AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
EDX Medical (EDX) has signed a master service agreement with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, which includes an eminent cancer hospital. EDX Medical will supply diagnostics services to the NHS trust.
Marula Mining (MARU) has signed an agency framework contract with Baosteel Resources South Africa, a subsidiary of the world’s largest steel producer, for purchase and sale of manganese from the Kilifi manganese plant in Kenya. The contract lasts five years and there will be an initial delivery of 5,000 tonnes of manganese ore by the end of April. From then on, the delivery will be 10,000 tonnes/month for 12-months and then increase the following year. The open pit mining operations have been extended at the Kinusi copper mine in Tanzania. The first copper sales are imminent.
Zentra Group (ZNT) has entered into a conditional contract to acquire land at Old Mill Street in Manchester for £1.425m. The plan is to develop residential apartments for urban professionals. The site has been used as a car park and there are plans for a six-storey block with 40 residential units and commercial space on the ground floor. Zentra has signed a 12-month extension to a £500,000 unsecured loan and the annual interest charge will be reduced from 8% to 6%.
Investment company Macaulay Capital (MCAP) reported an increase in loss from £76,000 to £500,000 in 2024. That was partly down to a lack of performance exit fees, which were £212,000 in 2023 due to the sale of Qualification Check Ltd. Net assets were £2.14m at the end of 2024. The company has seven portfolio investments, with three core investments. Two potential investments did not complete.
Trading in ChallengerX (CXS) shares resumed after First Sentinel was reappointed as corporate adviser. Shareholders have agreed to the acquisition of three gaming services and technology businesses and 510 million shares will be issued on completion which is likely to be 11 March. A fundraising has generated £83,000 at 0.2p/share and there is a commitment for a further £50,000. There have been 145.8 million shares to satisfy debt.
KR1 (KR1) owns 25.45 million RED tokens for RedStone, which provides fast and secure data feeds for the digital asset industry. It intends to commence staking activities for RedStone as the RED tokens are unlocked.
SuperSeed Capital (WWW) increased its NAV by 10p/share to 121p/share at the end of 2024p. The company’s AI/SaaS-focused investment fund is expecting to make four-seven new investments in 2025.
Richard Leaver has stepped down as chief executive of Investment Evolution Credit (IEC) and Paul Mathieson has retaken the position. Glendys Aquilera has replaced Bob Mennie as finance director.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) has entered into a strategic advisory services agreement with Context Protocol, a Layer 1 blockchain designed to enable verified AI Domains for trusted data exchange. Coinsilium will provide guidance on tokenomics and market positioning.
Crushmetric Group (CUSH) has raised £324,000 at 12.5p/share to Miss Cai Li. This will be used for working capital.
Valereum (VLRM) has still managed to complete the fundraising with Valereum Inc and an institutional investor. Completion was anticipated by 4 March.
Max Capital Ltd no longer has any shares in WeCap (WCAP) and Woodland Capital has taken a 3.7% stake. Ananda Pharma (ANA) chief executive Melissa Sturgess bought 20 million shares at 0.46p each.
MaxRets Ventures (MAX) shareholders have voted to leave the Aquis Stock Exchange on 18 March.
JP JENKINS
Hotel chain operator Studio Stays Hotel Group (SSHG) completed its admission to JP Jenkins on 4 March. It raised £50,000 at 0.5p/share. The plan is to develop a business that generates income from hotels and AIRBNB.
Former AIM company Eurovestech (EVT) joined JP Jenkins on 5 March. The venture capital firm focuses on early-stage software and technology investments.
AIM
Offshore energy products and services provider Tekmar Group (TGP) has a three-year strategy to grow the business. New chief executive Richard Turner has 15 years of experience in the offshore services market, so he is in a strong position to refire growth at the company. In the year to September 2024, revenues dipped from £35.6m to £32.8m, but gross margin improved from 23% to 32%. The underlying loss reduced from £1.8m to £600,000, partly due to a higher depreciation charge. Net debt was £1.6m at the end of September 2024. This fell to £400,000 by the end of January 2025. There was a credit provision of £500,000 relating to a debt in China, but management is confident that this will be paid. The order book was worth £16.4m at the end of September 2024, but more contracts have been won since.
An acceleration by Google of the move from Adsense for Domains (AFD), set for 19 March, is going to hit revenues of Team Internet Group (TIG). The uncertainty has also led to Verdane deciding not to make an offer for the company. AFD is an important contributor to the search business and the company guides a reduction in the division’s EBITDA from $57m to $20m-$25m in 2025 as it adjusts to the switch to Related Search on Content (RSOC). Management believes that it can rebuild profitability as clients switch and it learns how to optimise results. The rest of the business continues to grow so the 2025 EBITDA guidance is a fall from $92m to $60m-$65m.
APQ Global (APQ) is asking for shareholder agreement for its departure from AIM. The book value was 17.9p/share at the end of November 2024. There have been five trades today with a total value of just over £230. Lack of liquidity and the cost of the quotation are the reasons for leaving. There are also plans to change the convertible unsecured loan notes settlement date to the end of 2025. The interest rate will increase from 6% to 10% between the end of March and the end of December 2025. The company is trying to refinance the £26m plus owed.
Avacta (AVCT) says its lead peptide drug conjugate (PDC) AVA6000 has completed phase 1a dose escalation with encouraging data in patients with salivary gland cancers. There were no observed events of severe cardiac toxicity. Enrolment in phase 1b has commenced. Avacta has agreed to sell Launch Diagnostics for £12.9m to Duomed Belgium NV. This will provide enough cash until the first quarter of 2026.
Building services provider Northern Bear (NTBR) has benefited from relatively mild and dry weather during the winter. There has also been growth in the fire protection business and new contracts won. This means that operating profit for the year to March 2025 will exceed previous forecasts and be in the range of £3.15m-£3.45m. The cost of closing the company’s fit-out business is included in the guidance.
Battery technology developer Ilika (IKA) has produced a successful prototype of a 50Ah Goliath electric vehicle battery. This is the minimum viable product for electric vehicles. The Goliath should reduce battery costs and increase range. Production for pilot testing should start later this year.
Escape rooms and bars operator XP Factory (XPF) held a capital markets day last week setting out how it can achieve its three-year strategy. This is to generate revenues of £90m and EBITDA of £13m by 2028. Management has refined its requirements for sites using the data it has collected from existing outlets. The focus for Boom Battle Bars is larger cities, while Escape Hunt works well in smaller towns. Up to ten Escape Hunts and up to four Boom Battle Bars could be opened each year funded by cash generation and debt.
Legal services provider Knights Group Holdings (KGH) is acquiring IBB Law for up to £30m. This increases the coverage of south east England (Uxbridge, Reading, Beaconsfield and Ascot). The focus is corporate, property and wealth management. It also brings franchising expertise. The plan is to offload the crime business. Total revenues were £23m in 2023-24.
Nativo Resources (NTVO) has secured an option to evaluate the potential to reprocess the Toma la Mano tailing deposit and there are other potential tailings projects in Peru. The agreement is via the local, 50%-owned partner Boku Resources, which has three-years to produce a technical evaluation. The nearby mine produced silver, copper, lead and zinc. Nativo Resources would process the tailings and help to remove the environmental liability. Nativo Resources could do further deals for other tailings deposits in Peru, where the local communities can generate income and get rid of a potentially costly environmental liability.
A trading updated from clod-based data analytics company Rosslyn Data Technologies (RDT) reveals delays to the roll out of its technology with a major client. This means that some of the revenues will not be recognised in the year to April 2025. Forecast revenues have been cut from £4m to £3.3m. The loss estimate has been increased to £2.3m. Net cash is expected to be £1.7m at the end of April 2025.
Financial services provider Team (TEAM) is raising £569,000 at 10p/share. The new strategic investors are VT EPIC MA Growth Fund and VT EPIC Wealth Fund. In the year to September 2024, revenues rose from £5.3m to £10.3m. The loss increased from £443,000 to £2.92m, including an impairment charge of £600,000. The business has been split into three divisions: investment management, advisory and international. Assets under management are £325m, while assets under administration are £836m. Inflows are increasing this year and new product launches are planned. NAV was £9.95m.
Broadband provider Bigblu Broadband (BBB) is launching a tender offer of up to £6.1m at 40p/share. It is expected to close on 22 April. Net debt was £6.6m and the sale of the Australian business has brought in more cash to repay that debt.
MAIN MARKET
Helium and hydrogen explorer Georgina Energy (LON: GEX) says that the Environmental Impact Report for EP513 Hussar has been completed, but the additional development opportunities mean that the report has to be extended to cover the area. The extended report should be finished by May.
North Sea oil and gas producer Serica Energy (SQZ) is in talks about a potential reverse takeover of EnQuest (ENQ). This will increase the scale of the business and is an alternative to Serica Energy moving to the Main Market.
Cybersecurity company Narf Industries (NARF) has confirmed that it has won a $6.8m contract with DARPA in the US. This is the company’s largest ever deal. This helps to increase visibility of revenues to $5m for 2024-25 and $8m for 2025-26.
BATM Advanced Communications (LON: BVC) has sold its 51% stake in diagnostic tests distributor Progenetics for $2m. Other eco-med related businesses will be sold or closed. The 2024 group revenues were flat at $117m, while EBITDA dropped from $9.9m to $8m. A non-cash write-down of around $22m is expected. There is cash of $31.6m at the end of 2024. Demand for networking products is recovering, while the cyber division continues to gain business.
Andrew Hore
