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Quoted Micro 3 August 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Ajax Resources (AJAX) has agreed to exchange the Rureka project and related assets for the Rachiate prospect and the El Salto project in Argentina. The deal and transaction structure are still to be finalised. No cash will be involved. Ajax was previously planning to acquire the Rachiate prospect. Ajax has also entered a binding option agreement for the acquisition of Nueva Celti copper project in Spain. A non-refundable option fee of $10,000 has been paid. The total cost will be $300,000. Orca Capital owns 9.64% of Ajax and John E Story no longer has a notifiable stake.
Supernova Digital (SOL) interim revenues slipped from £297,000 to £72,000 and the loss increased from £215,000 to £1.23m. That is down to the fair value reduction increasing from £98,000 to £810,000 due to the weak cyber currency market. NAV is £1.81m.
Falconedge (EDGE) says the launch of the recurring referral fee programme will help overall revenues to grow. Further referral agreements are being discussed. Stefania Barbaglio has left the board.
Zentra Group (ZNT) subsidiary developing One Victoria has terminated its agreement with contractor Torsion Construction has been terminated after it went into administration. The One Victoria residential development will appoint a replacement.
Macaulay Capital (MCAP) increased interim income from £157,000 to £478,000, helped by the sale of ICA Group, and it moved into profit. Net assets are £2.08m, including cash of £980,000.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had net assets of 87.6p/share at the end of May 2026. There are 16 companies in the portfolio.
NYCE International (NYCE) says it had cash of £63,000 at the end of June 2026. Talks with a potential bidder have ended. More cash is required. Management is seeking shareholder approval to reorganise the share capital and issue shares at the AGM on 6 August.
EPE Special Opportunities (EO.P) has redeemed £1.73m of loan notes.
Majestic Corporation (MCJ) has appointed Allenby as corporate adviser and joint broker. VSA Capital has also become joint broker.
ASSET MATCH
Greenshields Agri Holdings (GAH) plans a share buyback in the fourth quarter. The Scottish agricultural land market remains resilient, although IHT changes could lead to more supply from 2027. Land values in England and Wales have slipped 1.5%. Wheat prices have risen with hot weather hitting production.
AIM
Floorcoverings distributor Likewise (LIKE) is taking advantage of the strong share price to raise £28.5m at 28.5p/share and a retail offer could raise up to £2m. This cash will finance the £9.8m cost of the proposed acquisition of a 60,000 sq ft warehouse freehold in Corby, as well as enabling further acquisitions of distribution facilities. The additional distribution facility will increase capacity to £300m each year. There are also £9m of bank facilities being negotiated. Net debt was previously expected to rise to £10.7m by the end of 2026 and net cash of £2.6m is now forecast.
Xcalibur Multiphysics Group has bought a 25.5% stake in subsurface resources data supplier Getech Group (GTC). Xcalibur is a global specialist in airborne and mapping geophysics. Octopus sold its 16.4% stake, and First Equity sold its 6.42% shareholding.
Cloud-based secure payments technology developer PCI-Pal (PCIP) did better than expected in 2025-26 and grew revenues 14% to £24.6m, which means the expected loss has been reduced to £800,000. Annualised recurring revenues were 29% higher at £24.4m, providing a strong base for 2026-27 forecast earnings of £27m, which will be reassessed when the full year figures are published. Net cash is £4m. The momentum continues, especially in the US. A new strategic partnership has been signed with reseller NiCE Systems Inc. Chief executive James Barham bought 26,466 shares at 56.5p each.
Cyber security software and services provider Shearwater Group (SWG) says the business won at the end of the period meant that trading was ahead of expectations in the year to June 2026. Revenues have been upgraded 18% to £42m and earnings have been raised from 4.5p/share to 4.9p/share. Net cash was £5.6m at the end of June 2026, which is around 50% of the market capitalisation. The board is considering share buybacks and /or dividends. At this point, Cavendish is not changing its 2026-27 forecast.
Brave Bison (BBSN) has launched a bid for System1 Group (SYS1), which valued the market research technology and services provider at £43.1m, or 327p/share, at the end of trading yesterday. The bid is 135p in cash and 2.04 Brave Bison shares for each Systems1 share. Brave Bison already owns 28% of Systems1 bought from founder John Kearnon and an institutional investor for an average cost of 242p/share. The original offer was valued at 297p/share and that was followed up with a 327p/share indicative offer. The combined business would have revenues of £79m.
Transport software and technology supplier Tracsis (TRCS) is acquiring UK rail software provider Mistral Data from FirstGroup for an enterprise value of £48m. In 2025-26, revenues were £13m and EBITDA was £4m. Annualised recurring revenues are 85% of group revenues. Using the cash pile to finance this will help the enhancement of earnings. The UK rail technology market is set to grow at 5%/year.
Furnishing fabrics and wallpapers designer Colefax Group (CFX) increased full year sales 5% to £115.9m, even though decorating sales declined, while pre-tax profit rose 18% to £10.5m due to a strong performance of the fabrics business in the US. Cash was £23.5m at the end of April, after £6.1m spent on share buybacks. The total dividend is 7% higher at 6.3p/share. US sales continue to be strong, but the UK is tougher.
Professional services network DSW Capital (DSW) full year revenues improved from £5m to £6.3m, helped by the contribution from DR Solicitors. Pre-tax profit fell from £1.6m to £1.3m. There was a decline in M and A revenues, down to 31% of the total, and there is caution about revenues this year. The dividend was increased to 3.2p/share.
Shield Therapeutics (STX) says US volumes of ACCRUFeR iron replacement treatment increased, but lower selling prices in the US meant that interim revenues from that market were lower. Group revenues were 41% ahead at $30.4m because of a $7.9m milestone payment from China. Operating profitability is being maintained, but it is not enough to cover interest charges. Cash was $8.3m at the end of June 2026, but there is debt to offset against this.
Media localisation and services provider Zoo Digital (ZOO) is seeing signs of improvement in the TV and film market for localisation and dubbing. Approaches from customers are increasing and Zoo Digital is moving into new areas such as live sport. Restructuring the business has helped to reduce costs. Revenues declined from $49.6m to $42.3m. The loss was reduced from $8.3m to $2.3m. The operations generated enough cash to more than cover investment in technology. The trading improvement has continued into the first quarter of this financial year.
Mobile games developer Gaming Realms (GMR) says interim revenues will be 3% lower at £15.5m. That is because non-core brand licence revenues slumped from £2.4m to £700,000. That will hit profitability in the first half. The core business did well. Net cash is £13.5m.
Fluidpower products distributor Flowtech Fluidpower (FLO) grew like for like sales by 13% in the first half as the company gains market share. Overall sales were 24% ahead at £70.4m. This was despite the lack of sales to two bridge infrastructure projects, which are likely to come through in the second half. Full year pre0tax profit is set to jump from £1.7m to £4m.
AI-enabled PR company Pathos Communications (NEWS) interim revenues rose 14% to $7.3m and it is on track to achieve full year forecasts, which appear conservative. Revenues of $14m are estimated with underlying pre-tax profit improving from $2m to $2.7m. This is despite adding to the cost base by investing in growing operations, including a new team in Asia Pacific. Cash generation is improving.
CyanConnode (CYAN) is recommending a 10.165p/share in cash from Esyasoft, valuing the smart meter technology company at £36.5m. Esyasoft previously bought Good Energy.
Newmark Security (NWT) is selling loss making physical security business Safetell for £1 and concentrating on the human capital management division.
MAIN MARKET
Online travel hostel agency Hostelworld (HSW) has reported its interims and they were in line with the trading statement with revenues 12% ahead at €52.2m. Profit was held back by one-off charges and an additional €2.3m of marketing investment. Underlying profit after tax fell from €5.1m to €4.9m. The interim dividend is €0.0083/share. Net cash is €2.5m. Guidance is unchanged with deferred income expected to unwind in the second half.
Fully listed financial management software developer Aptitude Software (APTD) has grown annualised recurring revenues for AI autonomous finance software by 12% to £20.1m thanks to Fynapse software sales. A $5.54m, three-year contract has been won in Canada. Overall annualised recurring revenues dipped to £49.9m because of lower legacy revenues. Churn should be reduced in the second half. The quality of revenues is improving and operating profit has increased in the first half. Net cash is £15.7m, after £2.6m of share buybacks.
US cybersecurity technology company Narf Industries (NARF) increased full year revenues by 50% to $4.5m. The cash outflow from operating activities was $226,000. There is $4.1m of revenues to be recognised this year. That is despite one project has been cancelled.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 23 March 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP) reported flat interim revenues and pre-tax profit of £84.7m and £4.2m respectively. Net debt is £84.7m and a £1m share buyback is planned. The dividend has been raised 3% to 4.5p/share. NAV is 1234p/share. Pubs traded strongly and that offset lower brewing volumes, which fell 6.6% representing a slowdown in the rate of decline. Over 37 weeks the like-for-like growth in retail pub sales it 4.4%, while tenanted pubs are 3% ahead over 35 weeks. Panmure Liberum forecasts a full year pre-tax profit of £7.7m, rising to £8.4m next year.
Stack BTC (STAK) raised £1.9m at 10p/share, including £94,700 from a retail offer. The cash will be used to fund acquisitions and purchase of Bitcoin. AlbR has been appointed as joint corporate broker.
Biotech company Cardiogeni (CGNI) has agreed a deal where Kira Health Invest AG will acquire 67.5% of subsidiary Cell Therapy in return for a 32.5% shareholding in Kira’s hotels and wellness clinics subsidiary Lumen Clinics, which has assets of more than €100m. Kira will make available to Cell Therapy up to $25m to fund the cost of achieving market approval for heart failure medicine CLXR-001. This will fund a phase 2b clinical study and provide enough cash for three years. This funding would be difficult to obtain in current stockmarkets.
S-Ventures (SVEN) is raising up to £2m at 3.5p/share and invest in HDL, a drone technology business. HDL is developing hybrid unmanned aerial vehicles and intends to raise cash from investors to finance progress. S-Ventures will invest up to £1.5m and could take a board position.
Marula Mining (MARU) says assay results from the Kilifi manganese processing plant indicate the potential for a significant manganese grade uplift from processing from four areas.
Investors were disappointed with drilling news from Wishbone Gold (WSBN) concerning Red Setter project in Western Australia, which is near to the Telfer mine.
BWA Holdings (BWAP) had a cash outflow from operations of £99,500 in the six months to December 2025. There was £47,666 in cash at the end of 2025.
Patrick Chophard and Oliver Murphy have stepped down from the Ethtry (ETHY) board and Steve Winfield has returned as an executive director. Ethtry says it plans to “concentrate on building a scalable platform at the intersection of digital infrastructure and next-generation computing, with particular emphasis on opportunities across data centre infrastructure, artificial intelligence and emerging quantum technologies”. There is also an Ethereum treasury policy.
B HODL (HODL) has bought one Bitcoin for £53,363. The total holding is 163.487 Bitcoin at an average cost of £82,319 each.
Coinsilium (COIN) has completed a strategic investment in Singapore-based Predictive Labs. It spent $150,000 for a 5.52% stake and Coinsilium could subscribed for shares to increase it to 16.3%. Additional options could take the stake to 29.85%.
Sulnox Group (SNOX) says results of an independent laboratory evaluation of Sulnox Eco™ confirmed full compatibility across all fuels tested and showed performance benefits.
Zentra Group (ZNT) has earned a £350,000 fee for the sale of the One Heritage Tower site. The residential developer has entered into a relationship agreement with majority shareholder GKU.
IntelliAM (INT) has appointed Cavendish as corporate adviser and broker.
TechFinancials (TECH) is changing its name to Ubuntu Mining and Metals Inc.
Hot Rocks Investments (HRIP) has reduced its stake in Mendell Helium (MDH) from 6.5% to 4.69%. Mustapha and Maya El Khalil have a 7.46% shareholding in Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP).
Ajax Resources (AJAX) chief executive Ippolito Ingo Cattaneo bought 123,840 shares at 7.25p each and Richard Heyward acquired 33,172 shares at 7.536p each. BWA (BWAP) non-exec John Byfield bought 2.22 million shares at 0.225p each. VSA Capital (VSA) finance director Galin Ganchev bought an initial 32,833 shares at 3p each. Equipmake (EQIP) chairman Tim Metcalfe bought 682,730 shares at 1.245p each.
AIM
River Global (RVRG) plans to sell the asset management business it has built up to fully listed Liontrust Asset Management (LIO). The initial consideration will be £7.6m in Liontrust shares, followed by up to £2.1m shares depending on certain revenues being achieved. The deal will also release capital from the business. The Liontrust shares will be distributed to A share holders. The B shares are unaffected. The remaining interest will be a structured 30% interest in Parmenion, which is a high growth investment platform. Shareholders and the FCA have to approve the deal.
Pawnbroker Ramsdens Holdings (RFX) has published a second update in two months and it has sparked another forecast increase. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to be £24m, compared with £21.1m previously. Precious metals buying continues to boom with a 50% increase in volumes. Jewellery retail is 25% ahead, while pawnbroking is at record levels and forex is in line with expectations.
Africa-focused oil and gas company Afentra (AET), along with Sonangol and Etablissements Maurel & Prom S.A., is jointly acquiring Etu Energias’ 10% stake in block 3/05 and 13.33% stake in block 3/05A in Angola. Afentra will buy 3.33% and 3.66% of these bocks respectively. This will cost $15.2m, plus contingent consideration of up to $6.74m. The effective date of the transaction will be the end of 2023. Afentra has also launched a strategic review following bid approaches.
Retailer TheWorks.co.uk (WRKS) is closing its online channel and moving to a non-transactional website. Online is making a small and reducing contribution to revenues. There will be exceptional costs of £2m. There are plans to open more stores. Like-for-like growth has been 3.3% this year and the company expects to meet market EBITDA expectations of £11m, or £13.5m for continuing activities. Without the online loss, 2026-27 EBITDA has been upgraded from £12.7m to £15m.
Franchised lettings and property sales business The Property Franchise Group (LSE: TPFG) is well positioned for the Renters Rights bill coming into effect. In 2025, revenues were one-quarter higher at £84.3m. Organic growth was 9%. Underlying pre-tax profit improved from £22.3m to £31m, which was better than expected. Earnings jumped from 29.1p/share to 36.5p/share. Net debt has fallen to £2.3m and there will be net cash by the end of 2026.
Diagnostics developer and manufacturer Abingdon Health (ABDX) is benefiting from strong contract development revenues. Interim revenues were 44% higher at £4.5m. the loss was reduced from £2.6m to £2.3m. Capacity is being increased in North America, and this is helping to win new contracts. The full year loss is expected to fall from £3.2m to £1.7m.
Gaming technology and displays supplier Nexteq (NXQ) is diversifying its customer base and this helped when its major customer got taken over. Revenues improved 4% to $90.2m in 2025, while pre-tax profit fell by one-quarter to $3.6m. A further decline to $2m is expected this year, although the $25m cash pile could be used to acquire a business to boost profitability.
Payment services provider Boku (BOKU) increased 2025 revenues by 30% to $128.8m with the main growth coming from digital wallets and bundling. Active users are 31% higher at 114.4 million. Operating profit trebled to £18.9m. The company’s cash increased to £102.9m. The momentum is continuing. Boku intends to repurchase up to 4 million shares. Former boss Jon Prideaux is stepping down from the board.
Chemotherapy drugs developer CRISM Therapeutics (CRTX) has gained orphan drug designation from the US FDA for irinotecan for the treatment of malignant glioma. This utilises the company’s ChemoSeed technology, which is an implantable, biodegradable technology designed for the localised and sustained delivery of chemotherapy directly into cancer tissue. The orphan drug status will enhance the profile of the commercial development programme.
Strategic Minerals (SML) is raising £4.7m at 3.5p/share. A prominent international investor approached the company. The cash will be spent on the Redmoor Tungsten-Tin-Copper project in Cornwall. Following the fundraising, there was news concerning improvements in tungsten and silver recovery. Tungsten recovery is 85.8% and silver recovery is 58.7%. This will boost the forthcoming mineral resource estimate.
Cyber security services and software provider Shearwater Group (SWG) has grown interim revenues by 31% to £14m, but there was a loss. Contracts are being renewed and there is a good base for the second half. Net cash was £2.2m. Full year revenues are set to rise from £31.6m to £35.5m, and pre-tax profit is expected to be £1.1m.
Digital loyalty and promotions platform operator Eagle Eye (EYE) had a good first half and annualised recurring revenues were 3% ahead at £42.2m despite the loss of a major contract. There was a sharp decline in profit, but cash generated covered capital investment. The second half should mark the bottom for Eagle Eye before a strong bounce back next year. Pre-tax profit could slump to £900,000 this year before rebounding to £3m next year.
Retail software provider itim Group (ITIM) says 2025 revenues will be below 2024 levels at around £17.5m due to delays in contract wins. Former AIM-quoted retailer Quiz went into administration and that has increased the expected loss to £500,000. Cost savings could help itim breakeven in 2026 on limited growth in revenues.
Virgin Wines (VINO) is starting to see the benefits of its new strategy. There was a 40% increase in customers acquired in the first half and the new mobile app is yet to be fully launched. Interim revenues were 2% higher at £34.7m in a deteriorating market and growth has accelerated in the pre-Christmas period and accelerated further in January and February. Investment in the strategy led to a swing from profit to loss. Share buybacks continue.
Market research services provider Systems1 (SYS1) is trading in line with expectations and strong momentum has enabled a forecast upgrade for 2026-27. There have also been cost reductions. The current year forecast is maintained at £2.1m, down from £5.2m. A pre-tax profit of £4.5m is expected for 2026-27, up from £2.7m previously, based on unchanged revenues of £39.1m.
CPPGroup (CPP) says it has been told that it will not receive any of the potential $5m deferred consideration for its former business in India. CPPGroup is considering its options, but if it does not receive any cash it will have to raise funding within 12 months.
Concierge technology platform provider Ten Lifestyle (TENG) has increased first half EBITDA by 16% to £1m despite unfavourable foreign exchange movements. Active members are 23% higher at 436,000. Net cash is £9.3m.
Logistics Development Group (LDG) says 50.7%-owned WS Holdco has acquired transport and logistics business EV Cargo Solutions and Distribution. The combined business will have annual sales of more than £300m.
MAIN MARKET
Foam manufacturer Zotefoams (ZTF) is making strong progress and produced record results in 2025. Pre-tax profit improved from £15.6m to £21.2m. The OKC acquisition made a small initial contribution. There was growth in Europe and North America. Footwear volumes were strong, but they are expected to ease back this year. Transport and smart technologies provide growth potential. Aerospace volumes have been recovering. Construction has been weak but there is potential for recovery.
Panther Metals (PALM) has announced two batches of assay results for the Winston tailings project. The first results showed good grade consistency and were better than the preliminary results published last year. The second assay results also showed better results than the preliminary results.
New Frontier Minerals (NFM) intends to accelerate activities at the NWQ copper project, including the Big One copper deposit where a mining lease is in the process of being obtained. There is a strong working capital position of A$2.62m with potential funding from grants and R&D rebates.
Singer Capital has initiated research on digital assets investor KR1 (KR1). The focus is increasing income to help the company to be self-funding and increasing exposure to Digital Asset Financial Infrastructure It set a 12-month target share price of 25p.
Nanoco (NANO) has entered a binding term sheet with Shoei to stay ongoing litigation with no compensation payable by either party. They will not sue each other for use of their respective quantum dot patents. A definitive agreement will be negotiated.
Taylor Maritime (TMIP) returned $143.4m to shareholders in February and plans to return at least $30m in the third quarter. Details should be published at the end of April. There will still be a regular quarterly dividend of 2 cents/share. The sale of a vessel raised $17m. The managed realisation of assets will continue.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 9 March 2026
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Mendell Helium (MDH) says M3 Helium, which it has an option to acquire that has been extended to 30 April, will commence drilling of the next Fort Dodge well during March. This is near to the Rost 1-26 well. Further drilling permits are being sought for deeper helium prospects. A US investor group may co-fund the Rost twin well. There is also a potential deal to co-develop a shut-in well. The publication of the AIM admission document should be in March.
Ajax Resources (AJAX) has entered an option to purchase 100% of the Macacha copper and silver project, previously known as the Leon project, in Argentina. An initial $100,000 will be paid in shares. Ajax Resources will pay $3m when the option is exercised within 36 months of Environmental Impact Assessment publication. There is a mineral resource estimate of 6.6 million tonnes of Indicated and Inferred resources at 0.62% copper and 18 g/t silver. This equates to approximately 40,900 tonnes of contained copper and 3.8 million ounces of silver, representing an in-situ gross metal value of approximately $900m at prevailing market prices. The deeper mineralisation has not been tested. Former AIM company Alexander Mining had undertaken trial mining at the project. Management is talking with two potential buyers of its interest in the Eureka gold and copper project.
Delta Gold Technologies (DGQ) is advancing the University of Toronto C$259,000 from the year 2 sponsorship earlier than expected. This is part of the C$1m commitment. The cash will finance the addition of a second component to the Cryo-refrigeration system, which allows testing of nano-scale structures.
Astrid Intelligence (ASTR) director Siam Kidd acquired 23.9 million shares at 0.187p each, prior to his becoming chief executive. The company has increased its TAO token deployment into an over the counter partnership transaction with video intelligence infrastructure developer Score (Subnet 44), operating within the Bittensor ecosystem. This means Astrid has bought 78,740.05 alpha at an implied price of 0.0127 TAO per alpha. Astrid has launched Astrid Vault, an on-chain platform designed to improve liquidity and stability across the Bittensor AI network.
Digital assets developer Coinsilium (COIN) has confirmed that the balance sheet has been strengthened and the portfolio is maturing. A subsidiary owns 182 Bitcoin. The Yellow Network Token and Trading Platform launch is scheduled for 8 March 2026. Coinsillium wants to have broader participation in the network.
Tamar Minerals (TMR) has raised £1.7m at 3p/share and acquired Godolphin Mining for £350,000 of shares at the same price. Godolphin Mining owns the Duke of Leeds mineral rights in Cornwall, and it is owned by Tamar Minerals chairman Mark Thompson. This will eliminate rent and lease-based royalties.
Emission reduction products developer Sulnox Group (SNOX) has secured a distribution agreement with Egypt-based Pan Marine Petroleum Services and the first commercial order has been placed. This deal provides access to trade in the Suez Canal.
Stack BTC (STAK) has bought an initial 21 Bitcoin at £53,729 each.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) investee company Morris Commercial, which is developing the Morris JE electric van, has raised a further £1.5m in convertible notes and Capital for Colleagues has invested an additional £500,000. Deliveries of the van could start in 2027.
Crushmetric Group (CUSH) has raised £160,000 through a share issue at 8.5p/share.
Equipmake (EQIP) finance director Ian Selby bought an initial 375,000 shares at 1.39p each. Chairman Tim Metcalfe and his wife acquired 971,222 shares at 1.39p each.
AIM
Restaurants operator Various Eateries (VARE) is acquiring a portfolio of premium pubs from Grosvenor Pubs and Inns. The first four sites should be acquired for £11.25m by 23 March, and another site could be bought soon afterwards. Four of the five sites are freehold. The initial four sites generated revenues of £10.5m and EBITDA of £1.5m. These sites will operate under the brand The Linwood Collection. A £15m debt facility will fund the acquisitions. The company will change its name to Coppa Collective.
FRP Advisory has been appointed as administrator of video streaming technology group Aferian (AFRN) and it has sold the subsidiaries of the company to Sapphire Technology Group for $1.3m, plus $700,000 of deferred consideration payable in January 2027 if the annual revenues of the subsidiaries are at least $30.6m and annual recurring revenues are greater than $8.9m. The outstanding debt of Aferian is $16.5m.
CyanConnode (CYAN) has negotiated a revised non-binding proposal from Esyasoft, which recently acquired Good Energy. The offer is 10.44p/share, valuing CyanConnode at £37.5m. The original indicative offer was 9.75p/share. The share price has not been above 10p since April 2025.
FIH Group (FIH) is selling The Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company for £11.6m. The ultimate buyer is Collins River Enterprises, which trades under Uber Boat by Thames Clippers. The ferry operator has a net book value of £7.59m and made a pre-tax profit of £530,000 under the ownership of FIH.
General Motors has informed Surface Transforms (SCE) that is re-sourcing supply of brake discs. This contract generated £15.3m in 2025, which was 84% of group revenues. The contract was expected to last until 2030. General Motors has provided advanced payments and financial support of £14.4m. The company has not yet spoken directly to General Motors. The contract loss is a major blow and Surface Transforms will employ corporate restructuring advisers.
Molecular diagnostics company Novacyt (NCYT) has launched a preferential subscription rights issue to raise €785,000 at €0.40/share. Shareholders are offered one share for every 36 they hold. The subscription period ends on 17 March. This follows the acquisition of Southern Cross Diagnostics for £4.4m, which will enable entry to the Australian market as well as adding products that can be distributed in other countries. The previous owner of Southern Cross has committed to subscribe for shares, as have some members of the Novacyt board. The final subscriptions depend on the take up of other shareholders. Novacyt generated revenues of around £20m in 2025, but remains loss making, and cash was £19.2m at the end of 2025.
Business and healthcare software provider AdvancedAdvT (ADVT) has launched a £10m share buyback programme and is also considering a tender offer. This will depend on the potential for acquisitions. There was £96m in the bank at the end of February 2026.
Digital marketing services provider Silver Bullet Data Services (SBDS) expects to report flat revenues in 2025 because of a weak quarter four due to the US government shutdown and uncertainty over tariffs. Costs have been reduced and the company is making a positive EBITDA so far in 2026. Trading is improving and committed revenues are 73% of expected revenues for 2026.
Xeros Technology (XSG) says its filtration manufacturing partner has received an order from MediaMarkt, the largest consumer electronics retailer in Europe, for XF3 units that will be sold under its Koenic brand. Xeros receives a royalty on each unit. Russell Hobbs will launch XF3 in the second quarter of 2026.
Quantum Blockchain Technologies (QBT) has had a busy week. It has delivered its first Bitcoin mining rig to one of its three ASIC manufacturers that is a potential partner. The company is working on implementing the software version of Method C AI Oracle into the rig’s operating system. This follows progress with patent applications. Discussions have been held with interested parties at the Nashville Energy & Mining Summit in late January.
Beacon Energy (BCE) has been readmitted to AIM following the purchase of a 48% stake in Italian gas projects developer LN Energy, which holds 90% of the Colle Santo field in onshore Italy. The field has 2P gas reserves of 12mmboe and could start producing within 18 months. The rise in gas prices makes the field potentially even more strongly cash generative. This will cost $30m and be funded by debt. Beacon Energy has raised £3.75m at 3.9p/share.
Brave Bison (BBSN) has acquired a 22.9% stake in market research services provider System1 (SYS1) from the founder John Kearon in return for 9.81 million shares in Brave Bison (8.7%). He has stepped down from the System1 board. Brave Bison is supportive of System1’s strategy.
Investment company Onward Opportunities (ONWD) plans to move to the Main Market to broaden the potential investor base. This could happen in the second quarter. NAV was 136.9p/share at the end of February 2026.
MicroSalt (SALT) has received an order from a new flavours and ingredients customer in the UK.
MAIN MARKET
Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) increased NAV from 118.5p/share to 142.3p/share in the six months to December 2025. The larger investments have all increased due to new contracts being won and some fundraisings at higher valuations in the period and they have continued to progress in 2026. This reflects the strong institutional interest in space investment. Increasing defence spending is increasing the potential market value of the space sector.
New Frontier Minerals (NFM) has identified tungsten at the harts Range project in Northern Territory, but significant concentrations or rare earth materials were not found.
Mears (MER) has sold education and health facilities management business Morrison Facilities Services for £18m. It generated a pre-tax profit of £2.8m last year.
Bitcoin investor and wed development company The Smarter Web Company (SWC) has bought another 3 Bitcoin at £47,871 each. That takes the total holding to 2,692 Bitcoin. The company will become a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap index on 23 March.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 15 July 2024
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) is raising £750,000 at 2.5p so that it can provide funding for the Amapa iron ore project. This will be spent on testing the 67.6% green iron product flow sheet to pre-feasibility study level. The pre-feasibility study will then be revised. Earlier in the week, an updated study of the Amapa iron ore project, where Cadence Minerals owns 34.2%, shows process plant optimisation can be improved. The mine life of 15 years can have a throughput of 13Mt/year of iron ore. Cash cost is reduced to $33.50/t. The NPV10 for the project has increased by one-fifth to $1.1bn.
VSA Capital (VSA) reported a slump in full year revenues from £4.36m to £1.89m and there was a loss of £2.4m. There was a £1.67m loss on investments due to the reversal of a transaction with Silverwood Brands (SLWD). There was cash of £229,000 at the end of March 2024 and net cash of just over £12,000. Net assets are £1.66m. The £56m fundraising for Invinity Energy (IES) happened after the year end. The company is working on another large deal.
Oscillate (MUSH) has entered into non-binding heads of terms for the acquisition of Quantum Hydrogen Inc. The bid target has exploration rights over 60,000 acres in the state of Minnesota. There is a 60-day due diligence period. Richard and Charlott Edwards have reduced their stake in Oscillate from 8.31% to 7.6%.
Marula Mining (MARU) has acquired a 51% interest in the Kruisriver cobalt project in South Africa for an initial £100,000 in shares at 10p each and a further £100,000 on completion of due diligence. The mine used to produce cobalt. Marula Mining will fund an updated bankable feasibility study. A monthly management fee of £4,300 will be paid to the seller and after 12 months or less a further £200,000 in shares and $1.7m in cash will be payable. Marula Mining is also acquiring the Kilifi manganese processing plant in Kenya. It intends to buy mining operations to supply it.
Gunsynd (GUN) has decided to leave Aquis and it plans to acquire a 100% stake in the Falcon Lake uranium, copper and cobalt project and the Bear-Twit VMS project in Canada. The consideration is £200,000 in shares and cash. It will also commit £100,000 to work programmes. The last day of dealings on Aquis will be 9 August.
Skin treatments developer Incanthera (INC) has received a second Skin + CELL production order of 250,000 units from Marionnaud AG. This will be delivered before the end of March 2025. Total projected revenues for both orders are more than £10m.
Shortwave Life Sciences (PSY) has received a positive response from the PCT examining authority acknowledging its patent claims for its drug delivery platform for psychedelic-based drugs. More than nine million shares have been issued as deferred consideration for the acquisition of Shortwave Pharma Inc.
Quantum Exponential Group (QBIT) is still talking to a potential investor and there have been indications of interest from others. These discussions have been going on for weeks, but management believes that they have potential for a positive conclusion.
Software developer IntelliAM (INT) has secured a funding award of £263,000 from DIF Lighthouse Fund. This is for research into the application of AI in lubrication analysis. A machine learning model will be created. Gresham House Asset Management holds 23.5% of the company.
United General is investing €1m in Substrate AI (SAI). Jonathan Belliss has increased his stake in Hot Rock Investments (HRIP) from 3.4% to 15.5%. Coinsilium Group (COIN) chief executive Eddy Travia and chairman Malcolm Palle each bought 300,000 shares at 1.67p each. Shepherd Neame (SHEP) non-executive director George Barnes bought 1,000 shares at 666p each. Tap Global Group (TAP) chief executive Arsen Torosian bought 12.25 million shares at 0.5p each.
EPE Special Opportunities (EO.P) had net assets of 246.28p/share at the end of June 20204.
AIM
Rosebank Industries (ROSE), which was set up by founders and management of FTSE 100 index constituent Melrose Industries, joined AIM on Thursday 11 July. Just like Melrose Industries, Rosebank Industries has started out on AIM as an investment company seeking a large initial acquisition. The plan is to identify underperforming industrial and manufacturing companies, acquire them and improve their performance. Rosebank Industries raised £50m at 250p/share and the share price soared on the first day and the momentum continued on Friday. The share price jumped to 675p.
Trading is in line with expectations at production machinery supplier Mpac (MPAC). Sales are likely to increase by 16% in the first half of 2024 and operating profit could nearly double. That is partly due to a weak first half in 2023. The order book is valued at £71m. New customers are being won with the Americas doing well.
Market research firm System1 Group (SYS1) has provided a first quarter update one week after publishing 2023-24 results. All geographic regions are growing, and group sales are 53% ahead of the first quarter of the previous year. This is a record quarterly figure. The company appears well on course to improve full year pre-tax profit from £3.1m to £4.4m.
Property services provider Kinovo (KINO) has almost sorted out its problems with former subsidiary DCB following the collapse of the buyer. The total liability is £12.9m with the final site set to be completed within weeks. That is a figure before any cash that could be recoverable. This could reduce the figure by more than £2m. Most of the cash has already been paid and the final amount of £2.2m will be paid over 18 months. In the year to March 2024, Kinovo revenues improved from £62.7m to £64.1m even though a private sector renewables contract worth £3.6m/year was not renewed by choice. Free cash flow was £7.2m and the DCB outflow was £7.4m.
In the year to March 2024, TPXimpact (TPX) revenues increased from £69.7m to £84.3m, while pre-tax profit improved from £800,000 to £1.8m. Disposals and reduced working capital meant that net debt fell from £17.5m to £7.1m. There is no dividend and that is likely to continue to be the case. The debt facility is £25m and lasts until July 2026.
Driving safety technology developer Seeing Machines (SEE) has bought Asaphus Vision, a machine learning and AI technology developer, for up to $6m from automotive components supplier Valeo and secured a collaboration agreement. The deal adds IP to the group and three ongoing automotive programmes. There is also a new Berlin base that will help to boost European business.
Communications and power products supplier Solid State (SOLI) reported a jump in full year pre-tax profit from £10.8m to £15.6m, but this level of profit will not be maintained this year. There was strong demand in the systems division and a £10m order was delivered earlier than expected.
Legal services provider Knights Group Holdings (KGH) reported figures for the year to April 2024 showing pre-tax profit improving from £11.5m to £14.8m and the total dividend was raised to 4.4p/share. This year has started well with residential property business recovering and net debt should reduce.
Investment company Mindflair (MFAI) was given a boost by the acquisition of Landvault by AI company Infinite Reality. Landvault is valued at $450m in shares and is part of the portfolio of Sure Valley Ventures Fund, where MindFlair holds13%, plus a further 5.3% via its stake in full listed Sure Ventures (SURE). The fund owns 7% of Landvault and the valuation of the stake is $6m, which is a 470% increase on book value at the end of 2023. That suggests that MindFlair’s share is nearly $1.1m.
Biome Technologies (BIOM) is still suffering from delays in orders at its bioplastics division and technical validations may not be finalised until later in 2024. Also, the coffee packaging market has weakened. In contrast, there should be significant revenues from the RF Technologies division. Overall revenues will be well below expectations. A small loss is expected for 2024. Additional working capital may be required.
Business recovery services provider Begbies Traynor (BEG) reported an improvement in pre-tax profit from £20.7m to £22m in 2023-24 as expected. There is organic growth as well as contributions from acquisitions.
Employee benefits and insurance provider Personal Group Holdings (PGH) is selling Let’s Connect, which it acquired ten years ago, at well below the purchase price. In 2014, Let’s Connect was acquired for an initial £6m. The Perkbox Vivup Group is paying £2m for technology salary sacrifice business Let’s Connect.
Demand for fixed interest fund has pushed up the assets under the management of Premier Miton (PMI) by 8% to £10.6bn. There has also been a more recent recovery in funds inflows for international equity funds. Multi-asset funds are less appealing to investors.
TV programmes producer Zinc Media (ZIN) has secured 2024 revenues of £28m, which is lower than the same time last year. There have been delays to signing deals, so that could be a timing issue. Improving TV advertising revenues could reduce the constraints on budgets and increase activity in the second half. Singer is maintaining its 2024 forecast revenues at £41m. The corporate video and branded content business has been restructured and costs reduced.
Pit optimisations at the Dokwe gold project in Zimbabwe, recently acquired by Ariana Resources (AAU), have increased measured and indicated resources by 16%. Dokwe could produce 75,000-100,000 ounces of gold/year for more than a decade. A revised pre-feasibility study should be published in a few months. The previous study suggested a post-tax NPV10 of $160m.
Oracle Power (ORCP) says drilling results from the Northern Zone project in Western Australia has intersected gold mineralisation to the north and south of the maiden resource. There is shallower supergene gold mineralisation than anticipated. Further drilling is planned to the north east.
Crimson Tide (TIDE) shares declined after Ideagen decided not to bid.
MAIN MARKET
Packaging manufacturer and distributor Macfarlane Group (MACF) has made another earnings enhancing acquisition. It In 2023, pre-tax profit was £1.3m. This deal will broaden the scope of the group’s protective packaging operations.
Creightons (CRL) has impaired the valuation of skincare company Emma Hardie, acquired for £6.2m, by £4.5m. Results will be published on 18 July.
Metals X has taken a 22.6% stake in First Tin (1SN), having acquired the shares from Clara Resources. Metals X will also subscribe for 11.5 million shares in the £2.1m fundraising at 4p/share.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 5 September 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Cancer treatments developer Incanthera (INC) says that commercial discussions continue for skin cancer treatment Sol and there is potential for a Sol-based product range. There is still £295,000 of cash in the balance sheet at the end of March 2022. The Actino-Pro brand has been trademarked. There was a cash outflow from operations of £660,000 in the previous 12 months. Two directors have provided a loan facility of £190,000, of which £50,000 has been drawn. The directors have waived their remuneration and a payment to UOB has been deferred. Management believes that Incanthera will have enough finance until the fourth quarter of 2023. Potential partners could take advantage of the lack of cash when doing a deal.
S-Ventures (SVEN) has acquired Lizza, a wellness and free-from food brand, from Peter Cremer Holding. The Hamburg-based agricultural business is subscribing £2m for shares in S-Ventures at 70p each. The share price has never traded at that level. Lizza produces pasta and breads and provides S-Ventures with a base in the German market. Revenues were €4.5m in 2021. The initial cost of the deal is €1, but there is an earn-out based on a share of profit over ten years up to a maximum total of €2.366m.
Healthcare IT developer DXS International (DXSP) is reviewing its growth plans for the next 24 months. The new strategy will be designed accelerate growth and is likely to require additional funds. They will probably be raised through a share issue and that appears to have worried investors.
KR1 (KR1) has invested $300,000 in RedStone Finance, as part of a $7m fundraising. KR1 participated in the previous financing round. RedStone is developing RedStone Oracles, a provider of data feeds for crypto assets, and smart contract platform provider Warp Contracts.
Rent guarantee service provider RentGuarantor Holdings (RGG) published interim results showing a jump in revenues from £91,000 to £170,000. Higher admin expenses meant that the loss increased from £258,000 to £353,000. Revenues continued to improve in July and August.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) says 40%-owned Whale Head Minerals has received a mining permit for its near-production minerals sands operation, which has an estimated NPV of £150m. Tectonic Gold has agreed to transfer a 30% stake to Whale Head Minerals’ BEE partners, which have mining expertise, and it will retain a non-diluting interest of 10%.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) says contract manufacturer Baojia has shipped 1.1MWh of Invinity batteries from its factory in China designed for the project with Elemental Energy in Canada. Final assembly and testing will be done by Invinity Energy Systems at its factory before delivery.
TECC Capital (TEC) has invested a further £200,000 in convertible loan notes in EDX Medical. This takes the total investment in convertibles to £500,000, which is guaranteed by EDX Medical founder Professor Sir Chris Evans. Discussions continue about the acquisition of EDX Medical.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has sold tacks and nails manufacturer IVI Metallics for £1. The business had net liabilities of £458,000 and it has struggled to rebuild its order book. Vulcan Industries still provides a cross guarantee for the CBIL liability of £739,000.
SuperSeed Capital Ltd (WWW) says that SuperSeed Fund II has led a $3.6m investment in brand advocacy platform Duel. The software-as-a-service platform helps retail brands grow via positive feedback from customers. ASOS, Unilever and Mint Velvet are among the clients.
Evrima (EVA) has an 8.93% stake in Kalahari Key, which has provided an update on the Molopo Farms Complex project. A diamond drilling contract has been signed with a Botswana-based company.
Yooma Wellness Inc (YOOM) increased interim revenues from $2.78m to $6.49m and the loss has been reduced from $5.57m to $3.83m. CBD product sales were strong in Europe and Japan. The company has been reducing its expenses.
Clarify Pharma (PSYC) had cash of £2.1m at the end of May 2022. It is seeking investments in the medical use of psychedelics.
Oscillate (MUSH) had £1.91m in the bank at the end of May 2022, although £600,000 has been invested in Aquis-quoted Psych Capital (PSY) and fully listed Dev Clever (LON: DEV).
AIM
Futura Medical (FUM) says that the clinical study for the MED3000 topical gel erectile dysfunction treatment has met its primary and secondary endpoints. The study showed an improvement in erectile function and a highly statistic improvement in the onset of action at 10 minutes. There were limited side effects with 4.3% of patient suffering headaches and a further 4.3% nausea, which is much better than rival treatment tadalafil. The next move is submitting MED3000 for FDA review as a De Novo medical device for the over-the-counter treatment of erectile dysfunction. This could lead to marketing authorisation by the first quarter of 2023. MED3000 has received the UKCA mark.
Neurocrine Biosciences Inc is making a recommended bid of 27.5p a share in cash for hormonal disease treatments developer Diurnal (DNL), which values the company at £48.3m. The April 2021 placing and open offer was at 70p a share and the share price has slumped since then. Revenues have not built up as fast as hoped and another cash raising is on the horizon if Diurnal stays independent.
Pharma software provider Instem (INS) has gained its largest ever contract. The deal is worth at least $12m over five years. The client is a contract research organisation and is for the company’s cloud-based Aspire clinical trial acceleration software, which will be launched with the customer in one year. There is $3m for implementation and the rest is paid in instalments of $2.25m a year over four years. The annual recurring revenues are $1m more than for the Instem system that is being replaced.
Egg-free cakes retailer Cake Box (CBOX) says trading is becoming more difficult and only part of the cost increases it is suffering are being passed on to franchisees. Sales are also under pressure with a like-for-like decline of 2.8% so far in this financial year. This means that full year profit will be much lower than the £7.2m expected. There is £6.7m in cash, although the £2m dividend will be paid in September. Chief executive Sukh Chamdal acquired 225,000 shares at 121.85p each.
Telephony services provider LoopUp Group (LOOP) has taken on a book of conference service contracts from a US competitor for no initial payment. There is a revenue share agreement for three years to October 2025. These contracts could generate cash of £5m a year, although it may reduce due to customer churn. This is much-needed cash flow for the business, which is still heavily loss-making. The new bank facility is £17m and that more than covers the expected net debt at the end of 2023.
Oil and gas producer PetroNeft Resources (PTR) has an oil storage and transportation contract with Nord Imperial for production from licence 61 in Tomsk Oblast, Russia at a cost that is far above standard market rates. PetroNeft has tried to change the contract and started paying reduced amounts, but Nord Imperial has suspended acceptance of oil. PetroNeft is shutting down its wells, which will hit income. Licence 67 is not affected and is producing 270 barrels of oil per day.
Independent directors of market research firm System1 Group (SYS1) are conducting a strategic review and the proposed tender offer has been postponed. This review will assess whether the company can grow faster if partners or an external investor are brought in.
MAIN MARKET
Zamaz (ZAMZ) joined the standard list last Friday and raised £3.69m. Cornerstone investor Atlas paid 10.45p a share, which is a 5% discount to the nominal subscription price. Most of the cash will go on expenses and repaying existing bonds. Zamaz believes that its technology platform can help to efficiently build direct to consumer brands via e-commerce. Amazon is currently the main marketplace used by the company. There is already a portfolio of brands in the group, but most are at an early stage of their development. There are plans to acquire more brands. Revenues are relatively modest and Zamaz is losing money. The share price fell to 9.48p (8p/10.95p) on the first day. There were 90,000 shares traded in one deal at 10.95p. The shares are tightly held and there is potential dilution from the convertibles worth up to £15m that could be issued to Atlas Capital Markets and the associated warrants.
First Tin (1SN) has announced positive intercepts at the latest two drill holes at the Gottesberg tin project in Germany. These and other results validate the belief that a higher grade core exists within the deposit.
Iconic Labs (ICON) has settled disputes and has finalised proposals for a company voluntary arrangement. If this goes ahead then the administration will end and trading in the shares may recommence once up to date results have been published. The shares have been suspended for around 15 months.
Andrew Hore
Ian Pollard: Sanderson Sees Double Digit Growth
Sanderson Group plc SND Half year trading results to the end of March, are ahead of management’s expectations with revenue growing to approximately £17.0 million from last years £14.6 million and operating profit increasing by over 30% to £2.8 million from last years £2.1 million. Digital Retail has continued to perform strongly during the six months and achieved further double-digit revenue and operating profit growth.in The Manufacturing business sales orders grew by over 10%. The Board is confident that it will be able to maintain its progressive dividend policy.
System 1 Group plc Sys1 updates that its Consultancy business stabilised after a difficult 2017/18. Gross profit was down 1% for the year as a whole at £22m but Being 4% ahead in the second half, allowed it to generate underlying pre-tax profits for the year as a whole.
Serabi Gold plc SRB Reports another excellent quarter with a strong start made to 2019 and over 10,000 ounces of gold produced in the first quarter, keeping up the momentum from the end of 2018 and the second successive quarter with production above 10,000 ounces for the first time. Guidance for 2019 is maintained at production in the range of 40,000-44,000 ounces representing a significant improvement on 2018’s production of 37,108 ounces.
IG Design Group plc IGR The strong trading performance continued in the final quarter both delivering revenue and profit growth across all regions in the year to the 31st March.. The Board now anticipates that the financial performance of the Group will be be up significantly up year on year. The progressive dividend policy is expected to be continued earnings pay-out ratio is also expected to be increasesd at the full year.
Beachfront villas & houses for sale in Greece; http://www.hiddengreece.net
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 5 November 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP) has secured long-term facilities of £50m, which expires in 2023, and a £35m private placement of loan notes with BAE Systems Pensions Fund which lasts for 20 years. These replace existing loans. A revaluation of pub assets has delivered a £24m gain on book value.
Mechanical and electrical services provider Field Systems Designs Holdings (FSD) has benefitted from strong spending in the water sector as Asset Management Plan 6 reaches its mid-point, as well as demand from the energy from waste sector. However, the energy from waste customer’s tough stance has held back group gross margin. In the year to May 2018, revenues improved from £17.2m to £25.9m, but pre-tax profit fell from £839,000 to £625,000. If the defined benefit scheme settlement gain is stripped out, then there is an improvement in profit from £463,000 to £558,000. There is £3.97m in the bank. The current order book is worth £12m.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) is pushing ahead with Flowstone Capital Ltd, which is a private crypto fund and it has set up Flowstone Management Ltd to manage the fund. Coinsilium has also secured a strategic advisory partnership with LC LITE, which is planning a token generation event to finance the development of a digital letter of credit system for importers and exporters.
Startup Giants (SUG) still had £665,000 in the ban at the end of July 2018. Thee are plans to raise more cash via the event management services provider Exponential Events’ platform.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) is in talks with blockchain-based sports ticketing platform Footies Tech to establish a new subsidiary to develop a blockchain-based venue management system. The idea is that TechFinancials will own 75% of the company and it would provide finance of up to $500,000 to develop a proof of concept. TechFinancials will licence its technology to the new company for free.
Formerly AIM-quoted Metminco (MNC) has withdrawn from the proposed acquisition of Gunsynd (GUN) investee company Sunshine Minerals after it failed to complete due diligence. Gunsynd says that there are other interested buyers even though the nickel price has fallen since the original announcement about the proposed acquisition.
The chairman and chief executive of DXS International (DXSP) have bought further shares last week. Chairman Bob Sutcliffe bought 18,857 shares at 10.5p each, while chief executive Bob Immelman acquired 19,802 shares at 10p a share which took his stake to 10.4%.
Ananda Investments (ANA) executive director Melissa Sturgess has bought another 500,000 shares at 0.4501p each.
AIM
Gordon Dadds (GOR) is acquiring Ince and Co International LLP and its associates, which will make it the largest quoted law firm. Annual revenues will be more than £110m. The estimated consideration will be £34m, depending on revenues generated in the three years after acquisition. The merged company will be called Ince Gordon Dadds. Share trading remains suspended until the full details of the deal are published.
Watkin Jones (WJG) says that its full year figures will be slightly better than expected. Good progress is being made with the build to rent operations, but the benefits will come in the future. The sale of a client portfolio of the student accommodation management division has led to a termination fee and a share in the profit of the disposal, which totals £4m.
Concepta (CPT) has obtained a CE Mark for its myLotus fertility testing technology. This enables women to test for their optimal level of fertility. The self-test platform has been launched at the Fertility Show in London. Initial sales will be via the company’s own website. It will take time to build up sales and it is likely to be next year when they become more significant. Concepta raised £2m in August so it is well-funded for its current requirements.
Goldplat (GDP) says that first quarter production fell to 6,100 ounces of gold because of problems sourcing raw materials in Ghana and South Africa, but there has been a recovery in the second quarter and it should be able to achieve full year production estimates of 39,5000 ounces of gold. The Kilpesa mine is being put on care and maintenance if a partner cannot be found and that could knock 3,700 ounces off the production figure.
Next Fifteen Communications (NFC) has raised £20m at 475p a share. The PR firm will use some of the cash to finance the acquisition of Activate Marketing Services for an initial $9m in cash. This technology-focused business is data-led and will continue to be operated separately. This is the latest example of Next Fifteen’s strategy of growing its digital marketing operations.
Gama Aviation (GMAA) says that growth has been slower than anticipated in the second half. The main culprits are the US air associate and slower than expected growth at the new Bournemouth ground services facility. This equates to a $3m cut in forecast operating profit for 2018 and the earnings per share forecast has been reduced by 19% to 21.3 cents.
The share price of floorcoverings manufacturer Victoria (VCP) slumped on the back of a warning that margins were coming under pressure. Like-for-like revenue growth was more than 3% in the six months to September 2019, but less profit is being made. Victoria is attempting to refinance its two-year bank facility through the issue of a five-year €450m bond, which has been given a BB minus credit rating by Standard & Poors.
Safestay (SSTY) has acquired a 20-year lease on a site in Vienna. This is currently a hotel and it will be converted into a 234 bed hostel at a cost of less than €300,000. Safestay will have 13 hostels.
Pires Investments (PIRI) had a NAV of £950,000 at its year end. The £200,000 increase was mainly due to investments in SalvaRx and Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas.
Imaginatik (IMTK) has launched its six-for-nine open offer to shareholders. This could raise up to £253,000 at 1.1p a share. The closing date is 26 November.
Market research firm System1 Group (SYS1) has declared a maintained interim dividend of 1.1p a share, but the final dividend may be reduced. Interim revenues declined by 5% and pre-tax profit was lower without the £250,000 exceptional credit. That is due to investment in the Ad Ratings business. There was £3.55m in the bank at the end of September 2018.
Mporium (MPM) has signed a deal with BPC Land and Sales Marketing, a services provider to property developers. BPC will use Mporium’s IMPACT technology for digital advertising campaigns. This is a new sector for Mporium.
Biome Technologies (BIOM) has increased nine months revenues by 59% to £7m, which is more than for the whole of 2017. Biome is profitable and it had £2.5m in the bank at the end of September 2018. The main growth has come in the RF Technologies division. The bioplastics business increased its third quarter revenues, but nine months revenues are still lower.
Parity (PTY) has warned that there will be a significant shortfall in profit in 2018 because of the continuing delay of a major contract. WH Ireland has slashed its pre-tax profit forecast from £1.9m to £850,000, suggesting limited profit in the second half.
Meat and delicatessen products retailer Crawshaw (CRAW) is appointing an administrator because it was unable to raise the cash it required.
Elektron Technology (EKT) has increased its nine months revenues from £22.1m to £25.8m and the full year outcome is set to be ahead of expectations. Sight screening technology developer Elektron Eye Technology is expected to move into profit. Net cash was £8.5m at the end of October 2018.
Transportation software and services provider Tracsis (TRCS) has received a renewal and extension of data hosting services and software with a rail client. The contract is worth more than £2m over two years.
More bad news from superyacht painting and maintenance services provider GYG (GYG) as 2018 figures are set to be well below expectations that have already been revised downwards. There will be a full year loss on revenues of €44m. There will be no dividend. Refit projects have been delayed and one shipyard undergoing maintenance. New build contracts have been won for 2019. The order book is worth €31.3m, of which €18.2m relates to 2019.
BlueRock Diamonds (BRD) has raised £626,000 at 0.3p a share with every two new shares coming with a warrant to subscribe for a share at 0.4p. The directors have invested £170,000. The cash will be used to open two of the five kimberlite pipes at the Kareevlei diamond mine in South Africa.
Tern (TERN) has invested a further £1.1m in in virtual reality training and data analysis technology platform developer FRVS.
PhotonStar LED Group (PSL) has appointed Menzies as administrator of its subsidiary PhotonStar LED Ltd. That business generated £1.15m of first half revenues of £1.33m. It also made most of the loss. More cash will be required for the remaining subsidiary.
TomCo Energy (TOM) has raised £100,000 at 8.5p and disposed of its stake in Red Leaf Resources for $133,333, which had no value in the balance sheet. This will take cash resources to £335,000. The field test on the Holliday block has been delayed due to a failure of couplings.
Ascent Resources (AST) is still finding it difficult to obtain the permits it is waiting for from the Slovenian authorities so that it can generate revenues from gas. Ascent is considering taking action in the European Court.
N4 Pharma (N4P) says clinical data suggests that its Nuvec technology is suitable for use with multiple antigens. It has delivered mRNA and pDNA in sufficient levels to generate the required immune response. The results of the next study should be available in the first half of 2019.
Wey Education (WEY) reported good results but WH Ireland has downgraded its forecasts for this year and next year. The broker is being more cautious about international growth prospects and cut the 2018-19 pre-tax profit forecast from £1.95m to £1.31m and the following year’s from £5.2m to £3.3m.
Frontier IP (FIPP) has made its second Portuguese investment. Des Solutio is developing greener versions of chemicals used to make beauty, pharma and personal care products. Frontier IP has taken a 25% stake.
Myanmar-focused social media platform operator MySQUAR Ltd (MYSQ) is raising £600,000 at 0.35p a share. Management is focusing on active users and in the first quarter of this financial year there were 412,338 active users of the mobile games offer and 426,750 media and mobile apps users. Last year’s revenues were $1.84m but they need to be much higher than that.
Property investor Safeland (SAF) has acquired North Downs golf club in Surrey for £1.07m and it will invest in the facilities.
Rose Petroleum (ROSE) says that the US Bureau of Land Management has approved the application for a permit to drill the GV 22-1 well on the Paradox acreage in Utah.
MAIN MARKET
Zotefoams (ZTF) has improved revenues by 16% in the nine months to September 2018. Full year profit is expected to be slightly better than anticipated. HPP sales have nearly doubled due to demand from the footwear and aviation sectors. Capacity is being increased.
Books publisher Quarto Group (QRT) has extended its facilities to the end of August 2020. The bank facility has been reduced. Large shareholders have agreed to provide unsecured and subordinated loans of $13m, repayable on 31 August 2020.
Stem cell services provider WideCells Group (WDC) is restructuring its Wideacademy educational subsidiary and closed its London office. Annualised savings are worth £400,000. Alan Greenberg has stepped down from the board.
Social media investment company Sealand Capital (SCGL) has published its full year figures and subsequent interim results. Trading in the shares has recommenced. The SecureCom business has been sold. Sealand has subscribed for a 55% interest in Guangzhou Ruiyou Information Technologies Co, which is a mobile game distributor. It is also party to a licenced operator agreement of the WeChat advertisement product in the UK and UAE. There was £758,000 in the bank at the end of June 2018.
Gems explorer Shefa Yamim (SEFA) has raised £250,000 at 80p a share. The shares each come with one warrant exercisable at 100p a share.
Dukemount Capital (DKE) has gained planning permission for a minor extension on its second property in north west England.
Andrew Hore
Ian Pollard – Uncle Still Thriving On The Impoverished Wealthy
H&T Group HAT expects profit before tax for the full year to 31st December will be above market expectations following a strong fourth quarter in pawnbroking, with quality watches doing particularly well. The pledge book increased by11.6% on a year ago following the higher gold price and the personal loans book rocketed by 94.7%, after the introduction of a lower interest rate, long term product
Micro Focus International MCRO is increasing its interim dividend by 16.4% for the half year to the 31st October and afrer completion of its complex acquisition of HPE Software on the 1st September. The interim figures include results from HPE. as from 1st September. Revenue rose by 80.7% and pre tax profit by 28.7% ( or 33.8% at constant currency rates). Basic earnings per share fell by 9.5% but on an adjusted basis rose by 16%. Micro Focus is confident that its industry leading margins will ensure that it can deliver on its strategy which will be enhanced by further acquisitions.
System 1 group SYS1 (formerly Brainjuicer) After a fall of 9% in first half gross profit, trading in quarter three has continued to be worse than expected and expectations for gross profit for the full year are that it will show a 20% decline on the previous year. Profit before tax for the full year will be only a little over breakeven point. The cas position is however sound with a balance of £4.6m and no debt
Bango BGO saw total End User Spend for the year to 31st December, grow by by 105%, from £132m to 271m. It has also now entered into partnership with Netflix to launch carrier billing for Netflix customers in Mexico, making carrier billing available to over 12 million Mexican customers.
Mattioli Woods MTW The six months to the end of November has produced another period of strong and sustainable growth with EBITDA margins for the first half substantially ahead of the 20% target.
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Quoted Micro 30 October 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
The government proposal to drop plans to cap housing benefit in the supported living sector to Local Housing Allowance rates is good news for Ashley House (ASH) because the rates would not have been viable. Ashley House has development schemes that could go-ahead following the change of government plans. There could still be other proposals that hamper development in the government paper on funding supported housing that is due to be published on Tuesday but if there are not then Ashley House is in a good position.
Belvedere Capital has subscribed for £31,500 of convertible loan notes in Forbes Ventures (FOR) and the investment is expected to increase to up to £100,000. The initial cash will pay creditors and enable Forbes to issue its interim figures. That is required for trading in the shares to recommence. The interest rate is 1% per month and the conversion price is 0.1p a share. A representative of Belvedere, which is focused on technology investments in northern England, will join the Forbes board as an executive director.
First Sentinel (FSEN) has made a £625,000 investment in standard-listed Curzon Energy (CZN). The shares in the oil and gas company were acquired at the flotation price of 10p each but the share price has fallen back to 8.38p. Curzon has a coal bed methane asset in Oregon.
Middle East-focused investment company Indigo Holdings (INGO) has made four investments, although one of these was earlier this month so it is not included in the balance sheet to the end of June 2017. There was still nearly £241,000 in the bank, prior to investing £10,000 in 3sootjobs, a job search platform in Iran.
Supported housing developer Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) has been granted membership of the Social Stock Exchange. Management hopes that this will help the company attract investors seeking investments with a positive social impact.
Black Sea Property (BSP) has completed the €10.5m purchase of the UniCredit Bulbank office building in Sofia.
AIM
A management review at Real Good Food (RGD) has uncovered further disappointment and there will be a loss this year. All three divisions are growing their sales with overall like-for-like sales 13% ahead but this is not translating into higher profit. A combination of higher commodity prices and disruption from capital investment. Overheads are being reviewed and Real Good Food is also racking up costs relating to its corporate governance problems. The head office is being moved from London to Liverpool. New banking covenants have been agreed but the further downgrades could mean they come under pressure but the food company has the backing of its three main shareholders.
Investment in European distribution centres and a new UK head office held back the first half progress of musical instruments retailer Gear4Music (G4M) but the benefits will start to show through in the second half. There was a small loss in the first half but a full year pre-tax profit of £2.4m is forecast as European sales build up and margins start to recover.
Stratex International (STI) is holding a general meeting requisitioned by shareholders, including AnglGold Ashanti and Teck Resources, on 1 November. The requistioners, which own 24% of Stratex, want to remove the current chairman and chief executive and block the proposed reverse takeover of Brazil-focused Crusader Resources, which was announced in May. They want former Stratex directors David Hall and Paul Foord to return to the board. The two men run Thani Stratex Resources Ltd, which is 30%-owned by Stratex. Institutional Shareholder Services Inc advises voting against the resolutions. Stratex has the backing of shareholders owning 12.1% of the share capital. Earlier this month, Stratex sold its 13.7% stake in Goldstone Resources for £550,000 (1.6p a share).This was valued in the latest accounts at £950,000.
Datatec (DTC) is dropping its AIM quotation and concentrating on the JSE listing. There has been a lack of interest in the shares in London with non-South African investors trading through the JSE. The cancellation becomes effective on 8 December.
It appears easier to push a piano up a steep flight of stairs than for TLA Worldwide (TLA) to bring out its 2016 accounts. The latest management estimate for publication is before the end of November. Former CFO Don Malter is said to have misappropriated $800,000 of funds over three years. It is unclear if any of this is included in the $6.8m EBITDA adjustment for 2016 that was revealed in June. TLA remains best known for publishing a profit warning at 6.26pm on 23 December 2016. It will be interesting to see whether the accounts are published before this date and time in 2017.
Lombard Risk Management (LRM) had a tough first half but it expects to do much better in the second half and move back into profit. Interim revenues fell by 16% as risk management software sales fell. Regulatory reporting software sales improved. A full year profit of £1.8m is forecast.
Zinc Media (ZIN) has acquired Tern Television Productions for up to £5.45m, with up to £2.35m deferred. Tern made a pre-tax profit of £300,000 on revenues of £5.3m in the year to March 2017. Tern specialises in factual programming. A placing at 0.9p a share raised £3.5m.
Systems1 Group (SYS1) had a poor first half with revenues falling and costs increasing. The market research firm reported a 10% decline in interim revenues to £13.8m and a 70% slump in pre-tax profit to £540,000. There was still £3.5m in the bank at the end of September 2017. Rebranding and reorganisation hampered the business at a time when clients were also holding back spending.
Fox Marble (FOX) has sold the first polished marble slabs from its factory in Kosovo. This sale was part of the agreement to supply Marble Dino. Fox recently signed a three year agreement to supply OM Enterprises in India. An advance payment of $500,000 has been received.
Third quarter trading at broking business Share (SHRE) continued to be strong and revenues were 29% higher compared with the third quarter of 2016. Market share jumped to 13.9%.
A new finance director has reviewed the forecasts for Attraqt Group (ATQT) and problems in timing of contracts have been identified. This means that revenues will be 10% lower than expected in 2017, although there will be organic growth. There was £2.3m in the bank at the end of September.
Hardide (HDD) has raised £2.54m at 1.7p a share in order to fund an increase in reactor capacity. Two additional reactors will be installed in the US and other equipment will be installed in the UK and US. The surface coatings business has signed a framework agreement with a North American oil and gas business. Full year figures will be published on 11 December.
Botswana Diamonds (BOD) expects major developments over the coming months. There is enough cash to last into 2018. An inferred resource is expected to be reported for the Thorny River project before the end of the year. Eight kimberlites have been discovered at the Free State project.
Ascent Resources (AST) is raising a further £1.5m via PrimaryBid.com. Ascent is a regular user of the crowdfunding site. The shares will be issued at 1.66p each. Ascent is awaiting a signature on a government document that will enable it to export gas from Croatia.
Internet gaming software-as-a-service provider GAN (GAN) will benefit from the final approval of a bill in Pennsylvania that legalises real money online gaming. The regulated gaming is expected to start early in 2018.
Cenkos has lowered its revenue expectations for Collagen Solutions (COS) following a trading statement. It has knocked £400,000 off its 2017-18 revenues forecast and trimmed forecasts for later years. A profit is not anticipated until 2019-20. First half revenues of the collagen products supplier were flat.
K&C REIT (KCR) is raising £150m at 100p a share, following a ten-for-one share consolidation. The name is being changed to KCR Residential REIT and a move to a premium listing is planned.
The Ottoman Fund Ltd (OTM) has repatriated cash from Turkey and shut three Turkish subsidiaries. This is an important step in winding up the company returning cash to shareholders. The final distribution will be in the range of 1.36p a share to 1.53p a share.
Stellar Diamonds (STEL) has been granted an environmental licence for the Tongo project in Sierra Leone.
MAIN MARKET
Fuel cell technology developer Intelligent Energy Holdings (IEH) is selling its business and being wound up. Convertible loan note holders are likely to get 65% of the principal of the loan notes prior to their cancellation but ordinary shareholders will get nothing. Cash is likely to run out in November. Meditor Energy is paying £19.5m for the remaining business and this will be used to pay the 65% of principal of the loan notes. A Meditor fund owns 85.5% of these loan notes.
Orient Telecoms (ORNT) is a new standard list company that wants to start a telecoms business in Singapore from scratch. The share price ended the first day at 11p (10p/12p) and it remains unchanged since then. The shares are tightly held so any trading activity could push up the share price, so beware of this lack of liquidity. There does not appear to have been any trading activity, as yet.
Aquila Services Group (AQSG) is acquiring development consultancy and financial modelling services business pod. The business made an operating profit of £162,000 on annual revenues of £1.09m. This fits with the group’s affordable housing services operations.
Andrew Hore
Spectra Systems – To Significantly Exceed Expectations
Spectra Systems SPSY has been notified by its authentication technology licensee that royalties in 2017 will reach a record level to the extent that profits for the year to 31st December will significantly exceed market expectations. For 2018 it is expected that royalties will continue to be higher than average.
Bioventix BVXP is increasing its second interim dividend from 26p to 31p as well as paying a special dividend of 40p per share. after announcing what it describes as yet another set of excellent results for the year to the 30th June. Revenue for the year rose by 31% and profit after tax by 40%
System 1 Group plc SYS1 Trading for the six months to the 30th September has been slower than expected and in constant currency terms, gross profit is expected to show a 12% decline over the previous year. The company remains cautious about prospects because of what it describes as”our usual lack of revenue visibility”.
ConvaTec Group CTEC Organic revenue growth for the full year will be lower than expected after quarter 3 was severely impacted by a number of issues, including supply problems and lower than anticipated revenue from new products. The implications of growth on margins for 2018 are being reviewed. Third quarter like for like group revenue rose by 3.3% but it is now expected that full year organic revenue growth will be down to between 1% and 2%.
Polymetal Int. plc POLY enjoyed a robust third quarter with gold sales rising by 50% and gold output up by 38%. Total sales for the 3 months to the 30th September rose by 17% and gold equivalent production rose to record levels with a 26% increase over the previous year.
Physiomics PYC suffered from a 9% decline in total income for the year to the 30th June and losses for the year rose by 6%, resulting in the company’s cash position becoming constrained until a deal with a major client can be finalised. Active cost control measures have been put in place.
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