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Quoted Micro 19 January 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Bitcoin investor and wed development company The Smarter Web Company (SWC) has published its prospectus for the move to the Main Market. A general meeting will be held on 28 January to gain shareholder approval. The listing is expected to cost £1.5m. Management wants to use the listing to fund acquisitions and further purchases of Bitcoin. The share price recovered 42.5% to 57p. The April 2025 reversal into an Aquis shell was done at 2.5p.
Ajax Resources (AJAX) says drilling has commenced at the Eureka gold and copper project in Argentina. Initial results will be at the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Vault Ventures (VULT) has entered into post-quantum security infrastructure. The initial focus is post-quantum encryption at the application layer.
Falconedge (EDGE) has achieved incremental Bitcoin growth of 0.23526 of a Bitcoin during December, taking the holding to 19.509853 Bitcoin.
WeCap (WCAP) has fallen 16% to 1.575p on the back of a further decline in the WeShop share price to $67.17. The stake is still probably worth nearly 10p/share.
Lift Global Ventures (LFT) has withdrawn resolutions 7 and 9 from its AGM. Revised authorities to allot shares and disapply pre-emption rights will be voted on at a general meeting. This is on top of the requisitioned general meeting to remove David Richards, Mark Horrocks and Sandy Barblett from the board and appoint Howard White and Nicholas Monson.
Zentra (ZNT) has formed a property management joint venture with Connor Moylan. Zentra will own 51% and continue with its own lettings and property management business. This deal will avoid adding fixed overhead to the group.
Sulnox Group (SNOX) has gained a patent for emulsification for Heavy Sulphur Fuel Oils (HSFO) and Sulnox Eco™ Fuel Conditioners in Vietnam.
Eight Capital Partners (ECP) has secured an agreement with Altarius Asset Management to establish and investment fund and two sub-funds investing in private debt and private equity. They should be established in the first quarter of 2026.
Ethtry (ETHY) has secured a partnership with the Liechtenstein Trust Integrity Network.
B HODL (HODL) has bought one more Bitcoin taking the holding to 159.295 Bitcoin costing an average of $83,103 each.
EPE Special Opportunities (EO.P) had net assets of 304.54p/share at the end of December 2025.
BWA Group (BWAP) says St. Georges Eco-Mining Corp has disposed of its shareholding. Three directors bought shares and David Butler took a 3.52% stake.
JP JENKINS
The JP Jenkins-15 index rose 5.4% to 1209.1 by the end of trading on 9 January. This is a 21% increase over the first year. THG Ingenuity has been a strong performer. OPG Power Ventures has replaced e-therapeutics in the index.
ASSET MATCH
Regenerative medical devices developer Tissue Regenix (TRX) has undertaken a review of executive directors’ activities and uncovered potentially serious corporate governance concerns. Sufficient funding has been secured for the company to support commercial operations and further investigation.
AIM
Pizza restaurants operator DP Poland (LON: DPP) gained momentum in the fourth quarter of 2025 and this has continued into this year. System sales were 14% higher on a constant currency basis and 22% on a reporting currency basis. Full year system sales were 8% higher at £16.4m on a constant currency basis. The growth rates in Poland and Croatia were similar. Group EBITDA rose from £4.8m to £6.3m. Cash was £1.6m at the end of 2025. Consolidation of commissary and dough production in a single facility should be completed in the first half. There are 135 Domino’s and 75 Pizzeria 105 locations. Panmure Liberum forecasts a reduced pre-tax loss of £300,000 in 2026, down from £500,000 in 2025.
Caledonia Mining Corporation (CMCL) has increased the offering of 5.875% convertible senior notes due 2033 from $100m to $125m. The initial purchasers have an option to purchase a further $25m for 13 days after the issue of the notes. The offer should close on 20 January. Net proceeds will be around $120m, or $144m if the option is fully taken up. There will be $12m spent on the cost of capped call transactions. The rest will fund development of the Bilboes gold project in Zimbabwe.
Retailer Shoe Zone (SHOE) reported 2024-25 results in line with the October trading statement, but Zeus has reduced its expectations for this year. Full year revenues fell 8% to £149.1m due to store closures and reduced footfall. Online sales did increase. Higher wage costs meant that pre-tax profit dropped from £10m to £2.4m. This year’s pre-tax profit forecast has been cut from £4.5m to £1m on a further fall in revenues for £145.8m.
Semiconductor wafer products supplier IQE (IQE) gained positive momentum in the second half of 2025 due to defence business. There was also strong photonics demand and higher sales of wireless products. Revenues will be full year revenues of around £97m and EBITDA at least £2m due to operational gearing. HSBC has provided a waiver for the EBITDA covenant test. Cash was £15.6m at the end of 2025. There is a strong order book. The board is negotiating with potential buyers of all or part of the business.
Online fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) increased third quarter revenues 10% higher at £13.4m and gross margin improved. Sales from the company’s own site were 27% ahead, but the Marks & Spencer business is still being affected by the cyber incident. Net cash is £9.7m. Trading is in line with expectations of a full year pre-tax profit of £400,000.
Western Australia focused explorer Artemis Resources (ARV) plans to cancel its AIM quotation and concentrate of the ASX listing. Liquidity has been limited. There is an opportunity for each Depositary Interest holder can become a registered shareholder on the Australian share register. This is expected to happen on 13 February, which is three years after joining AIM. The introduction price was 3.75p and the share price has fallen by more than 90%.
Cyber security company Corero Network Security (CNS) says 2025 EBITDA was ahead of expectations. Revenues rose 4% to $25.5m instead of the anticipated dip and this meant that there was not a loss and instead it was positive EBITDA of $1m. Annualised recurring revenues are 23% higher at $23.9m. Net cash was $4m at the end of 2025. Zeus has maintained its 2026 EBITDA forecast of $1.4m and pre-tax loss of £1.3m. This will be reviewed when the full year figures are announced in March.
Distribution Finance (DFCH) has grown its loan book to £846m at the end of 2025, ahead of guidance, and it is targeting a figure of £1.5bn by 2030. New loan origination was more than £1.8bn in 2025. Full year underlying pre-tax profit will be at least £17.5m, up from £14.4m. Tangible net assets are at least 75p/share. The
Tern (TERN) has been notified by the general partner of SVV2 that Tern has ceased to be a limited partner in the SVV2 partnership because it has been classed as a defaulting investor. Tern’s interest has been transferred to other partners, and it is unlikely to receive any compensation. The general partner is also seeking default interest and costs of £40,000 and indemnity from consequence of default of £184,000. Tern is taking legal advice.
Virtual product advertising Miriad Advertising (MIRI) says 2025 revenues fell from £1m to £400,000. It expects a much stronger performance in 2026 with positive signs for February and March. There are joint venture discussions for emerging markets. Cash was £1.2m at the end of £1.2m and the monthly cost base is £220,000.
Eqtec (EQT) is broadening its strategy to gain exposure of critical and precious metals, while continuing with the core waste to energy technology business. They are viewed to be complementary segments of the energy transition sector. Lenders are supporting the move.
After trading problems for capital equipment supplier Mpac (MPAC) earlier in the year, the 2025 outcome is set to be in line with expectations. Helped by previous acquisitions’ full contributions, revenues grew from £122.4m to £170m, while pre-tax profit should be £13.5m. The order book is worth £92m and covers 50% of 2026 forecast revenues. Some orders were delayed.
Toys and games supplier Character Group (LON: CCT) says like-for-like sales in the fourth months to December 2025 were 11% lower, but sales should improve in the second half. Full year revenues are likely to be flat, but pre-tax profit could more than double. The £2.96m share buyback is complete.
Wellnex Health Ltd (WNX) improved gross margin from 22.8% to 31.3% in the first half. Breakeven was achieved in the second quarter. The core Pain Away product generated revenues of A$3.3m in the second quarter.
Anglo Asian Mining (AAZ) produced 7,915 tonnes of copper, 25,061 ounces of gold and 153,332 ounces of silver in 2025. Copper production was at a record level in the fourth quarter. The first sales of copper concentrate were made from the Demirli mine. Gedabek and Demirli mines both increased copper production, although copper production was slightly below guidance. There is inventory of 2,457 tonnes of copper valued at $12,504/tonne.
Public Policy Holding Company In (PPHC) has filed an amended Form S-1 with the US SFA for the proposed listing on Nasdaq. It will retain the AIM quotation after the listing.
Mkango Resources (MKA) has completed concept studies for expanding South Carolina and Nevada hubs, which will treble production of magnets and alloys to 4,656 metric tons. The expanded hubs could have a post-tax NPV of more than $2bn. This will help the proposed reversal into the US listed shell. The rare earth recycling and sintered magnet manufacturing plant in Birmingham has been officially opened.
Cancer diagnostics developer CelLBxHealth (CLBX) expects 2025 revenues to be £1.4m, which is lower than the forecast of £1.6m due to deferral of contracts. After the recent fundraising, year-end cash was £7.3m. The 2026 forecast is maintained with revenues of £3.6m and a £5.7m loss after annualised cost savings of £5.9m.
Shuka Minerals (SKA) has received the £815,000 payment from Gathoni Muchai Investments. A placing raised a further £1m at 4p/share. This funded the completion of the acquisition of Leopard Exploration and Mining and the Kabwe zinc mine. There are 5.723Mt of resources at Kabwe (including 700,000 tonnes of zinc and 100,000 tonnes of lead), with a value in excess of $2bn. The NPV10 is $561m.
MAIN MARKET
North East England-based investment company Develop North (DVNO) has published a prospectus to raise £58m to help its move towards its target of reaching £300m in assets. There is a subscription and retail offer at 81.6p/share.
Online travel hostel agency Hostelworld (HSW) increased revenues by 7% in the second half and marketing costs as a percentage of revenues declined to 45%. Social Passes were launched last November, which will help to generate income from social media. In 2025, net revenues were 2% ahead at €93.8m, while EBITDA was €19.9m, which is lower than the previous year. Net cash was €10.6m at the end of 2025.
Cadmium-free quantum dots developer Nanoco (NANO) has received $4.5m from LG Electronics with $500,000 withheld due to tax liabilities. Nanoco is seeking damages for IP infringement from rival Shoei. The case could go to trial in 2026.
Panther Metals (PALM) has signed a three-year purchase option over three mine claims in the Obonga project area in Ontario. There is a C$200,000 cash payment and 1.5% net smelter royalty.
Ecora Resources has changed its name to Ecora Royalties (ECOR) and has translated the interim dividend at 0.4471p/share.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 1 December 2025
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Valereum (VLRM) has entered into an agreement to raise $200m of royalty and streaming capital from new special purpose segregated portfolio company, Valereum QGP-SP, which is being formed to list on a US National Exchange. There will be a one year option over a stake of 49.9% in Valereum in return for the royalty and streaming income. This will help to accelerate development of the crypto and blockchain platforms and finance acquisitions.
Digital asset company Vaultz Capital (V3TC) holds 135 Bitcoin. Two resolutions related to a share capital reorganisation and a reduction in nominal value were withdrawn from the AGM following shareholder feedback.
Ajax Resources (AJAX) had cash of £1.37m at the end of August 2025. It is in the process of acquiring the Paguanta silver lead zinc project in Chile. Drilling should commence soon at the Eureka project. The cash will finance this and a JORC compliant mineral resource estimate.
AI software company IntelliAM AI (INT) has won contracts in the building products sector. They cover 15 sites and should generate £250,000 in this financial year. Annual recurring revenues were £1.18m at the end of September 2025, Cash was £786,000 and a further £250,000 has subsequently been raised at110p/share. A WRAP retail offer could raise up to £150,000 more. This will fund the delivery of the co-development partnership with a global engineering manufacturer.
WeShop (NASDAQ: WSHP) shares ended the week at $145.21. WeCap (WCAP) has an interest valued at around 28p/share. The share price increased 8.33% to 2.6p. Res Privata NV has cut its WeCap stake from 13.6% to less than 3%. Hot Rocks Investments (HRIP) owns a stake worth $21.8m and the share price rose 3.7% to 1.4p, which values the investment company at £3.4m.
Mendell Helium (MDH) has extended the broker option of up to 10 million shares until 3 December. A further £12,000 has been raised via subscription at 3p/share.
Cannabis medicines developer Ananda Developments (ANA) is calling a general meeting on 12 December to gain shareholder approval to leave Aquis. This will save money and may make it easier to raise cash. Initial data from a phase 1 human study for MRX1 has shown a positive safety profile. The final study should be complete in the second quarter of 2026.
Trading in Amazing AI (AAI) shares was suspended following the resignation of Guild Financial Advisory as corporate adviser. The company has hired Rosenblatt Law to pursue a legal action against Tom Winnifrith and Share Prophets Ltd. Chief executive Paul Mathieson is also pursuing legal action, although his social media comments will not help him.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) is consolidating 100 shares into one new share and trading will commence on 1 December. The pre-consolidation share price was 19.4% lower at 0.725p.
Café chain Cooks Coffee Company (COOK) increased interim revenues by 111% to NZ$5.77m, helped by managed stores in Ireland via the partnership with Dairygold. Pre-tax profit fell from NZ$530,000 to NZ$68,000. Overall store sales were 26.9% ahead at NZ$45.5m. There are currently 100 stores, most of which are franchised, with a target of 300 by 2034. Net debt is NZ$1.73m.
Sulnox Group (SNOX) has secured a major distribution agreement for its reduced emissions additives in the marine sector through Drew Marine USA, which operates in 1,200 ports around the world.
Marula Mining (MARU) is acquiring an initial 50% stake in the Tonto Tshipi manganese mine in South Africa for five million shares. It can increase its interest to up to 70%. Open pit mining should start in mid-December. On completion of due diligence, a further payment of £250,000 and Marula Mining will fund 100% of exploration with a minimum spend of £1m over 12 months. Once a bankable feasibility study is completed there will be a further payment of £5m and an option fee of £100,000 would take the interest to 70%.
In the year to May 2025, Equipmake (EQIP) revenues fell from £7.3m to £3.5m, while the loss increased from £9.1m to £10.9m. The company has been restructured and there is a focus on better margin business. Costs are much lower. There was cash of £3.9m at the end of May 2025. In recent months there have been significant contract wins.
Oscillate (SRVL) says drilling results confirm copper mineralisation for the Koko Basin project in Namibia. It is also targeting sites that are highly prospective. Multiple soil samples at the Duekoue molybdenum copper project in Cote d’Ivoire show moderately anomalous concentrations of gold. Richard and Charlotte Edwards have reduced their shareholding from 5.21% to 4.03%.
Africa-focused social impact investment company Inqo Investments (INQO) had net assets of R211.5m, including cash of R33.4m, at the end of August 2025.
NYCE International (NYCE) has appointed Oberon Capital as corporate adviser and broker. Game aggregator and content innovation arm Nirmata Play was launched in October, while online gaming media agency ClickSpin Media was launched in June. They are generating revenues.
SuperSeed Capital (WWW) had an unchanged NAV of 121p/share at the end of September 2025. The managed fund SuperSeed II is expected to make two more investments by the end of 2025.
BWA Group (BWAP) is starting due diligence ground truthing at the Aracari gold project in Cameroon.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) is consolidating 100 shares into one new share and trading will commence on 1 December. The pre-consolidation share price is 0.725p.
Fenikso (FNK) has received $535,650 as partial repayment of a loan and there is still $34.6m outstanding.
Chairman Richard Oldfield bought 25,000 Shepherd Neame (SHEP) shares at 467.6p each.
JP JENKINS
Rocksteady Coffee Company (ROCK) joined JP Jenkins on 18 November. It was founded in 2012 and produces organic Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee.
ASSET MATCH
Isle of Scilly Steamship (IOS) interim revenues improved from £16.8m to £18.1m, while pre-tax profit rose from £6.72m to £7.44m. There was cash of £8.01m at the end of September 2025. Passenger bookings are 0.7% ahead of the same time last year. The Skybus airline has been awarded the Newquay to London route. New passenger and freight vessels will be delivered next year. Management targets EBITDA of £8m by 2030.
Marshall of Cambridge (MCH) has completed the sale of Marshall Land Systems.
AIM
essensys (ESYS) founder and non-executive director Mark Furness, who stepped down as chief executive in May, has submitted an indicative offer of 20p/share for the developer of Software-as-a-Service and cloud services for the flexible workspace sector. Mark Furness owns 30.4% and this offer would value essensys at £13m. A trading statement revealed revenues of £4.1m in the quarter to October 2025, but a contract worth £900,000 each year is set to end in December. There will be cost savings, but 2025-26 results will be lower than expected. A debt facility is being negotiated. The figures for the year to July 2025 have not been published, but a previous trading statement indicated a fall in revenues from £24.1m to £19.2m with cash of £1.8m. essensys joined AIM on 29 May 2019 when it raised £14m at 151p/share.
Online retailer Boohoo (DEBS) is starting to improve its performance, but there is a long way to go. In the six months to August 2025, revenues fell from £385.4m to £296.9m, but there was a swing from an adjusted loss of £9.2m to an operating profit of £1.8m. There was still a pre-tax loss. Cost savings have been made and a full year pre-tax loss of £11.5m is forecast. Net debt should start to decline. There is a new incentive scheme for executives. Chief executive Dan Finley could be paid £148.1m if the share price reaches 300p within five years. Goldman Sachs has raised its share price target for the online retailer from 16p to 17p, but still says sell, while Barclays has cut its target from 13p to 11p and remains underweight.
European Metals Holdings (EMH) joint venture Geomet has secured a €360m grant for the Cinovec lithium and tin project in the Czech Republic. This is Europe’s most advanced lithium project. EMH owns 49% of Geomet, which is expected to publish a definitive feasibility study soon. Zeus has modelled a 25-year mine life and an NPV10 of $1.04bn. Zeus has a fair value share price of 75p.
Savannah Resources (SAV) is progressing towards a final investment decision on the Barroso lithium project in Portugal. Lithium demand is increasing and the spodumene price has risen 80% since the end of June and is currently around $1,100/t. Discussions continue with potential customers. Savannah Resources is also acquiring a nearby mining lease. There is potential for a German government guarantee on a project finance loan of up to $270m. After the recent fundraising at 3.7p/share the company has £21m in cash.
Battery technology developer Gelion (GELN) has made strong progress over the past year and recently strengthened its balance sheet through a £10.5m fundraising that should give it enough cash for two years. In the year to June 2025, revenues increased 36% to £2.7m, with one-third coming from the first commercial sales. That helped the operating loss fall by one-quarter to £6m. Gelion is making strong progress with partners, including TDK Corporation, with whom it expects to produce a commercial pouch cells prototype within the next 12 months. The Li-S technology is achieving strong results in relation to battery life and power performance.
Egg-free celebration cakes supplier Cake Box (CBOX) reported a dip in profit in the first half, but this should be more than made up for by a much stronger second half. Like-for-like sales have grown strongly despite the tough consumer environment and group sales were £28.8m with the Cake Box contribution 19% ahead including new store openings. Pre-tax profit fell 4% to £2.6m.
Professional services firm DSW Capital (DSW) has decided to raise the interim dividend by one-fifth to 1.2p/share. Interim network revenues were 32% higher to £10.3m. Company revenues increased from £1.09m to £2.79m, which includes more recent acquisitions. Pre-tax profit grew from £101,000 to £237,000. Less than one-third of revenues are from the volatile M&A sector, which used to dominate the business.
Lung imaging technology developer Polarean Imaging (POLX) has signed a distributor agreement with DK Healthcare in South Korea. It has also won an order from the National Taiwan University Hospital for a Xenon MRI research system through its partner Philips. Polarean Imaging is asking for shareholder approval to leave AIM at a general meeting on 15 December. It plans to join matched bargain market JP Jenkins.
Team (TEAM) has launched a recommended bid for WH Ireland (WHI). It is offering 0.195 of a share for each WH Ireland share and the WH Ireland shareholders will own 43.5% of the enlarged group, which will be valued at around £30m.
ACG Metals is considering making an offer for gold and copper producer Anglo Asian Mining (AAZ), which has a resource base of more than 400,000 ounces of gold and one million tonnes of copper. The Xarxar and Garadag projects are still to be brought into production.
Tanfield Group (TAN) says the US courts have granted a motion for partial summary judgement in the dispute over Snorkel International, where Tanfield has a 49% stake that is the subject of a call option by the other shareholder. This summary judgement says that the 49% stake cannot be acquired for nil as the partner wanted to. A valuation plus interest will be calculated. The trial will begin in October.
Security technology supplier Thruvision (THRU) grew interim revenues 36% to £2.6m, even though retail revenues were lower. Cash was £2.1m at the end of September 2025. The second half will be tougher than expected and Allenby has reduced its full year revenues forecast from £8m to £5m, while the loss is raised from £2.21m to £3.55m. There will still be cash by the end of March 2026. Herald has sold its 8.89% stake and Dr Graham Cooley has raised his shareholding from 6.8% to 7.02
Premier African Minerals (PREM) has raised £500,000 at 0.0575p/share. This will be invested in the processing plant for the Zulu lithium and tantalum project.
CelLBxHealth (CLBX) raised £6.8m at 1p/share and could raise up to £1m more from a retail offer closing on 1 December. A capital reorganisation will reduce the nominal value of the shares so that they can be issued at this price. There will be £1.9m spent on R&D, £1m for sales and market and £1.2m for reorganisation and IT systems. The cancer diagnostics company will progress partnerships and reduce annual operating costs by more than £5.9m. Ther will also be development of additional assays for the Parsortix platform.
Telematics supplier Microlise Group (SAAS) says lower OEM volumes due to tariffs and the weak economy. There have also been delays in projects. There are plans to cut annualised costs by £4m. That is too late for 2025 when forecast revenues have been cut from £91.3m to £84m, while earnings have been slashed from 5.5p/share to 3.1p/share. The 2026 earnings forecast has been cut to 4.9p/share. Customer churn remains low.
Womenswear retailer Sosandar (SOS) is gaining momentum this year. Interim revenues were 15% higher at £18.7m, while sales were 28% ahead on the company’s website. Sales to Marks & Spencer were hit by that retailer’s cyber incident, but they have started again. The six stores are loss-making, but the first two are moving towards breakeven. The interim loss increased from £700,000 to £1.1m, but a full year pre-tax profit is anticipated. Net cash was £7.7m at the end of September.
Trellus Health (TRLS), which has developed digital technology to manage chronic conditions, has secured a $600,000 loan from 25% shareholder Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. There is no interest charge for nine months and then the annual rate is 8%. The loan is convertible into shares, but the stake cannot go above 29.9%. This will provide enough cash until late January when more cash will be required.
Kropz (KRPZ) produced 87,496 tonnes of phosphate concentrate n the third quarter and sales were 28% higher at 72,408 tonnes. September was a record production month, and the mine is still in its trial production phase.
Oil and gas producer Prospex Energy (PXEN) has generated revenues of £4.2m so far this year, despite the downtime at Viura and El Romeral and lower gas prices. Viura is back in production in the fourth quarter. This will enable much larger revenues in the period and generate cash for investment.
MAIN MARKET
Digital assets investor KR1 (KR1) has moved from Aquis to the Main Market on 25 November. Trading ended on Aquis at 25.5p and the share price rose to 27p at the end of the week. KR1 has a portfolio of digital assets. The update for the end of October 2025 showed net assets of 41.5p/share. Income of £305,543 was generated during the month.
New Frontier Minerals (NFM) is raising $2.25m via a placing at $0.021/share. Every two shares come with an option exercisable at $0.04 each. The cash will be used to advance the Harts Range project. The focus is to target heavy rare earth elements for US magnet and defence clients. Using Metallium’s Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology on Harts Range raw ore delivered exceptional beneficiation results. There will be further drilling results released over the next few weeks. There will also be some cash used for the mining lease application at the NW Queensland copper project.
Cardiff Property (CDFF) increased NAV from £29.31/share to £30.53/share in the year to September 2025. The dividend was raised from 25.5p/share to 27.5p/share.
First Tin (1SN) is raising £6.3m at 7p/share. This will finance the completion of the updated DFS for the Taronga tin project in Australia. There will also be cash for preparatory work on the project site. There will be some cash for the Tellerhauser project in Germany.
Walker Crips (WCW) has agreed a 14p/share bid from PhillipCapital, valuing the company at £6m.
IT services provider Triad (TRD) reported a rise in interim revenues from £10.2m to £12m, while pre-tax profit was 10% higher at £820,000. The interim dividend was raised by 50% to 3p/share.
Motor dealer Caffyns (CFYN) slipped into loss in the six months to September 2025. It is still paying a 5p/share interim dividend. Net debt is £9.6m.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 21 July 2025
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Probiotics developer ProBiotix Health (LON: PBX) increased interim revenues by one-third to £1.34m and the loss was reduced. The first orders have been delivered to Kemin China Technology. The current order book is at record levels. There was £1.3m in cash at the end of June 2025. The full interims will be published on 8 September.
Hydro Hotel Eastbourne (HYDP) increased interim turnover by 9% to £2.13m. Increased repair costs meant that the loss increased from £77,000 to £97,000. There is £2.18m in cash and deposits.
Fintech Amazing AI (AAI) wanted to raise £200,000 via a book build and ended up raising £150,000 at 0.5p/share. The cash will be used to buy Bitcoin. Chief executive Paul Mathieson bought shares in the book build and converted debt at the same price. There were more than 86 million shares issued to him. He also bought 70,000 shares at 1p each in the market. He owns 54.75%.
Digital assets company Vaults Capital (V3TC) completed a placing raising £1m at 16.5p/share. New director Sarah Gow bought 236,000 shares at 16.5p each.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) has purchased 112.0009 Bitcoin, and the total cost of the holding is £9.99m.
The Smarter Web Company (SWC) has raised another £17.5m at 295p/share, having sought a minimum of £15m. The company held 1,600 Bitcoin which had a total cost of £127.25m. The 30-day BTC yield is 419%. There was £4m in cash available at the beginning of the week.
Vault Ventures (VULT) holds 4 Bitcoin, 711.93 Ethereum and 2,200.32 Solana. The market capitalisation is greater than NAV.
Valereum (VLRM) entered into a non-binding agreement with fully listed First Class Metals to explore asset-backed tokenisation of mineral exploration projects in the latter’s portfolio. This could generate non-dilutive capital for projects and enhance liquidity.
RentGuarantor Holdings (RGG) is moving to AIM on 15 August. No fundraising is planned.
Majestic Corporation (MCJ) is launching a 50,000 square foot recycling facility in Wrexham. This will produce precious metals, base metals and critical materials.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) investee Bright Ascension has concluded a £2.35m fundraising. Capital for Colleagues has switched a £1m short-term loan into new convertible loan notes in the space software company. The interest rate is 10%. Capital for Colleagues is also providing a revolving credit facility of £200,000 up until the end of January.
Igraine (KING) investee company Fixit Medical has received grants for its advanced catheter securement solutions, as well as being selected for several national programmes. Igraine owns 19.8%.
Hot Rocks Investments (HRIP) has sold six million shares in Hamak Gold (HAMA) at an average price of 2.61p/share. This raised £156,600 after costs. They were bought for 0.8p each.
EPE Special Opportunities (EO.P) had net assets of 321.56p/share at the end of June 2025.
Zentra (ZNT) will transfer to the newly launched Aquis Real Asset Market on Monday 21 July.
ASSET MATCH
Fintech investment company VP Fintech (VPF) say investee company Valens Pay is joining with MSTRpay to offer its banking services. The partner is required because of the international nature of customer base and the services will be offered to more than 700,000 MSTRpay customers.
Macdonald and Company (MAC1) is paying an interim dividend of 4p/share.
JP JENKINS
Powder Monkey (PMGL) is acquiring the brands of Wayward Brewing Company and Akasha Brewing Company, two Sydney breweries.
AIM
Advanced materials and paper manufacturer James Cropper (CRPR) is starting on a revised strategy under new chief executive David Stirling. In the year to March 2025, revenues fell from £103m to £99.3m, while pre-tax profit improved from £800,000 to £1.3m. The company plan to deliver more sustained growth from advanced materials by focusing on markets with the best potential. There are also plans to improve margins and profit for paper and packaging by not chasing sales and becoming more efficient.
Womenswear retailer Sosandar (SOS) reported a lower than expected underlying pre-tax profit of £200,000 in the year to March 2025, because of stock adjustments. There was a loss in the previous year. Revenues fell from £46.3m to £37.1m as the move to reduce online price promotion activity hit sales but improved margins. Six stores have been opened. The four store in market town are trading well, but the two in shopping centre have not been as successful. Online sales have benefited in the areas where there are stores. No new stores are planned for this year. There is a strong start to this financial year with first quarter revenue 15% ahead. Initial licensing revenues will come through later in the year. Net cash is £7.3m.
Egg-free celebration cakes supplier Cake Box (CBOX) continues to grow in a tough retail environment and the acquisition of Indian sweets supplier Ambala provides further potential. In the year to March 2025, revenues improved 13% to £42.8m, while underlying pre-tax profit was 17% better at £7.08m. There was a £840,000 contribution to revenue from Ambala. System sales for franchisees were nearly 10% higher at £86.3m. Like-for-like growth was 3%. Net debt was £9m following the acquisition of Ambala. The total dividend was raised from 9p/share to 10.2p/share.
Iodine supplier Iofina (IOF) increased iodine production was 11% higher at 305.5 ton in the first half, which was better than expected. That was after a one-fifth increase in the second quarter. This shows the weak performance early in the year was a blip. The iodine price remains strong and should remain above $70/kg. IO#10 has been commissioned, which will boost second half production. Iodine production guidance for the second half of 2025 is 400-440 tons.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) has been accused of beaching the lock-in agreement by selling shares in Pri0r1ty Intelligence (PR1). The lock-in period lasts until 30 December 2025. In June, Primorus Investments sold its 8.05% stake raising £977,000.
Investment company Seed Innovations (SEED) plans a tender offer for up to 45% of the shares and change its investing policy to focus on robotics and AI. Jim Mellon and Denham Eke will join the board and Ed McDermott and Alfredo Pascual will step down. Existing investee company Litte Green Pharma generated cash in the latest quarter. Seed Innovation owns 2.4% of the ASX-listed company, which made profit after tax of A$3.3m in the year to March 2025. The Seed Innovations NAV was 6.1p/share at the end of March 2025.
Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA) is acquiring a majority stake in Motzfeldt critical metals project in south Greenland. Motzfeldt is a niobium tantalum zirconium rare earth project, and it has very large deposit status. The inferred resource is 340Mt, containing 41,000t of tantalum, 629,000t of niobium, 1.56Mt of zirconium and 884,000t of total rare earth oxides. The 51% stake will cost £30,000 in cash and £945,000 of shares at 0.02414p each. A placing has raised £550,000 at 0.017p/share.
Ceramic products manufacturer Churchill China (CHH) says that there is reduced demand from hospitality and May and June were materially below target. Market share is being maintained. That will hit profit. The UK and US are holding up better than other markets. There is also trading down from dearer products. Replacement business is at expected levels. Production has been reduced, thereby hitting operating levels and margins.
Building components manufacturer Alumasc (ALU) is on course to meet expectations this year. Cavendish forecasts a rise in pre-tax profit from £13m to £14.2m. Organic growth was 7%, whereas the market grew 2%. Exports increased. Net debt was £6m at the end of June 2025, but this still provides scope for earnings enhancing acquisitions. The results will be announced on 2 September.
AFC Energy (AFC) raised £23m at 10p/share via a placing and subscription, which was more than initially asked for, and up to £5m can be raised via a retail offer. The cash will fund commercialisation of hydrogen technology, particularly for generator and hydrogen supply. It will fund the manufacture of Hy-5 and 30Kw units for Volex.
Eco Animal Health (EAH) reported a drop in full year revenue from £89.4m to £79.6m, but non-core disposals helped pre-tax profit improve by one-third to £4m. Net cash was £25m at the end of March 2025. North America was the only region where sales increased.
Oxford BioDynamics (OBD) says Pfizer has published information on its use of EpiSwitch biomarkers as a liquid biopsy in evaluating tumours and treatment outcomes for the JAVELIN bladder 100 trial. The EpiSwitch test can determine whether a tumour has high or low immune activity. This confirmation of efficacy will help to grow EpiSwitch sales.
Audioboom (BOOM) is acquiring podcast network Adelicious for up to £4.5m and has raised £3m through a placing at 270p/share. Podcasters on the Adelicious network include Frank Skinner and Jeff Stelling. The UK market is less developed than the US market.
Cybersecurity service provider Corero Network Security (CNS) has increased annual recurring revenues by one-quarter to $21.6m because of demand for managed services, but recognised revenues are lower in the first quarter. Canaccord Genuity has cut its 2025 forecast revenues from £28.7m to £24.1m and that would mean the company returning to loss. Software and equipment sales are lower, and visibility of orders is poor.
Digital loyalty and promotions platform operator Eagle Eye (EYE) did better than anticipated in the year to June 2025 with revenues 1% higher at £48.2m and EBITDA is 9% ahead at £12.2m. A recent contract loss led to the downgrading of 2025-26 forecasts. Annualised recurring revenues are £32m after that contract loss.
MyHealthChecked (MHC) is supplying lateral flow tests under the Boots own brand. This covers 13 tests, and the initial term is 12 months.
Argentex (AGFX) is appointing administrators after the FCA ordered it to stop all regulated activity. The company was not able to secure additional finance.
Mulberry (MUL) raised £105,000 in a retail offer. There was up to £1.25m on offer.
Logistics Development Group (LDG) is investing £15m as part of DBAY’s acquisition o 78.3% of The Alternative Parcels Company, the largest independent delivery network. LDG will effectively have a 50.2% stake in the acquisition, which made an operating profit of £7.1m. There are also plans to acquire William Stobart.
MAIN MARKET
Structural steel supplier Severfield (SFR) has agreed an option with its joint venture partner in India. Severfield can choose to sell its partner up to 24.9% of the 50/50 joint venture for up to £20m.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 21 April 2025
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
The Small Cap awards 2025 shortlist for Aquis company of the year comprises Ananda Pharma (ANA), EDX Medical (EDX), Oberon Investments (OBE), SulNOx Group (SNOX) and Valereum (VLRM). SulNOx Group has been granted patents for its fuel emissions reduction additives in eight African countries. Shares in Ananda Pharma have started trading on the OTCQB market in the US.
Prize draws operator Good Life Plus (GDLF) has raised £860,000 through shares issued at 2.15p/share, which is a premium to the market price, to Winforton Investments, which is associated with Sportingbet founder Mark Blandford. Another of his investment companies is converting £1m of convertible loan notes at the subscription price. The cash will finance attracting additional customers and media partnerships. Management wants to improve retention and average spending per user through the premium subscription product.
RentGuarantor Holdings (RGG) says shareholders wish to improve liquidity and there are plans to move to AIM in the summer to help with this.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has completed the reorganisation of the Western Australia subsidiary. Liabilities have been paid, and this is a step to taking full control of the Red Setter and Cottesloe projects. Geologist Edward Mead has been appointed a director, and he has experience in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) says its partner Frontier Power has signed a Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) joint development agreement with Ethos Green Energy, who will provide land for projects. This could support up to 20 GWh of storage projects and Frontier Power has reserved up to 2GWh of Invinity Energy Systems manufacturing capacity to support bids.
Campus Investments, which is controlled by David Rowland, is subscribing £1m in VVV Resources (VVV) at 1p/share assuming an agreement with his fully listed company R8 Capital Investments (MODE) over money it is owed. Jonathan Rowland and Richard Morecroft will join the board, and the company will change its name to VVV Sports to reflect the move into sports services.
Sameer Prasad has increased his stake in Investment Evolution Credit (IEC) from 6.99% to 7.37%.
Evrima (EVA) has appointed David Eaton as a non-executive director, and he has corporate finance experience in North America. The shares will be traded on the Open Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Mark Jackson has increased his stake from 3.12% to 4.13%. Chief executive Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi has bought 1.9 million shares at prices between 0.5p to 0.6p each.
Jonathan Swaine is stepping down as managing director, pubs at Shepherd Neame (SHEP). He will not be directly replaced.
Fibre optic cables materials manufacturer Unigel Group (UNX) has declared an interim dividend of 2p/share. The ex-dividend date is 24 April.
Oberon Investments (OBE) has appointed Strand Hanson as corporate adviser.
AIM
Lung cancer diagnostics developer Lung Life AI (LLAI) still plans to leave AIM following its US distribution deal, which requires shareholder approval. This will leave LungLife AI with the activities of running the LungLB test and collecting royalties. Circulogene will have exclusive rights to distribute and further development the LungLB lung cancer diagnostic in the US and the other countries it is involved in. It will also receive some of LungLife AI’s equipment. The royalty payment will be 20% of net revenues generated by the test in the first year, reducing to 15% in the second year. This is a two year agreement with potential for annual renewals. There is an option for Circulogene toacquire all the IP and licences for $6.2m less any payments already made. Circulogene is making an advanced payment of $375,000, which is returnable if the deal does not go ahead. There was $850,000 in cash at the end of March and costs are being reduced. An application has been submitted to a Medicare contractor for the technical assessment of LungLB.
Jarvis Securities (JIM) is selling its execution only broking business to Interactive Investor for £11m and winding down its clearing and settlement operations. Completion will happen when client agreements are transferred and that should happen in early July. The board believes that winding up the remaining operations and returning the remaining cash to investors is the best outcome. It will take 15 months to wind up the business. There are no plans to make an acquisition and shareholder approval will be sought for cancelling the AIM quotation. The share price slumped 70.2% to 12.5p, which is the lowest it has ever been.
Steel structures supplier Billington (BILN) had an exceptionally good 2023, so it is not surprising that revenues fell from £132.5m to £113.1m in 2024. That meant that pre-tax profit fell from £13.4m to £10.8m. There was a special dividend of 13p/share last year, so the ongoing dividend was raised from 20p/share to 25p/share. Trading got tougher in the second half and management is focusing on contacts with sufficient margins rather than chasing sales. Even so, the order book remains strong. Trading will be second half weighted in 2025, and pre-tax profit is expected to dip to £7.3m, downgraded by 24% from the previous Cavendish estimate. Net cash is £21.7m and it should not fall significantly this year, even after higher capital expenditure, which should peak this year. NAV is 410p/share.
Ruggedised plug-in cards developer Concurrent Technologies (CNC) is benefiting from its strategy to bring new products to market in a quicker fashion. This has led to significant contract wins. In 2024, revenues increased from £31.7m to £40.3m, which is more than double the 2022 figure. Pre-tax profit improved from £3.7m to £5.2m. The dividend was raised 10% to 1.1p/share. Revenues of £43m are forecast for 2025 with pre-tax profit of £6m.
Sexual health products developer Futura Medical (FUM) reported figures in line with its trading statement in January. That had already warned that sales of erectile dysfunction treatment Eroxon were growing more slowly than anticipated. Product revenues more than doubled from £3.1m to £6.8m last year. There was also £7.1m of milestone payments. The over the counter product is in lock boxes in US pharmacies that makes it more difficult for potential purchasers to ask for Eroxon. The marketing focus is being refined to men under 60 years old, where efficacy is better. There is net cash of £6.6m and that should last two years.
On Monday, Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA) announced the second auction of a limited edition coin containing one ounce of Welsh gold. The first auction put a price of £20,000 on the coin, which was more than eight times the price of gold at the time. The estimate had been set at £20,000-£25,000. The second coin auction closed on 16 April and the share price jumped on the following day. According to the auction website the coin was not sold. The estimate was £22,500-£32,500, so the bidding probably did not reach that level. There is a third gold coin.
Catenai (CTAI) proposes a sub-division of capital because the share price is lower than the nominal value so no shares can be issued to raise money. The nominal value will be reduced from 0.2p to 0.01p. Catenai recently announced that it had raised £750,000 at 0.15p/share, including a £150,000 subscription by Sanderson Capital Partners. Director fees of £450,000 have been settle by the issue of 30 million shares. Catenai intends invest in Alludium, which has developed a platform for AI process automation. Subject to shareholder approval, £500,000 will be invested in Alludium and when cash is received from Klarian, or raised in a share issue, a further £450,000 may be invested. That would be a 13% stake in Alludium in total.
North Sea gas project developer Deltic Energy (DELT) estimates gross 2C contingent resources of 174bcf at the Selene gas project – a one-third increase on the previous figure. Deltic Energy has a 25% interest in the Selene gas project and its share of post-tax NPV10 estimate is $83m net at 80p/therm. Modelling suggests enhanced production potential from the B-sand interval. A final investment decision could happen in early 2027.
Battery technology developer Gelion (GELN) says initial tests of its sulfur battery technology show robust capacity retention and the achievement of more than 1,000 charge/discharge cycles. This has led to a materials testing agreement with a tier-one battery manufacturer and this should start shortly. Gelion will also recognise £780,000 of revenues relating to the battery energy storage system delivered to Borg Group. A placing and subscription raised £2m at 9p/share and a retail offer could raise up to £191,000. The cash will be used to fund business development, collaborations and the strategic partnership with the Max Planck Institute, which will accelerate the move towards commercialisation.
Sales were weak in February, but online women’s clothing retailer Sosandar (SOS) says fourth quarter sales were in line with expectations. Full year sales have fallen by one-fifth, with a 10% decline in the fourth quarter. Gross margins have improved, though. Six stores have been opened. Net cash is £7.1m. Singer has halved its pre-tax profit estimate for 2024-25 to £500,000. The 2025-26 figure is unchanged at £1.5m.
Musical instruments retailer Gear4Music (G4M) has acquired assets from the administrators of GAK (GAK.co.uk Ltd and The Guitar, Amp & Keyboard Centre Ltd). The stock purchased cost £600,000 but could have a value three times that figure. Gear4Music had been hit by discounting by GAK. There are no plans to use the GAK trading brand. There has been an improvement in trading with sales growth in double digits in recent weeks.
MAIN MARKET
Aura Renewable Acquisitions (ARA) is not going ahead with the acquisition of Zero Carbon Technologies and trading in the shares has recommenced. A minimal amount of due diligence costs were incurred. At the end of 2024, there was cash of £486,000.
Motor finance provider S and U (SUS) has been hit by the uncertainty concerning its core market. There was also a larger impairment charge. The Aspen bridging loan business continues to grow and enabled full year revenues were flat at £115.6m. Pre-tax profit fell from £33.6m to £24m. The total dividend was reduced from 120p/share to 100p/share.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 23 October 2023
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Healthy snack foods supplier S-Ventures (SVEN) plans to raise at least £2.5m to pay deferred consideration and provide working capital. The fundraising has been announced ahead of time so that more investors can become involved. In the year to September 2023, gross revenues improved from £8.6m to £16.9m, while net debt is £6.8m. The main growth came from an initial contribution by gluten-free products company Juvela and technology platform Market Rocket. S-Ventures was loss making and the level is likely to depend on impairment charges.
Arbuthnot Banking Group (ARBB) continues to benefit from higher interest rates. Customer deposits grew 7% to £3.5bn, while wealth management assets under management increased from £1.38bn to £1.43bn. The new London office at 20 Finsbury Circus has increased space by 45% to 75,000 square feet. This will increase annual costs by £5m and there will be dual costs until October 2024 when the existing office lease expires.
Technology marketing business Inteliqo Ltd (IQO) generated initial revenues of $558,000 in the year to September 2023 and it moved from a loss of $428,000 to a pre-tax profit of $185,000. There is $384,000 in the bank, after a cash inflow of $195,000. Inteliqo should continue to be profitable this year as it builds up sales of smart translation Ipedia earbuds and the Langaroo language app.
Aquis Exchange (AQX) chief executive Alasdair Haynes bought 10,000 shares at 325p each, while non-exec chairman Glenn Collinson acquired 7,500 shares at 326.5p.
Shepherd Neame (SHEP) director George Barnes bought 1,000 shares at 800p each. Premier Miton has taken a 5.05% stake in Global Connectivity (GCON). Oberon Investments (OBE) chief executive Simon McGivern has sold 11.6 million shares and Joanna McGivern sold 650,000 shares at 3.6p each. Chairman Mike Cuthbert bought 140,000 shares at 3.6p each and finance director Galin Ganchev acquired an initial 138,888 shares at 3.6p/share. Simon McGivern still has a 6.78% stake. Shepherd Neame (SHEP) director George Barnes bought 1,000 shares at 800p each. Premier Miton has taken a 5.05% stake in Global Connectivity (GCON). Andrew Offit has increased his stake in AQRU (AQRU) from 4.77% to 11.9%.
Tap Global Group (TAP) has appointed Tennyson Securities as its broker.
AIM
Shoe Zone (SHOE) has sparked another upgrade with its latest trading statement. The shoe retailer’s sales were slightly ahead of expectations and pre-tax profit will be at least £16m, which is 19% higher than forecast. Lower freight rates improved margins. The dividend estimate has been raised from 9p/share to 10.5p/share on the back of the profit growth. Zeus has increased its 2023-24 pre-tax profit forecast from £12.5m to £15.2m. To put this in perspective, one year ago Zeus forecast a 2022-23 pre-tax profit of £8.5m, not much more than 50% of the outcome. It would be wrong to expect similar upgrades this year, but it indicates that forecasts are generally conservative.
Gama Aviation (GMAA) is selling its Jet East business for $131m. Adjusting for debt and transaction costs the net amount is $100m, which is equivalent to 125p/share. That could allow a 55p/share dividend. The rest of the cash can be reinvested in the remaining aviation services businesses. Gama Aviation recently won air ambulance and offshore helicopter contracts.
CoStar Group Inc is bidding 110p/share for On The Market (OTMP), which values the property listings company at £99m. The February 2018 placing price was 165p. CoStar Group Inc says that On The Market provides a good entry point to the UK residential property market. The purchaser owns US-based Homes.com.
Litigation finance provider Manolete Partners (MANO) is benefiting from the UK government removing Covid-era protections against insolvency. In the six months to September 2023, the number of case investments jumped from 83 to 146. Bounce back loan cases separately increased from 83 to 179.
Craven House Capital (CRV) investee companies Garimon and Honeydog – it has 29.9% of each company – are planning to reverse into the Amigo Holdings shell on the Main Market. These are music streaming and digital publishing businesses.
eDrive systems developer Saietta (SED) shares returned from suspension on Thursday afternoon after it published results to the year to March 2023. There were problems with the accounting for the new agreements with Consolidated Metco Inc, which included an upfront payment of €3.3m and an inventory write-down of £2.1m. Revenues from continuing operations more than doubled to £4.8m, but the group loss was higher. Orders are in place to build up revenues. There was cash of £7.2m left at the end of March 2023, but by September this was down to £400,000. More cash will be required to finance the delivery of orders.
Fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) has decided to reduce promotional and discounting activity on its website and open retail stores. There will be four shops by next spring. This will hold back short-term revenues but could accelerate progress in 2026-27. Singer has cut its full year revenues forecast by 19% to £46.8m. This means that having made a profit last year, this year Sosandar will be back to breakeven, and it will take two years to beat the £1.6m profit made last year.
Revolution Bars Group (RBG) reported full year figures broadly in line with expectations. The Peach Pubs business is trading well with like-for-like sales 14% ahead, but the Revolution bars have been hit be train strikes. Cavendish retained its flat 2023-24 pre-tax loss forecast of £2m, even though trading has been tough.
WH Ireland has produced its updated research for metallurgical coal producer Bens Creek Group (BEN) suggesting a move into profit this year. This year’s pre-tax profit forecast is slashed from £108m to £7.2m, with the following year’s estimate reduced from £96.2m to £33.4m. This is a scenario rather than a proper forecast. A 3.6 cents/share (3p) dividend is possible in 2024-25.
Cirata (CRTA), formerly known as WANdisco, is trading in line with expectations with bookings of $1.7m in the latest quarter. They are expected to be higher in the fourth quarter and the software company’s management is confident that the prospects are genuine. Cash should be at least $16m at the year end and Cirata could be cash breakeven in 2024.
R&Q Insurance Holdings (RQIH) is selling its program management business, and this should generate $300m of net proceeds. This will be used to pay down debt. The group chief executive and finance director will leave with the disposal.
ECR Minerals (ECR) has terminated its option to acquire the Hurricane project, following the changes in the board. Management does not believe the potential of the project warrants the acquisition cost.
Karelian Diamond Resources (KDR) is raising £250,000 at 2.5p/share and the cash will be used for exploration for nickel, copper, platinum group metals in Northern Ireland and diamonds in Finland. Peterhouse has been appointed as broker.
MAIN MARKET
Cadmium-free quantum dots developer Nanoco (NANO) has concluded its litigation with Samsung, and it has funds to move towards commercial production. The net litigation proceeds are $90m. The second tranche will be received next February. There are plans to return £33m-£40m (10p-12p/share) to shareholders after this. Contract terms are under discussion for the first commercial order, and they should conclude by the end of 2023. In the year to July 2023, revenues jumped from £2.5m to £5.6m with the main growth coming from recognising licence fees related to the Samsung litigation.
Apax Partners is bidding 110p/share for Kin & Carta (KCT), which is a 41% increase on the pre-bid share price. The share price has not been this high since March, but the bid is less than 50% of the 2023 high ahead of the February profit warning. The bid values Kin & Carta at £203m.
Online travel agency Hostelworld (HSW) increased full year guidance in its third quarter trading statement. Nine months revenues are 38% ahead at Euro75.2m. The EBITDA guidance range has been raised from Euro16.5m-Euro17m to Euro17.5m-Euro18m, up from Euro1.3m last year.
Property investor Town Centre Securities (TOWN) announced net tangible assets falling by 15% to 284p in the year to June 2023. It outperformed the benchmark property index. The greatest value declines in the portfolio related to car parks and offices. The loan-to-value has declined to 45.8% following disposals. The total dividend for the year is 5p/share.
Kitchenware retailer ProCook Group (PROC) says revenues fell 4% to £26.3m in the first half. This was helped by a good summer performance, but trading has been tougher in September and October.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 17 April 2023
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
PanGenomic Health (NARA) joined the Access segment on 12 April. The shares were already listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange. No new money was raised. The share price has stayed at 4.5p during the week and no trades have been reported. The Canadian share price is C$0.07 and it has fallen from C$0.25 since trading commenced last July. PanGenomic Health has three digital health platforms. NaraApp is a mobile app provides information tailored to an individual and their treatment regimen. Mindleap.com provides holistic mental wellness information and access to professional services. Mujn Diagnostics is a digital therapeutics platform. This is used by professional to access individual information from the Nara App to monitor a patient’s treatment.
After the market closed on Friday Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) announced a £12m share issue at 925p a share. Chairman and chief executive Henry Angest will invest £6.75m of that money. The cash will be used to grow the loan book.
Goodbody Health (GDBY) is asking shareholders permission for cancelling the Aquis quotation. It has already delisted from the Canadian Stock Exchange. Management wants to reduce costs and complains that the market valuation is below NAV. The quotation on OTC QB will also not be retained.
Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd (GSVR) announced positive drilling results at the San Ignacio mine Some of the drilling has encountered high grades. There could be a new area of thick mineralisation. This will help to extend the mine life.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has been awarded an £11m grant from the UK government under phase 2 of the Longer Duration Storage Demonstration competition. This will deploy a 30MWh vanadium flow battery.
Cannabis supplier Ananda Developments (ANA) says preparations are underway for a medicinal cannabis flower processing facility. The MRX1 cannabidiol medical cannabis oil will be launched commercially in June and it may be used in two randomised controlled trials.
NFT Investment (NFT) has announced a general meeting on 26 May to gain shareholder approval for a proposed tender offer by April 2024. The tender will be for up to 857.1 million shares and the price will be the greater of 3.5p a share or NAV for each share.
Gunsynd (GUN) investee company Omega Oil and Gas (ASX: OMA) says initial results from the Canyon-2 well in Queensland have exceeded expectations. Cadence Minerals (KDNC) investee company Evergreen Lithium joined the ASX on 11 September. Cadence Minerals has a 8.74% stake in Evergreen Lithium and the share price nearly doubled to A$0.57 during the week.
Watchstone Group (WTG) had £11.5m in cash at the end of March 2023. NAV was 29p a share at the end of 2022.
S-Ventures (SVEN) has filed for insolvency of Lizza in Germany. Lizza was losing money when it was acquired last September. The losses are continuing, and sales have dropped. Alternative European distribution partners will need to be found. There will be a Euro1m write-off.
EPE Special Opportunities (EO.P) had an NAV of 309.57p a share at the end of March 2023.
Mark Horrocks has increased his stake in Lift Global Ventures (LFT) from 11% to 12.3%.
AIM
Spectral MD (SMD) is merging with Nasdaq-listed SPAC Rosecliff Acquisition Corp 1. The share price improved to 44p. The deal values Spectral MD at $170m, or 101p a share. In June 2021, the AIM flotation price was 59p. The AIM quotation will be cancelled. There is likely to be a $15m placing. This will provide additional cash to finance the commercialisation of the DeepView woundcare analysis technology. The transaction should complete in the third quarter.
Consumer electronic and electrical appliances retailer Marks Electrical (MRK) has beaten expectations in the fourth quarter and the full year forecast has been upgraded along with those for the following two years. Revenues in the fourth quarter to March 2023 were one-fifth higher at £24.8m and this means that full year revenues are 21% ahead at £97.8m. This has led to a 2022-23 pre-tax profit upgrade from £5.8m to £6.2m, which is still below the £6.4m reported for the previous year. Net cash is £10m.
Footwear retailer Unbound Group (UBG) has received a proposal from Marwyn Investment Management, which wants to inject £10m into the business at a placing price of 10.5p. That is the same level as the potential offer from WoolOvers Group (the offer also includes a contingent value right relating to the proceeds of an insurance claim). The shareholders would get an opportunity to invest at the same price and Unbound says it prefers the new proposal.
Womenswear retailer Sosandar (SOS) reported improving revenues and margins, although pre-tax was lower than expected in March. Full year pre-tax profit is still expected to be £1.6m and it could be more than £3m in 2023-24. More partnerships with other retailers are likely to be secured.
Currency and payment services provider Argentex (AGFX) says nine months revenues were 63% ahead at £41m, although the underlying operating profit fell from £11m to £9m. # Net cash is £26.2m. The final dividend will be 2.25p a share. The year end is being changed from March to December.
Legal services provider Ince (INCE) is appointing Quantuma as administrator after a major creditor will no longer support the business.
It does not appear that there will be anything left for shareholders when the sales of the remaining subsidiaries of MJ Hudson (MJH) are completed.
MAIN MARKET
Property investor Town Centre Securities (TOWN) has sold part of the Whitehall Riverside development in Leeds and reinvested some of the cash to acquire the 50% it does not own in build to rent company Belgravia Living. The disposal raised £13m, compared with a book value of £10m. There was £3.5m spent to acquire the rest of Belgravia Living. Along with the initial investment, the book value of Belgravia Living is £10m and the net annual rental income is £920,000.
First Tin (LON: 1SN) still had £13.8m in the bank at the end of 2022 and this is enough to pursue the development activities at the two main tin projects until the end of 2023. Progress is being made with the definitive feasibility study at Taronga in Australia. A resource statement is expected in the next couple of months. There should be a resource update for Tellerhauser in Germany by July. This project is eligible to move straight to construction and the operational permitting process. This will reduce the development timeframe by up to 18 months.
A CVA has been approved for Mode Global Holdings (MODE) subsidiary Mode Global. The winding down of trading operations is progressing.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 6 December 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Hydrogen Future Industries (HFI) was set up to make investments in the hydrogen sector. It raised £2.23m at 10p a share. This will finance the investigation of investment opportunities.
Field Systems Design Holdings (FSD) reported a lump in revenues from £19.8m to £9.98m in the year to May 2021, due to Covid-related problems. This meant that the mechanical and electrical design company moved into loss. The AMP7 water sector investment programme did not start as expected. Other projects have also been delayed, but power generation and transport infrastructure business held up better than the water business, which continues to be delayed. Field Systems Design is also being more selective about energy from waste projects. There was £6m in cash at the end of May 2021.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) is investing €10m in the €150m offer by new SPAC EPIC Acquisition Corp, which will be listed on Euronext Amsterdam. The target company would be involved in the consumer sector. EPE has published a prospectus for the issue of up to 20 million zero dividend preference shares at 100p each.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) has concluded a partial disposal of its investment in TPS Investment, which distributes pipes and valves. There was an initial £200,000 and £121,000 will be received from a share buyback about the company. That leaves a stake in TPS valued at £510,000.
Aquis Stock Exchange-quoted non-fungible tokens (NFTs) investor NFT Investments (NFT) has swapped its £500,000 investment in Kodoku Studios for a 3% stake in Pioneer Media (PNER) valued at £2m and £125,000 in cash. Mike Edwards is a director of NFT and Pioneer. NFT has invested $1m in NFT Studios Ltd in return for a 20% stake.
Watchstone Group (WTG) has filed a claim against KPMG totalling £13.73m plus interest. This relates to the audit of the 2013 accounts of the company, then known as Quindell. These accounts were restated and the FRC fined and reprimanded KPMG.
Quetzal Capital (QTZ) has invested £1.5m in a convertible loan to TAP Global Ltd and it has an option to acquire 100%. TAP Global is a regulated (by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission) Crypto-Fiat exchange services provider, which plans to provide a bridge between traditional and crypto assets. TAP Global is already generating revenues.
Altona Rare Earths (ANR) has completed the 2021 drilling programme at the Mozambique Monte Muambe project. Chief executive Christian Taylor-Wilkinson bought 66,560 shares at 11.3p each and he owns 6.3% of the company.
South Africa-based social impact company Inqo Investments Ltd (INQO) raised cash from selling land and this has strengthened the balance sheet. Inqo continues to lose money.
Belvedere Leisure (BL03) has taken control of the 160 acre Barnsoul caravan park, which was near to full capacity during the peak season. Development of the park is continuing ahead of a reopening next spring.
Evrima (EVA) has elected to maintain its project level interest of between 8.86% and 9.26% in the Molopo Farms complex. Kavango Resources (KAV) is exercising its option to take a stake of more than 50%.
Dispersion Holdings (DEFI) has launched a new platform called AQRU, which is a platform that enables institutional investors simple access to crypto yields available in DeFi. Recently purchased Accru Finance developed AQRU, which will not be open to UK-based investors until it is approved by the FCA.
Fuel additives supplier SulNOx Group (SNOX) has signed a distribution agreement with LocoSoco Group.
MiLOC Group Ltd (ML.P) has raised £23,000 at 28.5p a share.
Slater Investments has increased its stake in Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) from 3.05% to 5.15%.
Rogue Baron (SHNJ) managing director Ryan Dolder bought 32,477 shares at 12p each and 58.827 shares at 9.5p each, taking his stake to 10.5%.
Sativa Wellness (SWEL) has appointed Arden as corporate adviser. It hopes that the broker can help to improve the share price.
AIM
Battery technology developer Gelion (GELN) raised £16m at 145p a share when it joined AIM. The share price has soared to 265p. Australia-based Gelion is a zinc-bromide battery storage technology developer. It is also developing battery additives for use in lithium-ion and lithium-sulfur batteries. Gelion Endure zinc-bromide batteries are suited for harsh environments and the non-flow zinc-bromide technology means that they can be smaller than rival lithium-ion and lead-acid technologies and are recyclable. The cash will be used to accelerate development spending.
Skillcast Group (SKL) provides content and software to companies for their training and compliance requirements. Skillcast has joined AIM to raise further cash to invest in cloud technology and training content. It raised £3.5m in a placing at 37p a share and the share price ended the week at 43p. Revenues are generated from professional services and SaaS subscriptions and the main growth comes from the latter. There were annual recurring revenues of £5.06m at the end of June 2021. Clients include Schroders and GKN. The shares are tightly held.
A trading statement from franchised lettings and estate agency Belvoir Group (BLV) led to a 3% upgrade in forecast 2021 earnings to 20.3p a share.
IPTV technology developer Mirada (MIRA) grew interim revenues by 10% to $6m thanks to increasing installations for izzi Telecom. Mirada has buit up a 5% global share of the Android TV market. The increasing use of resellers in different regions of the world should help Mirada to grow more quickly than it could relying on direct sales. There was a recent partnership agreement with North America-focused Shift 2 Stream.
Vector Capital (VCAP) says 2021 revenues and pre-tax profit will be better than expected.
Interim revenues of Coral Products (CRU) were 58% ahead at £7.1m and pre-tax profit improved from £494,000 to £698,000. The interim dividend is 0.5p a share. Plastic lotion pumps supplier Global One-Pak was hit by the ill-health of its boss and problems importing from China, but trading is improving.
Human capital services provider Mind Gym (MIND) increased its interim revenues by two-thirds to £24.1m and it returned to profit. Revenues are back to the levels in the first half of 2019, although the profit is much lower. Digital revenues account for 81% of the latest revenues.
Online fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) nearly trebled its interim revenues, helped by maintaining high stock levels following the fundraising earlier this year. Strong trading, both from the company’s website and through third parties, continues to be strong. October was a record month and November was even better. The full year revenues forecast has been raised by 11% to £27.1m. Sosandar could move into profit next year.
Cenkos has upgraded its free cash flow forecast for Duke Royalty (DUKE) following the latest interims. It is expected to be 2.3p a share, which will cover the forecast dividend of 2.2p a share. There is a record deal pipeline
Lekoil Nigeria is offering to acquire the 60% of Lekoil Ltd (LEK) that it does not own for double the suspension price of 0.95p or for a share exchange.
MAIN MARKET
Guernsey-registered technology shell Hambro Perks Acquisition Company Ltd (HPA1) raised £140m through a placing at 1000p per unit (one public share and 0.5 of one public warrant). The price went to premium and fell back to 1000p. An attractive market, innovative product or service, scalability and strong management will be required in any target. The target business would be valued at £800m or more. The Hambro Perks Ltd advisory business has expertise in investing in early-stage technology businesses and could have potential targets in its funds.
Town Centre Properties (TOWN) maintained its underlying NAV at 284p a share. Net debt was reduced to £145.6m and LTV is 51.3% at the end of June 2021. The full loss was significantly reduced, although there was cash generated from operations. The final dividend is 1.75p a share, taking the total for the year to 3.5p a share, down from 5p a share.
Telecoms services provider Toople (TOOP) is raising £380,000 at 0.045p a share. The previous placing was at 0.11p a share during October 2020.
Rebel shareholders in beverages supplier East Imperial (EISB) have withdrawn their general meeting requisition following the appointment of Alistair McGeorge as chairman and Colin Henry as a non-exec. Rabindra Lal Soni has resigned as chairman.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 26 July 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Ecotricity has launched a 340p a share cash bid for Good Energy (GOOD). Ecotricity believes the combined group would be better placed to compete in the energy supply business. The Good Energy board rejects the bid.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) reported a bounce back in interim pre-tax profit from £200,000 to £3m. the main profit improvement was at Arbuthnot Latham. NAV was 1292p a share at the end of June 2021. Assets under management reached £1.22bn. A second interim dividend of 16p a share was announced, and it will be paid on 24 September.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says its Hellyer gold mine generated revenues of A$19.8m in the second quarter, while net income was A$5.7m. The major capital investment in the mine cost A$16.4m and was finished during the quarter. NQ Minerals is still seeking to move to a full listing on the London Stock Market.
Sativa Wellness Inc (SWEL) generated record revenues in the first half of 2021, and it is generating cash from operations. CBD products supplier Goodbody Botanicals is profitable. There have been 47 clinics opened to offer Covid-19 testing.
Apollon Formularies (APOL) says that medicinal cannabis formulations developed by its subsidiary have been able to kill prostrate cancer cells.
Watchstone Group (WTG) management recommends that shareholders reject the mandatory 34p a share bid.
Ervin Kovac has resigned as director of Freyherr International (FRYR) and the shares remain suspended as the company’s financial position remains uncertain. Trading was suspended more than nine months ago.
Harry Hyman has taken a 3.08% stake in Oberon Investments (OBE).
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) is moving from the Access segment to the Apex segment.
AIM
Digital payments business Boku (BOKU) increased interim revenues by 37% to $34m – organic growth was 21%. Investment is increasing in order to take advantage of growth prospects, but cash is also increasing.
Trading is improving at employee benefits services and insurance products provider Personal Group (PGH) and interim revenues were 12% ahead at £34m even though weak insurance sales last year mean that premium income fell. SaaS-based revenues increasing by 50% – helped by the partnership with Sage. Sales of consumer electronics products through PG Let’s Connect has improved by one-fifth.
Insolvency levels remain relatively low, but Begbies Traynor (BEG) still grew strongly last year. In the year to April 2021, underlying pre-tax profit improved from £9.2m to £11.5m – a combination of organic and acquisitive growth. There is more to come this year from recent acquisitions.
Lawyer Gateley (GTLY) managed to increase its pre-tax profit from £18.1m to £19.3m despite the tough trading conditions in the year to April 2021. The property and corporate finance divisions did particularly well last year. This kept utilisation levels high. A final dividend of 5p a share was announced. Gateley is paying £815,000 for Tozer Gallagher, which is a quantity surveyor and construction consultant.
Online womenswear retailer Sosandar (SOS) increased its full year revenues by 35% to £12.2m. It remains loss-making and that is likely to continue this year even though revenues continue to grow rapidly. First quarter revenues jumped by 256% to £5.7m, although the comparatives were weak. Active customers increased by 23% compared with the previous quarter. Singer forecasts double full year revenues to £24.4m.
Parcel and freight delivery company DX (DX.) is still growing its freight business faster than expected and analysts have upgraded their forecasts for 2020-21 and the current year. The additional business is also more profitable than in the past. DX Express revenues are flat due to lower office mail delivery revenues.
Judges Scientific (JDG) had a much better order book at the end of June 2021. It was 49% higher than June last year. Organic sales growth was 5% compared with full year forecasts of 1.5%.
Open Orphan (ORPH) spin out Poolbeg Pharma (POLB) has started trading on AIM. The shares are trading at 10.875p, which is equivalent to 3.63p a share to Open Orphan shareholders. The Open Orphan shareholders cannot sell yet.
Vela Technologies (VELA) has invested £750,000 in Northcoders Group, which joins AIM on 27 July. Manchester -based Northcoders provides software coding training.
International payments business Cornerstone FS (CSFS) is pursuing potential acquisitions, but it has not secured any since it floated earlier this year. The mix of business remains consistent, although more of it is direct which improves margins, and trading has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels.
MAIN MARKET
New shell Acceler8 Ventures (AC8) has soared from its placing price of 100p to 215p on limited volumes. After expenses, the cash in the company is equivalent to 60p a share. The sector of the potential target has been kept vague.
Sivota (SIV) is a shell that wants to acquire Israel-based technology businesses. The company has just under 78p a share of cash. The share price has risen from the placing price of 100p to 112.5p.
NMCN (NMCN) is making progress with the refinancing and related documentation. The 2020 accounts are expected to show a pre-tax loss of much more than the £24m previously indicated.
Aquaculture technology developer OTAQ (OTAQ) increased full year revenues by 18% to £4.05m, while the underlying loss was reduced from £1.05m to £726,000. Restrictions have held back the progress of the business.
Town Centre Securities (TOWN) has collected 88% of the billed rent of £4.9m for the quarter to June 2021 with a further 8% that was agreed to be deferred.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 15 March 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Rogue Baron (SHNJ) joined the Aquis Stock Exchange on Friday. The company is a spirits brand developer, and its focus is the Shinju Japanese whisky brand and specialist tequila Copa Imperial Tequila. The idea is to build these and other niche brands to the point where larger drinks companies will want to acquire the brand. There was £755,000 raised at 7p a share. The share price ended the first day of trading at 8p (7p/9p).
Gunsynd (GUN) has already more than trebled the value of its investment In Rogue Baron, which was worth more than £1.8m, including accrued convertible interest, at the time of flotation. Gunsynd holds a 28.5% stake. Chris Akers has increased his stake in Gunsynd from 5.36% to 6.19%.
Sativa Wellness (SWEL) has taken more than £1.1m of bookings for its Covid-19 testing clinic business. This has been achieved by the Bath clinic and a further clinic has opened, plus 13 in-pharmacy and two mobile clinics. There could be 30 clinics by the end of April, ready for the easing of lockdown.
KR1 (KR1) has invested $200,000 into Automata Network’s seed funding round.
IamFire (FIRE) made a loss of £162,000 in the six months to October 2020. During the period, investments were made in WeShop and Bio2pure.
Upper Thames Holdings (UPPT) has net liabilities of £83,000 at the end of 2020 and since then £516,000 has been raised. The board will seek approval to change the company’s name to Valereum Blockchain.
Quetzal Capital (WENP) is raising £3m at 4p a share and issuing enough warrants exercisable at 8p to raise a further £3m. This will help to fund a reverse takeover or investment. NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised a further £255,000 at 7p a share. Bluebell Investment and Consulting has invested £25,000 in Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) at 13.5p a share, which represents a 4.9% stake. Altona Rare Earths (ANR) has raised a total of £800,000 at 6.5p a share from placings.
Western Selection (WESP) has increased its stake in Bilby (BILB) by 698,737 shares at an average share price of 35.11p each. This takes the stake to 12.2%.
All Star Minerals (ASMO) has appointed SP Angel as broker.
AIM
AMTE Power (AMTE) raised more than initially expected in the flotation and this should provide the cash required for investment in the battery cells development business. AMTE raised £11.3m at 175p a share. The share price jumped to 233.5p on the first day of dealings. The battery cells nearing commercialisation are aimed at the high-performance vehicles, oil and gas equipment and energy storage markets. There are currently 16 potential clients that products are being developed for.
Engineer Avingtrans (LON: AVG) is raising £35m from the sale of the Peter Brotherhood business that came with the £52.7m acquisition of Hayward Tyler in September 2017. Peter Brotherhood was estimated to be worth £9.3m of that cost. Borrowings will be paid off. Net cash is expected to be £22m at the end of May 2021.
Kape Technologies (KAPE) is acquiring Webselenese for $149.1m. This provides the group with a consumer platform for privacy and security content, which will generate information and data on consumer trends. In 2020, the acquired business generated revenues of $64.5m and EBITDA of $30.7m. In 2021, Kape is expected to increase earnings from 15.8p a share to 25.4p a share.
Billing and customer relationship management software provider Cerillion (CER) has won a Middle East contract worth £5m over five years. The implementation will take up to 18 months.
Getech (GTC) is raising up to £6.25m via a placing and open offer at 22p a share. The cash will be invested in developing hydrogen products and services.
Online merchandising technology provider Attraqt (ATQT) improved its full year revenues by 8% to £21m, helped by an initial contribution from AI firm Aleph. The loss was reduced from £4.4m to £2.6m. Annualised recurring revenues were £21.1m at the end of 2020. A £500,000 loss is forecast for 2021 before a move into profit in 2022.
Cloud-based PCI payment services provider PCI Pal (PCIP) is gaining momentum in the US. In the six months to December 2020, revenues rose by 56% to £3.2m. More of these revenues are coming via channel partners. Total annual contract revenues were 59% ahead at £8.3m. There should be enough cash in the bank to get the company to the point where it is generating cash.
Shoe Zone (SHOE) says that it does not expect to pay a dividend until at least 2025. The footwear retailer expects to continue to lose money this year. The stores are closed at the moment.ch
Online women’s fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) has agreed to sell a specialist collection of its products through Marks and Spencer (MKS). This follows deals with Next and John Lewis.
Coral Products (CRU) is repaying its £1.6m property mortgage out of the proceeds of its recent disposal. The £2.5m valuation of the Haydock site is expected to be increased in the next accounts. Coral has also repaid £500,000 of its CBIL loan with the other £433,333 likely to be paid before the year-end.
Business restructuring company Begbies Traynor (BEG) is acquiring of David Rubin & Partners for up to £25m. This takes the group’s market share to 12%. There is an initial £12m payable and the rest depends on performance over five years. Begbies raised £22m at 105.5p a share to help finance the deal, which should be immediately earnings enhancing.
Arden has upgraded its Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) forecasts due to higher crude palm oil and palm kernel oil prices. This means that Arden expects Dekel to be profitable in 2021.
MAIN MARKET
Avation (AVAP) is raising £7.5m at 110p a share and this provides additional cash at a difficult time for the airline industry. NAV was previously 174p a share. Avation could continue to lose money for the next two years Net debt will still be more than $1bn.
Challenger Acquisitions (CHAL) is entering into a deal to acquire Cindrigo Energy, which owns Cindrigo Ltd, the company where a previous offer lapsed. The business is a developer of renewable energy projects using Swedish expertise in waste-to-energy and biomass. The shareholders of the target company will own 96.5% of the enlarged business.
Kanabo (KNB) has signed a production and supply agreement with PharmaCann Polska for cartridges containing Kanabo’s medicinal cannabis formulations. The initial production capacity is up to 36,000 cartridges. FastForward Innovations (FFWD) has sold its stake in Kanabo for a profit of £140,000. FastForward has also sold its Cellular Goods (CBX) for a £54,000 gain.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) has raised £26.8m at 200p a share and this cash will fund the purchase of a further stake in Pluto Digital Assets. The £7.3m investment in Pluto will maintain the Argo stake at 25%. AIM-quoted Pires Investments (PIRI) owns 6.4% of Pluto.
The Financial Reporting Council has started an investigation into the audit of motor dealer Lookers (LOOK) by Deloitte for 2017 and 2018.
Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) is increasing its first quarterly dividend by 30% to 13 cents a share. The strategy is to pay 30% of average cash generated by operating activities in the previous four quarters.
Pharmaceuticals developer Nuformix (NFX) is raising £1.565m at 2p a share. This cash will finance preclinical studies for the NXP002 inhaled formulation for lung disease and further research and development of formulations. Nuformix is waiting to see whether Oxilio will option the NXP001 cancer treatment. This option expires on 24 March.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 18 January 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
British Honey (BHC) generated revenues of £1.5m in the nine months to December 2020 with more sales online. There was £2.4m in the bank.
Rutherford Health (RUTH) has agreed to provide cancer treatment to NHS Trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England. The initial agreement is for two years.
A subsidiary of Noble Group has sent a letter of intent to Eastinco Mining and Exploration (EM.P) saying it wasn’t to purchase a significant portion of tantalum and tine production from Musasa in Rwanda. There will be immediate payment on agreement of the grade. There has been a further cash injection of £150,000.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has discovered further gold mineralisation at Specimen Hill in Queensland. There is a 100% success rate with holes drilled. A drilling programme has started at Mt Cassidy and once completed drilling will recommence at Specimen Hill at the sites that are prospective for copper.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says that the Hellyer mine in Australia produced 38,319 tonnes of lead concentrate, up 53%, and 19,019 tonnes of zinc concentrate, up 22%, in 2020. There was 5,452 ounces of gold and 1.1 million ounces of silver produced. Gross revenues were A$63.3m and net income was A$22.7m.
Preliminary sampling at one of the Cameroon licences owned by BWA Group (BWAP) has identified mineralisation. The Dehane project has elevated titanium, zircon and aluminium multi-element associations. More cash is required to fund further exploration.
Gunsynd (GUN) says that Peterhouse has been appointed as corporate adviser to Rogue Baron ahead of a proposed flotation on Aquis in the first quarter. Rogue Baron is a spirits company and Gunsynd has a £500,000 convertible repayable at the end of March. The Gunsynd NAV increased from £2.36m to £2.47m at the end of July 2020. There was £838,000 in the bank.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised £100,000 at 4.5p a share. SulNOx Group (SNOX) has raised £50,100 at 41.75p a share. Further cash will be required. Altona Energy (ANR) has raised a further £42,000 at 6.5p a share. MiLOC Group (ML.P) has raised £237,000 at 28.5p a share and started litigation against a distributor.
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) boos Joe McTaggart has bought 30,409 shares at 49p each.
AIM
Toilet tissue manufacturer Accrol (ACRL) reported strong interims even before a contribution from the recently acquired LTC. In the six months to October 2020, revenues slipped from £64.5m to £62.3m but that reflects panic buying in the last two months of the previous year that reduced this year’s figure. A contribution from LTC should increase full year revenues from £135m to £154m and pre-tax profit could nearly double to £9.2m. Accrol intends to pay a final dividend of 0.5p a share.
Online fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) reported a 6% increase in revenues to December 2020, following a £1.6m reduction in marketing spend – mainly in December. This includes growing sales via John Lewis and Next. The loss was more than halved. Net cash was £3.9m at the end of 2020.
Kromek (KMK) reported a 14% decline in interim revenues to £4.58m, which was a resilient performance considering the disruption in the period. Kromek has moved into a net debt position but management is confident that it has enough funds for its requirements. The second half should be stronger. The long-term outlook for MRI, imaging and radiation detection products remains positive.
Battery technology developer Ilika (IKA) is on course for Stereax battery production to be scaled up by the beginning of 2022 and more significant revenues will flow through from then on. The total investment is £4m. The pilot line is running at full capacity so there is unlikely to be growth in short-term revenues. There is also the longer-term potential for Goliath batteries for electric vehicles. There should be £9m in the bank at the end of April 2021.
Voucher products supplier Appreciate (APP) had a strong third quarter and free cash reached £33.5m. The focus on digital products is paying off.
Law firm Gateley (GTLY) grew earnings by 7% in the first half, but full year earnings are expected to decline from 12.5p a share to 9.1p a share. There could be scope for an upgrade if utilisation levels remain high.
Ariana Resources (AAU) says that the 50%-owned Kiziltepe mine produced 18,645 ounces of gold in 2020. The processing plant capacity is being quadrupled.
Filtronic (FTC) has won a contract with more than £1m with a UK defence customer. Filtronic will design and supply battlefield communications hardware.
In 2020, Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) increased palm oil production by 24% to 4,824MT and the average price obtained was ahead by a similar percentage. The price has started 2021 at a much higher level and even if the price does not stay as high Dekel should be able to at least move nearer to profit in 2021.
Franchise Brands (FRAN) will report 2020 figures ahead of consensus. The business has been strongly cash generative and the consumer-facing franchises did better in the second half. Metro Rod was classed as an essential service and trading recovered after an initial slump. Allenby forecasts 2020 earnings of 4.3p a share and this could improve to 4.8p a share in 2021.
Environmental and life sciences company Deepverge (DVRG) generated revenues of £4.4m in 2020 before any contribution from the recently acquired Modern Water. This year’s revenues should more than double, although the business should still lose money. There are large projects that are being bid for that could contribute to this year.
SourceBio International (SBI) has signed a deal with a high street retailer to provide lab testing services. This will start with a limited number of stores and could then be broadened. Demand for Covid testing is likely to continue to be high for many months.
MAIN MARKET
BATM Advanced Communication (BVC) has secured an option deal to sell its NGSoft communications technology services business to Aztek Technologies for $33m in cash. This is around ten times operating profit. The cash can be reinvested into the other activities.
Telecoms business Toople (TOOP) increased revenues from £2.45m to £3.44m and gross profit from £479,000 to £1.1m in the year to September 2020. The purchase of DMSL helped to grow revenues. Admin expenses were slightly higher at £2.44m. The underlying pre-tax loss edged up from £1.24m to £1.31m. That excludes a £1.1m provision for bad debts and restructuring costs. Directors pay increased from £278,000 to £312,239 last year. Net debt was nearly £1m at the end of September 2020. Debt in the form of a loan note is repayable at the end of 2022. The cash outflow from operating activities reduced from £2m to £1.6m.
InnovaDerma (IDP) reported a one-fifth decline in interim revenues. The personal care products supplier was hit by the closure of high street shops in the UK. International sales improved. The new chief executive is still assessing the business and will report plans and impairment charges in the coming weeks. A non-executive director is loaning the company £500,000 until 13 July.
Andrew Hore