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Quoted Micro 9 September 2024
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Good Life Plus (GDLF) raised £275,000 from a convertible loan note issue that expires on 31 August 2025 when it can be repaid at a 10% premium or converted into shares at a 10% discount to the weighted average price over the previous month. If there is £2m raised in a share issue, then the loan notes are immediately convertible at a 10% discount to the issue price. The coupon is 10%. Following this issue, a partnership was announced with a major UK mobile operator. Good Life Plus will offer promotions to help with engagement with tens of millions of subscribers. This will provide access to potential subscribers to the Good Life Plus platform. There should be other partnerships in the coming months. The share price increased 3.28% to 3.15p. This is a new high for the shar price.
It is taking longer than anticipated Invinity Energy Systems (IES) even though the long duration energy storage market is growing. More time is required to develop the Mistral next-gen product to reduce costs. There is uncertainty about the timing of the recognition of revenues. The 2024 revenues were expected to be £36.3m, but it is likely to be lower. Jonathan Marren is replacing Larry Zulch as chief executive. There was £49.2m in the bank at the end of June 2024.
ProBiotix Health (PBX) is raising £1.2m at 3.36p/share. OptiBiotix Health (LON: OPTI) is unhappy with the latest fundraise by ProBiotix Health and claims a typo in the AGM notice means that it should not be allowed to issue more shares except on a pre-emptive basis. The company previously said that it had enough cash. ProBiotix Health believes that the error is not relevant. The underlying problem seems to be the high discount of the fundraising price to the market price.
EDX Medical (EDX) has signed a distribution agreement with Caris Life Sciences. They will work together to distribute Caris molecular profiling services in the UK and Nordic countries. The deal lasts for three years, and additional regions and products could be added.
Recycling services provider Majestic Corporation (MCJ) has agreed to acquire Deeside-based Telecycle Europe for up to £2m. The acquisition target already acts as a tolling agent for Majestic Corporation, and it is owned by Peter Lai, the 71.9% shareholder in Majestic Corporation. The deal will secure a steady supply of recyclable materials and should improve margins. In 2021, Telecycle Europe mad a post-tax profit of £175,000. The initial payment is £150,000 and then monthly of payments of £150,000. The full amount is dependent on volumes being met.
Peninsula Yacht Services is adopting SulNOx Group (SNOX) fuel additives for the fuel it supplies from its Gibraltar. The specialist pumping system is being installed following permission from the authorities.
Mortgage Chat has changed its name to Pitch Pit (PICH) and its strategy to become an artificial intelligence and technology accelerator. Chandila Fernando and Judith Hough will head up the new operations, who will join the board after background checks are completed. Brian Stockbridge of First Sentinel has already joined the board. The company plans to raise £500,000.
Oscillate (MUSH) is progressing the proposed acquisition of Quantum Hydrogen Inc. Regulatory approval of the documentation is being awaited and a general meeting should be announced this month.
SuperSeed Capital (WWW) had net assets of 114p/share at the end of June 2024.
Equipmake (EQIP) announced that the HTM-3500 heavy vehicle electric motor maintains its peak performance of 3,500Nm and 400kW, while its continuous power output has doubled to 200kW at 2,500rpm.
Time to ACT (TTA) subsidiary GreenSpur has won a design contract to develop an optimised wind turbine generator for XFlow Energy.
DXS International (DXSP) has changed its corporate adviser to Hybridan. Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has appointed Tavira Financial to replace SP Angel as corporate broker. A new investor relations strategy will be announced shortly. Tennyson Securities has published research on Tap Global Group (TAP). It is available via www.tennysonsecurities.co.uk.
AIM
Weak demand from independent restaurants and bars in the UK and internationally held back the interims of ceramic products manufacturer Churchill China (CHH). Independents are suffering from higher costs. Demand from national chains has held up better. Revenues fell from £44m to £40.6m, while the underlying pre-tax profit edged up from £4.7m to £4.8m. This is because capital investment has helped to improve margins. The interim dividend was raised 4.5% to 11.5p/share. The full year outcome is dependent on fourth quarter trading.
Agricultural products supplier Camellia (CAM) says trading conditions eased slightly in the first half of 2024, but they are still difficult. Revenues improved 7% to £105.1m and the loss was reduced from £15.1m to £9.7m. There is no interim dividend. The loss from tea fell, while nuts and fruits profit more than trebled to £3.2m. The engineering business returned to profit. Net cash is £24.1m and there is an investment portfolio worth £37.6m. The full year loss should be between £10m and £12m.
Signing up Donlim Group for a filtration technology licence did not offset the weaker trading news at laundry filtration technology developer Xeros Technology (XSG). Indian licensee IFB has delayed the launch of new 9kg washing machine until next year and French environmental standards for microplastics have not been clarified. Donlim owns the Morphy Richards brand, and it will manufacture the XF3 external filter under licence from the middle of next year. The 2024 pre-tax loss estimate has been raised from £2.7m to £4.3m. William Black and Armstrong Investments have increased their stake from 6.34% to 7.3%.
Rockfire Resources (ROCK) has increased the size of the resource at the Molaoi zinc lead silver germanium deposit in Greece by 500%. The JORC 2012 compliant mineral resource estimate is 15 million tonnes at an average grade of 9.96% zinc equivalent. Allenby estimates that it is one of the top 20 undeveloped zinc prospects. There is also 4.8mt of germanium. There are high recovery rates. Only 2.1km of the 7km potential strike has been tested so far. Allenby estimates a fair value of 2.6p/share.
Hostels operator Safestay (SSTY) improved interim revenues by 7% to £10.7m and the loss reduced from £947,000 to £113,000. Sales to the end of August were well ahead of last year and forward bookings are strong into next year. The lease of the loss making Venna hostel has been surrendered. Four new properties have been added this year. NAV increased by 17% to 49.8p/share.
Real-time financial data provider Arcontech (ARC) increased full year revenues by 7% to £2.9m and pre-tax profit improved from £1m to £1.1m. More than 90% of revenues are recurring. Net cash was £7.2m at the end of June 2024. The dividend has been raised to 3.75p/share. Pre-tax profit is set to fall this year because of investment in sales.
Andrew Carter has resigned as chief executive of wines producer Chapel Down Group (CDGP) and will become the boss of Timothy Taylor next year. Interim revenues fell 11% to £7.12m due to a slump in off-trade sales. There was not the expected restocking by retailers. Pre-tax profit slumped to £40,000. Net debt was £5.8m at the end of June 2024 after investment in further planting at the Buckwell vineyard.
Shield Therapeutics (STX) had $8.1m in gross cash at the end of June 2024 with a milestone payment of $5.7m expected in the second half. The first half cash outflow was $5.8m. Management believes that the business should be monthly cash flow positive during the second half of 2025. Iron deficiency treatment ACCRUFeR generated revenues of $11m in the US in the first half and total group revenues were $12.1m. Full year US revenues could be $27m.
A recovery in the Hercules Site Services (HERC) share price led to a decision to raise £8m via a subscription and placing at 49.5p/share. Morson chief executive Ged Mason subscribed for 9.5% of the enlarged share capital. Majority shareholder Brusk Korkmaz has sold 6.06 million shares to Wasdell Packaging, whose majority shareholder Martin Tedham has been appointed as a director.
First Property (FPO) has launched a one-for-three open offer to raise £2.96m at 8p/share. It is underwritten by directors Ben Habib and Alasdair Locke. The cash will settle the deferred payment for the Blue Tower property and finance the completion of the fit-out.
MAIN MARKET
Precision components supplier Carclo (CAR) says trading is in line with expectations with margins prioritised over volumes. The restructuring of US operations is ahead of schedule. Aerospace demand is strong, which has helped the speciality division.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 10 June 2024
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Skincare treatments developer Incanthera (INC) says the first production order for its Skin + CELL products from Marionnaud has been doubled to 100,000 units. The launch will be in September. The previous figure was already higher than the initial order and the revenues from the order will be £4m. Future production orders could be even larger. This will help group revenues for the year to March 2025 to be more than £10m. This has enabled Incanthera to raise £4.1m from a share issue at 15p/share to cover additional working capital. Lupus treatment developer ImmuPharma (IMM) raised £1.5m from the sale of its 9.98% stake in Incanthera, which was valued at £600,000 at the end of 2023, although it retains warrants.
TruSpine Technologies (TSP) is talking to several potential commercial partners for its medical device technology, where the regulatory process is ongoing. The new board has improved relations with the inventor of the spinal stabilisation device IP. The investor relations website has been relaunched and a new medical advisory board will be put in place.
CBD products supplier Voyager Life (VOY) says another potential merger has fallen through. This follows the ending of the Northern Leaf deal. This has left Voyager Life short of cash. The business operations are being reviewed and there are talks about funding. The company has been winning new business and there are signs of an improvement in the retail stores.
RentGuarantor (RGG) increased full year revenues by 79% to £741,000. The rent guarantee services provider says arrears were 2.32% in 2023. The loss increased from £911,000 to £1.23m, after a £358,000 charge for the revaluation of the convertible loan note.
First Sentinel has resigned as corporate adviser of ChallengerX (CXS) and the shares have been suspended. ChallengerX is progressing with a potential acquisition, and it is required to appoint a new corporate adviser.
Helium Ventures (HEV) says that a shareholder in Trackimo is challenging the issue of a 19.4% stake to the Aquis company.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has leased an additional manufacturing facility in Motherwell. This should become operational in the third quarter and capacity should be more than 500MWh of energy storage per year. The Bathgate facility will also be upgraded.
KR1 (KR1) has invested $1m into the Avail Web3 infrastructure project in return for 12.5 million AVAIL tokens.
Video capture technology company Visum Technologies (VIS) has entered exclusive non-binding heads of terms for a licence agreement with Makeabl, which has developed cloud/app technology. This would be licensed in North American and European markets and help Visum Technologies to access new markets.
BWA Group (BWAP) has completed reconnaissance drilling at the Dehane 2 rutile sands project in Cameroon. The results were encouraging. Oberon Capital has been appointed as broker.
Arbuthnot Banking Group (ARBB) has completed the renewal of its subordinated loan, which is classified as Tier 2 capital. The loan was increased by £1m to £26m and lasts until June 2034.
Psych Capital has changed its name to Shortwave Life Sciences (PSY).
AIM
Destocking hit the interim figures of Gooch & Housego (GHH) and pre-tax profit slipped from £4.7m to £2.6m on a 1% decline in revenues to £63.6m. This excludes the loss making EM4 defence business sold earlier this year. The dividend was edged up by 0.1p/share to 4.9p/share. Net debt increased to £22.2m. The destocking was primarily in industrial and medical sectors. Industrial remains the largest generator of revenues despite a 13% decline. There was not a recovery in the semiconductor sector as expected. The subsea cable market was strong. There was a reduction in the aerospace and defence division loss on higher revenues, but it still needs to improve manufacturing efficiency.
GRC International (GRC) is recommending an 8p/share cash bid from Bloom Seed Bidco, which values the cybersecurity company at £8.6m. The bidder is a vehicle for technology investor Bloom, which can provide increased financial backing for the business. GRC joined AIM in 2018 at a time when there was investor interest in the cybersecurity sector. The flotation valuation was £40.2m at 70p/share. GRC has been loss making and never moved into profit.
Pawnbroker Ramsdens (RFX) reported interims showing the expected progress. Precious metals revenues were strong, although margins dipped. Pre-owned jewellery sales offset weaker watch sales. The contribution from each main division was higher. Interim revenues were 12% ahead at £43.8m, while pre-tax profit improved from £3.68m to £3.99m. The dividend was raised by 9% to 3.6p/share.
Strip Tinning (STG) has won a battery technologies contract from a German automotive motion technology manufacturer, that could have a lifetime value of £43m. This is for a cell contact system for battery pack modules for a US customer. This has already generated £1.7m in pre-production work. Production supply will start in the fourth quarter of 2025 with further pre-production revenues of £1m ahead of that time. There will be additional investment in engineering resources. Demand for glazing products has weakened and copper prices are rising. There will be a trading statement on 16 July.
Power Metal Resources (POW) has secured a £2m loan note investment from ACAM, which is also negotiating a uranium-focused joint venture, which would include all of Power Metal’s uranium licences. This would mean that the flotation of Uranium Energy Exploration will not happen – that has already cost £500,000 – and neither will previously proposed disposals. There would be a £10m investment in Power Metal Resources Canada so that ACAM would have a 70% stake. The loan notes bear interest of 10%/year and there will be 13.3 million warrants issued that are exercisable at 15p each.
Empire Metals (EEE) considers further positive exploration results as a major development for the Pitfield prospect. There is rutile at surface, and it should be easy to mine. Titanium dioxide mineralisation gets more prevalent at lower depths. This should improve project economics.
Pantheon Resources (PANR) has entered a gas sales precedent agreement with the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, which is developing the Alaska LNG project. This is designed to supply Alaska and export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG each year. Pantheon Resources would supply up to 500 mmcf/day of gas at a maximum base price of $1/mmbtu. There are plans to increase the scale of the Ahpun development.
Jadestone Energy (JSE) says the Akatara gas processing facility, onshore Indonesia, is approaching final commissioning. The first gas should be processed in around a fortnight. Gas and LPG sales will start soon after that. The workover campaign on five Akatara wells has completed, and they will provide gas for the facility.
Seed Innovations (SEED) has completed its share buyback programme. This used up £510,000 on top of the £2m dividend. That followed the disposal of its Leaf Gaming stake for £2.4m. There has been a 11.6% share price decline so far this year, but that is not adjusted for the 1p/share special dividend.
Maritime systems developer SRT Marine Systems (SRT) admits that two coastguard contracts are unlikely to reach their project revenue milestones in the 15 months to June 2024. The largest contract is dependent on the completion of an inter-government loan. There should £45m of income recognised when this is finalised. Once the other contract is verified it should enable £9m to be recognised. Transceivers revenues have grown, and total revenues are expected to be £14m in the 15-month period. The six-month figure was £5.5m with no contribution from systems.
Hercules Site Services (HERC) reported a one-third increase in interim revenues to £48.8m as it continues to win additional contracts to supply construction staff. It moved back into profit in the period. The new training academy is up and running.
The Mission Group (TMG) has responded to the revised bid proposal of 13.9 Brave Bison (BBSN) shares for each share in the advertising and marketing services company. The board still believes that the bid does not reflect the underlying value of the business, but it is evaluating the bid.
Hostels operator Safestay (SSTY) has acquired a property in Brighton from the University of East Sussex for £2.275m. This will be converted into a 220 bed premium hostel. It is 600 metres from the sea front and will cost £1m to convert. Shore Capital has been appointed nominated adviser and broker. Safestay reported full year revenues 18% higher at £22.5m. EBITDA rose 15% to £6.8m. NAV was 50p/share.
Restaurants operator Tasty (TAST) gained court approval of its restructuring plan on Tuesday afternoon. Tasty has got out of the leases of 23 sites. This leaves 38 restaurants, which are predominantly the Wildwood brand. This should improve EBITDA by up to £2.1m between 2023 and 2025.
Clontarf Energy (CLON) has failed to move through to the next stage of the bids for the seven priority salt pans in southern Bolivia because of its offtake partner’s poor credit rating. Management hopes that it can argue the case that the credit rating is not relevant.
Mosman Oil & Gas (MSMN) is paying $500,000 for a 10% interest in a US helium project in Las Animas County, Colorado. This is an area with known helium deposits. There are five helium prospects and a well will be drilled for each of them. The sale of oil and gas asset will help finance the move into helium.
WIIT has decided not to make an offer for Redcentric (RCN).
MAIN MARKET
Credit provider S and U (SUS) says that its first quarter profit has fallen by one-third because of higher provisions due to lack of regulatory clarity.
Like-for-like sales at Hostmore (MORE) have fallen by 10%, but profitability has improved. Net debt is set to peak in the third quarter. The acquisition of TFI Fridays is progressing and the formal agreement should be signed shortly.
Motor dealer Caffyns (CFYN) has cut its dividend by one-third to 5p/share because it slumped into loss last year. There were property value write-downs.
Chill Brands (CHLL) shares have been suspended because of allegations relating to the use of insider information and concerns about commercial arrangements. This means that the board cannot provide accurate information about its financial position.
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies (OCTP) has left the standard list.
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 6 March 2023
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) is repaying the remaining $2.1m of its $2.5m convertible loan facility provided by RiverFort Global Opportunities out of the proceeds of the recent placing. There is a 10% redemption premium, making the total cost £1.92m. That stops dilution by the issue of six million shares. Related warrants can be exercised at 32p a share. There are 1.35 million warrants in issue with a further 499,980 warrants to be issued.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) says the Hastings Technology Metals share price has fallen thereby reducing the value of the stake received when Cadence Minerals swapped its 30% stake in mineral concessions in the Yangibana rare earths project. Even so, Hastings is making progress in developing the mine and ore reserves increased by one-quarter to 20.93Mt at 0.9% total rare earth oxide grade. That increases the mine life to 17 years and production could start in 2024. Shipping of iron ore concentrate from the Amapa iron ore project should recommence in the next six months.
KR1 (KR1) had a net asset value of 60.6p a share at the end of January 2023.
SuperSeed Capital Ltd (WWW) had earnings of 6p a share for the fourth quarter and NAV was 102p a share at the end of 2022.
BWA Group (BWAP) is still seeking a cash injection. Some mineral licences may become the subject of joint ventures or be sold. An issue of 5.76 million shares at 0.5p a share to directors partly settles their fees.
Good Energy (GOOD) has started a rooftop solar installation operation.
Fuel additives supplier SulNOx Group (SNOX) says RemNOx Ltd has not taken up the option to acquire a total of 24.08 million shares at 30p each from directors between 6 February and 28 February.
Quantum technology investment company Quantum Exponential Group (QBIT) appointed Stuart Woods as chief operating and strategy officer.
Fenikso Ltd (FNK), formerly Lekoil, received $665,000 as partial repayment of the loan of $51.9m. Creditors are currently more than $2m. The next payment will be out of the February oil production proceeds.
TruSpine Technologies (TSP) has still not received the promised bridge loan facility or a share subscription. A £200,000 loan has been received from a third party. This will provide working capital.
Trading in Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) shares is suspended because the accounts for the year to August 2022 have not been issued. Talks continue concerning a cash injection.
RentGuarantor Holdings (RGG) has moved to the Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange.
Phoenix Asset Management has slashed its stake in Silverwood Brands (SLWD) from 16.5% to 1%. Miton UK MicroCap Trust increased its stake in IamFire (FIRE) from 8.69% to 9.27%. William Black has taken a 6.11% stake in Western Selection (WESP).
AIM
Accrol (ACRL) has signed a licensing agreement with Unilever, which will enable the tissue products manufacturer to sell a kitchen towel product under the Lifebuoy brand. This is a brand with strong recognition among consumers. This will be a higher priced product than the products currently produced by Accrol. A new paper mill is being built.
AB Traction increased its stake in construction dispute services provider Driver (DRV) from 20.6% to 27.5%. Ruffer has sold its stake.
WH Ireland has upgraded its 2023 forecasts for LifeSafe Holdings (LIFS) after the fire safety products supplier published a full year trading statement. The 2022 revenues were £3.9m, having been £1.3m at the interim stage. US sales are accelerating. The 2023 forecast revenues have been raised from £5.5m to £6.5m with a slight reduction in the loss to £400,000.
Non-executive directors of Inland Homes (INL) have all resigned because of related party issues that they were not informed about at the relevant times. That would leave the residential property developer with one director, so Simon Bennet is staying on for a fortnight so another director can be appointed – if not the shares will be suspended. Founder Stephen Wicks is likely to return to the board. There will be further announcements about the related party issues.
Gold explorer Panthera Resources (PAT) has entered into a conditional arbitration funding agreement with a subsidiary of Litigation Capital Management (LIT) for the damages claim against the Republic of India for breaches of its obligations under the Australia-India bilateral investment treaty. Up to $10.5m will be provided to cover the costs of the claim.
Purplebricks (PURP) has received approaches for the acquisition of the company, or its businesses and the ongoing strategic review has been widened to include a formal sale process.
Hostels operator Safestay (SSTY) generated higher than expected revenues in 2022 as occupancy levels continue to rebuild and reaching 63%. Revenues were £19m, compared with a forecast of £17.9m. A small pre-tax loss is forecast with a move back to profit expected this year.
Proton therapy technology developer Advanced Oncotherapy (AVO) has secured a convertible loan note facility of £4.95m. In return, the lenders will receive a portion of the revenues generated by the proton therapy machine installed in the Harley Street Centre, capped at £2.5m each year over a ten-year period.
Healthcare services provider Totally (TLY) warns that although full year revenues will be in line with expectations increasing costs means that profit will be below forecasts. Canaccord Genuity has cut its 2022-23 pre-tax profit forecast from £5.8m to £3.8m, down from £4m the previous year. Net cash is expected to be £5.5m at the end of March 2023.
Metal Tiger (MTR) is proposing the cancellation of its AIM quotation so that it has more flexibility with its new investment strategy. A general meeting will be held on 20 March for shareholders to vote on the cancellation and the new investing policy. The company will remain listed on ASX.
MAIN MARKET
URA Holdings (URAH) has completed the acquisition of the Gravelotte emerald mine in South Africa. This used to be the largest emerald mine in the world. The mineral resource estimate is 29 million carats and there are 12 other potential targets. The consideration was £100,000 in shares at 2.5p each.
Mass Energy Developments (MED) announced successful capacity market bids from the 9MW Pyebridge synchronous gas-powered flexible generation facility of £60/Kw and £64/Kw per annum.
IQ-AI Ltd (IQAI) says that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation status for gallium maltolate for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer. Enrolment has started on a phase I clinical trail to evaluate safety and dosage.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 2 August 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP) says trading has picked up since 12 April and was even better from 17 May. Beer volumes are good, but the company lost money in the year to June 2021. Between 12 April and 26 June managed pub revenues were 84% of the same time in 2019, while tenanted pubs achieved 77% of the volume in 2019. Tenanted pubs return to paying normal rent on 2 August. Net debt is £89.8m.
Brands owner and ecommerce technology platform operator Samarkand (SMK) increased its revenues by 201% in the year to March 2021, but that was flattered by one-off personal protective equipment revenues. Since the year end a Tokyo office has been opened. The latest technology, Nomad Checkout is being piloted.
Oberon Investments (OBE) more than trebled its revenues to £3.8m in the year to March 2021. Assets under administration increased by 340% to more than £550m and more investment management firms were acquired after the year end. The broking operation has already started to win clients and has raised £30m since June 2020. There were record first quarter revenues. Chris Akers has taken a 3.58% stake.
CBD and hemp products supplier Love Hemp (LIFE) has increased its full year revenues by 60% to £4.31m, although second half revenues were lower than those in the first half, which benefitted from large orders by Boots and Holland and Barrett. This year online revenues are expected to increase significantly.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has requested that trading of the shares on Aquis should cease. There are problems with the company’s 2020 accounts. Begbies Traynor has been appointed to advise on restructuring, but the board is unsure whether the company can continue trading.
KR1 (KR1) has invested $100,000 in the Redstone project, which will be changed for tokens at a later date. Redstone is a cross-chain data oracle technology that provides fast access to data and historic audit trail. A further $269,892 was invested in Interlay for 1,224 series seed shares.
S-Ventures (SVEN) has acquired plant-based nutrition products supplier Pulsin for £2m in cash, £2m in loan notes and 15.18 million shares. The issue of three million of the shares is deferred and dependent on sales in 2021. Pulsin has net debt of £1.2m and generated sales of 37.05m in the year to April 2021. S-Ventures already owns Ohso Chocolate and snacks firm We Love Purely.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) has invested £22.5m for a majority stake in a company that owns homeware brands, including Kilner, Viners, Typhoon and Ravenhead. In 2020, revenues were £35.6m.
Dispersion Holdings (DEFI) had net cash of £8.8m at the end of July 2021. It has also invested £910,000 in decentralised finance investments.
Black Sea Property (BSP) is selling a property in Cyprus for €1.06m, compared with a valuation of €830,000.
Coinsilium (COIN) has moved to the Apex segment.
AIM
Big Technologies (BIG) provides remote and personal monitoring services, predominantly to the criminal justice market, and the technology has been developed over more than a decade. The company raised £14.7m after expenses at 200p a share. There was also £185.6m raised by existing shareholders, which sold around one-third of the shares in issue. In three days of trading the share price soared to 355p, which values the company at £1bn. Revenues increased from £19.3m in 2019 to £29.6m in 2020 thanks to new contracts and additional revenues from existing customers. Pre-tax profit jumped from £5.53m to £12.7m.
Tracsis (TRCS) has won a multi-year contract for its RailHub planning software. The deal is worth several million pounds, and this will make an initial high margin contribution to the financial year to July 2021. It sparked a £1m uplift in the 2021 profit forecast to £10.5m.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) has doubled interim revenues, helped by the Hunters acquisition early this year. Organic growth was 35%.
Hostels operator Safestay (SSTY) had a tough 2020 and has just published its 2020 figures. It achieved 38% occupancy in its hostels when they were open. The loss was £10m. NAV is £28.5m. Leasehold sales have helped to reduce bank debt to £18m in July 2021. There are 16 hostels currently trading and the other two are set to reopen.
Seed Innovations (SEED) has a 5.1% stake in Canadian Stock Exchange listed CDD and health products supplier Yooma Wellness Inc, which is joining Aquis on 10 August.
MAIN MARKET
Spinnaker Acquisitions (SPAQ) is a new cash shell that has been brought to the market by the same team that floated Spinnaker Opportunities, which eventually acquired cannabis products supplier Kanabo (KNB). It raised £2.08m at 10p a share. The share price has risen to 12.5p, but there is a wide spread of 10p/15p. Spinnaker is seeking to acquire a business in the sustainability and energy transition services markets.
Motor dealer Lookers (LOOK) outperformed the market in the first half of 2021 with a like-for-like increase in vehicle sales of 45%. The interim profit will be around £50m, which is one-fifth higher than previous expectations.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 8 March 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Installation services provider and engineer Field Systems Designs Holdings (FSD) reported a dip in interim revenues due to Covid-19 and lack of work in the water sector. In the six months to November 2020, revenues halved from £11.5m to £5.7m and the loss increased to £209,000. Net assets improved from £3.87m to £3.93m with cash increasing from £4.34m to £5.6m. There are signs of water projects being announced.
Gunsynd (GUN) says its investee company Rogue Baron should join the Access segment on around 12 March. Gunsynd will own 28.48% of the drinks company and retain £111,000 of convertible loan notes.
Forbes Ventures (FOR) says that a £40m tranche of two-year notes is expected to take place in Malta in the middle of March. A further £60m should be listed within two months of the first tranche. A subsidiary of Forbes will receive a one-off fee of 2% of the funds raised.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had net assets of 57.96p a share at the end of February 2021. There was cash of £2.68m. It has subsequently sold the investment in Anthesis Consulting for £1.15m. This was previously valued at £705,000.
Upper Thames Holdings (UPPT) is changing its name to Valereum Blockchain. The company has initiated the launch of the first series of securitised derivative tokens on a regulated cryptocurrency exchange, which should happen within two months. This will enable trading in currency and other products.
KR1 (KR1) has raised nearly $256,000 by selling tokens in Stake DAO. KR1 still has the rights to more than 700,000 SDT tokens and these will vest over 23 months. KR1 has spent $75,000 of the cash on a stake in LazyLedger Labs.
Exploration by Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has identified high grade silver and base metals potential at the Cottesloe project in Patersons Range Western Australia.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) is linking with 10%-owned Indorse to launch a Non-Fungible Token development studio in Gibraltar.
Quetzal Capital (WENP) has appointed Peterhouse as corporate adviser and raised £432,000 at 0.7p a share. Chris Akers will own a 9.4% stake.
Block Commodities (BLCC) has appointed First Sentinel as corporate adviser and trading in the share has recommenced. Altona Rare Earths (ANR) has appointed Optiva Securities as broker, and it hopes to move to the standard list in the second quarter.
World High Life has changed its name to Love Hemp Group (LIFE). It has appointed Hannam and Partners as financial advisor. Chris Cleverly and Elias Pungong have left the board.
AIM
Coral Products (CRU) has completed the sale of two plastic mouldings businesses and acquired Customised Packaging for £1.25m in cash and shares issued at 11p each. If 2021 profit is greater than £250,000 the vendors will receive 30% of the excess profit (capped at £250,000). Customised Packaging generated revenues of £2.3m in 2020. The Manchester-based business designs plastic products using sheet extrusion technology and vacuum forming capability. WH Ireland has been appointed as nominated adviser and broker.
Interims from parcel and freight delivery company DX (LSE:DX.) showed a 7% rise in revenues to £182.7m with strong growth in freight offsetting a fall in the express division. That enabled DX to move from loss to a pre-tax profit of £3.8m. New depots are being opened because of the demand for the company’s services, while the document exchange business is being revamped. Non-executive director Paul Goodson has acquired 176,810 shares at an average price of 28.25p.
In 2020, Franchise Brands (FRAN) improved pre-tax profit from £4.07m to £4.84m, helped by a full contribution from Willow Pumps. The dividend was increased from 0.95p a share to 1.1p a share. Income returned to growth in the fourth quarter and there has been a good start to 2021. That sparked a forecast upgrade for pre-tax profit to £6.1m.
The bid for AFH Financial (AFHP) has been increased from 463p a share to 480p a share.
BlueRock Diamonds (BRD) has raised £1.5m at 40p a share. This cash will be used to complete the weather delayed installation of the new processing plant at the Kareevlei diamond mine so that annual production can be raised to one million tonnes. There have been 29 production days lost to rain. The first two diamond tenders of 2021 have achieved an average diamond price of $423/carat, which is higher than the average price assumed for the full year.
Maestrano (MNO) has taken advantage of its strong share price to raise £2m at 13p a share. This will help to grow revenues of the Corridor.ai digital surveying platform for the rail sector. There is still manual rail survey business that can be done digitally.
In 2020, the revenues of MTI Wireless Edge (MWE) rose by 2% to $40.9m, while pre-tax profit jumped from $3.41m to $4.06m. The net cash position was better than expected at $9.44m. The dividend has been increased by one-quarter to 2.5 cents a share. The antennas business is winning larger 5G orders and the electronic components division is converting design wins into production orders.
Virgin Wines (VINO) ended the week at 225.5p a share, having floated at 197p a share.
Prospex Energy (PXEN) has completed the purchase of a 49.9% stake in the El Romeral gas and power operation in Spain. There is potential to increase production from the three producing gas wells and this could also help increase the amount of electricity generated from the 8.1MW power station, which is running well below capacity. An offshore gas well should start production later this year.
Safestay (SSTY) has sold the smallest of its three hostels in Barcelona for the book value of €900,000. Safestay is due to the final consideration of €1.18m for one of the other Barcelona hostels.
MAIN MARKET
Caerus Mineral is acquiring New Cyprus Copper and joining the standard list. A placing has raised £2.25m at 10p. There is a portfolio of exploration licences in Cyprus. There is potential for near-term mining of resources on closed copper mines and extensions of existing orebodies.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) says from this month chief executive Peter Wall will be paid in Bitcoin and other employees will be given the chance to follow suit. Argo held 599 Bitcoin at the end of February, having mined 129 (equivalent to £4.34m) during the month.
Emmerson (EML) plans to switch from the standard list to AIM ahead of the commencement of construction of its mine at the Khemisset potash project.
HeiQ (HEIQ) is acquiring 51% of Chrisal NV, a profitable industrial biotechnology company that has developed a symbiotic interior cleaner called Synbio with enhanced cleaning performance.
Castillo Copper (CCZ) expects the modelling of a JORC resource for the Big One deposit should be completed shortly. Drilling will resume when the wet season ends.
Boston International Holdings (BIH) is not going ahead with the reverse takeover of invoice factor Alexanders Discount. The shares remain suspended.
Starcrest Education The Belt and Road (OBOR) says that the purchase of 60% of The London School of Science and Technology is unlikely to happen before June.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 31 August 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
KR1 (KR1) has made two more investments. There is a further investment of $100,000 in the cross-chain finance hub Acala Network in return for 153,846.15 ACA tokens at 65 cents each. KR1 now holds 1.02 million ACA tokens. That stake is valued at $663,000. There is also a new investment in MetaCartel Ventures Decentralised Autonomous Organisation. KR1 received 4,938 MCV shares for its $199,000 investment.
Imperial X (IMPP) plans to buy mineral assets and investments and a placing is raising £750,000 at 2.5p a share. The purchases involve the issue of more than 245 million shares plus 8.71 million warrants exercisable at 5p a share. Trading in the shares has been suspended until the acquisitions are completed. Imperial X is buying Howson Ventures Inc, plus assets from Anglo African Minerals, Cloudbreak Discovery and Cabox Gold. Howson owns the Rupert Minerals property in British Columbia and an investment in Anglo African Minerals, which holds licences in bauxite projects in Guinea.
Gunsynd (GUN) says that its investment in ASX-listed Eagle Mountain is “well in the money” and it has the cash it requires for its immediate needs even though the disposal of the stake in Oyster Oil and Gas has still not been completed. Gunsynd invested £110,000 in copper/gold explorer Eagle Mountain at A$0.13 a share and the price has risen to A$0.24. Rincon Resources has appointed stockbrokers for its proposed listing on ASX. Gunsynd has invested £138,000 in Rincon and has a 28% stake. Spirits company Human Brands also still hopes to float. Nickel project developer Sunshine Minerals is being acquired by Malachite Resources. Gunsynd will receive 1.26 million shares in Malachite with further deferred consideration of 1.64 million shares.
IamFire (FIRE) is raising £5.5m gross through a discounted capital bond and it is participating in a fundraising for social commerce platform WeShop ahead of a future listing. The bond is being issued at a discount of 78.73% and net proceeds of £4.4m have been received. IamFire is providing £4.5m of a £9m convertible loan to WeShop. This has an interest rate of 8% and lasts for 36 months. A flotation is one of the conversion events and the conversion would be at a 20% discount to the flotation share price. There is also an exclusive option to subscribe for a 10% stake in WeShop at a pre-money valuation of £25m. This would involve an investment of £2.78m.
Primorus investments (PRIM) has invested £875,000 in WeShop. Primorus has made realised and unrealised gains £3.55m in the six months to June 2020. Greatland Gold (GGP) is the main reason for this. The NAV increased to £8.1m compared with a £4.3m market capitalisation.
BWA Group (BWAP) has agreed to sell its investment in Kings of the North Corp to St George’s Eco-Mining Corp, which sold it for £4.66m. The convertibles issued to St George’s will be cancelled and they amount to £4.3m. St George’s will issue 1.5 million shares and transfer 2.5 million warrants to BWA. St George’s is keeping its 21% stake in BWA.
There was a £673,000 cash outflow at Cadence Minerals (KDNC) in the six months to June 2020. A cash raising means that there was £2.38m in cash at the end of the period.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) plans to undertake exploration work at the Hellyer mine, possibly as early as October/November this year.
Inqo Investments (INQO) increased annual revenues from R23.8m to R24.4m, but the loss increased from R2.5m to R6.1m. That was partly down to an inventory write-down of R1.44m and higher depreciation. Last year’s Bee Sweet honey harvest was one of the largest ever. The lodge at the Kuzuko Private Game Reserve had high occupancy rates before COVID-19. All the other activities have also been hit since the end of February.
Eurocann International (BUD) intends to amend its investing strategy and change its name just over one year since it changed it from Valiant Investments.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) has appointed Allenby as corporate adviser.
AIM
Vianet (VNET) says that customer pub sites that have resumed operations have increased from 56% to 80% over the past six years. Vianet continues to offer reduced recurring charges to both closed and reopened customers. Customer demand for data analytics is recovering. The smart machines division says two-thirds of customer vending machines are in operation and generating normal levels of revenue. There have been orders for more than 1,9000 new orders for telemetry and contactless units during lockdown.
Hostels operator Safestay (SSTY) is taking additional cost saving measures due to the continued uncertainty. Occupancy rates are running at around one-quarter and it is higher in those hostels opened earlier. Safestay has available overdraft facilities but these could run out by early next year if all hostels are not reopened by October and occupancy levels fall below 20% later this year. An occupancy rate of 57% is required for a hostel to breakeven. Sales of freeholds or terminating loss-making leases are being considered. Interim results will be published on 24 September.
Integumen (SKIN) is making an all-share offer for Modern Water (MWG) that values the latter at £21.25m. Integumen plans a ten-for-one share consolidation and it is offering one of these new shares for every ten Modern Water shares. Integumen produces test kits for Modern Water.
Drug discovery company C4X Discovery (C4XD) says that 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, but there will be no data until 2021. C4X is making progress in identifying a candidate for the treatment of IBD and it has reached the lead optimisation stage for the treatment of Psoriasis. A collaboration with the GEN-COVID consortium, which will use C4X’s Taxonomy3 mathematical analysis technology to assess the role of genetics in disease susceptibility.
Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) says that milling equipment has been delivered to the raw cashew nut processing project in Cote d’Ivoire. The mill should be commissioned in the second quarter of next year.
Grant Thornton has managed to persuade the courts to reduce the damages owed to AssetCo (AST) from £29.8m to £20.8m. Including interest and costs the payment should be £25m.
President Energy (PPC) has formed a renewables division. There are opportunities in wind, solar, hydro and biomass in Argentina. President has commenced a workover programme on oil wells and there are plans to drill two new wells.
MAIN MARKET
Packaging supplier Macfarlane (MACF) reported a 2% decline in interim revenues to £105.6m. The second quarter decline was much lower than for the UK economy, helped by increasing exposure to ecommerce. Increased bad debts led to a 5.5% fall in pre-tax profit to £3.62m. An interim dividend of 0.7p a share is proposed. There could be a greater decline in full year profit, although the business will still be cash generative. Arden forecasts a fall in pre-tax profit from £14.4m to £11.1m.
BATM (BVC) has signed up its first tier 1 NFVTime virtual networking customer. The Asia-based telecoms company has signed up for an initial three years will provide a reference site for the technology. This contract could be a significant revenue generator in the years to come and follows the recent proof of concept trial with ARM and Vodafone.
Anglesey Mining (AYM) has raised £200,000 at 1.6p a share. The cash will be invested in studies for the development of the Parys Mountain zinc, copper, lead, silver and gold mine. Management is also assessing other projects.
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 18 November 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Trading in the shares of Barkby Group (BARK) has been suspended ahead of further information about a proposed reverse takeover. The acquisition of a group of companies referred to as the Dickson controlled entities is expected to cost £30m, predominantly paid in shares. There will also be a share placing to provide working capital for the enlarged group. Charles Dickson would become executive chairman if the deal goes ahead. The businesses include Workshop Coffee, which operates four coffee shops and is a wholesaler of speciality coffee, a commercial property developer. Barkby will also acquire the right to invest in two private companies: Transcend Packaging, which won a contract to supply McDonalds with paper straws, and VivoPlex, which has developed a medical device for fertility monitoring.
Brewer and pubs operator Daniel Thwaites (THW) says fears that interest rates will fall has required a £4m increase in the provision for its interest rate swaps. That is a non-cash item and underlying pre-tax profit increased from £5.6m to £6.2m in the six months to September 2019. That figure also excludes a quadrupling of property disposal profit to £800,000. Interim revenues improved 7% to £53.4m. The new brewery is operating at full capacity, while there was a small increase in like-for-like pub revenues. The contribution from hotels improved. Net debt was reduced by £8.6m to £61.6m compared with 12 months before, although £22.5m has been reclassified as due within one year. The interim dividend is unchanged at 1.1p a share.
NEX and AIM-quoted AFH Financial (AFHP) says it is trading in line with forecasts. The wealth manager will report underlying EBITDA of more than £17m, up from £10.4m, in the year to October 2019. Funds under management were £6bn. The contribution from acquisitions has been earnings enhancing. The total dividend is expected to be 8p a share and this is expected to rise by one-quarter to 10p a share in 2019-20. There was still £11.9m in the bank at the end of October 2019, although there is estimated to be £32.2m of contingent consideration and a £15m convertible loan in the balance sheet. The current focus is on organic growth and there should be enough cash generated, along with the current balance, to pay the deferred consideration over the next two years.
Ashley House (LSE: ASH) has published a trading statement and it is changing its year end from April to October following the disposal of the Morgan Ashley joint venture. In the 12 months to April 2019, revenues fell from £18.5m to £11.9m and a pre-tax profit of £805,000 was turned into a £2.95m loss. There was a loss contributed by joint ventures. Net debt was £1.8m.
Clinical support systems supplier DXS International (DXSP) is considering a move to AIM. This would be part of a potential fundraising to enable further investment in the business. DXS has already announced that it 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. The focus will be on the existing core product DXS Point of Care, analytics and reporting service CompleteCare, digital medicines service ExpertCare and condition management platform MyVytalCare. The first is already on sale and the rest will be launched in early 2020. DXS is gaining final approvals for its four solutions to be listed in the NHS catalogue.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) has raised £160,000 at 0.1p a share. This cash will be invested in additional shares in Apollon Formularies, which will take the company’s stake to 2.68%.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) believes that the lack of flotations is providing it with more opportunities. Primorus has received the £275,000 it was owed by Zuuse and still owns 57,205 shares and holds options over one million shares at A$0.50 (26p) each. The latest fundraising by Zuuse is at A$1 a share. There is a potential market to sell the shares even before a flotation.
Rutherford Health (RUTH) shareholder Formation Group has appointed Andrew Bennett as a non-executive director of the proton beam therapy firm.
David Lenigas has been appointed chairman of NQ Minerals (NQMI) and the board is in talks to replace existing debt with lower-cost debt. First Sentinel, which is run by former NQ Minerals director, has been appointed as corporate adviser.
Block Commodities (BLCC) has raised £388,000 from an issue of convertible loan notes and shares. This is less than the company wanted to raise more than six months ago. The share issue raised £133,000 at 0.02p a share, with a warrant exercisable at the same price, and the conversion of the loan notes will also be at the same price. The cash will be used to move into the medicinal cannabis sector. Additional shares are being issued to pay creditors.
EPE Special Opportunities Ltd (ESO) had net assets of 246.47p a share at the end of October 2019.
One hundred shares in Equatorial Mining and Exploration (EM.P) will be consolidated into one new share on 18 November.
Karoo Energy has changed its name to IamFire (FIRE).
Queros Capital Partners (QCP) will leave NEX on 28 November.
AIM
DBAY Advisors does not intend to bid for Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) and instead will acquire 51% of the underlying subsidiary that owns the transport operations. The poor financial situation of the business led to the change of strategy and Eddie Stobart Logistics has recommended the deal, which involves the injection of £55m of additional finance through a PIK Facility. This will pay off a £35m loan and provide working capital. The deal requires the extension of other existing debt facilities. The interim results to May 2019 are still being compiled. An operating loss of at least £12m is expected, but the underlying business could make a full year operating profit of up to £2m. There could be a goodwill write-down of £50m. Net debt will be around £200m. Wincanton (WIN) is still considering a rival deal.
ECO Animal Health (EAH) is still suffering the after effects of the African Swine Flu outbreak in China and the US/China trade war hitting imports from the US. First half revenues from China fell by three-fifths. Restocking will take time to flow through in terms of FCO’s results. There will be a sharp fall in full year profit. The interims could also be affected by accounting policy changes.
Advanced surface coatings provider Hardide (HDD) has been selected to coat parts for the new F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. This is an important step in building up business in the aerospace sector. The Hardide-A coating will replace HVOF thermal spray coatings. HVOF is one of the most widely used coatings in aerospace and Hardide-A is said to be technically superior. Hardide has also been awarded a patent for a water droplet erosion resistant coating for blades and vanes, including those used on steam and gas turbines for power generation. A field test is planned.
Adamas Finance Asia (ADAM) says that a test production run is planned later this month by 85%-owned Future Metal at its quarry in China. The plan is to restart production by the end of the year. This will help to underpin the Adamas NAV and provide potential upside. At the end of September 2019, NAV was 84p a share, which is more than three times the share price. Future Metal is 45.2% of that NAV and when the quarry is up and running then Adamas could raise cash by selling some of its stake. Cash is required to invest in new opportunities that are being presented to the company. Adamas issued 16.18 million shares at 34.8p each for its equity investment in Infinity TNP.
Safestay (SSTY) has bought the Hotel Auberge in Berlin, which is near to Berlin zoo, and intends to turn it into a 150-bed hostel. The site has an eleven year lease. This is the latest acquisition this year and it takes the total number of hostel sites to 18. The plan is to have 20 hostels by 2020.
MAIN MARKET
PureCircle Ltd (PURE) chief executive Magomet Malsagov has stood aside temporarily pending further investigation of the classification of the stevia sweeteners supplier’s inventory and other transactions. The investigations have identified that inventory was $23m too high. Other transactions could lead to additional valuation changes. There could be write downs of intangibles and inventories. There should not be any increase in net debt, although the figures are still not fully audited. Bank covenants may need to be waived. Finance director Rakesh Sinha had previously resigned, although he remains with the company until the end of January.
Automotive information publisher Haynes Publishing (HYNS) is seeking a buyer. Management believes the company needs to be part of a larger group with greater financial resources.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 4 November 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Chapel Down Group (CDGP) has managed to generate 92% of 2018’s record harvest in volume terms for the company’s wines. This was achieved even though the weather was not as good this summer. Some vineyards produced their first crop and are still maturing.
Belvedere Leisure Resorts plans to gain a quotation on the NEX Growth Market for its bonds on 22 November. The company is a subsidiary of Belvedere Leisure Park, which owns a site in Dumfries & Galloway with planning permission for a lodge park resort of 444 holiday lodges. The park will be built by Landal GreenParks. The bonds will offer a coupon 6.25%. An initial £10m of bonds will be admitted with a maximum of £25m expected to be raised.
First Sentinel (FSEN) is seeking shareholder approval to issue Green Finance preference shares, which would be quoted on NEX. The cash raised will be invested in the renewable energy sector. A general meeting will be held on 18 November. Warrants have been exercised at 10p a share and this has raised £400,000 for First Sentinel.
Mechanical and electrical design and installation company Field Systems Design Holding (FSD) reported a decline in revenues from £25.9m to £21.8m in the year to May 2019. Higher gross margins meant that the decline in the pre-tax profit was limited and it fell from £625,000 to £553,000. Water generated four-fifths of revenues, up from 48% the previous year. There are no solid spending forecasts, as yet, for the latest water capital investment period for between 2020 and 2025. This causes some medium-term uncertainty. The order book is worth £8.2m, compared with £12m one year earlier. There is a pension surplus.
KR1 (KR1) has made three more investments in blockchain-related tokens. A $100,000 cash investment and payment for advisory expertise will earn 1.017% of Vega tokens issued. Vega is developing a decentralised and censorship-resistant blockchain trading platform. A further $266,220 has been invested in Edgeware smart-contract platform tokens and they will be locked up for 12 months. KR1 will receive 1,000 Ether and this will translate into 3.8 million Edgeware tokens. KR1 has spent $50,000 on a minimum stake of 0.625% in Commonwealth Labs, which is helping to market the Edgeware platform.
Allenby Capital has published a research note on cannabis products supplier Sativa Investments (SATI) and it forecasts revenues of £1.64m in 2019 and £5.15m next year. This will not be enough to make Sativa profitable. Allenby believes that it may have to raise £6m next year to cover its cash outflows and maintain net cash. Sativa has changed the brand name from George Botanicals to Goodbody Botanicals.
Imperial X (IMPP) has raised £347,000 at 2.5p a share. This represents 27.3% of the enlarged share capital.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) increased lead concentrate production at the Hellyer mine from 5,452 tonnes in the second quarter to 6,656 tonnes in the third quarter, but zinc and pyrite concentrate production declined. However, recovery levels have improved for both lead and zinc.
BWA Group (BWAP) intends to sell its investments in Prepaid Card Services and a mining project in Cameroon. They are in the balance sheet at a value of £608,000. The focus will be gold explorer Kings of the North. St-Georges Eco-Mining is converting £300,000 of the £2.45m of convertible loan notes at 0.5p a share. This is equivalent to 23.75% of the enlarged share capital. The loan notes were issued to acquired Kings of the North Corp. BWA is still waiting for £88,000 of the £100,000 of convertibles issued for cash.
Black Sea Property (BSP) has published its 2018 accounts, but it will have to publish its interims before trading in the shares recommences. Management says that it is addressing the accounting concerns of its auditor BDO. The NAV was 0.95 cents a share at the end of 2018.
Asia Wealth Group Holdings (AWLP) reported a drop in revenues from $1.24m to $797,000. This meant that the company fell into loss. There is $726,000 in the bank at the end of August 2019.
Ganapati (GANP) improved its interim revenues from £2.19m to £2.33m, but higher admin expenses meant that the reported loss more than trebled to £8.5m. The company continues to develop its online gaming platform.
TechFinancials (TECH) has completed the sale of a loss-making asset for €100,000.
Queros Capital Partners (QCP) is asking shareholders to approve the ending of the NEX quotation. The general meeting will be held on 14 November.
AIM
Duke Royalty (DUKE) has made a follow-on investment in Lynx Equity, to help the company to finance the purchase of Denmark-based steel staircases supplier Sundby Trapper. This means that Duke has exposure of £12m in Lynx and it will receive annual distributions of £1.6m.
Space management software supplier Smartspace Software (SMRT) is paying £3.2m in cash and shares for Australia-based Space Connect, a provider of cloud-based workplace management software for room booking, desk management, catering and workspace analytics. This will save up to £1.2m a year on product development over two years. The software can be rolled-out in the UK. Smartspace made an interim loss of £4m.
An investor group intends to increase its stake in Petrel Resources (PET) from 29.99% to 51% via a share issue at 1.25p each. They will offer potential oil and gas-related investments to Petrel.
Cabot Energy (CAB) has decided to ditch its AIM quotation on 3 December, but it intends to have its shares matched on Asset Match. This will have to be approved by shareholders. The Canada-focused oil and gas company wants to reduce its overheads.
RedT Energy (RED) plans to merge with Avalon Battery Corporation and combine the best features of each company’s technology. Bushveld Minerals (BMN) is providing an interim loan facility prior to the raising of £23m of new funds.
Avingtrans (AVG) is already reaping the benefits of the acquisition of Booth Industries, thanks to a £7.2m safety doors contract from the government. That means that £12m of orders have been won since the purchase in June.
Safestay (SSTY) is buying a hostel in Athens for €1.5m. The hostel has been operating since 2008 and has an 18-year lease. Safestay has also completed the purchase of the Best Western Glasgow City hotel for £3.15m and this will be transformed into a 200-bed hostel.
MAIN MARKET
Stevia producer PureCircle (PURE) has won a legal decision in its patent litigation with SweeGen, which challenged the patent. It will pursue Federal District court litigation against SweeGen. The patent is for the process of producing Reb M stevia sweetener via bioconversion. The shares remain suspended because it has not published the results for the year to June 2019.
Meditor is considering a 5p a share offer for carpets retailer Carpetright (CPR) and without this offer thee would need to be a refinancing of £80m of debt and additional working capital.
Motor dealer Lookers (LOOK) has warned that its 2019 figures will be even worse than previously thought and chief executive Andy Bruce and chief operating officer Nigel McMinn have left the board. The pre-tax forecast has been cut from £38.7m to £15.5m, compared with £53.9m in 2018. Third quarter new car unit sales fell by 3.2% (on a like-for-like basis), compared with the market decline of 0.6%.
InnovaDerma (IDP) is launching a new topical product in Superdrug before the end of June. The full details will be announced nearer the launch.
The chairman and chief executive of Rainbow Rare Earths (RBW) have acquired 5.46 million shares at 3p each and they have a combined shareholding of 27.5%. Further cost reductions have been identified for the Gakara project in Burundi. A further 100 tonnes of rare earth oxides concentrate were shipped in October. Production levels will fall in the short-term as the production focus moves to a mechanised operation.
Cryptominer Argo Blockchain (ARB) has doubled its mining equipment order and changed the machines it is buying. The cost has been reduced from $13.1m to $9.51m. The machines are more efficient. The current machine orders will increase capacity by 240%.
Resources cash shell Mila Resources (MILA) is still seeking a deal. There was £429,000 in cash at the end of June 2019. Another shell, Bermele (BERM), is also still seeking a deal. It had £682,000 in cash at the end of July 2019.
Blencowe Resources (BRES) is acquiring the Orom graphite project in Uganda for £2m in shares at 6p each. This is subject to a fundraising.
Iconic Labs (ICON) slipped out its results for the 18 months to June 2019 at 6.28pm on 31 October. They show a £6.12m loss, of which, £308,000 was from continuing operations. Net liabilities were £1.67m.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore Quoted Micro 17 June 2019
NEX EXCHANGE
Renewable energy supplier Good Energy (GOOD) says that holding back on operating expenditure has offset the downturn in demand due to warmer weather. Profit will be weighted to the first half. Good is investing in electric vehicle platform Zap-Map.
Brewer Daniel Thwaites (THW) reported a more than halved pre-tax profit from £9.8m to £4.5m. Turnover improved from £92.2m to £96.9m and the profit decline was mainly due to a non-cash swing from gain to loss on swaps and a pension adjustment. Operating profit was flat at £12.9m. The Inns business improved its profit and individual pubs are making a higher profit contribution, but hotels profit declined. The total dividend was maintained at 3.36p a share. Net debt was £69.7m at the end of March 2019, while NAV was £180.7m. The pension liability has fallen from £34.9m to £24.8m.
KR1 (KR1) has sold 70,079 tokens in the Cosmos Network for $361,000. The average cost of the tokens was $0.10 each and they were sold for $5.14 each. KR1 has also generate a further 7,008 tokens from staking activities and these were sold for $6.93 each.
There was a sharp rise in the share price of TechFinancials Inc (TECH) but much of this gain was lost by the end of the week. There does not appear to be a reason for the rise. Full year results should be published this week. There will be an operating loss. There was $1.1m in the bank at the end of May 2019. The company is still waiting for approval from the Seychelles authorities for the €100,000 disposal of MarketFinancials. There will be write-downs of the value of diamond trading blockchain developer CEDEX and MarketFinancials.
EPE Special Opportunities Ltd (ESO) had a NAV of 272.02p a share at the end of May 2019. The company intends to start buying back shares and these purchases could exceed 25% of the average daily volume of ordinary shares.
Shareholders have approved the plan of Oyster Oil and Gas to distribute the shares of its main subsidiary to settle indebtedness and certain creditors. These include Gunsynd (GUN) although the exact shareholding has yet to be announced. Production sharing contracts in Madagascar and Djibouti are owned by the subsidiary. Gunsynd has raised £500,000 at 0.037p a share.
Trading in Via Developments (VIA1) debentures has recommenced following the publication of figures for 18 months to September 2018. The company has net liabilities of £329,000 with long-term debt of £5.68m offset by cash of £91,000. A subsidiary is securing debt and equity for a project that will generate management fees fir Via, but that won’t happen until September.
Clean Invest Africa (CIA) is holding a general meeting on 3 July in order to gain shareholder approval for the acquisition of the 97.5% of Coal Tech and its related business that it does not own for £27.2m in shares at 2.75p each. CoalTech transforms discarded coal into coal pellets.
Lombard Odier sold 1.65 million shares in Chapel Down Group (CDGP) at 75p a share, reducing its stake to 11.5%. Chief executive Frazer Thompson exercised 2.39 million options at 12.5p a share and finance director Richard Woodhouse exercised 200,000 options at 10p a share and all these shares were sold at 75p each.
AIM
Frontier Smart Technologies (FST) has received another bid approach. Previous potential bidder Science Group (SAG) has built up a 28.3% stake in Frontier so it is in a strong position. It says that it does not intend to sell the shares to another bidder and could block any move to cancel the AIM quotation.
Park Group (PARK) increased investment in the business last year and this knocked underlying pre-tax profit progress which was flat at £12.5m, before asset write-downs. The dividend was increased by 5% to 3.2p a share. There was a smaller contribution from Christmas savings, but growth from corporate promotions and incentives offset that. Increasingly, business is card-based. There was £36.9m of the company’s own cash at the end of March 2019. There will be a dip in profit this year due to higher overheads and profit growth should resume in 2020-21. Chief executive Ian O’Doherty has bought 30,000 shares at 69.5p each.
Stanley Gibbons (SGB) has resolved claims against former management at antique dealer Mallett and this will result in a cash inflow of £850,000 over 12 months.
Safestyle (SSTY) has acquired the freehold of a 161 bed hostel in Pisa for €3.25m. This takes the company’s portfolio to 14 hostels, including the Paris site that is under construction.
Last year was about OnTheMarket (OTMP) building up the number of agencies on its property portal and increasing the number of homebuyers looking at the properties advertised. The rival to Rightmove and Zoopla needs to convert these agencies into fee payers and that process has just started. OnTheMarket will continue to be loss-making this year with higher marketing spending likely to offset higher revenues. Cash is expected to fall from £15.7m to £6.6m at the end of January 2019.
NWF (NWF) did better than expected in the year to May 2019. The feeds business was slightly behind the previous year, but new business helped the food warehouse business to significantly improve its performance and fuels did better than expected despite the milder winter, although behind the previous year. The results will be published on 30 July.
Industrial equipment distributor HC Slingsby (SLNG) says that pressure on margin means that operating profit in the four months to April 2019 is lower, even though revenues are slightly higher. Uncertainty over Brexit is affecting levels of demand in the first half of 2019. Net debt was £1.3m at the end of May 2019.
The actuarial deficit on the Molins UK Pension Fund has been cut from £69.9m to £35.2m over a three-year period. Mpac (MPAC) believes the deficit should be eliminated by July 2024. That is based on maintained payments into the scheme.
Filta (FLTA) says that its figures will be more skewed towards the second half. This is partly down to the integration of the Watbio grease management business. There has been growth in the FiltaSeal business and the North American FiltaFry fryer management franchise business.
Avingtrans (AVG) has acquired the Booth Industries specialist door manufacturing business from the administrator of Redhall (RHL) for £1.8m in cash. Booth made a pre-tax profit of £300,000 last year.
MAIN MARKET
Full year results from fasteners supplier Trifast (TRI) were slightly better than expected. Revenues were 6% ahead at £209m, while re-tax profit was a similar percentage higher at £23.5m. The dividend was increased by 10% to 4.25p a share. Trading remains tough.
Aquila Services (AQSG) has acquired education and sports consultancy Oaks Consultancy for up to £1.7m in cash and shares. In the year to March 2019, Oaks made a pre-tax profit of £254,000 on revenues of £909,000.
Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (BMV) is converting $2.89m of loans into 121.5 million shares. Management made most of the loans and chief executive Colin Patterson will end up with 19.1% of Bluebird. Bluebird is debt-free.
Standard list shell Safe Harbour Holdings (SHH) lost £2.3m in 2018 due to overheads and due diligence costs. There is still £26.9m in the bank.
Andrew Hore