ISDX
DagangHalal (DGHL), which operates DagangHalal.com, a global e-commerce platform that provides Halal verification, joined the ISDX Growth Market on 7 April. Prior to the flotation Malaysian investors subscribed £3.9m and a placing with UK investors raised £300,000. The original website was launched in 2008 and the company also has an online database of Halal certificates. The flotation should raise the profile of the business. There are plans for geographical expansion in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and China and to develop a mobile platform. The share price ended the week at 24.5p (22p/27p).
English wine producer Chapel Down Group (CDGP) says that its Kent-based subsidiary Curious Drinks has raised more than £1.7m from crowdfunding and a share placing – £1.15m via crowdfunding and £500,000 through a placing. The placing remains open until 29 April but the minimum investment is £25,000. There are 895 new shareholders, one-third of them from Kent. The maximum target for the fundraising, which was eligible for EIS relief, was £3.65m. Curious Drinks produces Curious Brew lager, Curious IPA, Curious Porter and Curious Apple cider. The cash will finance a new brewery at Ashford, Kent, which should be open in 2017. Curious Drinks was valued at £16m prior to any new shares being issued. Chapel Down raised £3.95m in 2014 through a crowdfunding offer via Seedrs, the same crowdfunding platform.
Prospex Oil & Gas (PXOG), which was previously known as Premier Gold Resources before becoming an investment company, plans to join ISDX on 13 April and maintain its AIM quotation. The focus of the company is natural resources investments and projects, predominantly in Europe. The main investment is 49% of Hutton Poland, which has been offered the Kolo licence area in the Polish central lowlands, west of Warsaw. This is an area where there are indications of gas and oil in shallow water wells. A number of conventional oil and gas targets have been identified.
Crossword Cybersecurity (CCS) and Coventry University have set up a subsidiary called CyberOwl Ltd, which will commercialise cyber security research into target centric network monitoring for smart cities. The Crossword share price fell 15p to 175p (150p/200p).
Angelfish Investments (ANGP) has loaned £77,500 to 4Navitas (Green Energy Solutions) for a maximum period of three months. 4Navitas has developed a vertical axis wind turbine in partnership with Siemens. It is smaller, easier to install and cheaper than conventional turbines. The cash will be used to upgrade a 55kwh turbine to 75kwh. Angelfish has an option to acquire this turbine and could end up in partnership with 4Navitas to help roll out other turbine projects. Angelfish has raised £875,000 from a preference share issue, yielding 7.1%, and the subscribers get warrants to subscribe for new ordinary shares at 0.25p each. The bid/offer spread for the share price is 0.1p/0.25p.
Diversified Oil & Gas (DOIL) has issued a further £1.56m of 8.5% unsecured bonds 2020 in the past month, taking the total raised to £6.7m. Diversified recently agreed to acquire 1,000 oil and gas wells in the US for $4.8m, which is a 70% discount to estimated future cash flows. At current oil and gas prices, these wells should generate annual revenues of $6.5m and EBITDA of $1.5m.
AIM
Instem (INS), which provides IT systems and software for pharma development businesses, increased its revenues by 22% to £16.3m in 2015. In the past, it has been particularly difficult to forecasts revenues for Instem because a lot of business was won late in the year but recurring revenues were £10m last year and that means that revenues are more predictable. Underlying pre-tax profit jumped from £1.1m to £1.7m. Net cash was £1.35m at the end of 2015 and £5m has been raised since then. Instem is winning more orders relating to the FDA’s SEND initiative for reporting, which is being rolled out for all sizes of pharma companies, and this is underpinning expectations for 2016. N+1 Singer forecasts a 2016 profit of £2.1m, rising to £2.5m in 2017. Instem is seeking further add-on acquisitions.
Medical technology developer IXICO (IXI) has won a five year contract with Oxford BioMedica, where it will support the use of brain scanning in a clinical trial of an experimental drug for Parkinson’s disease called OXB-102. The phase I/II study should start in the summer and will evaluate safety and assess the optimal dosage. IXICO has also joined the Critical Path for Parkinson’s Consortium (CPP), which includes seven global pharma companies. Data from past trials will be collected, integrated and assessed in order to provide ideas for designing clinical trials focused on early-stage Parkinson’s disease.
MAIN MARKET
Macfarlane Group (MACF) is expanding its packaging distribution division through the acquisition of Middlesbrough-based protective packaging supplier Colton Packaging Teesside. The business generated sales of £3m last year and fits well with Macfarlane’s existing business in Newcastle. Macfarlane is paying up to £1.25m depending on the achievement of financial objectives over the next 12 months.
BATM Advanced Technologies (BVC) has won a contract to supply cyber security systems to a national defence agency. The contract will be worth around $4m over three years. The equipment will begin to be shipped in the third quarter of this year and there is scope for the customer to increase the size of the order. Other governments are interested in acquiring similar networking and cyber security systems.
ANDREW HORE