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Quoted Micro 21 November 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
EDX Medical (EDX) completed its reversal into shell TECC Capital in a deal valued at £12m and £1.2m was raised at 6p a share. The share price returned from suspension and increased by 64.1% to 5.25p, but it is still below the placing price. EDX Medical develops digital diagnostic products and service for cancer, heart disease, neurology and infectious diseases.
Non-fungible token platform developer Looking Glass Labs Ltd (NFTX) has been introduced to the Access segment of Aquis on 14 November. Web 3.0 Holdings Ltd was acquired prior to the flotation. This is a Web3 technology company that owns a retail technology platform. The company’s brand House of Kibaa has designed a next generation metaverse for 3D assets. This enables functional art and collectibles to exist across different NFT blockchains. Sales of digital assets have totalled C$6.2m and there is a 5% royalty stream on secondary sales. There were early deals at 17p a share and the share price has fallen to 13.5p.
Oscillate (MUSH) is planning to acquire Hi55 Ventures Ltd, a fintech platform designed to help companies with payroll flexibility. Trading in the shares was suspended at 0.75p each. The share-based deal values Hi55 at £28m at a notional share price of 1.29p. Existing Oscillate shareholders will be given a warrant exercisable at 1.29p for each share they own. Hi55 allows employees to access their salary as they earn it. This finance can be delivered in partnership with MasterCard.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has not been able to conclude the proposed agreement to acquire Peregrine X Ltd. Discussion continue so a different structure to the deal might be possible. Vulcan Industries continues to sell its other interests. Components manufacturer Tim Rainham has been sold for £1. The business had net liabilities. Earlier this month, raised £157,000 in a placing at 8.2p a share.
Quetzal Capital (QTZ) says that proposed acquisition target Tap Global has no direct exposure to the defunct cryptocurrency company FTX.
Watchstone Group (WTG) has agreed settlement terms with former auditor KPMG. The final payment is £4.95m. Net assets were £11.4m at the end of June 2022, which was mainly cash. The share price increased by 11.5% to 29p, which values Watchstone at £12m.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) has recommenced drilling at the Specimen Hill project in Queensland. This is drilling below a previous mine and one result was 8.17g/t gold over one metre in distal veins. A shortage of drilling rigs delayed the restart. The drilling should be completed in a fortnight.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has exercised its option to acquire the Anketell gold-copper project in Western Australia. This cost £320,000 in shares at 14.75p a share and £50,000 in cash.
Web3 gaming and infrastructure company Pioneer Media Holdings Inc (PNER) has closed the first tranche of the previously announced placing, and this raised C$580,000 at C$0.10 a unit – one share and 0.5 of a warrant exercisable at C$0.25. This is a huge discount to the market price. The share price slumped 14.3% to 30p. This cash will finance technology development and working capital. Olivia Edwards has been appointed to the board.
Diesel additives supplier SulNOx Group (SNOX) has secured an order in South Africa and a repeat order in Costa Rica. Agriculture has proved to be a large customer base.
Aquaculture and geotracking technology developer OTAQ (OTAQ) increased interim revenues by 11% to £2.03m and the reported loss fell from £881,000 to £538,000. The cash raised when OTAQ moved to Aquis will finance further technology investment. Management says that there will be a period of adjustment. Nigel Wray increased his stake from 15.8% to 19.35%.
IamFire (FIRE) is raising £3.5m at 2.5p a share.
BWA Group (BWA) has £7,367 of cash and net liabilities of £168,000. It is seeking to raise more cash.
Marula Mining (MARU) has increased its fundraising to £519,500 at 2p a share. Richard Lloyd withdrew himself from re-election as a director.
AIM
Totally (TLY) reported further progress in its latest interims with trading generally back to pre-lockdown levels. Demand for insourcing of operations has grown significantly and used up more working capital. Revenues grew but underlying pre-tax profit was flat at £2m. However, earnings fell because of a higher tax charge. Contracts worth £37m were extended. Underlying full year pre-tax profit is expected to improve from £3.7m to £5.7m, helped by insourcing demand as the NHS tries to reduce waiting lists.
Delays in commencing manufacturing and building up sales of Stereax small battery cells have knocked the Ilika (IKA) share price, which slumped 34.7% to 32p. The commercial prototypes will not be available until the end of 2023. It is also taking longer than anticipated for the larger Goliath batteries to reach the position where they have equivalence with lithium-ion cells. Forecast group revenues have been cut for this year and next year, while the 2024-25 forecast has been slashed from £18.1m to £2.7m by Berenberg. That indicates the length of the delays. That would put Ilika into a net debt position.
Wynnstay Group (WYN) is acquiring Cornwall-based feed supplier Tamar Milling for an initial £1.4m. This is immediately earnings enhancing. In 2020-21, Tamar Milling revenues were £6.4m and pre-tax profit of £420,000. Wynnstay says that its 2021-22 results will be better than expected. Grain, seed and fertiliser revenues have been strong and joint venture businesses will make a higher than expected profit contribution. There is also a boost in the figures from the accounting treatment of the hedging of wheat contracts.
Chain and transmission equipment manufacturer Renold (RNO) continues to trade well in tough times. Interim revenues were 22% ahead at £116.3m, while underlying pre-tax profit was two-fifths higher at £7.3m. The acquisition of Industrias YUK in Spain meant that net debt increased to £34m, but management is still confident that it can finance further acquisitions when they are identified. Higher interest rates have helped to reduce the net pension deficit by one-quarter to £56.6m. The order book is worth £99m, which is a record.
Digital coupons and loyalty technology provider Eagle Eye (EYE) is acquiring France-based Untie Nots, which provides promotion and gamification SaaS products to retailers. The deal will cost up to €38.8m. The initial payment is €9.1m in cash and €5.9m in shares at 555p each. A placing will raise £7m at 555p a share and the rest of the cash will come from existing net cash of £3.6m. The deferred payments of up to €23.8m will depend on achieving revenue targets in 2022, 2023 and 2024, which equate to annual growth of 60%, as well as achievement of a minimum EBITDA margin.
Harland & Wolff (HARL) is involved in Team Resolute, a consortium that is preferred bidder for a £1.6bn contract to build Royal Navy support vessels. This will require significant investment in the Belfast shipyard. The Appledore shipyard in Devon will also be involved.
Poolbeg Pharma (POLB) and consortium partners have been awarded a €2.3m grant by an Irish government fund to develop an oral vaccine candidate from pre-clinical to phase I readiness. The aim is to induce mucosal immunity. The week before Poolbeg identified multiple novel drug targets for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) through it s collaboration with OneThree Biotech.
N4 Pharma (N4P) is raising £1m at 2p a share. A broker offer could raise up to £1m more. The share price slumped by 30.5% to 2.05p. The cash will be used for the development work relating to loading SiRNA onto delivery vehicle Nuvec, plus for funding the investigation of possible acquisitions.
MAIN MARKET
Standard listed BSF Enterprise (BSFA) says that its subsidiary 3d Bio-Tissues has produced three small prototype fillets of cultivated meat, which is a step towards a full-scale cultivated meat fillet. This comes at a time when the US FDA has given approval to a cultivated meat product for the first time. The cultivated meat fillets were 30mm in height and 15mm in diameter and weighed 5 grammes. They were some of the first 100% cultivated meat fillets produced in the world. The comparisons with conventional meat were described as “comprehensively positive”. The first full-scale cultivated meat fillet should be showcased early next year.
Braemar (BMS) increased interim revenues by 46% to £69.4m, helped by the strength of the dollar. Underlying pre-tax profit more than doubled to £10.5m and Braemar moved into a net cash position of £1.8m. The interim dividend was doubled to 4p a share.
Trading continues to improve at Castings (CGS) and interim revenues were 23% higher at £85.6m, while pre-tax profit recovered 38% to £7.5m. Price increases offset cost rises. There is strong demand for HGVs and short-term component order books remain strong. The interim dividend is 3.84p. Net cash is £25.6m and that should rise significantly in the second half.
J Smart Contractors (SMJ) is paying a final dividend of 2.27p a share. In the year to July 2022, revenues fell from £10.4m to £7.43m as construction activity declined. Thanks to a £6.06m profit on the sale of investment properties a pre-tax profit of £8.19m was reported. That is down from £14.9m the previous year, although that included a revaluation surplus of £12.1m. NAV is £124.7m, including net cash of £20.7m.
Standard list Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) announced heads of terms for the purchase of Amcouri Group, which is a holding company for nine engineering and manufacturing businesses. The potential cost is £22.3m in ordinary shares based on the forecast profit forma EBITDA of £5.4m.
Net Zero Infrastructure (NZI) has terminated acquisition talks with Taylor Construction because it could not raise the cash required for the deal. NAV is £650,000.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 4 April 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
In 2021, Good Energy (GOOD) revenues were 12% higher at £146m, while underlying pre-tax profit recovered from £500,000 to £2.6m. Since the year end the sale of the generating assets has boosted the balance sheet making it debt free. A final dividend of 1.8p a share takes the total for the year to 2.55p a share. Investment in billing platforms will help improve efficiency. The Zap-Map EV charging services business remains a focus of growth, along with an accelerating smart meter roll out. Even though trading conditions are tough, Good Energy could improve its profit this year.
Brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP) is returned to profit at the interim stage, and it is paying an interim dividend of 3.5p a share. In the six months to December 2021, revenues increased by 55% to £78.7m, which is similar to the six months to December 2019. A loss of £7.2m was turned into a profit of £5.4m. Net debt is £82.4m after paying delayed VAT liabilities. Net assets are 1176p a share, excluding property revaluations. In the 13 weeks to 26 March 2022, like-for-like managed pub sales are 10% ahead, but it is a weak comparative. Costs are increasing and Peel Hunt has trimmed its full year pre-tax profit forecast from £8.6m to £7.2m.
ProBiotix Health (PBX) started trading on the Access segment having raised £2.5m at 21p a share. The share price ended the week at 21.5p, valuing the company at £26.2m. The company has been spun-off by OptiBiotix Health (OPTI), which retains a 44% stake after issuing ProBiotix shares to its own shareholders. They will not be able to deal in the shares for nine months. The core product developed by ProBiotix is LP-LDL ®. Studies have shown that the product can reduce cholesterol levels.
AIM-quoted European equities exchange operator Aquis Exchange (AQX) joined the Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange on the same day as it reported full year figures. In 2021, revenues were 42% ahead at £16.2m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £470,000 to £3.22m. Net cash is £14.1m, after spending £1.1m on buying back shares. The company’s market share of pan-European trading improved from 4.7% to 5.2% and the purchase of the non-displayed matching pool of UBS could add a further 0.6% of market share. Liberum forecasts further growth in pre-tax profit to £4.2m this year.
Oberon Investments (OBE) is raising £3.4m at 6p a share in a significantly oversubscribed placing. The broker and investment manager wants to spend the cash on expanding its corporate finance and wealth management operations.
Pharma C Investments (PCIL) invested £100,000 in AIM-quoted Celadon Pharmaceuticals (CEL), formerly Summerway Capital, at 165p a share. Trading started on 28 March and the share price subsequently fell to 130p. Vertigrow, which was established in 2018, reversed into Celadon and it grows indoor hydroponic, high THC cannabis, which will be used for medicines to treat chronic pain. A Home Office licence to legally grow medicinal cannabis was received in July 2021 and it has been renewed until January 2023.
KR1 (KR1) has invested $1.5m in Subspace Labs Inc and it will receive a yet-to-be determined number of tokens. Subspace Network is an eco-friendly blockchain that enables scalable chain storage and computing.
Gunsynd (GUN) owns 1.25 million shares in Media Tech SPAC, which is acquiring Scandinavia-based Drylab A/S, which has developed a subscription-based film and TV production platform. The technology allows reviewing and sharing of filmed takes in real-time, uploads those filmed takes to a cloud-based platform and saves time and costs. The service is designed to work without internet access.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) has sold M and G Olympic Products, which manufactures architectural metalwork, for £1. This is part of refocusing on fabrication businesses.
Cadence minerals (KDNC) has agreed to sell its 31.5% stake in Lithium Technologies and Lithium Supplies in return for £3.72m.
The attempt to remove the chairman and the other resolution put forward at a requisitioned general meeting of Love Hemp (LIFE) were heavily defeated.
Pioneer Holdings Inc (PNER) has acquired Crowdform, which creates apps and websites for brands and start-ups.
Trading in Hot Rocks Investments (HRIP) shares was restored after it reported 2020-21 results and interims to September 2021. There was cash of £93,000 and net assets were £788,000 at the end of September 2021.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) had £396,000 in the bank at the end of 2021 and management says that it is well funded even though there have been delays to exploration.
Lombard Capital (LCAP) had net liabilities of £2.29m at the end of 2021. The directors are trying to refinance the company.
Hydrogen Future Industries (HFI) has incorporated a subsidiary to develop wind and water-based hydrogen production systems.
Evrima (EVA) has replaced corporate adviser Keith Bayley Rogers with Novum Securities.
Kasei Holdings (KASH) says that its chair Jane Thomason Abigail subscribed £150,000 for new shares at 20p each.
AIM
Digital payments business Boku (BOKU) improved its underlying pre-tax profit from $8.8m to $11.8m in 2021. Longer-term, eWallet activity will help to accelerate growth. Monthly average cash balances are running at $50.8m. Boku will be hit by the loss of Russian revenues that were likely to be around $1.5m.
NWF (NWF) says that its fuels business is making a profit of 2p a litre, compared with 1p a litre under normal circumstances. This will boost cash flow, but it is not likely to be repeatable. Full year profit will be much better than expected.
Artisanal Spirits (ART) achieved strong growth in the UK, China and the US last year. Member lifetime value increased from £932 to £1,445, helped by retention rates improving to 77%. The investment in casks of whisky is paying off with the value of the stocks increasing by 26%. Current year revenues are growing by 30%.
EKF Diagnostics (EKF) increased 2021 revenues by 25% to £81.8m. Even stripping out one-off Covid business, the growth was 14%. Pre-tax profit improved from £15.4m to £21.4m. Net cash was £19.6m at the end of 2021, although that was prior to an additional investment in Verici Dx (VRCI). Some of the cash pile is being invested in expanding the fermentation capacity in Indiana. There are plans to buy back up to nine million shares.
Employee benefits services and insurance provider Personal Group (LSE: PGH) beat expectations with 2021 even though pre-tax profit declined from £8.8m to £4.7m as the effects of the original lockdown showed through in the figures. There will also be a delay in the recovery coming through in better profit. The total dividend was reduced from 18.4p a share to 10.6p a share. Net cash is £20.3m.
Brand Architekts (BAR) is making a recommended bid for fully listed InnovaDerma (IDP), which has regularly disappointed investors. The offer is 7p in cash and 0.3818 of a Brand Architekts share for each InnovaDerma share, which values the skincare company at £13.6m. Brand Architekts has a strong balance sheet and will be able to improve the marketing for the combined group’s products.
Windward (WNWD), which supplies AI-based software for real-time marine and shipping information, doubled its customer base last year. There is an increased need for information to stop breaches of sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the ongoing requirement to track sea cargos. Windward is loss-making, but revenues should build up significantly as marine compliance requirements become more stringent. Net cash is $39m and this will provide the funds for Windward to achieve its growth forecasts.
SIPPs admin services provider Curtis Banks (CBP) improved pre-tax profit from £13.4m to £14m in 2021. The growth was held back by delays in technology projects. The dividend is maintained at 9p a share. This was achieved despite a decline in interest income. The higher interest rates will not make a significant difference until 2023. Investment in systems will improve efficiency.
Construction and building software supplier Eleco (ELCO) grew revenues from £25.2m to £27.3m, while pre-tax profit improved from £4.9m to £5.3m. Eleco is transitioning to a SaaS-based model and that will hold back short-term revenues growth. Eleco increased its full year dividend from 0.4p a share to 0.6p a share.
Great Western Mining (GWMO) has completed the road to its Mineral Jackpot properties in Nevada and that will help it to exploit spoil heaps. There are also plans to drill five shallow exploration holes in the area.
MAIN MARKET
Repair and maintenance services provider Mears (MER) reported a 2021 pre-tax profit of £25.6m on revenues of £878m as local authority repair and maintenance activity returned to normal levels. Mears made a loss in 2020. The order book is worth £2.4bn.
Beacon Rise Holdings (BRS) joined the standard list with nine shareholders owning most of the shares. Prior to flotation £1.07m was raised at 100p a share. The current bid/offer spread is 100p/400p. Beacon Rise Holdings is seeking acquisitions involved in primary and secondary related education technology. This could be software or hardware that facilitates active learning. Pro forma net assets equals the cash of £744,000.
Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) has terminated its proposed acquisition of Greenview Gas. Another party will acquire the business. Rockpool has received £1.2m from Greenview, which is a small premium on the loan provided plus interest.
Telecoms services provider Toople (TOOP) says first quarter revenues are 9% ahead of the previous fourth quarter, while gross profit is 17% higher.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 24 January 2022
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Good Energy (GOOD) has agreed the sale of its generating assets ahead of the 11 February general meeting called by Ecotricity where it wanted shareholders to vote on any disposal. The initial payment by Bluefield Solar Income Fund is £16.4m, less a distribution of £700,000 since the lockbox date. Deferred consideration of up to £8.1m based on the performance of the assets. The book value was £17.7m. This will leave Good Energy substantially debt free with cash in the bank. This will enable further investment in Zap-Map and other transport and decentralised energy businesses.
Broker Arden has initiated research on CBD products and testing company Goodbody Health (GDBY) and set a 10p a share target price. The growth is coming from testing services and Goodbody Health is expected to move into profit this year. Currently 94% of testing revenues relate to Covid, but other blood tests are set to be in the majority by 2023.
Brewer Adnams (ADB) has decided to announce an interim dividend having not paid a dividend for more than two years. The A shares will receive 39p a share and B shares 156p a share. The ex-dividend date is 27 January.
Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI) has signed a letter of intent with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which will review the waste plastic to hydrogen technologies.
Cross border e-commerce technology provider Samarkand Group (SMK) has agreed a three-year contract extension with TEMPLESPA.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) says that investee company European Metals Holdings has published an update to its 2019 pre-feasibility study for the 49%-owned Cinovec lithium mine in the Czech Republic. The post-tax NPV8 has increased to $3.09bn, although the upfront cost has also increased to $644m.
Recent new admission Kasei Holdings (KASH) has made $3.65m of cryptocurrency investments since joining Aquis. It has also made a $25,000 initial investment in Game-fi ecosystem company ZONE. Kasei had £3.7m available for investment.
Investment company Gledhow Investments (GDH) had cash of £525,000 at the end of September 2021, having raised £850,000 in a placing during the year. Net assets increased from £1.3m to £2.78m.
IamFire (FIRE) reduced its interim loss from £162,000 to £86,000. Since the half year end, IamFire has raised a further £4.75m.
NQ Minerals remains in administration and has been withdrawn from Aquis.
AIM
Pawnbroker and foreign currency exchange services company Ramsdens (RFX) reported a £600,000 pre-tax profit on revenues of £40.7m in the year to September 2021. Jewellery sales were strong both online and in stores. The foreign exchange division was hit by the lack of travel. This year the foreign exchange business should recover although it is difficult to assess by how much. Even so, there should be a jump in profit this year as Covid restrictions are removed.
Interim figures from small company finance provider Time Finance (TIME) reported flat interim revenues of £11.8m and pre-tax profit of £1.2m. Full year profit could improve from £2m to £2.9m, although earnings per share could be flat, but a much bigger jump is expected next year. NAV remains above the market capitalisation and there is a conservative provisioning policy.
Pressure Technologies (PRES) reported flat full year revenues, but the underlying loss was reduced. A good performance from the Chesterfield Special Cylinders, helped by defence orders, was offset by weak oil and gas demand for precision machined components. Net debt was £4.9m. There should be a return to profit this year. Demand for cylinders for hydrogen refuelling is building up and should become significant over the next few years. Oil and gas demand is also improving.
Ilika (IKA) expects to start to build up production at its new Stereax battery plant in Chandler’s Ford by the beginning of the next financial year. The production lines have been installed and the process and product qualification is underway. Revenues were £195,000 in the six months to October 2021. These came from grants relating to the Goliath technology. The Goliath battery technology is at an early stage and is suitable for uses where larger batteries are required, such as electric vehicles and consumer appliances. There will be minimal group revenues in the second half with the growth coming in 2022-23. Cash outflows will continue but there will still be cash going into 2024.
Kromek (KMK) had a tough first half due to component supply problems, but the imaging and detection technology company expects to have a much stronger second half. Interim revenue edged up to £4.71m, while full year revenues are expected to be £15m. There is 96% visibility based on current second half orders. Kromek continues to be loss-making, but it is still expected to have net cash at the end of April 2022. That is despite increasing component stocks. Kromek has won a seven-year imaging contract worth $17m.
Credit hire and legal services firm Anexo (ANX) says that 2021 revenues and profit have exceeded expectations. There were 2,300 credit hire vehicles on the road at the end of 2021. Progressive has upgraded its underlying pre-tax profit forecast from £20m to £24.5m.
Boku (BOKU) has sold its identity division to Twilio for up to $32.3m. This will stop those losses and help group profit to increase. In 2021, the payments division increased its revenues by one-fifth to $61.9m, while EBITDA rose by a similar proportion to $22.9m. Stripping out the identity division loss means that the 2022 pre-tax profit has been upgraded from $15.3m to $16.8m.
Growth is accelerating at domain name and online marketing services provider CentralNic (CNIC). The 2021 full year growth in revenues of 37%, was better than expected and higher than the 29% growth in the first nine months of 2021.
MAIN MARKET
LED lighting and wiring accessories supplier Luceco (LUCE) says that 2021 operating profit will be £39m as expected. There was strong growth last year, but this year will have tougher comparatives. Price rises have offset cost inflation but 2022 may be second half weighted in performance terms.
Tibergest is making a mandatory offer for Photo-Me International (PHTM) after acquiring 7.7% and taking its stake to 36.5%. It has to offer the 75p a share it paid for the latest stake. Tibergest is associated with Photo-Me chief executive Serge Crasnianski. There are no plans to cancel the listing.
CYBA (CYBA) is still in talks concerning the acquisition of PolySwarm, which has issued the Nectar (NCT) cryptocurrency token. The NCT price has increased to 17.34 cents and PolySwarm owns 339 million NCT.
Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) has terminated the acquisition of Greenview Gas. Rockpool should get £1.25m back from Greenview.
GSTechnologies (GST) has acquired a Lithuanian crypto exchange licence through the acquisition of UAB Glindala. Change of control has to be approved. There are plans to open a crypto exchange in the second quarter of 2022.
Executive chairman John Rigg has bought more shares in IT services company Triad (TRD). He acquired 35,000 shares at 164.3p each and 50,000 shares at 133.5p. He owns 27.8% of Triad.
Toople (TOOP) has opened a second contract centre, which is supported by BT. The south Cheshire centre is up and running and will focus on new small business customers gained through BT. The company’s other contact centre is in South Africa.
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies (OCTP) had cash of £12m at the end of November 2021. Phase I clinical trials for OCT461201 for the treatment of neuropathic and visceral pain could commence in the first quarter of 2023.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 4 January 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
BWA (BWAP) has been unable to sell Kings of The North Corp (KOTN) back to St Georges Eco-Mining and there are problems with the title to claims held by KOTN. It appears that two licences had not been renewed by St Georges. Three more licence areas are being reviewed. St Georges has claimed C$200,000 for work it is claimed that has not been done. There is already a claim for cash from a KOTN director and there could be further claims against directors of KOTN and St Georges.
Gunsynd (GUN) says trading in investee company Empress Royalty commenced on the TSX Venture Exchange. Gunsynd invested £146,000 in October and owns 1.4% of Empress.
MiLOC Group Ltd (ML.P) has terminated its endorsement agreement with BrandKing Worldwide and First Strong Workshop for AKFS+ haircare products and also ended the commission agreement with CN Workshop. In the recent interims, inventories increased in part due to AKFS+ haircare products.
Vulcan Industries (VULC) generated revenues of £5.74m and lost £2.96m in the period between 24 October 2018 and March 2020. This was before Vulcan raised £2.2m. The subsequent quarter trading was poor, but the second quarter was ahead of expectations. Further acquisitions have been identified.
TruSpine Technologies (TSP) lost £448,000 in the six months to September 2020. There was £567,000 in the bank.
Evrima (EVA) has sold a commercial property in Leeds for £200,000, which after costs is slightly below its purchase price in 2017. The cash will be reinvested in Kalahari Key Mineral Exploration.
AIM
Small business finance provider Vector Capital (VCAP) joined AIM on 29 December. It raised £3.1m at 38p a share and ended the week at 39.5p. In the six months to June 2020, revenues increased from £1.59m to £2.13m, while pre-tax profit jumped from £954,000 to £1.26m, even though new loans were not issued in the second quarter. The business has been profitable for the past four years. The loan book was worth £34.7m at the end of September 2020. The Jain family owns 80.85% of Vector Capital. Prior to flotation the original shareholders received a total dividend of £400,000.
Xpediator (XPD) has sold its online shopping logistics business in order to concentrate on the core freight business. EshopWedrop Holdings was losing money and the total consideration is £300,000 paid in equal instalments over three years. The book value was £700,000. Xpediator will achieve annual cost savings of £350,000 following the disposal.
MJ Hudson (MJH) is acquiring fund performance analytics business PERACS and this will widen the services it can provide to the asset management sector. The initial payment is 586,016 shares and there is deferred consideration in cash and shares over a three-year period.
Shareholders voted against the reappointment of Ian Visagie as a director of Goldplat (GDP).
Cyber security services provider Shearwater Group (SWG) says that October and November revenues were 39% ahead of the same period last year and the momentum continued into December.
UFG Asset Management has a total shareholding in Trans-Siberian Gold (TSG) of 54.9%.
DBAY Advisers has sold more of its stake in Wynnstay Group (WYN) and it has fallen to 3.7%.
MAIN MARKET
National World (NWOR) is paying £10.2m for the former Johnstone Press group of newspapers. No debt is being taken on. JPI Media Publishing is the third largest local news group in the UK and includes titles, such as Yorkshire Post, Portsmouth News and the Scotsman. JPI is estimated to have generated revenues of £85m and EBITDA of £6m in the past year. National World will use the assets to build a local online news publishing model. There is an initial cash payment of £5.2m with two further instalments. National World is issuing £8.425m of 10% loan notes and plans to issue more. Trading in the shares remains suspended until a prospectus is published and it may not resume until April.
Oil-focused shell Wildcat Petroleum (WCAT) joined the standard list on 30 December. It raised £600,000 at 0.1p a share and was capitalised at £2.4m.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) is investing $100,000 in hashrate management platform Luxor Technologies. The technology can help cryptocurrency miners to increase their returns.
Standard list shell Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) is still talking to Greenview Gas in its attempt to find a Northern Ireland-based acquisition. Greenview has downgraded its 2020-21 pre-tax profit expectation from £1.4m to £1m. Rockpool had loaned more than £1m, including interest, to Greenview. The initial loan agreement was three years ago. In November, this was repaid out of new borrowings.
Marwyn Acquisition Co I Ltd (MAC1), one of three shells floated by Marwyn during December, has appointed Vin Murria as chairman. She has built up two software companies on AIM and then sold them. The appointment means that the focus of this shell will be the software sector, with the first acquisition likely to be worth more than £100m. Last month, Vin Murria joined the board of AIM shell Summerway Capital (SWC) and it is also seeking software and digital acquisitions, but it is likely to be assessing smaller acquisitions.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 28 October 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Ashley House (ASH) is selling its stake in the Morgan Ashley joint venture to its partner for £2m, with £500,000 deferred for 12-months. Delays in the financial closure of projects has led to a shortage of funds at Ashley House and this deal means it does not have to put any more cash into the joint venture. The renewed focus will be modular buildings and the health and wellness buildings sector. Ashley House cannot work in the elderly care housing sector for three years.
Medicinal cannabis company Ananda Developments (ANA) says that 50%-owned DJT Plants has lodged an application to grow >0.2% THC cannabis. Ananda had net assets of £725,000 at the end of July 2019. That included cash of £162,000. In the six months to July 2019, more than two-thirds of expenses related to the licence application to the Home Office.
Clinical support systems supplier DXS International (DXSP) has been awarded a place on the NHS GPIT Futures framework from the beginning of 2020. This replaces the GPSoC2 framework and means that systems and services will be able to be bought centrally rather than with GP funds. DXS is on course to meet approvals for its specific systems and services. Three newly developed products will be placed on the NHS Digital Online buying catalogue.
Equatorial Mining and Exploration (EM.P) is changing its name to Eastinco Mining and consolidating 100 existing shares into one new share. It is also seeking shareholder approval for the ability to issue more shares. The share purchase agreement conditions for the acquisition of Eastinco have been satisfied. Six billion shares (this will be 60 million after consolidation) and £300,000 of nil coupon loan notes June 2025 have been issued. Heavy mining equipment is being transported to the Kuaka project.
Trading in the bonds of Via Developments (VIA1) has been suspended because a new independent non-executive director has yet to be appointed.
Woodford Investment Management has reported that it has cut its stake in proton beam therapy services provider Rutherford Health (RUTH) from 49.28% to 29.78%, but it is not clear who has acquired the shares.
Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has declared an interim dividend of 0.83p a share and that will cost £359,000. The shares go ex-dividend on 7 November.
Panther Minerals (PALM) plans to consolidate 20 existing shares into one new share and shareholders are being asked to vote for the resolution at a general meeting on 14 November. Panther has been granted its first exploration licence in the Northern Territory. The Marrakai project licence is in the Pine Creek Orogen and covers just over 10 km2. There are a series of gold prospects and there has been previous drilling in the area.
AIM
Footwear retailer Shoe Zone (SHOE) has reassured investors that it will be able to achieve the downgraded pre-tax profit of £9.5m. Net cash of £11.3m at the end of September 2019 is better than expected.
Monoclonal antibodies developer Bioventix (BVXP) reported a 6% increase in full year revenues, although the underlying growth was 16% due to the inclusion of back dated royalties in the previous year. Underlying pre-tax profit was 14% ahead at £7.1m. A 47p a share special dividend is proposed on top of the final dividend of 43p a share. Vitamin D antibody sales increased by one-quarter and they account for 46% of group revenues.
D4T4 Solutions (D4T4) says that its first half trading was in line with expectations. Interim revenues of the data analytics and collection company were £8.8m and this should be one-third of the full year total.
Oil and gas producer President Energy (PPC) is acquiring additional acreage in Rio Negro province from the Argentine oil company CGC in return for assuming the liabilities related to the acreage. CGC is also subscribing for $1.825m worth of shares in instalments. The first instalment of $500,000 will be subscribed when the acquisition is completed. The total subscription could be the equivalent of 3% of President, depending on the share prices when the money is invested.
Thor Mining (THR) is raising £510,000 at 0.2p a share. The cash will be invested in the Molyhil and Bonya tungsten and molybdenum projects in the Northern Territory and a copper project in South Australia.
Vianet (VNET) says that its smart machines division is adding to its customer base and the contracts won in August mean that the growth will continue. Overall trading in the first half was in line with expectations.
MAIN MARKET
TNG (TNG) is seeking to join the standard list. The titanium dioxide project owner already has an ASX listing. TNG owns the TIVAN process that enables production of ultra-white titanium dioxide pigment. The Munt Peake project in Australia will be the first to use the technology. The project will also produce vanadium. A final investment decision will be made as early as next summer.
Fasteners supplier Trifast (TRI) has been hit by weakness in its main markets. There have been reduced volumes in the automotive market. The forecast pre-tax profit for the year to March 2019 has been cut from £22m to £20.3m.
Zenith Energy (ZEN) has raised £824,000 at around 3p a share from the placing in Norway.
Standard list shell Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) has signed heads of terms with a company in Nevada, which will subscribe for £1.6m of shares and convertibles at an issue/conversion price of 12p a share. Rockpool will make a further loan of £750,000 to Greenview Gas, taking the total to £910,000, which will be convertible into 40% of Greenview.
J Smart and Co (Contractors) (SMJ) increased full year revenues from £8.56m to £16m. The pre-tax profit improved from £5.82m to £7.27m, although that was mainly due to the net surplus on property valuations rising from £2.86m to £4.05m. A lull in contracting work means that this year’s profit is unlikely to improve.
Cash shell Baskerville Capital (BASK) still had £1.5m in the bank at the end of June 2019.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 1 January 2018
NEX EXCHANGE
Commercial property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has launched an open offer of convertible notes and warrants to raise up to £4.85m. The conversion price is 25p a share, while the warrants are exercisable at 80p a share. The closing date is 22 January.There are already commitments for £3.01m. Additional cash is required to make more property purchases.
Good Energy (GOOD) chairman John Maltby has invested £100,000 in the renewable energy supplier. He acquired 58,000 shares at 173p a share.
In the six months to September 2017, Via Developments (VIA1) increased its operating income from £309,000 to £557,000 but still made a small loss. There were net liabilities at the end of the period.
Positive Healthcare (DOC) made a maiden profit of £64,000 on revenues of £4.67m in the six months to September 2017. The year end is being changed to March. The healthcare staffing business continues to control costs.
Technology company incubator Milamber Ventures (MLVP) reported an increase in interim loss from £196,000 to £263,000. Milamber has launched the Milamber Education Technology Fund and has completed the acquisition of healthcare training company Essential Learning. The education sector will be increasingly important to Milamber.
Hot Rocks Investments (HRIP) reported a decline in NAV from £901,000 to £853,000 in the year to September 2017. Hot Rocks has 14 investments in oil and gas, mining and pharma companies.
AIM
Stanley Gibbons (SGI) put out its interim results just before the end of the year, thereby avoiding suspension. In the six months to September 2017, revenues fell from £17.3m to £16.6m, while the loss fell from £6.36m to £3.09m. The stamps business continues to lose money and the profit from coins was lower.
Avanti Communications (AVN) was another company bringing out results just days before trading in shares would have been suspended. The satellite communications operator’s revenues fell from $82.8m to $56.6m. There was net debt of $562m at the end of September 2017, which was before the refinancing plans. David Williams will step down as chief executive after March.
Telit Communications (TCM) says that its main bank has granted a waiver for breach of covenants at the end of 2017.
Parallel Media has completed the acquisitions of Brick Live and Parallel Live for £10m and changed its name to Live Company Group (LVCG). The previous businesses have been sold. There was £1.26m raised at 30p a share and £2.03m of debt was capitalised.
A net gain on its investment portfolio enabled Legendary Investments (LEG) to report an interim pre-tax profit of £248,000. The gain was on the stake in business services software supplier Virtual Stock Holdings. There was a net cash outflow from operations of £28,000. The NAV was £5.22m at the end of September 2017.
Clear Leisure (CLP) is injecting its 4.53% stake in 3D mapping company Geosim Systems Ltd into a new subsidiary company that will also be launching a joint venture called Miner One to develop bitcoin mining blockchain data centre. Clear Leisure will invest €200,000, lent by Eufingest, a 10% plus shareholder in Clear Leisure, for 50% of the joint venture. The new subsidiary will be used to acquire other IT business and could eventually be spun-off in order to gain its own quotation.
Thor Mining (THR) has appointed exploration manager Richard Bradley to the board. The definitive feasibility study for the Molyhil tungsten/molybdenum project should be finalised in the first quarter of 2018. A mineral resource estimate is expected for the Kapunda copper project is due early in the year.
Clean water technology company HaloSource (HAL) says that the Chinese government has halted production facilities in the region that supplies its glass pitchers so fulfilment of orders for JiuBan will be delayed. This means that 2017 revenues will be up to $3m and the loss will be up to $5.5m. There should be revenues of at least $840,000 from JiuBan in 2018.
Alliance Pharma (APH) has completed the purchase of Vamousse from TyraTech Inc (TYR) for an initial $13m plus additional payments of up to $4.5m. The human head lice treatment has been developed by TyraTech and it has built up Vamousse as an international brand. The deal is earnings enhancing for Alliance and provides TyraTech with the cash to develop animal health products. TyraTech launched a tender offer of up to $8.5m. The tender offer price is 3p a share. Alliance will be able to distribute Vamousse through its existing European and international partners.
Kestrel Partners is building up a shareholding in STM Group (STM) and just before Christmas it took its stake to 3.72%.
Oil re-refiner HydroDec Group (HYR) has extended the repayment date of three facilities to the end of 2018 and one of them has been increased by £500,000. The facilities are provided by director Andrew Black.
Oracle Power (ORCP) has raised £621,000 at 2.3p a share and broker Brandon Hill has exercised warrants at 0.65p each, which raised £150,000.
Silence Therapeutics (SLN) has sold further shares in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, taking the total sale proceeds to £17.2m ($23m). The total cost of the Arrowhead stake was £9.2m ($11.3m) and Silence still owns 472,509 shares.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) will invest $200,000 for a fully diluted 2% stake in Cedex Holdings, a Blockchain-based diamonds exchange. There is also an option to acquire a further 90%, fully diluted, stake at an exercise price of $40,000. These stakes could be diluted by other share issues.
Copper and gold producer Rambler Metals and Minerals (RMM) has amended its offtake agreement with Transamine Trading, which is making a $4m advanced payment in return for a right of first refusal on any offtake agreement for five years from January 2022. The advance payment plus interest is repayable over 18 months. The phase II expansion is nearly complete and this will extend the mine life by 20 years.
EQTEC (EQT) has completed the acquisition of Eqtec Iberia for £14m in shares just over five months after it was announced. The acquisition owns the EGT gasification technology. EQTEC also raised £1.6m at 0.65p a share.
China New Energy Ltd (CNEL) is holding general meeting on 17 January In order to gain permission to buy back up to 20% of the shares in issue. This could benefit the share price, which currently has a modest rating given the profitability of the business.
New Trend Lifestyle Group (NTLG) is selling its remaining China-focused business for £100 and concentrating on Singapore. The Feng Shui business continues to trade poorly and is seeking acquisitions in Asia.
Xeros Technology (XSG) has completed its £25m placing at 225p a share. The polymer technologies developer will use the cash to further develop cleaning, tanning and textile technologies.
Gresham House (GHE) is selling its Newton-le-Willows property for £2.1m. The completion of the sale of legacy assets will have raised more than £18m. Gresham House should qualify for IHT exemption.
Summit Therapeutics (SUMM) is acquiring Discuva, which is a developer of antibiotics using a bacterial genetics based platform. Summit is paying £5m in cash and £5m in shares for Discuva but no employees will be taken on. Summit will still have enough cash to last it until the end of 2018.
Aquatic Foods Group (AFG) has been unable to publish its accounts and it has lost its AIM quotation.
URU Metals Ltd (URU) had £1.84m in cash at the end of September 2017. The first drill results for the Zebediela nickel and copper project in South Africa have been published and the drill results for the most recent three holes are due in January. URU also has a 9.7% stake in AIM-quoted Management Resource Solutions (MRS).
Draper Esprit (GROW) has made a gain of £7.2m on its stake in Clavis Insights, having originally invested £8.1m in December 2016. This gain will add 3p a share to NAV. Clavis, which is an e-commerce data analyser, was acquired by Ascential for $119m.
Windar Photonics (WPHO) has received a new order from its Chinese distribution partner for five WindVision LiDAR systems. Windar has already delivered 50 systems.
MAIN MARKET
World Trade Systems (WTS) has reached agreement with Germany-based Naturemed and related companies about the commercialisation of its personal hygiene and healthcare products and it will also help to obtain Chinese registration for them. WTS has signed a five year lease on a London office. Shares in WTS are still suspended.
Over the top video streaming business Falcon Media House (FAL) made initial revenues of £232,000 in the six months to September 2017. The interim loss was £2.71m. Since then, £3.4m has been raised from a convertible loan note issue.
Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) still has nearly £385,000 in the bank. Negotiations are continuing concerning the possible acquisition of Greenview Gas Ltd.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 27 November 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
Kryptonite 1 (KR1) has invested $986,000 in DOT tokens, which are related to the Polkadot Project. A total of $150m was raised to finance the development of a decentralised protocol that allows trust-free movement of tokens and data between blockchains., that will also be able to create new parachains instead of starting a new community. The project is expected to go live by the end of 2019. Kryptonite 1 has sold Melon, Omisego and FunFair tokens in order to raise just over £290,000. That is a gain of around £270,000.
Via Developments (VIA1) has agreed to sell Plymouth Grove, Manchester for £2.5m. A non-refundable deposit of £250,000 has been paid and the deal should go through by the end of November. The property was originally acquired in June 2016 for £1.625m, although there will have been additional investment in development since then. In March, Via Developments announced a previous exclusivity agreement to sell which was dependent on planning permission. There was a refundable deposit of £100,000 for that potential deal. It is unclear whether the deals are related.
Health and care properties developer Ashley House (ASH) has welcomed the increased funding for health and housing schemes announced in the Budget. News that the government will not cap rents in the supported living sector has improved sentiment. Financial closure is anticipated on two projects in the next few weeks. Management continues to seek additional finance.
Block Energy (BLOK) has published its Schedule 1 notice for its proposed move to AIM. This is expected by 7 December.
Sandal (SAND) says that trading is in line with expectations with Energie MiHome sales trebling. By the end of 2018 the energy efficiency products should be generate as much in revenues as the power connections division.
There were 300,000 shares taken up in the Hellenic Capital (HECP) open offer but £250,000 was raised because the rest of the shares were placed.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) has raised £1m at 0.2p a share, which was a small premium to the previous closing price. The cash will finance further pre-IPO investments. Turner Pope has been appointed broker.
Trading in the shares of Churchill Mining (CHL) should recommence when the figures for the year to June 2017 are published. That should be before the end of November. Pala Investments has subscribed for £500,000 of 10% convertible loan notes, which have a conversion price of 2.976p a share. Pala holds 21.3% of Churchill and full conversion of the loan notes would take the stake to 29.3%. Pala is also entitled to receive 25% of any proceeds from the claim for unlawful expropriation of the East Kutai coal project. Churchill is hopeful of overturning an unfavourable ruling on the case.
Etaireia Investments (ETIP) has issued shares valued at £21,750 at 0.09p a share in settlement of an outstanding loan from Blue Oak Assets. The deferred payment of £20,000 for the purchase of Pacha Cleator from Oliver Fattal has been satisfied by a share issue at the same price. That takes his stake to 9.96%.
Ken Riley is no longer finance director and company secretary of WMC Retail Partners (WELL) and Nigel Higgs has taken over as interim finance director.
AIM
Accrol Group Holdings (ACRL) is raising £18m at 50p a share, which should be enough to keep the toilet roll business going. A restructuring of the business is underway and health and safety procedures are being reviewed. The bank facility has been extended until 2021. The share price fell by more than two-thirds when the suspension was lifted and ended the week at 37.5p.
Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings (IDH) published its interims at 4.30pm on Friday. That means that the share price reaction will be on Monday. There were no shares traded in the diagnostic services provider on Friday. Revenues were 4% lower at £18.7m. Growth in automated business revenues partly offset lower licensing revenues. Pre-tax profit excluding restructuring costs fell from £1.77m to £1.11m. Net cash is £28.3m. The average number of assays per instrument has increased from 3.8 to 4.3. Reg Duval stepped down as chief executive at the end of October after seven months in the job. Jaap Stuut took over the role. He talks about improving the sales team.
Sutton Harbour (SUH) has agreed a 29.5p a share bid for 70% of the shares of the harbour operator and property developer from FB Investors. That will cost £19.9m. A shareholder can accept for more than 70% of their shareholding but they could be scaled back. FB Investors is subscribing £2.75m for new shares at the same price.
Boku Inc (BOKU) had a successful first week on AIM with the share price rising from the 59p placing price to 81p. That values the developer of technology enabling payments via mobile at around £170m.
Contact centre services software provider Netcall (NET) says the integration of the MatsSoft acquisition is progressing well and trading is strong in the first four months of the financial year. The dividend will return to a normal level this year having been enhanced in the past few years. This year’s dividend is expected to be 1.2p a share.
Angle (AGL) is included in a €6.3m study to develop liquid biopsy services that is being headed by Philips. This is a four year research project.
Jon Fenton has stepped down as chief executive of Van Elle Holdings (VANL) ahead of a requisitioned general meeting on 15 December.
Amiad Water Systems (AFS) has been granted a licence by Dow Technologies to use its TEQUATIC PLUS filter. Amiad will take over the manufacturing of the product and pay Dow 3.75% of revenues generated.
First Property Group (FPO) has already invested £51m for the new Fprop Office LLP but there is more than £200m more to invest. Annualised management fees are £2.64m and full investment of the new vehicle will significantly increase that figure.
Audio equipment supplier Focusrite (TUNE) increased its full year pre-tax profit by one-third to £9.5m. There was particularly strong growth in the US.
Cambria Automobiles (CAMB) managed to edge up its pre-tax profit last year even though trading becoming tougher in the second half. The motor dealer is expected to report a lower profit of £9.5m this year but it has a strong balance sheet and it is investing heavily in new sites for upmarket brands that will not fully contribute until next year.
Premier African Minerals (PREM) raised £1m via PrimaryBid at 0.4p a share, which was double the amount it was originally asking for. The cash will be used to develop mining projects in Zimbabwe and Benin.
Professional services provider Progility (PGY) put out its full year figures late on Friday. There was still time for the share price to fall by 0.2p to 1.25p. Progility did move back into profit in the period but it was a modest one. There was a warning that progress may be held back this year by operational efficiency improvements.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) is selling non-core businesses for $400,000 and reinvesting the cash in the development of technology to integrate blockchain-based currencies into its systems.
African Alliance is planning to invest £2.4m at 11p a share coal bed methane projects developer Tlou Energy Ltd (TLOU) conditional on a listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange before the end of the year.
Thor Mining (THR) is making a $125,000 (£95,000) payment to Pacific Gold and Royalty Corporation in settlement for the $1.5m (£1.13m) payment that would have had to have been made when the Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada comes into production. Thor is still fully funded well into 2019. Metal Tiger has taken its stake in Thor to 9.77% after exercising 16 million warrants.
MAIN MARKET
Cash shell Landscape Acquisition Holdings (LAHL) raised $500m at $10 a share but the share price fell below the placing price when dealings commenced. The focus is hospitality, land-based gaming and real estate businesses in North America and Europe.
Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) has secured a potential reverse takeover target. It is lending an initial £543,000 to Northern Ireland-based renewable energy firm Greenview Gas and this will be used to buy two companies. The deal includes an option for Rockpool to acquire Greenview paid for by a share issue.
Creightons (CRL) increased its pre-tax profit by one-fifth to £956,000, helped by an improvement in gross margin. An interim dividend of 0.15p a share is proposed.
IT services provider Triad Group (TRD) made further progress in the first half. In the six months to September 2017, revenues dipped from £14.8m to £14.2m, while pre-tax profit moved from £668,000 to £737,000. There is £2m in the bank. An interim dividend of 0.5p a share has been declared.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 18 September 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
Good Energy (GOOD) is hoping that efficiency improvements will help it to grow its profit. So far annualised savings of £1m have been made with more to come in 2018. Customer churn meant that electricity and gas customers were 1% lower in the first half. In the six months to June 2017, revenues were 16% higher at £52m but pre-tax profit was 37% lower at £700,000 due to restructuring and investment costs. Net debt was £60.4m.
Blockchain-focused investment company Kryptonite1 (KR1) has sold tokens relating to Golem, Melonport and Omisego for significant multiples of their buying prices. The gain on the disposals was nearly £400,000 with the majority coming from the Omisego disposal. The holding in Bancor has been sold for the original acquisition price. Kryptonite1 has invested £100,000 in the FOAM project seed funding round and it will receive discounted tokens in the public token offer in the fourth quarter. A further £100,000 has been invested in 208,333 tokens in the pre-sale of the Enigma Catalyst project. There has been £202,000 invested in the private sale of tokens in the RChain project and £120,000 in Rocketpool tokens. Keld Hans van Schreven has been appointed an executive director of Kryptonite1.
Block Energy (BLOK) is raising $600,000 from the sale of its Ghanaian mining assets. An initial $50,000 has been received and $550,000 will be paid by the end of 2017. The cash will be reinvested in the company’s oil and gas assets in Georgia.
Karoo Energy (KEP) is making progress towards an AIM quotation. Andrew Smith, who has worked in the finance functions of a number of AIM companies, has been appointed as a non-executive director.
WMC Retail Partners (WELL) has asked for trading in its shares to be suspended while it clarifies its financial position.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) has raised £200,000 at 0.25p a share. Via Developments (VIA1) has issued a further £300,000 of 7% debenture stock 2020. That takes the debenture stock in issue to £4.9m.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) had a NAV of 412.26p a share at the end of July 2017. The flotation of Luceco has helped to boost NAV.
AIM
Pennant International (PEN), which provides training and simulation equipment and services for aircraft and defence equipment. The interim profit was £1.1m, compared with around breakeven in the first half of 2016. An electro-mechanical trainer and courseware contract with a MoD contractor has been changed so second half revenues will be lower than expected but Pennant still has the contract and the changes mean it will probably earn more over the medium-term. This year’s profit will be flat at around £2.1m because of the lack of contribution from the contract. The order book of £42m includes £15m to be delivered in 2018, compared with forecast revenues of £18.5m.
Audio visual products distributor Midwich Group (MIDW) reported a one-third increase in interim revenues to £212m. Organic growth was 15%. Margins have fallen but they remain relatively strong. The van Domburg acquisition takes the group into the Benelux countries. Midwich is on course to increase full year pre-tax profit from £17.9m to £22.1m. Midwich will join the FTSE AIM 50 index later in September.
Group Eleven, which is on course for a flotation in Toronto, has acquired Teck’s 76.56% stake in the Stonepark zinc licences in Limerick, Ireland, where Connemara Mining (CON) owns the remaining 23.44%. Connemara took the decision to hang on to its stake even though it could have received C$2.8m and a 1% net smelter royalty. Stonepark is west of the Pallas Green zinc deposit.
Wynnstay Group (WYN) says it is placing its pet retail business Just for Pets into administration. In the six months to April 2017, the business lost £250,000 on revenues of £7m. Wynnstay made an operating profit of £4.24m in the same period. The Just for Pets business has net assets of £2.2m and there is likely to be a significant write-off.
MX Oil (MXO) is seeking to broaden its investing policy so that it is not purely focused on natural resources and also covers oil services and energy activities, where opportunities are lower risk. MX has warned that the carrying value of its investment in Nigerian oil assets may have to be revised.
Central Rand Gold Ltd (CRND) is seeking additional finance and this is likely to be highly dilutive for existing shareholders. The disposal of some or all of the company’s interests is also a possibility.
CSF Group (CSFG) has accepted a conditional indicative offer for one of its subsidiaries for a nominal amount. That would significantly improve the financial position of the group due to a reduction in liabilities. Net liabilities were RM27.5m at the end of September 2016. Last October, shareholders voted against cancelling the AIM quotation.
Kin Group (KIN) hopes to resurface after a company voluntary arrangement and a share placing. The administrator has sold the main assets of the core business have been sold to Australia-based SMG Investment Holdings for £50,000. The shares remain suspended.
Investment company Adams (ADA) has bought shares in fully listed-Petrofac (PFC), which is the subject of a Serious Fraud Office investigation. Adams has invested £941,000 at an average share price of 447.66p a share in the oil services provider. Adams has £100,000 left in the bank.
MAIN MARKET
Standard list shell Silver Falcon (SILF) is buying a US biotech focused on blood diseases such as bone marrow failure and leukaemia. The main product of Hemogenyx is still at preclinical stage but preparing to move into clinical trials over the next 18 months. This product redirects existing immune cells to eliminate unwanted cells in a patient waiting for a bone marrow transplant. This could replace chemotherapy. There is also a second product in preclinical development. Silver Falcon is issuing 228.6m shares at 3.5p each to acquire the company. It is also raising £2m at the same price. Readmission to standard list under the new name of Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals (HEMO) will be on 5 October.
Papillon Holdings (PPHP) has agreed heads of terms to acquire Phestor and Greenway Activated Carbon, which are involved in ultra-supercapacitor development for energy storage and supply of active carbon produced from biomass. Greenway plans to set up bio-refineries to extract cellulose and other materials from sugar beet pulp, straw and brewery biomass. The active carbon produced can be used in the ultra-supercapacitors. Phestor was set up in October 2016, while Greenway was set up in March 2016, although its name was changed last month. James Etherington Thorpe, who is resident in Denmark, is the sole director of each of the companies. Papillon had previously ended talks with MyClubbetting.com (see below).
Ocelot Partners Ltd (OLOT) still had $413.9m in the bank at the end of June 2017 and it is still on the look out for companies involved with the European technology, media or telecoms sectors. Shares in Ocelot commenced trading on the standard list on 13 March, when the cash shell raised $418m at $10 a share (currently trading at $9.91 each). A further $7.35m was raised from founder preferred shares with one warrant attached to each share. There was a $34.1m non-cash charge relating to founder preferred share dividend rights in the figures to June 2017.
Standard list shell Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) says that it has been approached by additional reverse takeover targets in a range of sectors. Rockpool wants to buy a Northern Ireland-based business.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 17 July 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
Renewable electricity supplier Good Energy (GOOD) says rival Ecotricity, which owns 25.3% of Good Energy, has requisitioned a general meeting to get two directors, Dale Vince and Simon Crowfoot, on the board. Ecotricity founder Dale Vince believes that because of the significant stake he deserves representation on the board but Good Energy argues that it would not be in its interest to have a rival on the board with access to group information. Vince has been critical of contracts between Good Energy and chief executive Juliet Davenport’s husband. Ecotricity also owns Forest Green Rovers which was promoted to League Two at the end of last season. Annual revenues £126.5m, including £1m from football club. In the year to April 2016, revenues were £126.5m, including £1m from the football club. In 2016, Good Energy generated revenues of £90.4m. Both companies are profitable. Ecotricity had net debt of £97m at the end of April 2016, while Good Energy had net debt of £55m at the end of 2016. Gary Peagram (former Good Energy finance director between 2010 and 2014) was appointed as Ecotricity finance director on 6 April 2017 but he left on 6 July.
MetalNRG (MNRG) has acquired 18.18% of US Cobalt and an option to purchase the rest. The main interest is the Columbia Pass high grade cobalt exploration and development project in Nevada. The initial stake will cost $200,000 (£118,000) and the option cost $50,000 (£30,000) in shares at 1.5p each. If it takes up the option, MetalNRG will pay £724,000 in shares at 1.5p a share. The vendors will also receive 40 million warrants exercisable at prices up to 10p a share. MetalNRG has also set up an Australian cobalt subsidiary. MetalNRG chief executive Paul Johnson has bought 300,000 shares at 1.5p each, taking his family’s stake to 11%.
Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne (HYDP) is starting to benefit from its new general manager’s strategic programme. Interim revenues grew from £1.33m to £1.52m but the loss increased because of repair costs. The second half generates all the profit.
Milamber Ventures (MLVP) has launched the Milamber Education Technology Fund in partnership with Innvotec. This is a hybrid EIS and SEIS fund. Milamber will help to identify potential education technology investments and Innvotec will raise funds and manage the fund.
Global Halal verification e-marketplace operator DagangHalal (DGHL) says it is taking longer than expected to penetrate markets. Management is considering widening the scope of the business. This could mean the acquisition of producers of Halal products.
Bulgaria-focused property company Black Sea Property (BSP) has gained the official approvals to acquire the UniCredit building and the purchase should be completed by the end of September. A deposit of €1.04m has been paid out of the total purchase price of €10.5m and Black Sea Property is raising the rest of the cash. If the cash is not raised then the deposit will be forfeited. Phoenix Capital Management is taking over from AG Asset Management as investment adviser but the same team will be handling the task. Phoenix owns Mamferay Holdings, which owns 28.65% of Black Sea Property and has lent it £100,000 in the form of a convertible which has to be repaid by 31 July.
AIM
Nostra Terra Oil & Gas (NTOG) has withdrawn its general meeting requisition at Magnolia Petroleum (MAGP) after it became clear that it had no chance of winning any of the votes.
Chisbridge Ltd has received acceptances totalling 49.6% for its 42p a share cash offer for InterQuest Group (ITQ) and the bid has been extended until 31 July. This means that independent shareholders owning 6.92% of the company have accepted the bid, which is up from just short of 3% previously.
First half trading at Pennant International (PEN) was strong and the order book was more than £42m at the end of June 2017. The order book stretches out into 2020 and there is a pipeline of other potential orders. Full year pre-tax profit is forecast to increase from £2.2m to £2.4m. There is a possibility of a return to paying dividends but that might have to wait until next year.
In the year to March 2017, AdEPT Telecom (ADT) reported a 19% increase in revenues to £34.4m, while underlying pre-tax profit improved from £5.5m to £6.9m. Net debt was £15.5m at the end of March 2017, following spending on acquisitions. The total dividend also rose by 19% to 7.75p a share. The growth in managed services is helping margins to improve. A profit of £7.4m is forecast for this year.
Premier Technical Services Group (PTSG) has increased its revolving credit facility from £10m to £12m and doubled the overdraft facility to £8m. This will provide additional working capital and funds for acquisitions following the recent purchase of Brooke Edge Industrial Chimneys Ltd for £14m.
Savannah Resources (SAV) has raised £1.3m at 5.25p a share and there is one warrant for every two shares issued exercisable at 6p. Two directors have subscribed for £500,000 worth of shares, including chief executive David Archer, and Al Marjan Ltd has subscribed £520,000 to take its stake to 29.3%. The money will be used on the lithium project in Portugal, the Mutamba heavy mineral sands project in Mozambique and the copper project in Oman.
The sale by Stanley Gibbons (SGI) of part of its interiors division to Millicent has been delayed. The buyer has not obtained the £2.25m initial payment because of a change in financial backers. Millicent has until the end of July to complete the acquisition.
Arian Silver Corp (AGQ) has raised £600,000 a 0.5p a unit, which is one share and one warrant exercisable at 0.6p. The cash will be spent on exploration of the three lithium projects where Arian has an option.
Botswana Diamonds (BOD) has discovered a group 2 kimberlite pipe on the Ontevreden licence held by Vutomi joint venture. A 1.5 hectares to 2.5 hectares area is thought to contain high levels of garnet. Drilling will help to better understand of the kimberlite and to find out if it is diamondiferous. A refined grade estimate has been published for the Frischgewaagt project in South Africa. This estimate has a range of 64cpht to 110cpht. The dyke system covers 7.5 kilometres.
Interim revenues will grow by two-fifths at cloud-based software provider Cloudcall Group (CALL) and recurring revenues will be 61% higher. The second quarter was the strongest quarter ever for new orders. Annualised revenues are £7m.
Camper & Nicholsons Marina Investments Ltd (CNMI) is raising £3.3m via a one-for-four open offer at 8p a share, a premium of 33% over the market price. The NAV was €0.154 a share at the end of 2016.
DX (Group) (DX.) has announced that its chief executive and finance director are leaving. The business is being reorganised into two divisions. Revenues are expected to be £292m in the year to June 2017. Net debt was £19.1m.
Sphere Medical (SPHR) is in discussions with potential investors in a share issue. A shortage of sensors has hampered first half sales of blood monitor Proxima 4.
Ramsdens Holdings (RFX) admits that there has been unauthorised access to its IT system but there should be minimal disruption to the pawnbroking business. Trading continues to be strong.
House broker Northland has increased its profit forecasts for online gaming marketing services provider Veltyco Group (VLTY) following its interim trading update. The 2017 pre-tax profit forecast has been upgraded from €4.62m to €5.82m, up from €1.74m in 2016. The 2018 profit forecast is €7.63m.
Rich Pro Investments Ltd has launched a 2.1p a share cash bid for ASA Resource Group (ASA) but the mining company has yet to recommend the offer. The bid values ASA at £35.5m. Rich Pro argues that the high level of creditors and other uncertainties makes its bid attractive.
Angling Direct (ANG) raised £9m at 64p a share when it joined AIM. The group has 15 stores and the retailer wants to be a consolidator in the fishing tackle market.
Venture Life Group (VLG) says that interim revenues will be 28% higher at £7.8m and like-for-like growth was 18%. New product listings will help further growth in the second half.
An interim trading statement by ClearStar Inc (CLSU) suggests that it should be able to meet expectations this year. The employee background checks provider says that the improving employment levels in the US and international growth are helping growth, as is the demand for medical testing. Interim revenues are expected to increase by 12% to $8.9m. A full year loss is still expected.
Sunrise Resources (SRES) is starting drilling at its CS pozzolan-perlite project and it should take around one week to complete. Eleven trenches have been excavated and ten of them contain pozzolan and/or perlite. Sample results will be available in fewer than ten weeks.
Housebuilding infrastructure services provider Nexus Infrastructure (NEXS) has joined AIM. Although £35m was raised by existing shareholders via a placing at 185p a share, the company, which was valued at £70.5m, is not raising any new money. There is already cash in the bank. The share price ended the first week at 188p. In the year to September 2016, revenues grew from £130.9m to £135.7m. That growth appears modest but a change in the mix of business helped underlying pre-tax profit improve from £9.4m to £11m. However, the latest interim profit was lower because of delays to contracts for earthworks business Tamdown. At the end of May 2017, the group order book was worth £187m.
Abzena (ABZA) has secured another licensing deal for its ThioBridge antibody drug conjugate linker technology with a Taiwan pharma company. The value of the deal could be up to £128m in development and commercial milestones.
House broker finnCap has upgraded its 2016-17 forecast for Mortice Ltd (MORT) after a positive trading statement by the security and facilities management services provider. The pre-tax profit forecast has been raised from $5m to $5.3m. Trading in the first quarter of the current financial year shows a 12% increase in revenues even though currencies have moved against Mortice and there were similar increases for each part of the group. Like-for-like growth was 5%.
MAIN MARKET
Standard list shell Rockpool Acquisitions (ROC) floated on 12 July and the share price ended the week at 10.5p. Rockpool is raising £1.085m at 10p a share, having previously issued 1.875 million shares at 8p each.
Fandango Holdings (FHP) also joined the standard list on 12 July. The shell raised £840,000 at 1p a share and is seeking to acquire a company valued at between £1m and £20m. The share price ended the week at 1.25p (1p/1.5p).
PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) is closing its silicon ingot block manufacturing facility in the UK in the third quarter. The blocks will be sourced from an external supplier. The judgement relating to a customer which failed to buy the amount of wafers it was supposed to is expected by the end of September.
Andrew Hore