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Quoted Micro 4 March 2024
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Marula Mining (MARU) is investing in the established Larisoro manganese mining operation in Kenya by securing a 60% commercial interest with an option to increase it to 70%. There are three shallow open pits and there has been mining for 12 years. The purchase price is £300,000 satisfied by the issue of 2.4 million shares. Marula Mining will provide investment of $1.5m for equipment to enable increased production. Once there is a final agreement another £200,000 will be paid with £300,000 payable after the completion of an exploration programme. The final payment will be £750,000 when 50,000 tonnes of manganese ore is sold. A further £1.25m will be paid if the stake is raised to 70%.
Flow battery storage technology developer Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has secured a new deal with Taiwan-based Everdura, where it will supply the cell stacks and Everdura will handle manufacturing and sales. Performance testing of the first Mistral prototype has been successful and the agreement sets a target of 255MWh of Mistral sales over three years. Additional strategic partners could be announced within six weeks.
Aquis Exchange (AQX), the owner of the Aquis Stock Exchange, has launched conditional order functionality on the Aquis UK and Aquis EU platforms. This enables members to post the same liquidity on multiple venues without the risk of over-trading. This extends the Aquis dark pool, which was launched in 2022. The 2023 results will be published on 21 March. Pre-tax profit is expected to be 16% higher at £5.2m.
Ananda Developments (ANA) says that its subsidiary MRX Medical has signed a drug supply agreement with the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian for the provision of MRX1 cannabidiol oil. This will be used in an endometriosis clinical trial, ENDOCAN-1. MRX will have a licence over all IP generated from the trial for development purposes. It could also licence the IP for commercial purposes.
Digital diagnostic products developer EDX Medical Group (EDX) has raised £1.56m at 12p/share, taking the total raised in February to £5.7m. This will be spent on product development. A WRAP retail offer could raise up to £500,000. This closes on 5 March.
Field Systems Design Holdings (FSD) improved interim revenues from £6.7m to £8.8m, while pre-tax profit rose from £57,000 to £84,000. There has been additional work from the water sector and investment is accelerating. There are secured orders of more than £14m, but there is still pressure on margins. There is £2.18m in the bank.
Quantum technology investment company Quantum Exponential Group (QBIT) is seeking shareholder approval to leave the Aquis Stock Exchange. Apparently potential investors in a fund are not happy that the company is publicly traded. There will also be cost savings from leaving the market. Management is considering potential trading platforms for the shares.
KR1 (KR1) had a NAV of 122.97p/share at the end of January. There was £1.8m of income generated from digital assets during the month.
Gunsynd (GUN) investee company Low 6 has traded profitably in the past seven months and 2023-24 revenues are expected to be £4.5m, up from £855,000 the previous year. Debt is being paid off.
Substrate Artificial (SAI) has increased revenues but the loss has more than doubled due to AI development spending.
Silverwood Brands (SLWD) is acquiring Japanese beauty products manufacturer Cosme Science Corporation. It owns skincare brand Dr Baeltz. No purchase price is mentioned.
Mortgage Chat (MCAI) has entered into a software development agreement with Accru Finance. This is for the design of a web-based application for mortgage queries. The payment for development is £15,000 and 200,000 warrants with an exercise price of 5p. California Two Pizza Ventures Inc has cut its stake from 8.05% to 7.54%.
ProBiotix Health (PBX) has entered a partnership with SymbioPharm. The Germany-based microbiome research company and has an established distribution network. It will use ProBiotix Health’s CholBiome CH formulation in branded consumer products.
BWA Group (BWAP) says reconnaissance drilling at the Dehane 2 heavy mineral sands project in Cameroon has been encouraging. Heavy mineral sands have been observed and analysis is awaited. A further £50,000 has been raised.
Edison has initiated research on prize draw operator Good Life Plus (GDLF). Former Tote boss David Craven is chairman.
Investment company Asimilar Group (ASLR) is holding a general meeting on 27 March to gain shareholder approval to leave the Aquis Stock Exchange. Cost savings will help to prevent the need to sell investments.
Chris Akers has reduced his stake in Tap Global Group (TAP) from 3.7% to below 3%. Andrew Offit increased his shareholding in Supernova Digital (SOL) from 11.9% to 14.1%. Nigel Pope has raised his stake in Phoenix Digital Assets (PNIX) from 3.2% to 4.04%. Steven Bennett increased his stake in Oscillate (MUSH) from 4.75% to 7.12%.
AIM
Grocery distributor Kitwave Group (KITW) continues to grow organically, as well as via acquisition. In the year to October 2023, revenues grew from £503.1m to £602.2m, while underlying pre-tax profit moved up from £18.9m to £27.5m. The acquisition of Wilds of Oldham, where integration will be completed in April, came too late to make a contribution last year. Food service is becoming increasingly important with 30% of revenues last year, up from 25% the year before. It also contributed 43% of EBITDA before central overheads. The total dividend was increased by 21% to 11.2p/share.
eEnergy Group (EAAS) has secured a funding facility from National Westminster of up to £40m. This can be used to fund public sector energy transition projects and lasts 12 years. This will lower the cost of capital. Group continuing revenues were £46m in the 18 months to December 2023. EBITDA was between £5.1m to £5.3m.
Avacta (AVCT) initially wanted to raise £20m via a placing at 50p/share and raise a further £6.8m via a retail offer. The total fundraise has been increased from up to £26.8m to up to £32.5m. Even so, the share price slumped 36.6% to 54.5p. There is already £16.6m in the bank and the rate of cash outflow appears to be declining. The cash will fund further progress with dose expansion and the phase 2 efficacy studies for its main clinical programme AVA6000 and additional working capital up until late 2025 / early 2026. Anything raised in excess of £20m will be spent on AVA3996 and further potential Affimer drug development platforms. There are plans to sell the diagnostics division and for a possible Nasdaq listing.
Horizonte Minerals (HZM) says lenders have extended the deferral of interest payments to 29 March. Management is working with lenders and shareholders on full funding for its Araguaia project. The talks could be finalised by June, but additional funding will be required before that. The $24.8m in the bank should last until the middle of April, depending on any cost savings achieved. The Brazilian subsidiary may need to resort to protective measures to protect its cash position. Horizonte Minerals is a guarantor of the subsidiary’s debt, and it may also need to apply for protective measures if the refinancing is not agreed.
Retail software supplier itim Group (ITIM) has released a trading statement following its contract announcement earlier in the week. Revenues of £16.1m were in line with expectations and annualised recurring revenues were steady at £13.2m. Services revenues were higher. The 2023 loss forecast has been trimmed from £1.3m to £1.1m. itim has won a five-year, multi-million pound contract with fashion retailer QUIZ Clothing. This deal provides an opportunity to attract other fashion retailers. The Retail Suite product will be rebranded as UNIFY.
Semiconductors designer EnSilica (ENSI) reported interim revenues 11.5% ahead at £9.6m, but there was a higher pre-tax loss of £309,000. There has been a strong start to the second half and the latest contract with a US electronics manufacturer is worth $20m, which is fully funding engineering fees. Last December’s placing raised £1.56m at 40p/share. The latest placing raised £1.1m at 50p/share and it has received the R&D tax credit for 2023.
Renalytix (RENX) has broadened the US government coverage for kidneyintelX.dkd testing. This is a FDA de Novo marketing authorised test and the status has enabled it to be added to the 10-year Governmentwide acquisition contract for early stage kidney disease bioprognostic testing services. The fee is $950 per reportable result.
Sustainable polymers developer Itaconix (ITX) is continuing its positive momentum in the cleaning sector and developing more products that will fuel growth. Overall revenues were 41% higher at $7.9m, with strong growth in Europe. Cleaning sector revenues were $7.2m. There is $10m in the bank and that should last long enough to reach cash breakeven.
Video editing technology developer Blackbird (BIRD) is raising £1.05m at 6p/share. The cash will help fund the full launch of content creation tool elevate.io. There was £5.9m in cash prior to the fundraising and the company says that there was interest from investors wanting to buy shares.
Verditek (VDTK) has entered into a conditional sale agreement for its solar business for £528,340, which will be satisfied by the surrender of loan notes plus interest. Shareholder approval is required. Bob Holt and John Charlton are joining the board and the existing directors resigning. Both of them were involved in turning around Sureserve. There is £300,000 being raised at 0.075p/share and Bob Holt will loan the company up to £300,000, which is convertible at 0.075p/share. There are plans to raise a further £1.5m and change the name to Net Zero.
MAIN MARKET
Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI) has secured a reverse takeover candidate. British Virgin Islands based Helmond Holding Group, which is changing its name to Essential Energy Holding Group, is a bio-energy company. This expertise could be usefully combined with Hydrogen Utopia International’s waste plastic to hydrogen technology. The deal could be worth £500m.
Aircraft leasing company Avation (AVAP) increased underlying leasing revenues in the six months to December 2023, but operating profit halved from $35.4m to $17.5m, although the difference is mainly down to one-off gains and losses.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 4 October 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Wine maker Chapel Down Group (CDGP) increased interim revenues by 35% to £8.11m, which included £287,000 from the brewing business, which has been sold. Chapel Down moved from loss to profit in the first half. Underlying pre-tax profit was £459,000, helped by £73,000 of government grant income. Wine volumes increased by 66%. Pro forma net cash is £6m, following the recent fundraising.
Digital assets investor KR1 (KR1) reported an NAV of 80.3p a share at the end of June 2021, up from 29p a share at the end of 2020. There was a £69.5m gain on intangible and financial assets.
Property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) returned to profit in the year to April 2021. The value of the portfolio was 3% higher at £89.9m. A loss of £742,000 was turned into a pre-tax profit of £1.39m. Contracts have been exchanged for the purchase of a property in Stafford for £1.26m, where the annual rent is £95,000. The sale of properties in Leeds and Dudley are due to complete.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has sold a 60% stake in Whale Head Minerals to AIM-quoted Kazera Global Investments (KZG) in return for 13.5 million shares, which have been assigned to Consolidated Minerals to settle a A$279,732 loan. Tectonic retains a non-diluting 10% interest in Whale Head Minerals.
Coinsilium (COIN) made a pre-tax profit of £333,000 in the first half of 2021. A net fair value gain on unlisted investments of £793,000 was offset by a £148,000 investment write-down. There was a £136,000 cash outflow from operating activities.
NFT Investments (NFT) had net cash of £29.3m at the end of June 2021. So far, two investments have been made, including one after June. Management admits that the digital asset investment sector has been volatile and NFT is being highly selective.
Cancer treatment company Rutherford Health (RUTH) has increased its full year revenues from £5.6m to £7.3m. The operating loss increased from £25.7m to £31.1m. Additional investment has been obtained since the end of February 2021.
Incanthera (INC) has frilled two trademark names for its Sol skin cancer formulation. They are ACTINOMOD AND ACTINODERM.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) has sold a further 220,000 shares in Secure Trust, raising £2.5m. Arbuthnot retains 399,538 shares in Secure Trust.
Adnams (ADB) director Guy Heald has acquired 3,000 B shares from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge at £92.86 each. His B shares stake has increased to 17.15%.
S-Ventures (SVEN) has appointed VSA Capital as corporate adviser.
Block Commodities has been withdrawn from Aquis after a six-month trading suspension.
AIM
Frontier IP (FIPP) investee company Exscientia has joined the Nasdaq Global Select Market after a $304.7m offer at $22 per ADS, which values the pharmatech company at $2.6bn. The ADSs ended at $27.10 each on the first day of trading on 1 October. The closing price values the Frontier IP stake at £31.3m. Oxford-based Exscientia is a spin-out from the University of Dundee and uses artificial intelligence to help drug discovery.
Broker Peel Hunt (PEEL) has returned to AIM two decades after its original flotation, which ended with a takeover by Belgian bank KBC. A placing at 228p a share raised £40m for the company and valued it at £280m. Existing shareholders also raised £72m The share price ended the week at 231.3p. In the year to March 2021, Peel Hunt Ltd revenues more than doubled from £95.5m to £196.9m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £34.2m to £120.1m. That reflects another bumper trading period. Because of the reorganisation of the group, the illustrative, adjusted pre-tax profit is £73.6m, up from £19.4m. Revenues for the five months to August 2021 fell from £82.5m to £63.3m.
GreenRoc Mining (GROC) has acquired the Greenland mining assets of Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA) in return for shares equivalent to 54% of the newly floated company. The Amitsoq graphite project has graphite suitable for using in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries and the Thule Black Sands project in north west Greenland appears to be a continuation of the Dundas mineral sands project being developed by AIM-quoted Bluejay Mining (JAY). GreenRoc raised £4.25m after expenses at 10p a share. The share price has slipped back to 9.35p.
Made Tech Group (MTEC) is a rapidly growing provider of digital transformation services to the UK public sector, including healthcare and defence. It raised £15m at 122p a share when it joined AIM at the end of September. Over the past three years annual revenues have grown at a compound rate of 89% and this growth has been financed without seeking shareholder investment. In the year to May 2021, revenues were £13.3m.
Delivered ready meals company Parsley Box (MEAL) has been hit by supply problems. The available stock is 50% of planned levels, due to staffing and logistics problems at food producers, and Parsley Box has built up its cost base in anticipation of growth. It is set to continue to make losses until the supply problems ease, even though marketing spend will be cut.
Antimicrobial technology developer Byotrol (BYOT) has sold the American rights to the Byotrol24 surface spray to its Americas licensee Integrated Resources Inc for $1.4m (£1m). Byotrol retains the rights outside of the Americas.
Northbridge Industrial Services (NBI) is growing the core loadbanks manufacturer Crestchic and the disposal of the Tasman oil and gas tools business, assuming it happens, will end the associated loss and pay off debt. Group revenues were 22% higher at £19.6m, while operating profit quadrupled to £1.6m. Net debt has fallen from £6.8m to £4.5m. A pre-tax profit of £2.83m is forecast for 2021. The construction of a new Crestchic factory has commenced.
Acquisitions and strong organic growth enabled pharma services software supplier Instem (INS) to increase interim revenues by 41% to £19.8m. Demand for the company’s software is being driven by increased life sciences investment. Instem is on course to increase full year pre-tax profit from £4m to £5.2m.
Cyber security firm Osirium Technologies (OSI) signed up 31 new customers in the first half. It was particularly successful in winning NHS Trusts. Average contract values were lower, but sales bookings were 19% higher. Interim revenues increase by 5% to £740,000, while deferred income was 17% ahead. Partners are being signed up to help with international growth. Full year revenues are expected to be 12% higher at £1.6m, but Osirium will continue to lose money due to continued investment.
Digital TV software technology developer Mirada (MIRA) has changed its strategy and employing resellers. The local presence should enable Mirada to build up its international revenues. Covid-19 hampered deployments and slowed investment decisions. Interim revenues declined by 15% to $11.1m. This is despite the growth in deployments of Mirada’s android TV technology for izzi Telecom, which is the company’s largest customer.
1Spatial (SPA) continues to win new contracts and annualised recurring revenues have increased by 12%. The latest contract for a UK government department is worth £8m.
Data erasure and mobile diagnostics services provider Blancco Technology (BLTG) reported operating 2020-21 profit slightly ahead of expectations. Investec is maintaining its 2021-22 pre-tax profit forecast of £5.4m, up from £5m.
Polymers developer Itaconix (ITX) is still loss making, but interim revenues improved 26% to $1.37m. It has a pipeline of potential deals that could generate revenues that are many times higher than that.
MAIN MARKET
S and U (SUS) reported better than expected interims. Revenues were flat at £42.8m, but the core car finance business is recovering. The loan loss provision was cut from £21.4m to £4.9m. Car finance receivables were slightly higher at the end of the six-month period at £248.8m, even though credit criteria has been toughened. Pre-tax profit more than trebled to £19.9m. This includes an improvement in the profit of the Aspen bridging loan business from £100,000 to £1.5m. The interim dividend is 50% higher at 33p a share. Edison has upgraded the 2021-22 S and U pre-tax profit forecast to £38.7m.
Anglo African Agriculture (AAAP) says that the proposed reverse takeover of Kenya-based Comarco. The loan to the company plus interest, totalling $1.5m, should be repaid by the end of October. The original loan was made in November 2018 and is secured on a company with 4.74 acres of land at Mombassa.
Aircraft lessor Avation (AVAP) reported a $70.1m loss for the year to June 2021 and it is expected to make a much smaller loss this year. Avation has a fleet of 44 aircraft. The company’s cash pile should build up when underutilised aircraft are sold.
Bay Capital (BAY) is a newly floated shell set up by two highly experienced small company directors, Peter Tom and David Williams. It raised £4m at 10p a share and has pro forma cash of £6.64m, which is equivalent to 9.5p a share. The share price ended the week at 18.4p. Acceler8 Investments (AC8) is another recently floated shell where David Williams is a director.
Roquefort Investments (ROQ) is paying £1m in cash and shares for Lyramid, which has a worldwide licence to commercialise patents related to Midkine-based therapies for cancer, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders and Covid-19. Roquefort plans to raise up to £3m. Trading in the shares has been suspended until a reverse takeover prospectus has been published.
Hygiene and protection technologies developer HeiQ (HEIQ) published lower interim revenues because the comparative figures were boosted by Covid-19 demand. Full year revenues are likely to be flat at around $50m, while pre-tax profit would decline from $7m to $3.7m due to a lower gross margin and higher overheads.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 14 June 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Clarify Pharma (PSYC) joined the Access segment on 11 June and raised £1.96m at 2.5p a share. Prior to flotation, Clarify Pharma raised £100,000 at 0.1p a share and £1.19m at 1p a share. Pro forma NAV, after flotation expenses, is £2.97m. That is equivalent to 1p a share. Management includes Michael Edwards and Jonathan Bixby from NFT Investments (NFT) and other recent Aquis new admissions. Clarify Pharma will focus on investing in psychedelic medicine businesses and products in the UK and Canada. The share price ended the day at 2.875p (2.75p/3p).
Angelfish Investments (ANGP) is changing its Igraine (KING) and DiscovOre (ORE) is subscribing £2m at 2.5807p a share (post consolidation) for a 24.6% stake. Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi is a director of both companies. Angelfish will become a biotech and medtech investor and it will have co-investment rights with Excalibur Healthcare Services, which is run by Professor Sir Chris Evans. He will also become an Angelfish director. Angelfish will take a 2% stake in Excalibur Medicines Ltd, which has the rights to a potential drug for diabetics suffering from Covid-19. Angelfish will pay £600,000 in cash plus issue £500,000 of deferred shares at 5p each, which could be converted into ordinary shares is the trial of the potential Covid-19 treatment is successful. Every 1,000 existing shares will be consolidated into one new share.
Ananda Developments (ANA) plans to acquire 100% of cannabis grower DJT Plants Ltd. Ananda already owns 50% and it will issue 790.5 million shares, equivalent to £7.3m, to Anglia Salads for the other 50%. Stuart Piccaver will become joint chief executive of Ananda.
KR1 (KR1) has invested the equivalent of $4.45m in KSM tokens in Shiden Network, a smart contract platform on Kusama. Once the parachain auction is completed the KSM will be returned and KR1 will receive Shiden tokens. KR1 made a similar investment in the Karura crowdloan.
Rural Broadband (RBBS) has 2,571 monthly fee-paying clients for its broadband services. Annual run rate revenues are £820,000.
Veni Vidi Vici (VVV) had £272,000 in cash and NAV of £359,000 at the end of 2020. The company has since raised £220,000 at 50p a share. This will help finance the A$300,000 that the company has to spend over the next three years on the 51% owned Shangri La gold, copper and silver project.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) raised £100,000 at 1.675p a share.
Virgata Services has extended its bid for Walls & Futures REIT (WAFR) until 21 June. Acceptances currently total 9.3% of the share capital.
UK SPAC (SPC) has withdrawn its application for a move from AIM to Aquis.
AIM
NWF (NWF) is trading ahead of expectations and net debt will be lower than anticipated at the end of May 2021. The fuels division has a strong year thanks to the cold winter. The food distribution business improved its trading, but the unstable patterns of demand are hampering profit. Feed margins were under pressure.
AB Traction has increased its stake in construction dispute and property services provider Driver Group (DRV) from 17.32% to 18.27%. That was after Driver reported a 11% decline in revenues to £25m, while underlying pre-tax profit fell from £1.3m to £1m. The comparatives were tough, but gross margins were maintained at 25.6%. Europe and the Americas performed strongly, but the other regions lost money. Net cash was £7.2m at the end of March 2021. A full year pre-tax profit of £2m, down from £2.5m, is forecast.
Cambria Automotive (CAMB) is recommending an 80p a share cash bid, which values the motor dealer at £80m.
Mind Gym (MIND) is increasing its development spending on digital assets, but the benefits are yet to show through. Even so, the learning and development services company returned to profit in the second half. Revenues began growing again in the fourth quarter. In the year to March 2021, revenues were 18% lower at £39.4m, while underlying pre-tax profit slumped from £6.6m to £300,000. Even so, there was £5.9m of cash generated from operations. This level of cash generation will not be repeated, but advance payments mean that cash generation is impressive. There is £16.8m in the bank, after spending £2.8m on new digital products. Two of these products will launch later this year. The first quarter is well ahead of the same period last year.
Drug discovery company Redx Pharma (REDX) plans to move its main cancer treatment, RXC004, into phase 2 studies later this year after the phase 1 safety study is completed. This treatment is designed to prevent tumour growth. The main focus is colorectal, pancreatic and biliary cancer. Lung fibrosis treatment RXC007, the ROCK2 selective inhibitor, has started clinical trials. Redx still had £39.9m at the end of March 2021 and this cash should last until the end of 2022.
MAIN MARKET
JLEN Environmental Assets Group Ltd (JLEN) started investing in battery storage projects in the year to March 2021. JLEN generated £39.5m in cash from operations, up from £36.2m the year before. The proposed increase in UK corporation tax from 19% to 25% has reduced the NAV by around £20m due to its effect on deferred tax provisions. NAV was cut from 97.5p a share to 92.2p a share. The total dividend was 6.76p a share in 2020-21.
Associated British Engineering (ASBE) lost £49,000 in the six months to March 2021. NAV is £1.06m, including £383,000 in cash.
Sure Ventures (SURE) has raised £662,500 at 100p a share. The NAV was 92.06p a share at the end of March 2021.
Cellular Goods (CBX) has secured a supply agreement with Willow Biosciences, which will supply ultra-pure, biosynthetically-produced cannabigerol for use in the company’s cannabinoid-based skin care products.
Aircraft leasing firm Avation (AVAP) generated revenues of $91m in the nine months to March 2021. Key customers are starting to run more flights.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 15 March 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Rogue Baron (SHNJ) joined the Aquis Stock Exchange on Friday. The company is a spirits brand developer, and its focus is the Shinju Japanese whisky brand and specialist tequila Copa Imperial Tequila. The idea is to build these and other niche brands to the point where larger drinks companies will want to acquire the brand. There was £755,000 raised at 7p a share. The share price ended the first day of trading at 8p (7p/9p).
Gunsynd (GUN) has already more than trebled the value of its investment In Rogue Baron, which was worth more than £1.8m, including accrued convertible interest, at the time of flotation. Gunsynd holds a 28.5% stake. Chris Akers has increased his stake in Gunsynd from 5.36% to 6.19%.
Sativa Wellness (SWEL) has taken more than £1.1m of bookings for its Covid-19 testing clinic business. This has been achieved by the Bath clinic and a further clinic has opened, plus 13 in-pharmacy and two mobile clinics. There could be 30 clinics by the end of April, ready for the easing of lockdown.
KR1 (KR1) has invested $200,000 into Automata Network’s seed funding round.
IamFire (FIRE) made a loss of £162,000 in the six months to October 2020. During the period, investments were made in WeShop and Bio2pure.
Upper Thames Holdings (UPPT) has net liabilities of £83,000 at the end of 2020 and since then £516,000 has been raised. The board will seek approval to change the company’s name to Valereum Blockchain.
Quetzal Capital (WENP) is raising £3m at 4p a share and issuing enough warrants exercisable at 8p to raise a further £3m. This will help to fund a reverse takeover or investment. NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised a further £255,000 at 7p a share. Bluebell Investment and Consulting has invested £25,000 in Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) at 13.5p a share, which represents a 4.9% stake. Altona Rare Earths (ANR) has raised a total of £800,000 at 6.5p a share from placings.
Western Selection (WESP) has increased its stake in Bilby (BILB) by 698,737 shares at an average share price of 35.11p each. This takes the stake to 12.2%.
All Star Minerals (ASMO) has appointed SP Angel as broker.
AIM
AMTE Power (AMTE) raised more than initially expected in the flotation and this should provide the cash required for investment in the battery cells development business. AMTE raised £11.3m at 175p a share. The share price jumped to 233.5p on the first day of dealings. The battery cells nearing commercialisation are aimed at the high-performance vehicles, oil and gas equipment and energy storage markets. There are currently 16 potential clients that products are being developed for.
Engineer Avingtrans (LON: AVG) is raising £35m from the sale of the Peter Brotherhood business that came with the £52.7m acquisition of Hayward Tyler in September 2017. Peter Brotherhood was estimated to be worth £9.3m of that cost. Borrowings will be paid off. Net cash is expected to be £22m at the end of May 2021.
Kape Technologies (KAPE) is acquiring Webselenese for $149.1m. This provides the group with a consumer platform for privacy and security content, which will generate information and data on consumer trends. In 2020, the acquired business generated revenues of $64.5m and EBITDA of $30.7m. In 2021, Kape is expected to increase earnings from 15.8p a share to 25.4p a share.
Billing and customer relationship management software provider Cerillion (CER) has won a Middle East contract worth £5m over five years. The implementation will take up to 18 months.
Getech (GTC) is raising up to £6.25m via a placing and open offer at 22p a share. The cash will be invested in developing hydrogen products and services.
Online merchandising technology provider Attraqt (ATQT) improved its full year revenues by 8% to £21m, helped by an initial contribution from AI firm Aleph. The loss was reduced from £4.4m to £2.6m. Annualised recurring revenues were £21.1m at the end of 2020. A £500,000 loss is forecast for 2021 before a move into profit in 2022.
Cloud-based PCI payment services provider PCI Pal (PCIP) is gaining momentum in the US. In the six months to December 2020, revenues rose by 56% to £3.2m. More of these revenues are coming via channel partners. Total annual contract revenues were 59% ahead at £8.3m. There should be enough cash in the bank to get the company to the point where it is generating cash.
Shoe Zone (SHOE) says that it does not expect to pay a dividend until at least 2025. The footwear retailer expects to continue to lose money this year. The stores are closed at the moment.ch
Online women’s fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) has agreed to sell a specialist collection of its products through Marks and Spencer (MKS). This follows deals with Next and John Lewis.
Coral Products (CRU) is repaying its £1.6m property mortgage out of the proceeds of its recent disposal. The £2.5m valuation of the Haydock site is expected to be increased in the next accounts. Coral has also repaid £500,000 of its CBIL loan with the other £433,333 likely to be paid before the year-end.
Business restructuring company Begbies Traynor (BEG) is acquiring of David Rubin & Partners for up to £25m. This takes the group’s market share to 12%. There is an initial £12m payable and the rest depends on performance over five years. Begbies raised £22m at 105.5p a share to help finance the deal, which should be immediately earnings enhancing.
Arden has upgraded its Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) forecasts due to higher crude palm oil and palm kernel oil prices. This means that Arden expects Dekel to be profitable in 2021.
MAIN MARKET
Avation (AVAP) is raising £7.5m at 110p a share and this provides additional cash at a difficult time for the airline industry. NAV was previously 174p a share. Avation could continue to lose money for the next two years Net debt will still be more than $1bn.
Challenger Acquisitions (CHAL) is entering into a deal to acquire Cindrigo Energy, which owns Cindrigo Ltd, the company where a previous offer lapsed. The business is a developer of renewable energy projects using Swedish expertise in waste-to-energy and biomass. The shareholders of the target company will own 96.5% of the enlarged business.
Kanabo (KNB) has signed a production and supply agreement with PharmaCann Polska for cartridges containing Kanabo’s medicinal cannabis formulations. The initial production capacity is up to 36,000 cartridges. FastForward Innovations (FFWD) has sold its stake in Kanabo for a profit of £140,000. FastForward has also sold its Cellular Goods (CBX) for a £54,000 gain.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) has raised £26.8m at 200p a share and this cash will fund the purchase of a further stake in Pluto Digital Assets. The £7.3m investment in Pluto will maintain the Argo stake at 25%. AIM-quoted Pires Investments (PIRI) owns 6.4% of Pluto.
The Financial Reporting Council has started an investigation into the audit of motor dealer Lookers (LOOK) by Deloitte for 2017 and 2018.
Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) is increasing its first quarterly dividend by 30% to 13 cents a share. The strategy is to pay 30% of average cash generated by operating activities in the previous four quarters.
Pharmaceuticals developer Nuformix (NFX) is raising £1.565m at 2p a share. This cash will finance preclinical studies for the NXP002 inhaled formulation for lung disease and further research and development of formulations. Nuformix is waiting to see whether Oxilio will option the NXP001 cancer treatment. This option expires on 24 March.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 1 March 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Incanthera (INC) says that it is prioritising discussions with two global cosmetic companies as potential partners for Sol, a sun cream that prevents skin cancer. Incanthera is also assessing the potential for using the technology to develop other products.
Sativa Wellness (SWEL) plans to raise C$4m through a placing of units at C$0.07875 each. Each unit consists of one share one-half of a warrant exercisable at C$0.105 each. The cash will provide working capital and investment for a new health screening service. Sativa has opened ten Covid-19 testing facilities. A dispute with Dragonfly Biosciences has been settled.
World High Life (LIFE) is submitting a novel food dossier to the Food Standards Agency. This is part of the move to regulation of the CBD market in the UK. The dossier includes pre-clinical results.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) intends to acquire the shares in medicinal cannabis pharma company Apollon Formularies that it does not own, and this will be classed as a reverse takeover. Shares will be issued to the Apollon shareholders. AfriAg is also raising £2.5m at 5p a share.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) is selling its Tay mortgage portfolio to a subsidiary of OneSavings Bank for £53.8m, which is equivalent to 97.9% of the outstanding loans. Arbuthnot has already announced that it intends to pay a 21p a share special dividend, which replaces the 2019 dividend declared in March 2020. Arbuthnot will make a loss in 2020 so there will be no dividend.
Gunsynd (GUN) has invested £65,000 in a convertible loan issue by B2B pool betting platform Low6. Gunsynd had already invested £200,000 last December. AIM-quoted Pires Investments (PIRI) has also increased its investment in Low6. It invested a further £35,000, having also invested £200,000 at the same time as Gunsynd. Low6 is expected to float during the second quarter of 2021 and Canaccord Genuity is its broker.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) says that the latest exploration at Specimen Hill reaffirms the drill targets and informs plans for higher density drilling, so that a resource can be calculated. Tectonic says that the Deep Blue Minerals diamonds joint venture with AIM-quoted Kazera Global Investments produced 220 carats in January. Higher grade materials will be mined during the rest of the year.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) says that Bureau Veritas has certified that SulnoxEco Fuel Conditioner complies with European standards. This means that SulNox’s products can be used for 70% of the hydrocarbon market. Management is confident that production can be scaled up.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has signed an agreement with ASX-listed Evolution Mining for the evaluation and potential processing of lead and silver rich stockpiles at the Sunbeam project in North Queensland. Evolution has a processing plant 80km away from Sunbeam, which has stockpiles from past mining. The processing would be done on a cost and revenue share basis with NQ. This could finance further exploration. NQ says that it should qualify for the Green Economy Mark when it moves to the standard list.
Lombard Capital (LCAP) has received shareholder approval for refocusing its strategy on property investment and development.
Almon I Holding has cut its stake in Coinsilium (COIN) to below 3%. It increased its stake to 3.68% in January 2020.
Altona Energy has changed its name to Altona Rare Earths (ANR).
AIM
Trading platform operator Aquis Exchange (AQX) moved into profit last year thanks to high levels of trading on its platform. Aquis had been expected to lose money in 2020 but it is now expected to make a £200,000 profit on revenues of £11m. EU trades have been moved to the Paris operation and London has restarted trading in Swiss shares.
VR Education (VRE) continues to grow the revenues of its ENGAGE VR platform. Group revenues increased by 38%, while ENGAGE revenues rose by 550% thanks to strong demand for virtual events. The US provides significant potential. VR is still hiring additional people, although the focus is more on marketing. VR is still losing money, but the cash burn has been reduced this year. Management is targeting 100,000 monthly users by 2025.
Hormonal disease treatments developer Diurnal (DNL) says Alkindi sales in the UK and Germany grew by 29% in the first half but the timing of purchases in other markets meant that overall revenues barely increased. Chronocourt could gain European approval in March and the US regulatory pathway for DITEST, an oral testosterone formulation, has been set out. Net cash was £20.3m at the end of December 2020.
K3 Business Technology (KBT) has sold its managed services business for £14.7m. The business made a pre-tax profit of £1.2m last year, but the disposal proceeds will wipe out net debt and enable the repayment of the £3m shareholder loan due in June. There should still be more than £35m of recurring revenues.
Interim trading at transport software and services provider Tracsis (TRCS) was active and it was not far below the levels in the six months to January 2020 prior to Covid-19 becoming a factor. Revenues declined from £26.4m to £22m and management believes Covid-19 reduced the figure by £6m. New rail contracts are being won, but the lack of events hit the data and events division. Cash has improved from £17.9m to £21m.
Revenues fell by one-third at President Energy (PPC) in 2020 due to lower oil prices. President did generate $10m of free cash flow and that helped to reduce net debt. President plans to drill seven wells this year and that could increase production by one-third. Anew subsidiary, Atome, will develop hydrogen and ammonia production.
Shield Therapeutics (STX) has raised £25m at 30p a share and could raise a further £4.2m via an open offer. The cash will finance the new strategy of directly launching iron deficiency treatment Accrufer in the US.
Yew Grove REIT (YEW) has agreed a new lease for Gateway Three building, East Wall Road, Dublin with the Electricity Supply Board. The new lease lasts five years. Along with three rent reviews, this takes the increase in annual rents to €470,000 this year.
Best of the Best (BOTB) has concluded its strategic review and it has reemphasised its online strategy. finnCap has upgraded its pre-tax profit forecast to £14m.
Benchmark Holdings (BMK) increased first quarter revenues by 18% to £29m and it is on course to reduce its loss this year, prior to moving into profit in 2021-22. The advanced nutrition business contributed significant growth in the first quarter.
MAIN MARKET
Online auctions provider Auction Technology Group (ATG) raised £247.4m at 600p a share, while existing shareholders pocketed £51.5m after the over-allotment option was exercised. The company was valued at £600m. There was a 30% gain to 780p a share at the end of the first week of trading. The company is involved with three main auction markets: arts and antiques, industrial and commercial and consumer surplus and returns. It has six main auction marketplace brands and trade magazine Antiques Trade Gazette. Low double-digit organic revenue growth is anticipated for the next few years.
Town Centre Securities (TOWN) announced a 1.75p a share interim dividend, even though this is not covered by earnings. Lower car park income meant that there was a sharp decline in interim profit. The NAV was 286p a share at the end of December 2020 and it is not expected to decline by more than 2% by the year-end in June. This is more than double the current share price.
CML Microsystems (CML) is paying 50p a share to investors following the sale of its storage division. This will cost £8.28m. the cash should be received before the end of March.
Strong demand for diagnostic products more than offset weakness in the networking division of BATM Advanced Communication (BVC) and enabled 2020 revenues to grow by 49% to $184m. Pre-tax profit jumped from $5.2m to $13.6m. Revenues are expected to decline this year, but pre-tax profit is forecast to improve from $13.6m to $17.3m. This may depend on the timing of the sale of the NGSoft business and it also assumes no additional sales of ventilators this year. Longer-term, revenues will build up from virtual networking technology NFVTime. There is also potential for dividends.
Construction services provider NMCN (NMCN) says that two contracts in the water division could lead to an additional loss of £5m in 2020. These costs relate to delays. The total loss for 2020 could be up to £22m. The additional cash costs will be spread over 28 months. Shareholders are being asked to agree to an extension of the company’s borrowing limit.
Aircraft lessor Avation (AVAP) took a $46.7m impairment charge on its aircraft and a $12.9m credit loss in the six months to December 2020. The NAV was 174p a share at the end of 2020. A full year loss of $30m is expected before the exceptional write-offs.
Cannabis-based products developer Cellular Goods (CBX) raised £13m in its offer at 5p a share. The share price jumped to 19p on the first day of dealings.
Potash project developer Emmerson (EML) raised £5.5m at 5.75p a share. Emmerson has a mining licence for the Khemisset potash project in Morocco. The cash will be used for the detailed design of the mine and the phased development of the project.
Shell company Stranger Holdings (STHP) is pushing ahead with the proposed reverse takeover of the Recyclus Group. A prospectus is being drafted.
Packaging supplier Macfarlane Group (MACF) increased its 2020 profit by 10% to £13m on a 2% increase in revenues to £230m. The full year dividend has been increased from 0.69p a share to 2.55p a share.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 15 February 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Oberon Investments Group (OBE) has joined the Access segment following the reversal of the wealth management business into standard list shell Baskerville Capital. Assets under administration are more than £400m. Oberon was formed in 2017 and acquired investment manager MD Barnard. It also has a corporate broking business, and it is joint broker to MyHealthChecked (MHC). There was £1.44m raised at 4p a share at the time of the reversal.
Brewer Curious Drinks is being placed into administration and the business will be acquired by Risk Capital Partners, which was founded by Luke Johnson. This will have to be agreed by the HMRC and the secured creditor HSBC. There should be no redundancies Majority owner Chapel Down Group (CDGP) is offering small shareholders in Curious Drinks a share swap. There will be 1.57 Chapel Down shares issued for each Curious Drinks share. In 2015, Curious Drinks raised £1.71m via a crowdfunding with Seedrs, which equates to a market capitalisation of £17.7m. That funding was equivalent to 9.66% of Curious Drinks and there were 886 shareholders. The share swap should provide around 50% of the initial investment. There will be less than 1% dilution for Chapel Down shareholders. Chapel Down net debt will be slashed from £7.2m to £100,000. There was a loan from Chapel Down to Curious Drinks of £7.77m included in the 2019 accounts.
Coinsilium (COIN) holds $1.98m of cryptocurrency and tokens, which is a 17% increase in fewer than three weeks.
Gunsynd (GUN) has sold all its shares in Angold Resources. This raised £163,000. Chris Akers has increased his stake in Gunsynd to 5.36%.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) continues to have a 100% success rate for its exploration drilling. According to managing director Brett Boynton the latest hole shows “multiple stacked veins somewhat like a palm tree spraying out mineralised fronds from the primary fault zone”.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £301,000 at 7p a share from one institution and private investors. Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised a further £185,000 with some shares placed at 3.6p and some at 4p.
Western Selection (WESP) has bought a further 150,000 shares in Bilby (BILB) at 29.8p each. The total stake is 11%.
AIM
Joules (JOUL) has acquired the Garden Trading Company, which takes it into the home and garden market and adds annual revenues of £168m. Joules is paying £4.5m in cash and 2.83 million shares. Peel Hunt has increased its 2021-22 pre-tax profit forecast by £2m to £10.6m.
Engineer Avingtrans (AVG) maintained its interim revenues at £54.1m and the stemming of losses at recent acquisitions has helped pre-tax profit to nearly double to £3.5m. It offset the lower demand from the oil and gas sector. The recent merging of the MRI operations with Magnetica, will enable niche MRI products to be developed, but it will take time for the revenues to come through. Meanwhile, Avingtrans is stopping supplying third parties. The valuable Luton site could be sold in the next year or so if market conditions allow.
Kromek (KMK) is raising up to £13m via a placing and open offer at 15p a share. The cash will be used to accelerate the commercialisation of its bio-security products and boost the marketing of medical imaging and nuclear detection products. Intuitive Investments Group (IIG) is investing £250,000 in the placing.
Packaging manufacturer Robinson (RBN) is acquiring blow moulded containers producer Dhela Plast for up to £7.7m. There will be additional investment of £2.4m in the Danish company. The customer sectors are similar to Robinson and the deal widens its geographic reach.
MAIN MARKET
Motor finance provider S & U (SUS) expects a rebound in demand when lockdown restrictions are eased. In the past two months new deal transactions are running at nearly 80% of previous levels. Investment in Aspen Bridging has been increased because of the strong demand. A second interim dividend of 25p a share has been announced.
A planned demerger of assets by Aseana Properties Ltd (ASPL) has been stopped because the banks have not agreed to the proposal.
Castillo Copper Ltd (CCZ) confirms an extension to the 100%-owned Big One deposit and JORC modelling is underway.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) intends to acre 320 acres in Texas where it will build a new mining facility in the next 12 months. The overall cost will be $17.5m in shares.
UP Global Sourcing (UPGS) grew interim sales by 11%. Beldray represented 28% of sales, with the next biggest contributions coming from licenced brands Salter and Russel Hobbs.
One Heritage Group (OHG) is taking advantage of the share price rise over the past two months to raise £548,500 at 30p a share. The residential developer floated before Christmas at 10p a share. One Heritage plans to buy an office block in Stockport, which can be converted into residential. Plus House will cost £725,000.
Tirupati Graphite (TGR) is increasing the planned flake graphite capacity of the first module at the Vatomina project by 50% to 9,000 tonnes a year. The project will be commissioned in the second quarter. Carboflamex and other expandable graphite products produced by the company have gained certification to be sold in the EU.
Avation (AVAP) has entered into a lease with an Asian airline for an ATR72-600 aeroplane, which should be delivered in March.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 26 October 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Truspine Technologies (TSP) says that the latest tests of Cervi-Lok, which is a spinal stabilisation device, have been positive. The tests used a computer-generated model and it showed that Cervi-Lok had a reduction in range of motion that was better than existing screw-based fixation systems. FDA clearance is expected early next year.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) is acquiring the business and assets of Romar Process Engineering for £550,000 in cash and shares. Romar is a metal fabrication business and in the nine-months to July 2020 it made a pre-tax profit of £202,000 on revenues of £732,000. The group will be able to undertake larger contracts and some production will be transferred to the Romar facility. The exclusivity period for the proposed acquisition of E Lowe has been extended.
Early Equity (EEQP) has bought a 1% stake in Lotto Studios for £50,000. Lotto licences entertainment and sports brands for lottery and casino games. Early Equity believes that it can help with opportunities in Asia.
Gunsynd (GUN) has sold its 600,000 shares in Bunker Hill Mining raising £164,000. The investment company has reinvested £146,000 in Empress Royalty Corp.
Graham Lyon has stepped down as non-executive chairman and Majken Korsgaard has resigned as non-executive director of SulNOx Group (SNOX) and this means that trading in the shares has been suspended because there is no independent director. Nicholas Nelson has been reappointed as a director. Shipleys has resigned as auditor. Resolutions allowing the company to issue more shares were not passed at the AGM.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) says that it is progressing towards drilling at the Specimen Hill prospect in Queensland. Samples have returned assays of more than 3.5g/t gold and more than 45g/t silver.
Chairman Robert Sutcliffe has been buying shares in DXS International (DXSP).
Rural Broadband Solutions (RBBS) has started trading following the reverse takeover of Secure Web Services by SAPO. Chris Akers has a 3.29% stake.
Shares in Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) have started trading on OTCQB Venture Market in the US.
AIM
Vianet (VNET) says that interim trading was ahead of Covid-19 revised expectations. There has been a month-on-month improvement in cash and profit during the period. New restrictions on hospitality outlets could hamper progress. The interims will be published on 8 December.
Full year figures from Tristel (TSTL) were slightly better than anticipated. The disinfection products supplier increased revenues by 21% to £31.7m and a 27% rise in underlying pre-tax profit to £7.1m. Profit growth will be held back this year by additional investment in the US, where there should be positive news about FDA approval of products.
C4X Discovery (C4XD) has raised £15m at 14p a share. This has nearly doubled the number of shares in issue. The cash will provide a strong financial position for C4X when it is negotiating with potential partners and strategic collaborators. It will also fund the development of potential drugs. that The cash should last for at least 12 months. Indivior has started a phase I clinical trial for C4X_3256 for the treatment of opioid dependence. The trial will last until the end of the year and there will be data in 2021.
Judges Scientific (JDG) is acquiring Korvus Technology, which supplies vapour deposition systems, for an initial £2.64m. This has sparked a small upgrade to the 2021 pre-tax profit forecast taking it to £15.2m.
Gold recovery services company Goldplat (GDP) has increased profit from activities in South Africa and Ghana. The sale of the Kilmapesa mine should be completed by December.
Rare books supplier Scholium (SCH) made a small interim loss. Shapero Rare Books increased its online activity. There will be annual savings of more than £100,000 from moving to new premises.
Orchard Funding (ORCH) has decided to withdraw its application for a banking licence.
Seeing Machines (SEE) has signed a memorandum of understanding with L3 Harris Technologies that could take the company’s computer vision technology into the flight simulator market.
Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings (IDH) released its normal interim trading statement at 4.35pm on Friday. Covid-19-related sales are still small.
MAIN MARKET
Strong third quarter trading has helped LED lighting and wiring accessories supplier Luceco (LUCE) to increase its guidance for full year operating profit from £23m to between £28m and £30m.
Contango Holdings (CGO) has raised £1.8m at 5p a share and acquired the Garalo gold project in southern Mali for $1m, with $100,000 paid and the rest due in February. The rest of the cash will finance the development of the project so that gold production can start before the end of 2021. Capital costs of $1.2m are expected with further finance of $4m being sought to build up production. Target production is 30,000 ounces per year. The non-independent resource is 320,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 1.5g/t. Costs should be less than $1,000/ounce.
Aircraft lessor Avation (AVAP) increased revenues by 14% to $135.3m and there was a full year pre-tax profit of $14.6m after a net impairment charge. Mitigating lender agreements have been made with clients.
Edale Capital has sent a requisition notice to InnovaDerma (IDP) in order to force an AGM re-election vote for two existing directors and to propose a new director.
Property investor Town Centre Securities (TOWN) says that it collected 75% of rents in the latest quarter with 10% deferred. Since June, £41.2m has been raised from retail property disposals.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 1 June 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) says that it plans to host racing during June and July, although there will be no crowd. There will be income from media rights and betting shops are set to reopen on 15 June. The Rocking Horse nursery reopens on 1 June, although the hotel at the racecourse will remain closed. The £2.75m loan from Compton Beauchamp Estates has been extended to April 2022. David Wilson Homes is expected to make the next land payment of £10.98m by then. The 2019 audited accounts should be published by the end of July.
First Sentinel (FSEN) is making an investment in proposed Aquis Stock Exchange company Vulcan Industries. It will pay £234,000 for shares at 3p each and is also providing a convertible loan facility of up to £500,000 with an interest rate of 12%. There is an arrangement fee of £50,000 in shares. The initial stake is 4.56% of Vulcan, which plans to be a consolidator in the engineering sector. First Sentinel has raised £117,000 at 21p a share.
SG Recruitment Ltd (SGRL) is supplying hand sanitiser to the NHS and that should generate £650,000 in gross profit in this financial year. The contract lasts for an initial 11 weeks. In the six months to September 2019, gross profit is £288,000.
Cannabis-focused shell Greencare Capital (GRE) says that it remains in discussions with its principle potential acquisition and other opportunities. As lockdown conditions ease the discussions should gain momentum.
Employee-owned businesses investor and adviser Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) doubled unrealised gains from £630,000 to £1.33m at the interim stage and this helped pre-tax profit improve from £585,000 to £1.28m. NAV was 50.17p a share at the end of February 2020, although this figure has subsequently declined. TG Engineering went into administration in April, but this investment had already been written-off.
European Lithium Ltd (EUR) has secured an agreement with Talaxis for help with completing the definitive feasibility study on the Wolfsberg lithium project. Talaxis has expertise in developing electric vehicle technology metals. An introduction fee of 5% is payable for a debt or equity raising, plus a total of up to 36 million shares depending on the achievement of milestones. There is a minimum one-year non-exclusive period. Creditors and short-term loans of $743,000 have been converted into shares.
KR1 (KR1) investee company Argent Labs has raised a further $12m and this puts a value of $260,000 on the stake in the mobile crypto wallet developer.
Formation Group (FRM) has swung from an operating loss of £137,000 to a profit of £175,000 at the interim stage. This was supplemented by a £766,000 gain on financial assets to generate a £941,000 pre-tax profit. There is £5.18m in the bank and net assets were £21.7m at the end of February 2020.
Investment company Forbes Ventures (FOR) says that it expects its litigation funding project to male progress over the next few months. This should generate cash for the business and other projects are being assessed.
Early Equity (EEQP) increased its interim loss from £68,000 to £344,000. Early Equity has suspended its application to the standard list.
AIM
Safestay (SSTY) ended 2019 with 20 hostels across 12 European countries. In 2019, revenues increased by one-quarter to £18.4m and 49% of this comes from outside of the UK. There was a small pre-tax loss, which will increase this year due to closures because of COVID-19. Liberum believes that net bank debt will be £26.3m by the end of 2020. The share price is less than one-third of the NAV of around 56p a share.
In-game advertising technology develop Bidstack (BIDS) has received its first advertising bookings in the US. The company expects significant second half revenues.
Mattress retailer eve Sleep (EVE) says demand improved in April and May putting it in a position to meet full year expectations. A loss of £3.6m is forecast. The online focus has helped because high street retailers have closed. There have also been opportunities to buy TV advertising at attractive rates. The Woodford stock overhang has been cleared.
First quarter trading at fryer management services provider Filta (FLTA) started well and margins were improving. The catering customer base has been hit by the COVID-19 lockdown and Filta is offering additional services. Last year, organic revenue growth was 16%. Net debt was £2.1m at the end of 2019.
MAIN MARKET
Motor dealer Caffyns (CFYN) says it still expects to make a profit in the year to March 2020. Aftersales have restarted and showrooms are set to reopen. There is an annual salary ceiling of £37,500 for all active employees in April. This is being unwound.
Moss Bros (MOSB) bidder Brigadier has decided to withdraw its appeal to the Takeover Panel and the bid needs to be approved by the courts to be finalised.
Path Investments (PATH) has found a new acquisition target to replace the purchase of FineGems. Path is buying a 75% stake in the DT Ultraviolet technology owned by AIM-quoted Zoetic International (ZOE). Path will also acquire the nitrogen reserves and assets owned by Zoetic. The DTU refracking well stimulation technology is cheaper than existing technologies. Path will issue 15 million shares, and 15 million warrants exercisable at 1.5p each, to pay for the assets. Path will also pay a royalty of 5% on DTU revenues.
Cash shell Fandango Holdings (FHP) says the prospectus for the acquisition of an oil well services company is currently being prepared. There will also be a placing.
Avation (AVAP) has ended its formal sales process. Disruption to the aviation sector means that a realistic bid is unlikely.
Cathay International Holdings (CTI) is planning to transfer from a premium to a standard listing even though shareholders did not pass the resolution when it was previously tabled.
Nanoco (NANO) has signed a quantum dot material supply agreement with STMicroelectronics. Initial purchases will generate cash during the rest of 2020.
Seafox international says that is has no longer intends to bid for Gulf Marine Services (GMS).
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 13 April 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Suffolk-based brewer Adnams (ADB) returned to profit in 2019. Revenues fell from £78.9m to £74.7m, while a loss of £877,000 was turned into a pre-tax profit of £39,000. Stripping out one-off costs, there was an underlying decline in profit. Investment in the brewery and a new IT system have led to some disruption of the business. There will be no final dividend due to COVID-19 and the subsequent pub closures. There are tangible assets valued at £43.8m, much of which is freehold property and Adnams is in discussions about new lending facilities.
Directors’ pay has been halved and other costs reduced to a minimum.
Ananda Developments (ANA) is formulating responses to the latest questions from the Home Office. The MHRA has also requested a meeting to discuss the application to grow >0.2% THC cannabis. Ananda has a 50% interest in DJT Plants which plans to grow the cannabis in Lincolnshire.
World High Life (LIFE) has gained a quotation on the US OTC market. They started trading on 8 April.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) produced 8,127 tonnes of lead concentrate and 4,609 tonnes of zinc concentrate at the Hellyer mine in the first quarter of 2020. Further production increases are planned. Mining continues in Tasmania and the concentrate can still be shipped.
AIM
Replacement windows supplier Safestyle (SFE) has raised £8.5m at 17p a share and this will provide a strong cash buffer during the COVID-19 outbreak. Banking covenants will be waived for up to six months.
ReNeuron (RENE) has secured a collaboration with a major pharma company for the potential use of the company’s exosomes, derived from the CTX neural stem cell line.
D4T4 Solutions (D4T4) won additional SaaS-based business in the fourth quarter. That has delayed the recognition of revenues and led to a 14% fall in reported revenues to £21.7m. The forecast was for revenues of £26.7m. Pre-tax profit fell from £6m to £5m. There is £12.7m of cash in the bank.
Churchill China (CHH) has decided not to pay a final dividend even though net cash was £15.6m at the end of 2019. Underlying pre-tax profit improved from £9.4m to £11.2m in 2019. Manufacturing operations have been suspended and costs are being reduced. Capital investment in manufacturing and kiln capacity should be completed in the first half of 2020.
Real Estate Investors (REI) says that trading remains strong and it still intends to pay its dividend. Rental collection was good in the first quarter of 2020. Forecasts have been trimmed with nav expected to fall from 67.4p a share to 66.1p a share. That is still well above the share price.
Circassia Pharma (CIR) is transferring the US commercial rights to Tudorza and Duaklir to AstraZeneca. The $149.9m loan from AstraZeneca (and accrued interest) will be offset against the consideration for the transfer. AstraZeneca still owns 18.9% of Circassia. The focus of Circassia will be the Niox respiratory diagnostic platform.
Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO) has raised a further £14.9m at 25p a share. This will be spent on development and gaining approval for its LIGHT proton therapy system.
Cinema operator Everyman Media (EMAN) has raised £17.5m at 100p a share. This will help finance the business while the cinemas are closed.
Upheavals continue at Nostra Terra Oil and Gas (NTOG) with a further general meeting requisitioned and the resignation of chairman Andrew Morrison. A share issue raised £318,000 at 0.25p a share. Chief executive Matt Lofgran has agreed to a 60% reduction in salary until the next significant fundraising.
Trading in the shares of Bould Opportunities (BOU) has been cancelled but it continues to push ahead with a potential biotechnology acquisition.
MAIN MARKET
Aquila Services Group (AQSG) is aiming to at least break even in 2020-21 and maintain a positive cash balance. The figures for the year to March 2020 will not be as good as forecast, although it was profitable. Cost savings by the consultancy services provider include the chief executive standing down and there will be no final dividend.
Avation (AVAP) says that it has received bid interest, but progress has been hampered by COVID-19. The commercial aircraft lessor has $129m in cash and it is offering short-term financial relief to airlines. Management believes that ongoing income should be enough to cover costs for another 12 months.
Car and property bridging finance provider S and U (SUS) is paying a final dividend of 50p a share. That is lower than the previous year’s final of 51p a share, but it means the total dividend for 2019-20 is 2% higher. There are signs of reduction in lending in the early weeks of the new financial year.
Flavourings and fragrances supplier Treatt (TET) says interim revenues were 5% lower due to a fall in the price of citrus raw materials. There was growth in other areas with tea revenues 48% higher. There has been strong growth in recent orders because of the use of ingredients in soaps and sanitisers. The factory relocation in the UK will not happen until 2021. Net cash was £6.5m at the end of March 2020. The interims will be published on 12 May.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) generated revenues of £6m in the first quarter of 2020. There was £1.8m generated in March, down from £2.5m in February. The decline was due to lower bitcoin prices and more difficult cryptocurrency mining conditions.
Spinnaker Opportunities (SOP) has raised £40,000 from a loan note issue to two investors. The conversion price is 5p a share. There will be a warrant for every two shares that is exercisable at 5p a share.
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