects revenues to fall from £4.6m to £3.9m but the broadcast software supplier believes that the second half should be better. A backlog of £4.7m should help full year revenues to be nearer to last year’s level.
Frontier IP (FIPP) has announced its first Portugal-based spin-out. It is taking a 31.8% stake in NTPE, which is developing Paper-E technology that can be used to print electronic circuits, sensors and semiconductors. This opportunity came through the relationship with Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculty of Science and Technology. Another investee company, 27.5%-owned Fieldwork Robotics, has secured a deal with soft fruit grower Hall Hunter to prototype and test a raspberry harvesting robot system.
Phoenix Global Mining (PGM) has reported that the first drilling results from the Empire mine in Idaho have been encouraging. There was 68 metres at 0.57% copper from the surface. The current JORC resource is 0.52% copper so it would be good news if the current drilling provides higher levels of copper.
Mereo BioPharma (MPH) had net cash of £36.9m at the end of June 2018, but a R and D tax credit of £8.2m was received in August. An adult Phase 2b study for Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is due to complete enrolment by the end of September. There will be initial six month data from the open-label high dose part of the study by the middle of next year. A flotation on Nasdaq is still a possibility.
MAIN MARKET
Engineering and construction company North Midland Construction (NMD) increased its interim revenues from £135.1m to £160.9m and more than doubled pre-tax profit from £1.23m to £2.51m. The interim dividend has been doubled to 6p a share. Cash in the bank was 138% higher than 12 months before are £18.9m, although there are also finance leases of £4.5m. The order book is worth £320m. The telecoms-related part of the business is still losing money. There were much better profit contributions from the water and construction divisions.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) is developing a global datacentre management business facilitating cryptocurrency Mining-as-a-Service and has signed a deal that will provide 9.5MW of clean energy for two datacentres in Quebec (Argo already has one datacentre in Quebec). That provides the capacity for more than 150,000 subscribers and the centres will be operational in September and October. Argo joined the standard list on 3 August after raising £25m at 16p a share, which valued the company at £47m. However, the share price has fallen back to 11.13p.
Beauty and personal care products supplier InnovaDerma (IDP) has appointed Kieran Callan, who was a non-executive director, as chief executive with Haris Chaudhry moving to executive chairman. Callan used to work at PZ Cussons. This appointment follows poor trading and disappointing pre-tax profit in the year to Last October, InnovaDerma raised £4.4m at 276p a share and, having fallen by two-thirds at one point since then, the share price has recovered to 148.5p. Haircare brand Roots will be sold in Tesco.
Telecoms services provider Toople (TOOP) is holding a general meeting on 30 August in order to get shareholder approval to enable it to issue more shares to raise cash to keep the business going.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 25 June 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Shareholders have agreed to the proposed broadening of investing policy for Sativa Investments (SATI) and the first acquisition under the new policy is George Botanicals. Sativa paid £415,000 in cash and shares for the UK-based wholesaler and distributor of cannaboid medicinal products, including CBD oil. The company is being acquired from the interests of Sativa chief executive Geremy Thomas.
Gas and electricity supplier Good Energy (GOOD) says that this year’s results will be weighted towards the first half because of the cold weather earlier in 2018. There will also be increased investment in the sales team and a digital app in the second half. Good supplies more than 70,000 homes and less than 1% of the business market.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) nearly doubled its revenues to $8.2m in 2017. There is $257,000 in the bank.
Pelican House Mining (PHM) has bought a 15% stake Mighty Oak Explorations, which has three licences to explore for cobalt and two to explore for lithium in Uganda.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says the commissioning of plant for the Hellyer project is on course for August. The mine is a few months away from production.
Block Commodities (BLOC) has raised £165,000 at 0.035p a share. The cash will help to finance the launch of a pilot blockchain project in Uganda.
AIM
Alliance Pharma (APH) is acquiring the marketing rights to Nizoral, an anti-dandruff shampoo brand in Asia Pacific, for £60m. Alliance raised £34m at 91p a share. The rights being acquired, which cover 15 countries, generated net sales of £18.5m in 2017. They would have generated pro forma EBITDA of £7.1m.
Shoe retailer Footasylum (FOOT) has followed up the announcement of its exit from the FTSE AIM 100 index with a set of results that mean it is likely to be a long time before it gets back in the AIM 100. Peel Hunt has reduced its 2018-19 pre-tax profit forecast by one-quarter to £5.3m. Footasylum has been hit by discounting and the weak consumer market. Rental costs are higher than expected.
Social housing software and services provider Castleton Technology (CTP) continues to grow sales to new and existing customers. Two-fifths of customers take more than one product. Full year revenues were 15% ahead at £23.3m with organic growth of 13%. Net debt was 30% lower at £6.3m. There is a contracted backlog of £26.8m.
Frontier IP (FIPP) has taken a 24% stake in Cambridge Material Testing, which is developing software and hardware to measure material characteristics of metal components. The non-destructive tests are quick and require small samples.
Northbridge Industrial Services (NBI) has raised £2.5m at 125p a share. Northbridge will use £1.05m to pay the deferred consideration for the Tasman acquisition. This was originally due in January 2016 and has been incurring an annual interest charge of 8%. The rest of the cash will be invested in rental equipment as demand recovers. Gearing will fall below 20%
Rose Petroleum (ROSE) has published a maiden contingent resource for its interests in the Paradox Basin, Utah. The competent persons report shows a net 2C contingent resources of 12.3mmboe with gas accounting for nearly one-quarter of that resource. A post-tax NPV of $86.9m has been estimated. This assumes a 75% success rate for wells drilled and a recovery of up to 550,000 barrels per well. Each horizontal well is expected to cost $7m. These estimates are based on less than one-quarter of Rose’s acreage.
Myanmar-focused social media platform operator MySQUAR Ltd (MYSQ) is acquiring MyPay Myanmar for £1m in cash and 72.5 million shares issued at 1.38p each. An issue of unsecured convertible bonds has raised £2.22m. Bid talks have been terminated.
Touchstone Exploration Inc (TXP) has extended its credit facility for a further year. The $15m facility lasts until November 2022. The existing oil and gas assets in Trinidad are generating cash and this is also helping to fund the drilling of 12 wells this year. Next year, an exploration well will be drilled on the Ortoire block.
Michael Rowan is switching from chairman to chief executive at Active Energy Group (AEG) and the previous chief executive will focus on developing the forest management operations in North America and CoalSwitch in Poland.
Trading in the shares of URA Holdings (URA) has been suspended because it has not completed a reverse takeover. URA has signed heads of agreement to acquire Entertainment AI Ltd, which has developed tagging technology that enables viewers of video clips to purchase items in the video. It also owns the GTChannel, which runs automotive-related channels across YouTube generating revenues from advertising.
Project management services provider Progility (PGY) plans to cancel its AIM quotation. Praxis, which owns 64.75% of the company is backing the move. There is total support from shareholders owning more than 81% of the company so the cancellation is a foregone conclusion. Praxis is offering 55p a share for shares it does not own.
N4 Pharma (N4P) is making good progress with its therapeutic nanoparticle platform Nuvec. There should be results from studies in he fourth quarter. N4 is conducting studies to identify human cell types that are most responsive to Nuvec. The Sildenafil MR Viagra reformulation commenced a proof-of-concept trial in April and the results are expected in August.
Uvenco UK (UVEN) continues to hold discussions with its main creditor following the placing of its vending machine subsidiaries in administration. Those assets were sold for £1.8m and Uvenco is left with net debt of £1.6m.
Industrial equipment distributor Slingsby (HC) (SLNG) says that a stronger April and May means that sales are 1%lower in the first five months of the year. Compared to a 6% shortfall in the first quarter. Pre-tax profit is also slightly lower. Net debt was £1.4m at the end of May 2018.
Duke Royalty Ltd (DUKE) has increased its interim dividend by 17% to 0.7p a share. The dividend will be paid on 12 July.
RA International Group Ltd provides services to remote locations and it wants to raise £18.8m when it joins AIM. In 2017, RA generated revenues of $53.3m and profit of $13.7m, up from $5m the previous year.
MAIN MARKET
Oil and gas explorer Upland Resources Ltd (UPL) has completed a placing raising £3m at 2.5p a share. The cash will help to fund the drilling of a well at Wick in the UK and finance potential ventures in Sarawak and North Africa.
Beauty and personal care products supplier InnovaDerma (IDP) continues to find trading tough and it will report a full year pre-tax profit that is £650,000 lower than expected. Revenues will increase from £8.9m to £11m. finnCap had forecast a 2017-18 pre-tax profit of £2.4m on revenues of £13.8m following the 2016-17 full year figures. Last October, InnovaDerma raised £4.4m at 276p a share and that has helped to shore up the balance sheet.
Stewart and Wright (STE) is offering to buy 21.5% of its share capital at 590p a share as part of the cancellation of its listing. That is a 7% discount to NAV. There has been one trade in the shares so far this year. The property investor has been hit by the downturn in the high street.
Pembridge Resources (PERE) is trying to raise $40m and prior to that there will be a ten-for-one share consolidation. The cash will finance the acquisition of Minto Explorations from Capstone Mining, which will cost $37.5m in cash plus shares that would give Capstone 9.9% of Pembridge. Minto is a copper producer in the Yukon. The deal could be completed by the end of July.
Tom Charlton has increased his stake in North Midland Construction (NMD) from 8.4% to 9.4%.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 21 May 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) grew 2017 revenues from the nursery, hotel and media operations. There was a 11% increase in raceday attendances, which totalled 196,000 last year, leading to a 1% like-for-like rise in revenues. Overall revenues were 5% higher at £17.8m, while underlying pre-tax profit edged up from £178,000 to £188,000. There was a small cash outflow from operations. Capital investment meant that cash was reduced from £12.9m to £5.2m with more payments to come from the David Wilson Homes deal. A further £5.17m will be spent on upgrading the Pall Mall stand. There are concerns that the cutting of maximum stakes for gaming machines following the recent government announcement could hit bookmaker sponsorship and media rights revenues.
Block Commodities Ltd (BLCC) has a secured a strategic investment from Swarm Fund, which is a decentralised marketplace platform using blockchain. Investors will be able to participate in the FarmCoin asset-backed investment coin via the Swarm platform. FarmCoin is a joint venture between FinComEco and Block Commodities focused on the agriculture sector. There will be up to $45m of FarmCoin tokens issued.
National Milk Records (NMR) is holding a general meeting on 4 June in order to propose a reduction in capital that should put it in a position to have distributable reserves if it wants to pay a dividend.
Pre-IPO investor Primorus Investments (PRIM) had cash of £561,000 at the end of 2017. The NAV was £4.95m. This was after a £3.26m inflow from share issues.
AIM
Watkin Jones (WJG) has found a new chief executive but he will not be able to start until the beginning of 2018. Richard Simpson is joining from student accommodation developer Unite Group. The build to rent operations of Watkin Jones has secured a development arrangement for a site in Reading, which will have 315 apartments.
GAN (GAN) and Webis (WEB) are two companies that could benefit from the legalisation of online sports betting in the US. The Supreme Court of the United States has decided to overturn the Federal prohibition of sports betting. US sports betting could be worth $6bn by 2023. That covers online and onsite gambling. GAN can launch a sports betting service in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the second half of this year – in time for the NFL season. GAN already has a deal with Betfair in New Jersey and adding sports betting will increase revenues. Webis has a US subsidiary called WatchandWager, which is based in California, a strong potential market for sports betting.
Genedrive (GDR) has agreed to sell its research and pharmacogenomics divisions to a director for up to £1.9m so that it can concentrate on its core Genedrive diagnostics platform. The initial payment is £1.15m with the rest deferred and subject to claims for R and D tax credits.
Lakehouse (LAKE) is acquiring heating and renewables services provider Just Energy Solutions, which fits with the company’s gas compliance businesses in the public sector and expands coverage in the industrial and commercial sectors. There is no upfront cost and payments will be dependent on profitability over two years. Lakehouse has also won a £55m, three year, Warm Homes contract with the Wales government.
Oil and gas demand is recovering at advanced coatings provider Hardide (HDD) but it is still well below previous levels. Other customers are enhancing growth and aerospace business is on the horizon. Interim revenues were 43% higher at £2.16m but the company is still loss-making. That will continue for a couple of years.
Angling Direct (ANG) increased revenues by 44% to £30.2m in the year to January 2018 and this led to an upgrade in forecast revenues for the current year. The fishing tackle retailer grew online sales by 54% but these tend to be lower margin. Pre-tax profit was £900,000 and it is expected to rise to £1.1m this year.
Online women’s fashion retailer Sosander (SOS) says that its full year revenues will be at least £1.34m. Like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter nearly quadrupled and gross margins are improving.
Portmeirion (PMP) has increased revenues by one-fifth in the first four months to 2018, although the second half of the year is always the more significant. Full year profit is still forecast to rise from £8.8m to £9.4m.
Churchill China (CHH) says that trading is ahead of the same period last year. The ceramic products manufacturer continues to have success in Europe and other export markets.
A new patent application has been filed for SkinBiotix by SkinBiotherapeutics (SBTX) and this covers the increasing of filaggrin levels in skin. Filaggrin is required for the formation of the outer layer of skin. Eczema sufferers have a low level of filaggrin.
The People’s Operator (TPOP) is increasing its UK subscribers but US numbers have declined so the performance was down in the first quarter of 2018. Churn is declining. Margins are better than expected. Even so, progress is too slow and an alternative strategy is required by the virtual mobile network business and it is considering divesting the US subscribers. That should cut cash burn by one-third.
A bathing water test by Molendotech, which is one of the investee companies of Frontier IP Group (FIPP), is being launched by Halma. This follows the agreement earlier this year.
Altona Energy (ANR) will begin a drilling programme on the Westfield tenement of the Arckaringa coal project during August. There could be 100mt of coal in the tenement. It will take three weeks to drill 15 holes to a depth of 120 metres.
Active Energy Group (AEG) intends to acquire a controlling interest in PowerWood Canada. Which owns forestry assets in Canada. This will secure feedstock for the roll-out of CoalSwitch, the biomass replacement for coal. There are plans to construct a 25 tonne per hour CoalSwitch plant in Alberta.
Servoca (SVCA) wants shareholders to agree to the cancellation of the AIM quotation. Management says that this will save £150,000 a year.
Volex (VLX) is buying Silcotec Europe for €18.1m and raising £36m at 75p a share. Silcotec supplies harnesses and electronic sub-assemblies to the medical, telecoms and computer industries and generated an operating profit of €3.1m.
Audioboom (BOOM) is not going ahead with the reverse takeover of Triton Digital Canada Inc because it could not raise the cash from a placing. A £700,000 break fee in cash (£90,000) and shares is payable. The audio business still requires more cash and that is why trading in the shares is still suspended.
MAIN MARKET
Sportech (SPO) has a strong presence in the US so it is in a good position to benefit from the legalisation of sports betting. It already has 90 licenced operator clients and its own network of off-track betting facilities in Connecticut.
The reasons behind founder Laurence Orbach increasing his stake in books publisher Quarto Group Inc (QRT) to 20.1% have become clear. Orbach was removed from the board in November 2012 but he has joined with 27% shareholder Lion Rock to unseat four non-executive directors at the AGM. Orbach and former finance director Mick Mousley have returned to the board, along with two nominees from Lion Rock. Orbach becomes executive chairman.
Shefa Yamim (SEFA) has completed bulk sampling in zone 1 and this should enable a resource estimate to be calculated.
Standard list shell Papillon Holdings (PPHP) has signed heads of terms for a 50% stake in CarCloud, a car sales-based fintech company. The deal to acquire energy storage systems developer Phestor is off. That follows the abortive takeover of Myclubbetting.
S&U (SUS) says non-prime car finance applications are 10% higher this year, although approval rates have fallen. Net receivables have increased by £48m to £258m.
North Midland Construction (NMD) has made a strong start to the year. There is a secured workload of £310m for this year and this should enable an improved financial performance this year.
World Trade Systems (WTS) wants to diversify its business outside of China. A new Taiwan-based health and fitness subsidiary is being incorporated. Kun Xin International will provide a loan facility of up to £3m to finance the new business. European opportunities are being sought.
Blood diseases treatments developer Hemogenyx Pharma (HEMO) has signed a development agreement with a global pharma company, which will provide Hemogenyx with free technical support and some intellectual property. The pharma company will be granted a research licence for anything jointly developed.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 2 April 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Sativa Investments (SAPI) joined NEX on 29 March after raising £1.1m at 1p a share. The share price has already reached 3.125p. Sativa has £1.5m in cash that it can invest in businesses involved in medicinal cannabis. The initial focus is Canada.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) reported a slight reduction in NAV to 41.5p a share at the end of February 2018. The portfolio includes 17 unquoted employee owned businesses with a value of £5.24m.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has entered into a three-year, $10m loan facility with a US private equity firm and this will be used to develop the Hellyer mine. The facility has a 12% annual interest charge and it is secured on the company’s assets. NQ has entered into a silver purchase deed with the finance provider and has to sell them 30% of the first 8 million ounces recovered from the Hellyer mine and 10% of the payable silver for the lifetime of mine. The price will be the lower of $6/ounce or 80% of market price.
Gunsynd (GUN) says that investee company Human Brands is acquiring a 10% stake in wine and spirits distributor Milestone Beverages HK Ltd, which can help to increase the distribution coverage of the investee company’s drinks brands. Gunsynd owns 6.18% of Brazil Tungsten Holdings, which has been forced to suspend operations after a fatal accident. The investment is currently valued at £500,000.
Welney (WENP) made a broadly similar interim loss of £37,000 and it has net liabilities of £234,000.
Block Commodities (BLOC) has reduced its interim loss from $1.19m to $782,000.
Angelfish Investments (ANGP) has reached agreement with 4Navitas, which will make a payment to cover the majority of costs incurred when Angelfish was trying to negotiate a joint venture agreement.
Etaireia Investments (ETIP) has raised £50,000 at 0.06p a share.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) has sold 50% of its stake in Pharmacy 2U, for double its cost, at the same time as the digital pharmacy services provider raised £40m of new cash.
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) has extended the closing date of the one-for-four open offer to raise up to £1.05m at 94p a share from 26 March to 30 April.
AIM
MySQUAR Ltd (MYSQ) slipped out its interim figures at 5.32pm after the market had closed for Easter. They show near-doubled cash outflow from operating activities of $2.22m. There was $68,000 in the bank at the end of 2017. Management is hopeful that the $218,000 of trade receivables at the end of December 2017 can be collected by June. Since then, MySQUAR has issued £2.11m of convertible bonds at 90% of their face value to Atlas Capital Markets Ltd. There are also more than 20 million warrants exercisable at 3.15p a share. There is talk of an acquisition of a mobile payment services business.
Conviviality (CVR) is calling in administrators after a rescue fundraising failed to win the backing of investors.
Publisher Axel Springer is investing £125m in Purplebricks (PURP) and this will give it 11.9% of the estate agency. The shares are being acquired at 360p each and £25m worth of existing shares are being acquired from management. Full year revenues will double but a weak UK market, exacerbated by the weather and potentially by negative publicity. There was £51.7m in the bank at the end of February 2018. The additional cash will enable a faster roll-out in the US and entry into other markets.
Royal Bank of Scotland has bid 120p a share for FreeAgent (FREE) and that values the accounting software provider at £53m. The founders will take shares and have a 23.5% stake in the bid vehicle. FreeAgent floated 18 months ago at 84p a share. At the beginning of 2017, FreeAgent signed a deal with RBS, which offers the company’s SaaS-based software to small business customers. More than 10,000 customers have taken up the software.
Polarean Imaging (POLX) joined AIM on 29 March and raised £3m at 15p a share. Polarean has developed xenon gas-based technology that enables MRI scans to produce better images. Amphion Innovations (AMP) retains a 23.2% stake.
Polemos (PLMO) has withdrawn its general meeting resolutions. The placing and 100-for-one share consolidation will not go ahead for the time being. There could be an open offer and placing at the previously proposed price of 0.01p a share.
Thor Mining (THR) is acquiring 40% of an exploration licence, which has 13 outcropping tungsten deposits and one copper deposit and 100% of a prospective copper exploration licence. Thor is issuing A$550,000 of shares to Rox Resources in payment for these purchases. The 60%-owner of the first licence has the right to match the price offered.
Tracsis (TRCS) increased its interim profit by one-third to £2.4m as revenues grew by 18% to £18.1m. The software division increased its profit and there was a recovery in the traffic and data services division. There is more improvement to come from the latter division. The interim dividend is 17% higher at 0.7p a share. There is £18.5m in the bank. There will be a second half contribution from the rail sector delay repay businesses acquired in February. Progress is being made in selling remote condition monitoring technology in North America.
Internet gaming software supplier GAN (GAN) reported a reduced loss of £4.2m for 2017. There was £2.7m in the bank at the end of 2017 and since then has raised £2m via an unsecured 9% convertible loan note. There could be further fundraisings in order to make the most of the prospects for real money internet gaming in the US.
Inland Homes (INL) increased its adjusted EPRA NAV by 6% to 97.63p a share. Interim pre-tax profit improved from £4.95m to £5.37m. The interim dividend was raised 30% to 0.65p a share. The landbank has been expanded to 7,372 plots.
Altona Energy (ANR) slightly increased its first half loss to £260,000 and there was £690,000 in the bank at the end of 2017. The current focus is conventional coal mining at the Arckaringa coal project in Australia. Altona is assessing less wet coal seams.
RM2 International (RM2) is raising £25.3m at 1p a share, just over 50% after a general meeting and the rest dependent on the reduction of operating costs and commercial launch of new technology, and converting preferred shares into 3.16 billion shares. There are also plans for an open offer to raise around £4.5m. The new cash will be used to retrofit existing pallets with ELIoT track and trace devices and produce new RM2 ELIoT pallets. Former chief executive John Walsh has stepped down from the board, as has Frederic de Mevius. Woodford appears likely to end up owning around two-thirds of RM2. The second tranche is dependent on Woodford agreeing that key performance indicators have been met. Three members of RM2’s management will acquire shares in the placing via a reduction in their salaries over an 18 month period.
STM Group (STM) reported better than expected 2017 and this led to an upgrade for 2018. Last year’s pre-tax profit improved from £2.6m to £4m, helped by an increased provision release from the acquired life book. The underlying pre-tax profit is expected to rise from £3.2m to £4.2m in 2018.
Caledonian Trust (CNN) reported a NAV of 185.7p a share at the end of 2017. This was helped an increase in the valuation of St Margaret’s House, which is in the process of being sold.
The SimplyBiz Group provides regulatory and support services to financial advisers and is set to join AIM on 4 April.
Sosandar (SOS) has gained momentum since floating last year. The online women’s fashion retailer continues to lose money but the customer database has increased nearly ten-fold to 36,328.
NetScientific (NSCI) is running out of money and it needs more by the end of June. A placing and subscription will raise up to £6m at 52.5p a share. The cash will be used to provide additional financial backing for investee companies.
Manx Financial Services (MFX) has acquired Blue Star Business Solutions, which is a broker for IT equipment funding, for an initial £1.5m in cash. This could increase to up to £4m depending on performance.
Connemara Mining (CON) is focusing on three main areas: the Inishowen gold project in Donegal, the Mine River gold project in Wicklow and Wexford and multiple zinc exploration projects. The next exploration is at the 100%-owned Mine River gold project where high grade intersections will be targeted.
Wynnstay Properties (WSP) has increased the value of its investment properties by £1.63m to £30.1m in the year to March 2018. The NAV has increased by 100p a share to more than 770p a share.
Real Good Food (RGD) has agreed a loan note facility of up to £4m with three major shareholders. Longer-term, a share issue will be required.
Vernalis (VER) lost £37.6m in 2017, mainly down to exceptional write-downs and unrealised foreign exchange movements. There was £46m in the bank. US commercial activity should finish by the end of September and that will slow the ongoing cash outflow.
Kestrel has increased its stake in Pebble Beach Systems Group (PEB) from 15.2% to 16.6%. The share price has been on a downward trajectory and borrowings are significant but Kestrel must believe that the software company will survive.
Life science software provider Instem (INS) coupled its 2017 figures with a contract announcement for its SEND software. Revenues were 18% ahead at £21.7m, and that included organic growth of 5%, while pre-tax profit recovered from £500,000 to £1.9m. A further improvement to £2.7m is expected this year.
Feedback (FDBK) has raised £440,000 at 1.25p a share and it will invest in sales and marketing for the TexRAD and Cadran technology, as well as developing a clinical evidence base for TexRAD.
Oracle Power (ORCP) has raised £550,000 at 1.4p a share to provide cash for the company as it moves to financial close for the development of the Thar Block VI lignite coal mine and power plant in the Sindh province in Pakistan.
GoTech Group (GOT) plans to sell its Sportsdata business to Starnevesse for £1. The company was a shell prior to the acquisition of the business in May 2016 and it effectively became a shell again when it stopped supporting the business at the end of 2017. There is £566,000 in the bank and there will be a £100,000 cash payment as part of the settlement of indebtedness to Starnevesse.
Microsaic Systems (MSYS) has signed an agreement with Unimicro Technologies Inc, which will integrate Microsaic’s 4500 MiD mass spectrometry detector into its Capillary Electrophoresis instruments.
Collagen Solutions (COS) is restructuring its New Zealand operations. The plan is to focus on tissue collection and processing and then consolidate collagen production in Glasgow. Annual cost savings should be £200,000 and one-off costs will be £150,000.
Chris Akers has increased its stake in YOLO Leisure (YOLO) from 6.8% to 7.93%.
MAIN MARKET
S&U Group (SUS) reported a one-fifth increase in pre-tax profit to £30.2m. The car finance provider achieved this despite a start-up loss from the bridging finance business Aspen. The total dividend for the year was increased from 91p a share to 105p a share. A rise in pre-tax profit to £35.8m is forecast for this year.
Book publisher Quarto Group Inc (QRT) slumped into loss in 2017, although the underlying pre-tax profit fell from $13.9m to $3.9m. Net debt was $64m. The year end is being changed to March.
Shefa Yamim (SEFA) had NIS6.49m in the bank at the end of 2017 following its flotation. Bulk sampling results for the Kishon Mid-Reach gemstones project have been positive and the processing plant has been upgraded.
Path Investments (PATH) has postponed its exit from the standard list until further notice. The plan is to move to AIM when the proposed oil and gas asset acquisition is made but the timing remains uncertain.
North Midland Construction (NMD) reported a fall in profit in 2017 even though revenues increased from £250.5m to £291.8m. Pre-tax profit more than halved from £2.06m to £1m. That is because the loss on legacy contracts increased from £3.85m to £7.29m. The final dividend is unchanged at 3p a share even though the total dividend is one-third higher at 6p a share.
NCC (NCC) has sold its web performance business for £7.5m. The sale process for the software testing business is continuing.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 15 January 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Wines maker Chapel Down Group (CDGP) says that its open offer at 50p a share was oversubscribed. Excess applications will be scaled back. The additional £1.47m raised takes the total to £20m. BlackRock holds a 5.79% stake and Nigel Wray owns 16.2%.
Startup Giants (SUG) has made its first investment since floating. An undisclosed investment has been made in Go Show Ltd, which operates a brand marketplace designed to enable product placement deals (www.goshow.net), and it will be released when milestones have been achieved. Go Show initially applied for funding in 2015 and it has been mentored by Startup Giants. There is a target for revenue generation of up to £1m within 12 months. An accelerator round has also been launched by Startup Giants. It is aimed at early stage, UK-registered companies.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) has increased its shareholding in Indorse from 3% to 6.5% at cost of S$175,000. There is an option to acquire a further 3.5%, at the same cost, to take the stake to 10%. Indorse completed a token sales last September and those tokens are currently valued at $34m. The Indorse platform is designed to enable users to generate income from sharing their skills and validating the claims of others.
African Potash Ltd (AFPO) has entered into an agreement with Gibraltar-based TokenCommunities Ltd. This deal will help the blockchain joint venture that has also already been announced with FinComEco Ltd, which is developing platforms for agricultural markets in sub-Saharan Africa. TokenCommunities will advise on the deployment of tokens. The chain will link smallholder farmers, traders, brokers, storage, transportation and commodity buyers. There are plans for microloans to farmers at an annual interest rate of 12%, which is lower than existing rates. African Potash has completed the raising of £400,000 at 0.025p a share.
Black Sea Property (BSP) has completed the €2.76m purchase of four plots of land with permission to develop a camping complex. It has also invested €3.37 to help finance the development of the site, which could be completed by the middle of the year. Black Sea Property raised €3.53m at €0.01 a share late last year.
Lake Acquisitions (U.P) says that the contingent value rights holders will not get a distribution for 2017. The cumulative relevant revenues from the eligible nuclear power output was £41.1m. The cumulative base revenues were £41.9m.
UK Oil and Gas Investments (UKOG) has decided to drop its NEX Exchange quotation on 31 January. That is just over 27 months after it joined. The company says that there have been low levels of trading on NEX and it still has its primary quotation on AIM. Interestingly, oil and gas company UK Oil and Gas was formed many years ago out of the shell of a former technology equipment business, yet it is still classed under the technology hardware and equipment sub-sector of the technology sector in the AIM statistics.
Nexus Infrastructure (NEXS) reported maiden full year results as a quoted company that were slightly better than expected. The housebuilding infrastructure provider reported a dip in pre-tax profit from £10.8m to £9.1m on flat revenues of £135m. The total dividend is 6.3p a share. A 2017-18 pre-tax profit of £10.8m is forecast.
Ilika (IKA) reported a significant cash outflow in the first half but the outflow should be reduced in the second half. Interim revenues trebled to £1m and full year revenues of £2.9m are forecast. The loss is reducing. There are licensing proposals with a handful of potential customers and any one of these could transform the fortunes of Ilika.
EKF Diagnostics (EKF) has confirmed that trading was strong in 2017 and EBITDA will be much better than the £8.8m forecast. EKF plans to spin-off its sTNFR biomarker technology into a separate company. This technology has no value in the balance sheet.
Hormonal disease treatments developer Diurnal Group (DNL) says that its Akindi treatment has performed well in a food matrix study in the US and it will be able to move onto the next stage in the process of gaining US approval. European approval for Akindi is expected in a matter of weeks. There was £14m in the bank at the end of 2017. The interims will be published on 12 March.
Lombard Risk Management (LRM) is recommending a 13p a share cash bid, which was nearly double the market price. The bid from rival financial services technology supplier is valued at £52.1m.
Somero Enterprises (SOM) has sparked another forecast upgrade with the 2017 pre-tax profit forecast rising 8% to $25.9m. Net cash should be at least $18.5m and that could rise by around $10m by the end of 2018. That leaves room for another special dividend as well as growth in the ongoing dividend. The tax changes in the US had already led to a one-fifth increase in the 2018 earnings per share forecast to 34.4 cents, which has been raised again to 36.8 cents.
Engineer Avingtrans (AVG) says that trading is on track and the integration of Hayward Tyler continues. A pre-tax profit of £2.2m is forecast for the year to May 2018 and this should generate nearly enough earnings to cover the forecast dividend of 3.6p a share.
Tough market conditions and adverse currency movements have not stopped motor dealer Marshall Motor Holdings (MMH) trading ahead of expectations. Forecasts had already been upgraded and the 2017 pre-tax profit estimate has been raised a further 2% to £28.8m. However, a decline in pre-tax profit to £23.5m is forecast for 2018.
Smart meter communications technology provider CyanConnode (CYAN) continues to progress but the timing of orders has been delayed. The order book is worth $100m but 2017 revenues were £1.2m and the loss more than £10m. This year’s revenues are forecast to be £10m and the loss £7m. There should be enough cash to last the whole of 2018.
Strategic Minerals (SML) generated fourth quarter revenues of $2.14m from magnetite ore sales at Cobre. The 2017 total revenues of $5.64m were quadruple the previous year. Strategic had $3.8m in the bank at the end of 2017.
Online Blockchain (OBC) has taken advantage of its rising share price to raise £1m at 100p a share.
Fashion retailer Footasylum (FOOT) increased revenues by one-third to £89.8m in the 18 weeks to 30 December 2017. The fastest growth came from e-commerce. The revenues for the 44 weeks to 30 December 2017 also improved by one-third to £173m. These are not like-for-like increases and six stores were opened in the past 18 weeks.
There was a small decline in the full year revenues of Shoe Zone (SHOE) from £159.8m to £157.8m. The shoes retailer did improve its gross margin from 62% to 63.2% but higher admin and distribution costs offset this and pre-tax profit fell from £10.3m to £9.5m. The total dividend was edged up from 10.1p a share to 10.2p a share. Net cash was £11.8m at the end of September 2017. The pension fund liability has fallen from £13.1m to £7.1m. Consumer demand and currency movements remain the main challenges.
BNN Technology (BNN) directors Harry Keiley and Lord Mancroft are following the nominated adviser out of the door. Mark Hanson becomes non-executive chairman.
Film completion contracts provider FFI Holdings (FFI) has acquired the motorsports entertainment insurance book of business from All Risks for $1.825m. The acquisition has been made by Reel Media, which itself was acquired before Christmas for $7.25m in total.
Background checking services provider ClearStar (CLSU) traded in line with expectations in 2017. Revenues were 11% higher at $17.8m and the loss was reduced. There was net cash of $1m. The loss should be further reduced in 2018.
Masawara (MASA) and Kimberly Enterprises (KBE) both plan to leave AIM. Two shareholders own 90% of Masawara. Minority shareholders are being offered 25p a share or the chance to convert the shares into preference shares. Eastern European property investor Kimberly has net liabilities of €24.1m and sold most of its property assets. The lease agreement for the Marina Dorcol project has been terminated.
Allergy Therapeutics (AGY) has completed the enrolment of its 560 plus patient phase III trial for a treatment for patients with allergic rhino conjunctivitis due to birch pollen. The results of the trial should be available before the end of this year. The potential market is worth around £3bn.
Two large clinical trial contracts have been delayed and this means that Cambridge Cognition (COG) 2017 revenues will be 18% lower than expected. This means that there will be a loss for the year.
Telematics equipment and services provider Quartix (QTX) pleased the market by growing its 2017 revenues by 5% to £24.4m. This means that earnings per share forecasts have been raised from 11.8p to 12.3p.
Geospatial software company 1Spatial (SPA) has won a five-year contract from the state of Michigan in the US worth $766,000. Liontrust has sold all its 9.35% stake.
Xeros Technology Group (XSG) has launched its domestic washing machine that can cut the use of water, detergent and energy by up to 50%. A second development agreement has been signed with a commercial washing machines manufacturer.
Oracle Power (ORCP) is acquiring the minority stake in coal mining lease owner Sindh Carbon Energy for up to £3.6m in shares.
APC Technology Group (APC) has acquired electronic components distributor First Byte Micro for £1.2m. In 2016, First Byte made a pre-tax profit of £194,000 on revenues of £1.3m.
Reconstruction Capital II (RC2) has acquired stakes in two funds that own 60% of Romanian paints and coatings supplier Policolor. This will mean that Reconstruction Capital II has an effective stake of 55.36% in Policolor and make it easier to liquidate the investment.
BOS Global (BOS) wants to raise £1.2m at 1.25p a share to settle debts and provide working capital. The software company says the directors will not be paid until April and one of them, William Giles, will subscribe up to £300,000 in the placing and open offer.
Connemara Mining (CON) has announced drilling results from the Mine River gold project in Wicklow and Wexford. Most of the intersections contained gold at grades of less than 1g/t but two were more positive with 4.53g/t over eight metres and 16.1g/t over two metres.
Versarien (VRS) is collaborating with an Asia-based global textiles manufacturer on incorporating graphene into fabrics via yarns and finishes.
MAIN MARKET
E-commerce-focused cash shell AIQ Ltd (AIQ) soared as trading commenced on the standard list and trading in the shares had to be suspended after three days. There appear to have been nearly 1.4 million shares traded over three days, which is 2.8% of the shares in issue. Cayman Islands-based AIQ, raised £3.6m after expenses, at 8p a share. The suspension price is 125p. That means that the quotation and £3.6m in cash are valued at £62.5m. The plan is to seek an e-commerce acquisition, which has a strong management and is near to cash generation.
Bio-decontamination products supplier Bioquell (BQE) has completed the £122,000 disposal of the UK AirFlow parts and manufacturing business and received the final £70,000 for the sale of the service business. There was already net cash of £14.5m at the end of 2017. Full year revenues were better than expected at £29.3m, up from £26.8m and pre-exceptional profit will be much better, even before the £250,000 gain on the Airflow disposals. The 2017 figures will be published on 7 March.
Software supplier Gresham Technologies (GHT) says 2017 revenues were 24% ahead to £21.3m and more of these revenues are coming from Clareti enterprise data integrity software. There is £8.5m in the bank. Kestrel has trimmed its stake from 14.9% to 12.5%.
BATM Advanced Communications (BVC) has won a cyber communication technology contract with a government worth $4m over 12 months. Delivery will start in the second quarter of 2018.
Thomas Charlton has further increased his stake in North Midland Construction (NMD) from 7.24% to 8.2%. This appears to have sparked a recovery in the share price.
Avocet Mining (AVM) has deferred the completion the sale of its Burkina Faso assets for $5m. The buyer, the Balaji group of companies, wants more time to settle a claim from International Royalty Corporation, a creditor of the holding company of the assets. Avocet has received a deposit of $500,000.
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (BMV) has announced the results of preliminary grab samples from the Gubong gold mine. The majority of samples had gold grades of more than 1g/t and silver grades of 10g/t or more.
Zenith Energy Ltd (ZEN) has entered an exclusivity agreement for the acquisition of production and exploration licences in a Central Asian country. Azerbaijan-focused Zenith would be acquiring assets in a proven petroleum system and they produce 250 barrels of oil per day.
Rainbow Rare Earths (RBW) has started drilling at the Gakara project in Burundi. Gakara has an estimated in situ-grade of 47%-67% total rare earth oxide. The drilling is focused on the production area at Gasagwe and anomalies that have been identified. The first results will be in April. A second phase of drilling is planned later in the year and this could produce a JORC-compliant resource before the end of 2018. Production is building up and the run rate target for the end of 2018 is 5,000tpa. In December, Rainbow raised £2.8m at 14p a share in an oversubscribed placing. The cash will be used to acquire capital equipment.
Quoted Micro 14 August 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
Brewer Adnams (ADB) continues to grow its beer volumes and Ghost Ship is behind much of that growth. Interim revenues improved from £31.2m to £33.2m, while there was a swing from a pre-tax profit of £1.86m to a £284,000 loss. There is a one-off cost of £721,000 mainly due to a write down in the value of the Swan Hotel and the costs of removing asbestos and a reduction in the disposal profit from £1.42m to £526,000. Even so, there was a still a sharp drop in underlying profit. The closure of the Swan Hotel knocked £550,000 off profit even before the one-off charges. Beer and spirit sales improved even though the Lagunitas beer distribution rights were sold one year ago. The B share dividend has been increased by 2p a share to 78p a share and the A share dividend has been improved by 0.5p a share to 19.5p a share. The capital investment programme is near to completion and bank debt has risen to £14.4m.
Secured Property Developments (SPD) is still finding it difficult to suitable investment. There was a £12,000 loss in the six months to June 2017. There is £310,000 in the bank and debtors of £415,000. Mark Jackson has increased his stake from 7.6% to 8.6%.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised A$1m at 10 cents a share and A$49,000 at 12 cents a share. NQ has also appointed Adrian Lungan to the board as a non-executive director. He effectively owns 11% of NQ.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) has an option to acquire 7% of Singapore-based Indorse for SG$350,000. The option lasts for three months and Coinsilium has already invested SG$100,000 (£56,000) via a convertible loan. Along with the convertible, the stake could be 10%. Indorse plans to develop a blockchain-based decentralised network for professionals and it has raised $5.37m from a token pre-sale, which continues until 7 September. Coinsilium received Indorse tokens as part of the convertible investment.
AIM
Share (SHRE) had a strong first half in 2017 and Cenkos has upgraded its forecast on the back of the interims. Revenues generated by the owner of The Share Centre retail stockbroker, increased from £7.2m to £8.9m even though interest revenues continue to decline. Underlying pre-tax profit jumped from £110,000 to £310,000. The investment in digital, such as the upgraded website and app, are starting to pay off but there should be much more to come. Assets under management were one-quarter higher at £4.3bn. The 2017 earnings per share forecast has been raised by 94% to 0.3p and the 2018 forecast by 36% to 0.4p.
Conroy Gold & Natural Resources (CGNR) is being asked to hold another general meeting by Patrick O’Sullivan, who owns 28% of Conroy. O’Sullivan successfully removed six directors at the general meeting last week. However, Conroy says that the proposed appointments of Patrick O’Sullivan, Paul Johnson and Gervaise Heddle did not comply with the company’s constitution. The plan is to remove the three directors not affected by the original requisition: Professor Richard Conroy, Maureen Jones and Professor Garth Earls.
There have been more departures from Real Good Food (RGD) and this includes executive chairman Peter Totte. Finance director David Newman has also stepped down and he is replaced by Harveen Rai. Hugh Cawley becomes a non-executive director and Pat Ridgwell is interim chairman. Christopher Thomas moves from non-executive to executive director.
Fiserv has edged up its bid for Monitise (MONI) from 2.9p a share to 3.1p a share, which values the mobile technology company at £75m. Gross cash was £22.2m at the end of June 2017.
Fox Marble Holdings (FOX) has signed a three year agreement with US distributor Pristine Stone NYC, which will act as marketing sales and distribution agent in the US. As part of the deal Fox Marble gets a 5% stake in Pristine, which itself will receive 750,000 warrants in Fox Marble exercisable at 2p a share although that depends on achieving minimum volumes of $1.5m over three years.
Prospex Oil & Gas (PXOG) is acquiring a 50% economic interest in the EIV-1 Suceava concession in north east Romania for €750,000 plus the promise to finance €550,000 of this year’s work programme. The operator Raffles Energy owns the other 50%. The area includes an undeveloped discovery but the investment does not include the two producing fields in the area.
LiDCO (LID) has signed its first high use contract in the US. The patient monitoring devices developer has signed a two year contract with a potential two year extension. This order covers 44 monitors. However, disappointing sales in Europe and China, where a registration process has been messed up, have led to a forecast downgrade for this year. Interim revenues are 4% ahead at £3.94m but the full year revenues forecast has been cut from £9.5m to £8.6m, still higher than the £8.2m made last year. This means that the loss will be higher than originally forecast and LiDCO is not expected to move into profit next year.
Altona Energy (ANR) has agreed with its joint venture partners that there should be a different strategy for the coal asset at the Arckaringa site in Australia. The new strategy involves producing coal to create gas to generate electricity. Other by-products will be methanol and ethanol. A specialist adviser has been appointed to report on the best way of progressing with the strategy.
MAIN MARKET
North Midland Construction (NMD) reported a more than doubled interim profit. In the six months to June 2017, revenues increased from £129.6m to £135.1m and pre-tax profit jumped from £512,000 to £1.22m. The main reason behind the improvement was a swing into profit by the telecommunications division. There were lower contributions from construction, because of project delays, and water divisions. The power division fell into loss. One customer still accounts for two-fifths of group revenues. The interim dividend was doubled to 3p a share. The FCA has concluded that it will not take any further action on a breach of the related party rules by the Moyle family as controlling shareholders.
Rainbow Rare Earths (RBW) says that the laboratory assessment of material from the main vein at Gasagwe, which is part of the Gakara project in Burundi, showed an average total rare earth oxide grade of 62.17%. Rainbow hopes to start production at Gasagwe by the end of 2017 and it should produce ore for two years. Rare earths prices have strengthened so the ore is becoming more valuable.
Andrew Hore