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Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 11 January 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Standard list shell Baskerville Capital (BASK) plans to switch its quotation to the Access segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange. This move will happen at the time of the reverse takeover of Oberon Investments, the owner of fund manager MD Barnard. The transfer to the Access segment is expected to happen on 5 February, although this depends on completion of the deal.
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) increased its NAV to £3.96m at the end of September 2020. The Southfields property has been sold for £660,000, which was a small discount to the previous book value. The remaining residential property will be sold in the next few months. The company will then concentrate on specialist supported housing.
KR1 (KR1) has sold its remaining holding of FunFair tokens for an average price of 2.0207 cents each. That raised $1.28m, which is more than treble the cost.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) expects the analysis of the aerial magnetic survey of the Red Setter project in Western Australia will be available before the end of the first quarter of 2021.
All Star Minerals (ASMO) continues to review opportunities in the mining sector in Africa. The deal is likely to be funded by a share issue, but more cash will be required.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) non-executive director Nigel boardman has increased his shareholding from 5,020 shares to 11,348 shares. Shepherd Neame (SHEP) director JB Neame has sold 4,000 shares at 690p each and bought back 2,000 shares at 691.5p for an ISA.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised £150,000 in share issues at 5p a share and 5.5p a share. TruSpine Technologies (TSP) is still waiting to receive £250,000 from Evrensel Capital Partners.
Peel Hunt has been approved as an AQSE corporate adviser.
AIM
Capital equipment manufacturer Mpac (MPAC) did better than expected last year although pre-tax profit is still likely to decline from £7.5m to £6.2m. net cash is £5m following the payment of £10m for Switchback last autumn. The order book is worth more than £55m, compared to 2020 revenues of £83m. The focus on healthcare and pharma has helped Mpac.
Judges Scientific (JDG) had a strong second half in 2020 and this has led WH Ireland to increase its 2020 pre-tax profit forecast from £12.1m to £13.5m. The 2021 figure has been maintained at £15.1m. Full year results will be announced on 23 March.
Fashion retailer Joules (JOUL) offset weak high street sales prior to Christmas with strong growth in online sales. Even so, continued uncertainty means that Peel Hunt has reduced its 2020-21 pre-tax profit forecast from £5.4m to £3.5m. Net cash is £13m.
Motor dealer Cambria Automobiles (CAMB) says trading the three months to November 2020 was ahead of the same period last year even though the market remains uncertain.
Wealth management firm Mattioli Woods (MTW) had more than £10bn of client assets by the end of November 2020. Gross discretionary assets under management are £2.9bn. Management is still seeking acquisition opportunities and there is £18m of cash in the bank.
Creo Medical (CREO) has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its MicroBlate soft tissue ablation devices. This broadens the range of products with approvals.
AssetCo (ASTO) has acquired a 2.9% stake in investment manager River and Mercantile at 186p a share. This cost £4.7m. There is still around £26m in cash available since the payment from Grant Thornton and after the tender offer to shareholders.
Avingtrans (AVG) is merging its two medical equipment businesses with Australia-based MRI technology developer Magnetica and it will own 59% of the enlarged business after also injecting A$600,000. A further £3.2m investment could increase the stake to 61.2%. The combined business is loss-making but the increased scale will help it to move towards profitability.
Telit Communications (TCM) has ended bid discussions with u-blox, although the potential bidder is still interested in making an offer. An all-share bid of 250p a share was indicated.
Tekmar (TGP) has secured a contract to design and manufacture subsea scour protection for a quay development project, which is worth more than £4m. That will be recognised in this financial year.
IntegraFin has decided not to bid for Nucleus Financial Group (NUC), which increased assets under administration by 8% to £17.4bn in the three months to December 2020. Inflows of funds increased, and outflows fell.
Eqtec (EQT) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Greece-based Nobilis Pro Energy, which will enable Eqtec to be involved in its partner’s pipeline of gasification projects opportunities in Thessalia and central Greece. A joint venture will be formalised.
MAIN MARKET
One Heritage Group (OHG) has acquired a site on Bank Street, Sheffield for £880,000. The final development cost is expected to be £2.9m and gross development value should be £3.6m. The residential developer says that its Burnley development will not be completed until later in the first quarter. Construction of the Waterloo Place development in Salford should commence in the second quarter.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) mined 96 Bitcoin during December. The increase in the bitcoin price means that these are valued at £1.63m. Argo holds 209 Bitcoin. The sharp rise in the share price has led to the exercising of warrants and options. This has raised £1.63m.
Tirupati Graphite (TGR) is on track to commission the Vatomina graphite project in the second quarter and build production to 6,000tpa. Tirupati raised £6m at 45p a share when it floated at the end of last year and the share price has risen to 83p.
Rainbow Rare Earths (RBW) has completed its drilling programme at the Phalaborwa rare earths project under budget and the results are expected before the end of the first quarter.
Pembridge Resources (PERE) has raised £570,000 at 4p each and this should be enough cash to take the company into next year.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 7 December 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) has completed the sale of 1.2 acres of land on the northern perimeter of the racecourse for £1.5m. That is equal to book value.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) is able to draw down from its recently arranged $55m loan facility between its subsidiary Hellyer Gold Mines with ING. The cash is being used to pay off previous debt.
Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) improved revenues from £178,000 to £235,000 in the year to August 2020, but there remain potential delays to sales. That is particularly true of Transport for London because of its financial problems. The loss was slightly reduced from £224,000 to £203,000. Wheelsure has moved from net liabilities to net assets of £7,000.
Four new directors have been appointed to the board of SulNOx (SNOX) following a general meeting and they have replaced the previous directors. Radu Florescu had previously been a director of the company. Shareholders have also given them permission to issue shares.
Trading has recommenced in Altona Energy (ANR) shares after £138,000 was raised at 6.5p a share. Further cash will be required in the next four months. Indications have been received from investors that a move to AIM or the standard list could enable Altona to raise £1m. Due diligence is being completed on the two rare earth acquisition targets in Malawi and Uganda. Christian Taylor-Wilkinson has been appointed chief executive.
Quetzal Capital (WENP) made a pre-tax profit of £276,000 in the year to June 2020. That was due to creditors accepting 7.5p in each £1 they were owed. Business opportunities are being assessed.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has applied for a new exploration licence in northern Queensland, which is 15km north west of the Ravenswood gold mine.
IOV Labs Ltd is investing £330,000 in Coinsilium Group (COIN) at 3p a share. One warrant will be issued for each two shares and the exercise price is 4.5p a share. IOV can appoint a director to the board, having increased its stake to 13.9%. Coinsilium says that it has enough cash until January 2022.
BWA (BWAP) reported an interim loss of £2.91m, which reduced net assets to £2.43m. The Cameroon business has marked out two licence areas and the first sampling has been undertaken with the lab results expected. BWA had written off its stake in the Prego prepaid debit card business, but there is a potential takeover by a Canadian listed company.
Belvedere Leisure (BELV) has issued £872,000 of 6.25% secured bonds, September 2025. This takes the number in issue to £979,000.
AIM
Floorcoverings manufacturer Victoria (VCP) produced better than expected interims. Peel Hunt increased its full year pre-tax profit forecast from £9.4m to £28.7m, while earnings are set to improve from 5.6p a share to 17.4p a share. There should be further significant recovery next year, but by then further acquisitions will have been made so the group will be different.
Springfield Properties (SPR) has gained planning approval for its first private rental development in Scotland. It is for 75 family homes at the company’s Bertha Park Village. Springfield will build the homes under a fixed cost contract and hand them to the PRS provider. This provides additional, predictable cash flow.
Online fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) increased interim revenues by 52% to £4.3m even though marketing spending was reduced. Conversion rates are improving. Sales through John Lewis and Next started in August. The loss was reduced from £2.79m to £1.1m. Marketing has been stepped up and there has been further growth in revenues during the autumn. There was still £4m in the bank at the end of November 2020.
Digital TV software Mirada (MIRA) reported a 5% reduction in interim revenues to $5.5m due to Covid-19 related delays. Allenby forecasts a decline in full year revenues from $13.2m to $11.5m and the loss is expected to increase from $1.42m to $3.26m. Net debt could rise to $8.45m by the end of March 2021. Next year, the loss should be lower and Mirada should be cash generative so net debt would reduce by March 2022.
AssetCo (ASTO) has launched a tender offer for 6.53 million shares at 411p each. That will return £26.9m to shareholders. Following payment from former auditor Grant Thornton, AssetCo should have cash of around £55m.
Tavistock Investments (TAVI) has postponed a general meeting designed to pass a new long-term incentive plan for executive directors Brian Raven and Oliver Cooke. There has been unfavourable feedback from shareholders.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) has made a bid approach to fellow residential lettings business Hunters Property (HUNT).
Nucleus Financial (NUC) has received a bid approach from IntegraFin Holdings (IHP) and the offer is likely to be in cash. Aquiline Capital and Allfunds (UK) are also considering offers. Sanlam UK owns 52% of Nucleus.
DBAY Advisers has acquired shares in Telit Communications (TCM) at 194.8p each, so any potential bid will have to be at least at this price.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) is raising £20.5m via a placing at 175p a share and up to £2m more could be raised through a one-for-64 open offer. The cash will help to scale up production of its vanadium flow batteries.
Pires Investments (PIRI) is subscribing for a 15% stake in decentralised finance company DeTech Studio and it will also be issued four million YOP tokens. YOP is the decentralised finance platform that DeTech is developing. The plan is to make it easier for non-experts to use. The yop token will facilitate engagement with smart contracts on the Ethereum network.
MAIN MARKET
Tirupati Graphite has launched its fundraising ahead of a standard listing on 11 December. It is raising £6m at 45p a share, which would capitalise the company at £33.6m. The cash will be invested in mining and processing of graphite.
Marwyn has launched three new shells on the standard list. Marwyn Acquisition Co I Ltd (MAC1), Marwyn Acquisition Co II Ltd (MAC2) and Marwyn Acquisition Co III Ltd (MAC3) are all seeking acquisition targets in media, technology and healthcare that can take advantage of digitalisation. Directors of past Marwyn shells are investors in the new shells. Each company has issued 700,000 shares at 100p each.
Standard list shell Mining Minerals (MMM) is in discussions with a potential strategic investor.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 5 October 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Wine and beer maker Chapel Down (CDGP) made a similar interim loss this year. Wine revenues were one-fifth ahead even though sales were lost in pubs and the company’s own retail site. Online sales offset those declines. Wine stocks have increased by one-third to £11m. Beer and cider sales fell by 38% and gross profit slump by 59%. There was £5.83m in cash at the end of June 2020.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) reported an increase in interim revenues from £109,000 to £140,000. Reversal of impairments and unrealised gains helped to generate a pre-tax profit of £27,000, down from £242,000 because of lower unrealised gains. NAV was £2.52m, including cash of £129,000, at the end of June 2020. Since then, there has been an increase in the value of cryptocurrency and tokens held by the company.
Western Selection (WESP) has sold its stake in AIM-quoted Brand Architekts (BAR) and raised £1.43m at 109.78p a share. The shares were valued at £1.63m in the recent balance sheet. Peter Gyllenhammr increased his stake in Brand Architekts from 6.1% to 10.5%.
KR1 (KR1) reported an interim pre-tax profit of £522,000, including an unrealised gain of £711,000. The NAV was 6.18p a share at the end of June 2020. The latest digital asset investment is $100,000 in the Moonbeam Network project. This is a smart contract platform and KR1 will receive Glimmer tokens that will power Moonbeam’s blockchain.
Incanthera (INC) has announced positive data for a skin sensitisation study for skin cancer technology Sol. This shows it to be non-irritant. ImmuPharma has subscribed £250,000 for shares at 9.5p each. That takes the stake to 15.3%. A total of £350,000 was raised with directors subscribing for the other £100,000.
Housebuilder St Mark Homes (SMAP) has an NAV of 125p a share, compared with a share price of 87.5p (85p/90p). There was a swing from interim profit to loss.
Gunsynd (GUN) has invested £58,000 in gold explorer Angold Resources, subject to its reversal into ZTR Acquisition, which was formerly Oyster Oil and Gas, where Gunsynd already has a stake.
Property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has completed the £1.43m acquisition of a property in Scarborough leased to Skipton Building Society. It has exchanged contracts on a Carlisle property costing £1.71m.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says that processing rates at the Hellyer gold mine have increased to 165 tonnes per hour. The average annualised production rate was 1.23Mtpa in July and August.
Gowin New Energy Group (GWIN) says it is near to appointing a new corporate adviser so that trading can resume in the shares. Management is working towards launching a tea business.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) has invested £1m in construction payments software company Zuuse. Thi is part of a £2.2m fundraising to pay for a transaction expected in the next few weeks. Primorus already owned shares and warrants in Zuuse, so it owns 1.7% of fully diluted share capital. Primorus has sold six million Greatland Gold (GGP) shares at an average price of 14.8p each. That leaves Primorus with 20 million Greatland shares.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had an NAV of 51.53p a share at the end of May 2020.
IFA group AFH Financial (AFHP) says that business is recovering and it continues to be profitable and cash generative.
Eurocann International (BUD) is changing its name to DiscovOre (ORE) and the investing strategy broadened to include natural resources as well as cannabis-related activities.
SativaWellness Group Inc (SWEL) has been readmitted to the AQSE growth market following the reverse takeover of the company.
AIM
Avingtrans (AVG) improved its 2019-20 pre-tax profit from £5.3m to £5.9m despite loss contributions from recent acquisitions. One of those acquisitions, Booth Industries, has won a £36m doors contract for HS2. finnCap forecasts a 2020-21 pre-tax profit of £7.3m and Avingtrans is likely to reinstate the dividend.
Demand for the type of data erasure and cyber security services provided by Blancco (BLTG) remains strong, although April and May were tough. In the year to June 2020, revenues improved from £30.5m to £33.4m, helped by acquisitions. Pre-tax profit grew from £3m to £3.9m. Investec expects further profit improvement to £4.3m this year, but it will be second half weighted.
Geospatial services provider 1Spatial (SPA) reported an 8% rise in interim revenues to £11.7m, although the core business revenues made up a greater proportion of the total. There was an interim loss but positive operating cashflow of £1.7m. Net cash was £3.4m. 1Spatial could make a small full year profit.
Grant Thornton has decided to settle litigation with AssetCo (ASTO) rather than appeal the court judgement. This means that AssetCo can access the £28.6m lodged with the court plus the balance of money owed by Grant Thornton. Once this is received, AssetCo will have cash of £55m and net assets of around £52m. The market capitalisation already takes this into account.
The FDA has approved adrenal treatment Alkindi in the US and Diurnal (DNL) should receive a $2.5m milestone payment from distributor Eaton pharmaceuticals when sales start next year. That is on top of licence income. That means that Diurnal’s cash will last longer.
New Trend Lifestyle Group (NTLG) changes its name to Conduity Capital (CCAP) on 5 October. The former activities have been sold and Conduity becomes a shell.
Erris Resources (ERIS) plans to buy a 50% stake in Zinnwald lithium project owner Deutsche Lithium from Bacanora Lithium (BCN) in exchange for shares and a net profit royalty.
Yu Group (YU.) reported a decline in first half revenues from £56.6m to £45.9m due to lower energy consumption by its commercial energy customers. There was a lower loss in the period but reduced working capital requirements meant that there was a significant cash inflow from operating activities. There was £17.9m in the bank at the end of June 2020. Management has invested in marketing in order to win new business.
Intelligent Ultrasound (MED) is launching its first AI software product alongside GE Healthcare. GE has 480,000 ultrasound machines in use and the AI software will be integrated in a range of women’s health ultrasound machines. It could be rolled out across other machines in the future.
M and C Saatchi (SAA) has failed to publish its results and trading in the shares has been suspended. Windar Photonics (WHPO), Clear Leisure (CLP), Malvern International (MLVN), Tri-Star Resources (TSTR) and Hydrodec (HYR) have had share trading suspended for the same reason. The acquisition of Bristol Energy customers will boost scale and help Yu to move towards profitability.
MAIN MARKET
Car finance provider S and U (SUS) generated revenues of £42.8m in the six months to July 2020. That was a 3% decline, but the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown will be greater in the second half. Net receivables were down by 6% to £281.9m, but new loan volumes fell by one-third in the first half. Bad debt provisions were increased by £13.8m to £21.7m and this led pre-tax profit to slump from £17.1m to £6.3m. The property bridging loan business made a lower profit contribution, although the market has subsequently inproved. Even so, a dividend of 22p a share was announced, down from 34p a share.
Guild Esports (GILD) raised £20m at 8p a share. The share price ended the first day of trading at 8.15p.
Mining shell Critical Metals (CRTM) joined the standard list on 29 September. The placing price was 5p and the price was 5.5p at the end of the week.
Toople (TOOP) is on course to achieve £1.6m of annualised cost savings from integrating DMSL. The focus is on margin rather than just growing revenues.
Ross Group (RGP) reported a reduced loss of £830,000, down from £3.15m, in the first half of 2020. There were no revenues, but the company is trying to build up supply chain operations.
InnovaDerma (IDP) reported full year figures in line with its trading statement in July. The skincare products supplier slumped into loss due to higher marketing costs. There was cash of £1.2m at the end of June 2020.
Newspaper publishing consolidator National World (NWOR) had £4.31m in the bank at the end of June 2020. It is still evaluating acquisition opportunities.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 2 March 2020
NEX EXCHANGE
Incanthera (INC) raised £1.21m at 9.5p a share prior to joining NEX on 28 February. The price at the end of the first day of dealings was 10.5p (9.5p/11.5p). There were no trades. Incanthera is developing Sol, a topical product for the treatment of solar keratosis and prevention of skin cancer, which could be licenced to a partner within 18 months.
Mechanical and electrical installation services provider Field System Designs Holdings (FSD) continued to be hit by problems with its energy from waste customer in the first half. Revenues dipped from £11.8m to £11.5m, but it went from profit to loss due to litigation costs. The water sector is the main focus of the company. The new AMP7 water investment period starts in April. There was cash of £4.38m at the end of November 2019. The NAV was £3.28m compared with a market capitalisation of £2.4m.
Employee-owned business finance provider Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) broadly maintained its NAV at 43.44p a share at the end of August 2019. A £800,000 investment valuation gain plus a £126,000 write back of provisions was offset by loan impairments of £908,000. Management believes that several investee companies will have encouraging developments this year.
Ashley House (ASH) has decided to withdraw from NEX on 26 March and maintain its AIM quotation. Cash remains in short supply due to the failure to receive more than £1m owed by two debtors. More cash needs to be raised. Non-core assets could be sold. There are good prospects for the business. Three memoranda of understanding / framework agreements have been signed with institutions. There is a pipeline of nine potential affordable housing schemes, four of which have planning permission.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) says it intends to bid for the rest of Apollon UK, which has the right to 95% of net profit of Apollon Formularies Jamaica and the right to acquire a 49% stake in that business. AfriAg owns 2.68% of Apollon UK and is trying to satisfy regulatory requirements for the offer to go ahead.
PCG Entertainment (PCGE) had less than $24,000 left in the bank at the end of September 2019. A proposed deal fell through last year and management is considering a new strategy which could be announced in a few weeks. Trading in the shares remains suspended.
Eastinco Mining and Exploration (EM.P) has signed a joint venture agreement with Dynasty Construction, which owns 600 hectares of land in Rwanda, to explore for tin, tungsten and tantalum. Eastinco says the operation of the wash plant at the Kuaka mine has been delayed. It should be in operation by the end of April.
Dozen Savings 5% secured bonds 1 March 2020 have been withdrawn from NEX.
AIM
Netcall (NET) increased its total annual contract value by 10% to £16.6m at the end of 2019. The customer engagement software provider has been increasing the sales of its low-code products, which represent one-third of group revenues just a couple of years after the products were launched. The Liberty Connect conversational messaging platform has generated the first orders.
Fashion retailer Quiz (QUIZ) has been performing poorly almost since it joined AIM and many investors have lost patience. Fidelity sold its 5% stake, but one investor that believes it is a good time to buy the shares is Cavendish Asset Management, which has more than doubled its stake from 5.24% to 11.8%.
Redx Pharma (REDX) has terminated merger discussions with Yesod Bio-Sciences because the offer was not high enough. Redmile Group will provide up to £26.3m of funding to Redx. Redmile will subscribe for 11.5 million shares at 11.2p each, which is higher than the market price in the past six months. There will also be a £5m short-term loan and a £20m convertible loan. The share subscription will provide enough cash until April while the terms of the loans are agreed.
Cora Gold (CORA) has announced further drill results for the Sanankoro gold project in the Yanfolila gold belt in southern Mali. The results confirm significant additional mineralisation with some grades above 2g/t. There are more results to come.
finnCap is not changing its forecast for Surface Transforms (SCE) following its seven month figures. The carbon fibre brake discs developer is changing its year end from May to December. In the 17 months to December 2020, revenues of £3.3m and a loss of £1.7m are forecast.
Empire Metals (EEE) has raised £600,000 at 1p a share in order to invest in its assets in Georgia and identify other assets.
United Oil and Gas (UOG) has completed the acquisition of Egyptian oil and gas assets from Rockhopper Exploration (RKH) and it was readmitted to AIM on 28 February.
Eden Research (EDEN) is raising up to £10.6m at 6p a share via a placing and open offer. The biopesticides developer will spend the cash on gaining regulatory approval and registration for its products, as well as on further development.
AssetCo (ASTO) had cash of £17.1m at the end of September 2019 and since then a further £11m has been received. There are also bonds of £3.5m. Grant Thornton is appealing the judgement for negligence and the decision of the Court of Appeal should be made in the summer.
Billing Services Group (BILL) has completed the sale of its business and will distribute cash to shareholders by the end of March.
Mereo BioPharma (MPH) says it received positive feedback from the FDA following an end of phase 2 meeting for Setrusumab, a treatment for osteogenesis imperfecta in the young. A phase 3 study programme has been agreed.
STM Group (STM) has confirmed previous expectations for its 2019 figures which will be reported on 24 March. An underlying pre-tax profit of £2.5m is forecast.
Firestone Diamonds (FDI) wants shareholder permission to leave AIM. The general meeting is on 13 March. A weak diamond market and lower recovery levels than expected have made it difficult to finance the debt burden. Leaving AIM will reduce costs and there has been little liquidity anyway.
MAIN MARKET
Packaging supplier Macfarlane (MACF) increased its pre-tax profit by 10% to £12m. The full year dividend was raised by 7% to 2.45p a share. Both distribution and manufacturing made higher profit contributions. This year’s profitability is ahead of 2019, so far.
Personal care products supplier InnovaDerma (IDP) has a lot to do to make its full year forecast. Interim revenues increased from £3.9m to £5.4m and there was a slightly lower loss. There is £ in the bank but that could recover to more than £2m by the end of June 2020.
Chief executive George Bennett has leant $1m to Rainbow Rare Earths (RBW) to fund exploration and operations. He already has a 8.6% stake and there are warrants over 2 million shares exercisable at 4.55p each that have been issued in return for the loan, which does not have an interest charge.
Commercial aircraft leasing company Avation (AVAP) trebled its interim profit to $45.2m, including an unrealised gain of $37m on aircraft purchase rights, and the net asset value was 15% higher at $4.29 a share. This is equivalent to 325p a share. The dividend was raised by 5% to 2.1 US cents a share.
Trading in the shares of Mila Resources (MILA) has been suspended following an agreement to progress with the purchase of E-Tech Metals in a share deal. The transaction is subject to due diligence. The attraction is high grade neodymium and praseodymium mineralisation, which are important rare earths, in the Eureka rare earth project in Namibia.
BATM Advanced Communications (BVC) has won a $4m cyber contract from an existing government customer. This customer has and will generate contracted revenues of more than $18m.
Investment company London Finance and Investment (LFI) increased net assets by 7% to 63p a share at the end of 2019, although it fell to 62.6p a share by the end of January. An increase in the value of the stake in AIM quoted cake maker Finsbury Food (FIF) more than offset declines elsewhere in the six months to December 2019.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 3 June 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
BWA Group (BWAP) has conditionally agreed to acquire share capital of a company with rights to five mining projects, predominantly in Quebec. The company is majority owned by Canadian Stock Exchange listed St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp and the total cost of the deal is C$7.5m (£4.3m). This will be paid in unlisted, convertible, interest-free loan notes. The repayment date will be three years after issue. The notes are convertible at 0.5p a share, or the market price of a share if it is higher. BWA will subscribe for C$300,000 (£170,000) of shares in St-Georges. BWA needs to raise at least £500,000 to go ahead with the deal.
Chapel Down Group (CDGP) increased 2018 sales by 10% to £13m. Turnover from wine and spirits and from Curious Drinks grew by similar percentages. However, a pre-tax profit of £253,000 to a loss of £850,000 as overheads were doubled to £5.57m. There is still £12.8m in the bank even though there was a cash outflow from operations and £8.37m of capital investment. There are 635 acres of vineyards that have been planted and a further 388 acres will be planted on the North Downs.
Wealth management firm AFH Financial (AFHP) increased interim revenues by 61% to £36.6m and underlying earnings per share were 49% higher to 14.9p a share. AFH continue to acquire IFA firms. Funds under management totalled £5.4bn and that is expected to nearly double within five years.
St Mark Homes (SMAP) has net assets of 130p a share, which is a discount of around one-third to the share price bid/offer of 85p/90p. The dividend was maintained at 5.5p a share, providing a yield of more than 6%. In 2018, revenues increased from £120,000 to £294,000, but underlying pre-tax profit declined to £80,000, because of higher overheads and a lower contribution from joint ventures. The regional housebuilder intends to release capital from existing developments to fund other opportunities in the outer London Boroughs.
Coinsilium (COIN) reported near-trebled revenues of £1.68m in 2018, but a pre-tax profit of £121,000 was turned into a loss of £982,000. That is due to much higher overheads and a £973,000 impairment of current assets. There was £592,000 in the bank at the end of 2018. Most of the revenues came from advisory services to blockchain companies. That business has moved to Gibraltar.
KR1 (KR1) made reduced realised gains in 2018 and there was an unrealised loss on investments, compared with an unrealised gain in 2017. The total pre-tax loss was nearly £11m. The NAV fell from £13.6m to £6.11m.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) increased the value of its investments by around £630,000, which reflects performance and prospects. Even without that unrealised gain, the loss declined. The NAV of the employee-owned businesses investor rose from 41.5p a share to 48.1p a share at the end of February 2019.
European Lithium (EUR) is commencing a drilling programme to confirm part of the inferred resource at the Wolfsburg lithium project in Austria. This data will be used in the definitive feasibility study.
In the six months to February 2019, Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) reduced its loss from £181,000 to £126,000. Revenues remain small but they grew from £44,000 to £61,000. There were orders from Germany in the period, but Netherlands and Austria were delayed. Lower overheads helped to reduce the loss.
Cancer therapy provider Proton Partners International Ltd (PPI) generated revenues of £1.47m in the year to February 2019. There was cash generated from operations but that was dwarfed by £42.3m of capital investment. Additional cash has been raised since the year end.
In 2018, the revenues of Chinese treatments supplier MiLOC (ML.P) dipped from HK$11.6m to $10.7m, while the reported loss more than doubled to HK$37.9m. That was mainly due to a royalty fee related to AKFS Plus haircare brand. There was HK$2.75m in the bank at the end of 2018. Since then, HK$3.45m (£334,000) has been raised in a placing at 28.5p a share.
Cannabis investor Sativa Investments (SATI) has secured a commercial offtake agreement with a Portuguese supplier of cannabis oil. This will be included in products produced in Somerset.
Barkby Group (BARK) has secured a new six-year lease for the Rose and Crown Inn, near Swindon. This is the second lease from Arkell’s Brewery.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) says 75%-owned Footies Ltd has completed its sports ticketing system demonstration product. This will enable it to approach potential football club clients. It is still hopeful that it can sign one up this year. Ian Ayre has stepped down from the Footies board.
Investment company Eight Capital Group (ECP) had net assets of £668,000 at the end of 2018. The investments include shell companies Abal Investments (ABAL) (formerly Imaginatik) and Sport Capital Group (SCG) which has net assets of £206,000 at the end of 2018.
Investment fund manager Startup Giants (SUG) still had £646,000 in the bank at the end of 2018.
Trading in the shares of Angelfish Investments (ANGP), London Capital Group (LCG), Black Sea Property (BSP) and Gamfook Jewellery (GAMF) is suspended because they have not published their 2018 accounts. Gamfook has replaced its auditor and will not publish accounts before the middle of July. Allenby has ceased to be nominated adviser and broker, as well as NEX corporate adviser, to PCG Entertainment. Trading in PCG shares is already suspended because of a potential reverse takeover.
AIM
Ramsdens (RFX) has acquired another four stores trading as The Money Shop and 12 loan books from Instant Cash Loans. This takes the number of stores acquired to 22 and the loan books to 17. Ramsdens says that there will be a small contribution to profit in the first year. The additional stores will be rebranded as Ramsdens and it has 163 stores. The 2018-19 figures will be published on 12 June.
Ideagen (IDEA) has gained a new £1.2m, three-year SaaS contract with an airline. The software will be used for safety incident reporting. Ideagen is expected to report a 2018-19 pre-tax profit of £12.2m.
Volvere (VLE) is returning up to £16.6m via a tender offer at 1290p a share, a premium of 12% to the market price when it was announced. Recent disposals have generated £25.6m, which took the cash pile to £36.2m. Management says it requires around £20m of cash for ongoing requirements.
Stride Gaming (STR) has received a bid proposal from Rank Group. A 151p a share offer is being considered. Stride floated four years ago at 132p a share.
TSX Venture Exchange company Hunt Mining Corp is offering 10.76 shares for each share in Patagonia Gold (PGD) and this values the target at £17.2m. The bid is recommended, and Patagonia shareholders will own 80% of the enlarged company. Hunt is producing silver and gold in Argentina and Patagonia has assets in the same region.
Nautilus Mineral Services (NAUT) wants to cancel its AIM quotation. A general meeting has been set for 24 June and shareholders owning 73.4% agree with the proposal. A matched bargain facility is planned.
Suits manufacturer Bagir (BAGR) still has not received the remaining cash investment of $13.2m from Shangdong Ruyi, which has requested an extension and wants to change the terms of the deal.
AfriTin (ATM) says that it expects to ramp up production at the Uis tin mine in the fourth quarter. The initial phase of the plant will be able to produce 60t/month of tin concentrate.
AssetCo (ASTO) says that Grant Thornton has been granted permission to appeal the judgment against it relating to the auditing of past AssetCo accounts.
Tavistock Investments (TAVI) has ended its strategic alliance with Lighthouse Group (LGT) because of the Quilter takeover of the IFA.
MAIN MARKET
Aptitude Software (APTD) plans to sell Microgen Financial Systems for £51m. Previously, this business was going to be demerged on AIM. There should be £48.4m after expenses and a majority of this will be returned to shareholders.
Standard list shell Fandango Holdings (FHP) has ended acquisition discussions with Konnect Mobile Communications because it could not raise the funds it required. There was £8,000 in the bank at the end of February 2019.
Novo Holdings has exercised its option to subscribe for 6.57 million Oxford Biomedica (OXB) shares at 690p each. Novo will own 10.1%.
Summerway Capital (SWC) had £5.69m in cash at the end of February 2019. Potential acquisitions have been identified.
Toople (TOOP) has raised £662,000 at 0.35p a share and it will use £150,000 as final settlement of £601,000 of loans from David Brieth. There was £1.15m in the bank at the end of March 2019. There was a cash outflow of nearly £1m in the previous six months. Last September’s placing was at 0.3p a share.
Cathay International Holdings (CTI) has been fined £411,000 by the FCA due to a breach of listing principles. These relate to the preparation of forecasts and monitoring of financial performance, as well as a failure to provide information in a timely manner. Chief executive Jinyi Lee and finance director Eric Siu were both deemed to be involved in the breaches but they are considering an appeal.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 4 February 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) increased its rental income by one-third to £1.95m in the six months to October 2018. Profit from continuing operations improved from £218,000 to £271,000 and a dividend of 0.83p a share has been announced. Four properties have been purchased since April 2018 and Hume House was sold.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) increased its NAV from 42.69p a share to 43.35p a share in the year to August 2018. The strategic focus is to make larger investments in bigger employee-owned businesses. There was £175,000 in the bank at the end of August 2018, so there appear to be limited funds available for further investments, although there are £1.3m of loans to investee companies.
Health and community care properties developer and modular buildings supplier Ashley House (ASH) was hit by delays in projects planned by its Morgan Ashley joint venture in the six months to October 2018. Only one scheme reached financial close during the period and a loss was reported for the period. Modular buildings demand is strong with a good pipeline of potential projects. A profit is still expected for the 14 months to June 2019, but this still depends on the timing of projects.
Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne (HYDP) increased its full year profit from £127,000 to £153,000 on turnover 4% higher at £3.66m. There is £1.09m in the bank at the end of October 2018. The dividend was maintained at 21p a share, which is covered 1.2 times by earnings. The strategy is to encourage more direct bookings with the hotel and an online booking system was launched last September. The completion of refurbishment activities has enabled an increase in bookings for weddings. Bedroom refurbishments continue.
Formation Group (FRM) reported an improvement in revenues from £37m to £38.6m in the year to August 2018, but the operating loss nearly quadrupled to £416,000. There was a gain on financial asset of £450,000 and an exceptional cost of £318,000 relating to an accident in 2015. Management is cautious about taking on new property developments under the current economic conditions.
Karoo Energy (KEP) is still trying to raise cash to enable it to move to AIM. Management is confident that it will be able to raise the funds in the near future.
Formerly AIM-quoted Altona Energy (ANR) did not managed to obtain a replacement nominated adviser for Northland and it has moved to NEX on 1 February. Sino-Aus Energy Group is subscribing for £500,000 of 7% convertible loan notes July 2020. The conversion price depends on the market price in the 2o days prior to conversion although the minimum is 10p a share.
Sport Capital Group (SCG) has appointed Epsion Capital to help it raise up to £20m from a share issue at a price of at least 0.5p a share. There will be a warrant issued with every four shares. A circular is being prepared to gain shareholder approval. Early Equity (EEQP) has raised £187,500 at 0.75p a share.
Ananda Developments (ANA) says that 15%-owned LHT has launched its hapac medicinal cannabis inhaling technology in Milan, Italy. The initial reaction has been positive.
VI Mining (VIM) has completed the acquisition of the Cushuro gold project for $27.5m in shares.
Nuclear notes linked to guaranteed contingent value rights relating to the takeover of British Energy will mature and stop being traded on 7 February.
Dealings in the shares of Wheelsure (WHLP) and Ecovista (EVTP) have been suspended because they have not published their results for the year to August 2018.
AIM
Recruitment and training company Staffline (STAF) has delayed the publishing of its accounts because of concerns about invoicing. Trading in the shares has been suspended.
Electronic and battery products supplier Solid State (SOLI) says trading is significantly better than previously expected. Gross margins are continuing to improve. finnCap upgraded its 2018-19 earnings per share forecast by 26% and the 2019-20 figure by 21%.
Filtronic (FTC) fell into loss in the first half even before the write-off of £500,000 of capitalised development costs. Massive MIMO antennas sales will not build up as quickly as initially expected. There is £2.2m in the bank so the antennas and telecoms hardware supplier has a strong cash position while it waits for orders to come through. There is expected to be a full year loss but cash should still be £1.8m. A focus on defence and public safety markets will help to diversify the customer base and provide new opportunities.
A court has ordered Grant Thornton to pay £21m relating to its failures in the auditing of AssetCo (ASTO) accounts in the financial years to March 2009 and March 2010. AssetCo had been seeking £40m from Grant Thornton and there is still interest to be calculated on the award.
Location Sciences (LSAI) says that 2018 trading was in line with expectations and 2019 has started well. There has been a soft launch of the Verify product that ensures that responses to advertising from mobiles are genuine. Paid for trials in the US will provide further evidence of effectiveness.
Begbies Traynor (BEG) has acquired Manchester-based Croft Transport Planning and Design, which provides highways and traffic advice to property developers, for an initial £1.5m in cash and shares. This widens the range of services offered by the property services division.
Utilitywise (UTW) has not published its accounts and trading in the shares has been suspended. The utility cost management consultancy has also effectively put itself up for sale as part of its strategic review. This was sparked by the failure to raise cash required from a share issue. The £25m bank facility expires in April.
MAIN MARKET
BATM Advanced Communications (BVC) has secured an investment of up to $30m to fund the commercialisation of molecular biology products being developed by Ador Diagnostics, a joint venture with Gamida for Life, that is valued at $30m prior to the investment. The first $14.5m should be invested by the end of March and the rest will be invested at a 33.3% premium to the enterprise valuation after the initial investment by the end of 2020. Most of the cash will come from medical sector investors and Puma Brandenburg. BATM and Gamida will each invest $2m and after the initial investment BATM will own 38.2% of the company. Shore Capital will reinvest its total fees of $1m into Ador.
Rainbow Rare Earths (RBW) is obtaining a $750,000 convertible security investment and a 24 month equity facility of up to $7m from an entity managed by The Lind Partners, which will get an initial commitment fee of $75,000. Between $100,000 and $300,000 can be drawn down each month. The shares will be issued at prices that are linked to market prices at the time. Rare earths production at the Gakara project in Burundi is expected to build up over 2019 as two further areas are opened up. Production costs were higher than sales revenues in the three months to December 2018.
Sportech (SPO) has acquired digital gaming technology business LOT.TO Systems, which has developed the iLottery platform.
Path Investments (PATH) has sold its Turkish oil and gas interests for £400,000. The focus is the acquisition of ARC Marlborough. The plan is to acquire ARC, which has a nickel and cobalt project in Queensland, via a share issue.
Dukemount Capital (DKE) has agreed a forward funding and assignment of the contract of the Wavertree property in Liverpool. This is the second project that has reached this stage. Dukemount will continue to manage the redevelopment of the property and a development profit will be received on completion. Executive chairman Geoffrey Dart has been awarded a bonus of £80,000 for the completion of the first two transactions and it will be received in shares at 0.3p each.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 24 December 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
China-based Gamfook Jewellery had planned to join the standard list, but it has decided to float on NEX. The online retailer of customised jewellery had intended to raise cash at 15p a share, but the flotation on NEX on Christmas Eve will be an introduction at 15p a share. Management hopes the flotation will help to increase its profile and customer base. A dividend based on 28% of profit attributable to shareholders is promised.
Walls and Futures REIT (WAFR) has maintained its NAV at 92p a share at the end of September 2018. In the six months to September 2018, rents increased from £33,000 to £67,000. Additional supported housing opportunities have been assessed.
KR1 (KR1) has raised £785,000 at 5p a share and paid £40,000 in fees to advisers in shares at the same price. KR1 director Keld van Schreven subscribed for 50,000 shares. The cash will fund further blockchain token investments.
Panther Metals (PALM) has signed heads of terms for the acquisition of Parthian Resources, which owns exploration assets in Australian. Parthian shareholders will own 15% of Panther if the deal goes ahead. One of these shareholders is Kerim Sener, who is non-executive chairman, who will end up with 4% of Panther. The deal should be completed in January 2019.
Blockchain investment company Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) says that Gibraltar-based StartupToken has attracted a £193,000 investment from South Korea-based Blockwater Capital in return for a 7.4%. Coinsilium had invested £360,000 in StartupToken during November and the value of the investment has doubled to £722,000. Executive chairman Malcolm Palle has bought 200,000 shares in Coinsilium at 3.6p a share, taking his stake to 6.35%.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) is acquiring the remaining 97.5% of CoalTech LLC for £24.6m. This will be funded by a share issue. A circular will be published in the first quarter of 2019. A new incentive plan for management, in the form of options exercisable at 2.5p a share, is planned.
IMC Exploration (IMCP) has issued five million shares at 1p ia share and every five shares has a warrant exercisable at 1p a share. The £50,000 will be used to continue exploration in Avoca, County Wicklow. Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has raised £300,000 at 0.1p a share. The cash raised will be used to accelerate production at the Honduras gold facility. NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £38,000 at 12p a share.
Milamber Ventures (MLVP) has issued shares valued at nearly £302,000 to creditors at a range of share prices. Management has acquired the majority stake in Milamber USA and Milamber retains a 20% stake. Milamber has also reduced its stake in Vocademia to 5% with the rest of the share capital acquired through the return of 900,000 Milamber shares. A further 166,667 shares were returned for Milamber’s stake in White Cobalt. Milamber has created a new training compliance company called Checkbox and taken a 51% stake in an education joint venture with Black Arrow Space Technologies, which is developing commercial orbital launch services.
Imperial Mining (IMPP) is changing its name to Imperial X to reflect the change in investment focus from resources to the cannabis sector.
Medicinal cannabis investment company Sativa Investments (SATI) says that investee company Rapid Dose Therapeutics Inc has listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange. This has provided a 70% uplift in the initial investment value for a gain of C$140,000.
Lombard Capital (LCAP) had £4,130 in cash and £112,000 in assets available for sale. at the end of September 2018. Lombard still plans to issue an asset-backed investment bond.
Tectonic Gold (TAU) says that initial analysis of drilling at the Specimen Hill project in Queensland has confirmed mineralisation with grades up to 6.06g/t. Full results should be available in January.
Trafalgar Property Group (TRAF) is raising up to £1m through an issue of 8.5% convertible bonds 2025. The issue could eventually be increased to £5m. The bonds will be traded on NEX. The cash will be used to fund residential development and planning applications. Trafalgar has limited cash and it lost money last year.
Filta Group (FLTA) has multipled the size of its grease management operations in the UK through the acquisition of Watbio for £6.9m in cash and shares, plus working capital adjustment. Cenkos has provisionally upgraded its 2019 earnings forecast by 26% to 11.8p, assuming completion of the deal in early January. Filta is raising £3m at 200p a share, which is a premium to the market price, and has obtained a £4m, five-year loan facility. Filta started building a grease management division through acquisition just over one year ago. Watbio generates annual revenues of £10.3m and pre-tax profit of £800,000 so it is much larger than the existing operations. It also offers other drain management services.
A strong performance from property servies more than made up for a weak first half performance of the business recovery division of Begbies Traynor (BEG) and pre-tax profit was 9% higher at £3.2m on revenues 8% ahead at £28m. The number of insolvencies increased in the first half but there was no repeat of the large one-off fee in the first half of the previous year. The interim dividend was raised by 14% to 0.8p a share. Net debt fell 10% to £6.3m. The performances of the divisions will reverse in the second half and 2018-19 pre-tax profit should improve from £5.6m to £6.4m.
President Energy (PPC) has drilled the third Puesto Flores well on budget and there have been good oil shows, but they are lower than the previous two wells. All three wells could be in production by the end of the year.
AssetCo (ASTO) has transferred the loal employees in Abu Dhabi to the new supplier of fire services. There is a possibility of winning work in the region. The litigation against former auditor Grant Thornton continues and a judgement could happen in the first couple of months of 2019.
URA Holdings (URA) was not able to complete the acquisition of Entertainment AI early enough to prevent the cancelation of the AIM quotation on 24 December. The acquisition could still happen.
Real Good Food (RGD) has sold jams maker R and W Scott for £1.5m, of which £500,000 is deferred until September 2019, and the assumption of £2.45m of debt. That takes disposal proceeds to £17.8m and completes the main corporate activity. The cake decoration and food ingredients businesses make up the majority of the remaining group.
Small business financial services provider City of London Group (CIN) continues to lose money as it builds up its activities. Recognise continues to try to obtain a UK banking licence.
HaloSource Corporation (HALO) has not been able to secure additional finance and trading in the shares has been suspended. There is limited cash left.
Thalassa Holdings (THAL) intends to move to a standard listing. No new shares will be issued and the move should take place on 25 January.
Revenue and EBITDA growth in the range of 15% to 20% is expected by Craneware (CRW) in the six months to December 2018. The healthcare accounting software provider has a 100% renewal rate in dollar terms in the first half.
Replacement windows and doors manufacturer Safestyle (SFE) has improved its order intake in the past six months after its agreement with a former employee who was competing with the company. However, costs have increased and the 2018 loss will be between £8.2m and £8.6m. The 2019 performance could be ahead of expectations. Otus Capital Mananagement has taken a 5.42% stake.
Audio equipment supplier Focusrite (TUNE) had a strong November but it is still cautious about the full year. The trade dispute between the US and China remains a concern.
N4 Pharma (N4P) has extended the licence agreement with UniQuest for Nuvec. It has become an exclusive global licence with certain fields licensed back to UniQuest.
finnCap has resigned as nominated adviser and broker to The People’s Operator (TPOP) and that could scupper the placing with the owner of LycaMobile. An investment of £1.3m in shares (29.9%) and convertible loan notes was planned.
Yu Group (YU.) says that the Financial Conduct Authority is investigating the accuracy of its announcements between March and October. Poor internal controls caused a shortfall in profitability. The energy supplier has revealed that its 2018 loss could be as high as £7.85m, which is higher than previously estimated. This is due to a decline in gross margins and balance sheet corrections. There was £11m in the bank at the end of November 2018.
LiDCO Group (LID) will report float full year revenues and this has led to a £800,000 increase in forecast pre-tax loss to £1.9m. The take-up of the high usage programme has been slower than expected and an Asian order was delayed. The patient monitoring equipment supplier is expected to have cash of £1.5m by the end of January 2019.
TLA Worldwide (TLA) has agreed in principle to sell its Australian business to QMS Media and this would make TLA a cash shell.
Rasmala (RMA) left AIM on 19 December. A new holding company is based in the British Virgin Islands.
It gets worse at Paragon Entertainment (PEL) with another loss in the second half on lower than expected revenues. A 2018 loss of £2.4m is forecast. Overheads have been reduced so the loss could be smaller next year.
Scientific Digital Imaging (SDI) increased interim revenues by 23% to £8.05m through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth, while pre-tax profit was one-third higher at £1.5m. finnCap is cautious about the full year for the scientific instruments supplier and has maintained its full year pre-tax profit forecast at £2.6m, which suggests a lower second half profit.
Management has launched a 12p a share bid for former AIM-quoted PR firm Freshwater as a way of enabling existing shareholders to exit the business.
MAIN MARKET
Trading in standard list shell Fandango Holdings (FHP) shares has been suspended ahead of the proposed reverse acquisition of Konnect Mobile Communications Inc, which owns PaySocial Inc, a mobile banking and payments eWallet.
Standard list shell Papilon Holdings (PPHP) has acquired 50% of Pace Cloud Ltd, which owns CarCloud, a fintech company involved in the used car sector. This represents a fundamental change in the business. Papilon is raising up to £500,000 via a convertible loan note issue. The conversion price is 1.25p a share.
Telecoms services provider Toople (TOOP) lost £1.4m in the year to September 2018, which was slightly more than the previous year. The gross profit of £203,624 was enough to cover the directors pay of £196,713. There was a cash outflow of nearly £1m in the period. There was £2.14m in the bank at the end of September 2018, but there is a loan from former shareholder David Breith with a cash value of nearly £607,000, which could become repayable from 3 May 2019.
Zegona Communications (ZEG) has decided not to tender €7.75 a share for up to 14.9% of Euskaltel, where it is trying to improve performance, because it has not been abe to secure funding. Zegona has secured a relationship with Talomon Capital, which will own up to 2.4% of Euskaltel on top of Zegona’s existing 15% stake, which will be increased via market purchases. That requires a share issue by Zegona.
Investment company Athelney Trust (ATY) is consulting with existing and potential shareholders, concerning a tender offer to existing shareholders at the same time as an issue of new shares.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 2 January 2017
ISDX/NEX
Business incubator Milamber Ventures (MLVP) is acquiring The League of Angels, an angel network set up by Barney Battles, a Milamber director. There is a subsidiary called The China 68 Club that offers access to Chinese family offices. The business made a small profit last year and since April it has referred work to Milamber worth £200,000. Milamber is paying £150,000 in shares at 15p each. Battles will own 21.6% of Milamber. In the six months to September 2016, Milamber increased its revenues from £34,000 to £224,000, while the loss rose from £54,000 to £196,000.
Residential property developer Via Developments (VIA1) has found buyers for all eight apartments in its Canal Street development in Manchester and non-refundable deposits of £375,000 have been received. The apartments should be completed in the second quarter of 2017. The gross development value of the project is £2.2m. Revised plans have been submitted for the Plymouth Grove development in Manchester and planning applications for the Napier Street site in Luton, the place in the UK where house prices have been strongest over the past year, should be determined in the next few months.
African Potash (AFPO) has revised its bridge loan agreement with Katrina Clayton, the wife of the company‘s finance director. This agreement provided finance of £150,000 and this will be increased to £900,000, in return for a fee of £7,500, because it failed to raise additional cash through share issues. If the shares cease to be traded on ISDX/NEX or a regulated market then African Potash will be in default. The lender can also appoint a director to the company. There was a $2m cash outflow from operating activities in the year to June 2016, plus $873,000 of capital investment. There were limited revenues from fertiliser trading. Net debt was $706,000 at the end of June 2016.
Globe Capital Ltd (GCAP) had £5,000 left in the bank at the end of September 2016. There was a cash outflow of £91,000 over the previous nine months, while £100,000 was raised from issuing shares. The only investment is a 25% stake in online menswear retailer Sterling Craig.
AIM
It is not just TLA Worldwide (TLA) that has used the Christmas and New Year period to put out bad news, although none was quite as blatant and late in the day as TLA. Legal and debt management services provider Fairpoint (FRP) used the period between Christmas and New Year to report the departure of chief executive Chris Moat, although he will continue to assist in the closure of the debt management business. The share price has fallen by two-thirds since its profit warning on 9 December. Hargreave Hale has been trimming its stake from above 14% to 12.2%. 1Spatial (SPA) has parted company with its chief executive Marcus Hanke. This follows the disposal of the Avisen and Storage Fusion businesses. 1Spatial had warned that contracts were going to fall into 2017 and therefore it will make a 2016 loss.
Intercede (IGP) is raising around £5m from the issue of £4.5m of convertible loan notes and a £500,000 subscription at 57p a share – although this requires shareholder approval – compared with a market price of 57.5p. The identity and digital security services provider is not generating enough cash to make the required investment in its products and a move into the consumer market. Full year revenues will be less than the £11m reported for 2015-16. Interim revenues halved to £2.8m and the pre-tax loss soared from £432,000 to £3.67m. The cash pile fell from £5.29m to £1.38m in the six months to September 2016 so most of this cash has probably already gone. The convertibles last for five years and have an annual interest charge of 8%. The conversion price is just over 68.8p a share.
B2B gaming services provider Nektan (NKTN) has raised £2.275m at 27.5p a share and is offering shareholders the chance to subscribe for £500,000 at the same share price. That was a 15% discount to the market price but it has since fallen to 27p – compared with the November 2014 flotation price of 236p. In the year to June 2016, revenues jumped from £528,000 to £5.78m but the loss still increased from £8.12m to £10.5m. The cash outflow, before a rise in trade payables, was £6.18m. Conversion of loans means that Nektan’s stake in US business ReSpin has been raised from 50% to 85%.
It has not just been bad news between Christmas and New Year. Windar Photonics (WPHO) has revealed a number of new orders for its LiDAR wind sensors for use on wind turbines. An Indian power producer and the Indian National Institute of Wind Energy have ordered sensors, with the power producer ordering an initial five units with an option for a further 35 units. On top of this there are orders for seven units from Canada – a repeat order – and South Korea – the first order in that country. Windar has already said that its 2016 revenues will be between €1.5m and €2m – slightly below expectations. Before Christmas, Windar raised £491,000 at 94p a share. The share price has since fallen back to 77p.
Commercial property investor Summit Germany Ltd (SMTG) is paying a third interim dividend of 1.02 cents a share – the same as the previous quarterly dividend. The ex-dividend date is 5 January and forms to receive the dividend in pence need to be completed by 4 January. The exchange rate for the previous quarterly dividend was 0.8815p to one Euro, so the current exchange rate suggests that the sterling equivalent will be lower in this quarter. Summit has sold an empty office building in Hamburg for €14m.
Facilities management and security services provider Mortice Ltd (MORT) is generating more than three-quarters of its revenues from repeat business. In the six months to September 2016, revenues were 79% ahead at $91.1m. Much of that growth comes from a full contribution from the UK operations but the Indian business grew 22% and still accounts for 63% of revenues. Underlying pre-tax profit has jumped from $300,000 to $2/6m. Net debt was $14.6m but since then £2.3m has been raised at 75p a share. Trading continues to be strong.
Kodal Minerals (KOD) says that the latest samples at the Bougouni lithium project show high grade lithium mineralization of up to 2.03% lithium oxide. A total of 18 holes have been drilled and the results of analysis are expected by the end of January.
Stanley Gibbons (SGB) lost £6.18m in the first half, compared with a £1.11m profit in the comparative period after revenues slumped from £29.4m to £20.2m. Net debt was £16.5m at the end of September 2016. The US-based ecommerce business has been closed after an investment of £10m. A new coin joint venture has been set up by Baldwin with coin auctioneer St James’s, following a number of management departures.
Redcentric (RCN) has issued options to finance director Peter Brotherton and chief operating officer Mo Siddiqi. Brotherton has 161,905 options at nil cost and Siddiqi has 257,143 options at no cost, while Siddiqi has 250,000 at 84p each. These options are dependent on diluted earnings per share growth between March 2016 and March 2019. The compound annual growth rate required is not specified but the figures for the year to March 2016 have already been restated downwards. Siddiqi also has 250,000 options at 84p each that have no performance criteria. The current share price is 91p.
Grapheme NanoChem (GRPH) has gained its first commercial order for PlatDrill synthetic-based drilling mud in China. The initial order of 4,000 barrels of PlatDrill will be used for two shale gas wells in south west China and will generate revenues of $360,000. There could be more than 300 wells drilled in China each year over a five year period.
Mobile financial services provider Vipera (VIP) is increasing its stake in Codd & Date, which deploys Vipera’s technology services with customers, from 51% to 80.7%. In fact, the part of the business that focuses on Vipera’s Motif software will be split out and become a wholly-owned business. The enlarged group will move into larger premises in Milan More Info. Vipera is issuing 21.4 million shares and six million warrants exercisable at 5p each to pay for the additional stake.
CPP Group (CPP) is paying SSP £2.5m for terminating the contract to build an IT platform.
Fire and emergency services resource manager AssetCo (ASTO) is still attempting to renew its main contract in Abu Dhabi, which was due for renewal on 17 November. The contract will continue on existing terms until the new one is agreed. There should be further news concerning a one year extension at the end of January. Trading is in line with expectations.
Positive news from Providence Resources (PANR) concerning its VOBM4 well. Drilling of the Wilcox sandstone suggests that there is a potentially highly productive hydrocarbon zone at shallower depths.
Igas Energy (IGAS) is still trying to negotiate a capital restructuring and a strategic investor is interested in injecting funds into the business. There is around $32m left in the bank but net debt is significant enough for IGas to be on the verge of breaking its leverage covenant.
Circle Oil (COP) has lost its AIM quotation because trading in the shares had been suspended for six months and management says that the shares are unlikely to have any value. The International Finance Corporation and associates have waived debt repayments and deferred interest payments until 26 January.
MAIN MARKET
Derriston Capital (DERR) joined the standard list on 29 September. Medical products and devices are the proposed areas where an acquisition is likely to come from. Derriston (www.derristoncapital.co.uk), whose investors include Nigel Wray, former Domino’s Pizza boss Stephen Hemsley and Primary Health Properties boss Harry Hyman, raised £2.275m at 10p a share to go with the £56,000 previously raised. Derriston was valued at £2.5m when it floated. The standard list shell more than doubled in value in the first couple of days of trading but ended the week at 17.5p.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 21 November 2016
ISDX
Crossword Cybersecurity (CCS) has raised £1.4m via a placing and subscription at 190p a share – the same as the current bid price – and the cash will be invested in sales and marketing and further cyber security product development. There was £668,000 in the bank at the end of June 2016. Chief executive Thomas Ilube subscribed for 132,103 shares but his holding has been diluted from 52.6% to 44.4%.
Brewer Daniel Thwaites (THW) made a small loss in the six months to September 2016 due to the impact of a loss on interest rate swaps of £5.7m due to the fall in sterling but the underlying business is still highly profitable. A 5% increase in revenues to £44m led to an improvement in operating profit from continuing operations from £7m to £7.4m. Investment in hotels and bars has offset the effect of the national living wage. However, the loss on interest rate swaps meant that a previous interim profit of £5.7m was turned into a loss of £300,000. An unchanged interim dividend of 1.1p a share was announced. Net debt was £34.9m at the end of September 2016 and more capital investment is planned. There are ongoing plans to relocate the brewery and offices and this should be completed in 2018. Thwaites has been named as preferred partner to redevelop Dee House, a grade II listed Georgian building, in Chester.
AIM cash shell Tengri Resources (TEN) has joined the ISDX Growth Market. The AIM quotation will be retained and it is seeking a technology acquisition. Tengri has paid Robust Resources $200,000 in cash, 4.3 million shares and sold Robust its shareholding in gold explorer Prospech in return for the relinquishment of a loan of $1.02m. Tengri has raised £650,000 from an issue of convertible loan stock – which would be equivalent to 65.5% of Tengri if converted – having previously raised £100,000 from a share issue at 5p a share. A general meeting is planned to reorganise the company’s capital and change the name of the company to Forbes Ventures – the ticker will be changed to FOR. The share price was 1p prior to joining ISDX and it ended the week at 2p (1.5p/2.5p).
Ganapati (GANP), the developer of apps for social media and games, has clarified the bonds it has issued to Japanese investors. They are three-year bonds, not two-year bonds as previously stated, with an option to renew for a further year. EveryMatrix Ltd is in talks with Ganapati’s Malta business to obtain an online casino licence but this will be dependent on Ganapati being granted a licence from the British Gambling Commission and a class 4 licence from the Malta Gaming Authority.
The Italian agent of Tracksure has subscribed for up to 4.55 million shares in Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) in lieu of its commission on sales up until the end of August 2017. There will be an initial issue of 562,400 shares in lieu of commission of £5,624. Daniel Stewart has taken its fee for the previous fundraising by the company in the form of 500,000 shares at 1p each and 3.52 million warrants to subscribe for shares at 1p each.
FT8 (GFT) continues to assess potential fintech investments and decisions will be made on specific investments before the end of the year. A lack of financial resources remains a constraint. There was less than £3,000 in the bank at the end of June 2016. Opportunities have also been sought in the US that are in a similar sector to Homeland Health Care, where an FT8 investment provides technology for the employee benefits operations.
Hellenic Capital (HECP) has adopted a new pronged investment policy – UK property and African natural resources investments – but it is not changing its name to City and Commercial Investments. Hellenic will wait until it has made investments before deciding on a new name.
Investors have subscribed for just over 50% of the shares in the one-for-three open offer by St Mark Homes (SMAP). This has raised £694,000 at 105p a share.
Greenbrook Industries has increases its stake in Sandal (SAND) to 29.6%. The shares were transferred to Greenbrook as part of loan agreements with Robin Fuller and Kingswood Asset Management.
AIM
Kuala Lumpur Kepong has increased its bid for MP Evans (MPE) from 640p a share to 740p a share, which values the oil palm plantations operator at £415.4m. The bid will be declared unconditional if acceptances reach 50%. The bid has been rejected by MP Evans. This offer cannot be increased unless there is a rival bidder or the target recommends an increased offer. There is scope for a rival bidder.
Transport-related software and services provider Tracsis (TRCS) promised that the second half of its financial year would produce the vast majority of profit and it has delivered. In the year to July 2016, the underlying pre-tax profit improved from £5.6m to £6.7m. There is net cash of £10.7m with potential deferred consideration of £6.15m. The rail technology and services division grew organically and thanks to a contribution from software company Ontrac. The remote control monitoring equipment business generated lower revenues but this year it will benefit from a US contract. Traffic & data services benefited from a contribution from traffic planning services provider SEP in a stronger part of its financial year – the first half included a partial contribution during the off-season. Earnings per share were slightly flattered by a lower tax rate. This holds back potential earnings growth this year to around 9% even though pre-tax profit is forecast to improve to £8m helped by a full contribution from SEP.
Student accommodation developer and manager Watkin Jones (WJG) says that 2015-16 trading was in line with expectations. At the end of September 2016, there was a development pipeline of 21 developments with 6,814 beds. These should be delivered in 2017 and 2018. Management business Fresh Student Living has 12,337 beds under management. The full year figures will be published on 18 January.
Totally (TLY) has acquired sports physiotherapy provider Optimum Sports Performance Centre for an initial £400,000. This is an earnings enhancing deal. There are additional deferred payments of 100% of 2016 EBITDA and 75% of 2017 EBITDA. The total maximum payment is £650,000.
Immobile (IMO) reported a 22% increase in pre-tax profit to £3.3m in the six months to 2016 and the cash pile has reached £17.9m. Immobile provides services to enable mobile and digital commerce. Organic growth was 14% with particularly strong growth in India. Recurring revenues were 94% of the total revenues. The launch of IMIchat provides a further service that can be sold to the customer base. Immobile has won its first US mobile operator client and has yet to see the benefits of this. Kestrel Partners has taken its stake above 5%.
RedstoneConnect (REDS) has paid £2.4m for Commensus, which provides managed IT support services, and this should be earnings enhancing. The deal enables RedstoneConnect to offer cloud-hosting services and provides opportunities for cross-selling.
Sula Iron & Gold (SULA) has launched a placing and open offer to raise up to £1.47m at 0.21p a share. This will help to finance the development of the Ferensola gold project in Sierra Leone. Early next year there will be additional drilling in order to demonstrate the scale of the project.
FIH Group (FIH), formerly Falkland Island Holdings, has achieved 60% of this year’s forecast profit in the first half of the financial year. Normally there is a fairly even split. WH Ireland has maintained its full year profit forecast at £1.85m because the outcome will be dependent on how quickly art logistics services provider Momart fills its additional capacity. Net cash was £4.3m at the end of September 2016. The current share price of 218.5p is similar to NAV, excluding intangibles.
Fire and emergency services resource manager AssetCo (ASTO) has still to renew its main contract in Abu Dhabi. The renewal for the contract was due on 17 November and it is still being renegotiated so the contract will continue on existing terms until the new one is finalised. That should be before the end of the year. Trading is in line with expectations and it appears that the contract will be renewed. The £42m claim against former auditor Grant Thornton is still being pursued.
Tanzania-focused Edenville Energy (EDL) says that results of bulk sampling at the Mkomolo and Namwele deposits indicate that the coal is suitable to feed a power plant and requires little or no washing.
MAIN MARKET
Avation (AVAP) says that its dividends will be based in US dollars from now on. Management believes that it will receive proposals for the disposal of 22 ATR turboprop aircraft before the end of 2016. Avation is seeking a price that is well in excess of NAV and the deal will require shareholder approval. That could lead to a special dividend with part of the proceeds invested in further aircraft.
Marketing services firm Creston (CRE) has recommended a 125p a share bid from value investor DBAY Advisors Ltd, which values the target at £75.8m. Shareholders will also keep the 1.42p a share interim dividend. DBAY has been a Creston shareholder for more than two years.
Andrew Hore