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Quoted Micro 10 April 2017
NEX EXCHANGE
Social impact investment company Inqo Investments Ltd (INQO) has taken a stake in Uganda-based Four-One Financial Services Ltd, which manages the Mazima Voluntary Individual Retirement Benefits Scheme. The pension scheme is aimed a low income earners and Four-One provides marketing and administration services.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has been regularly raising funds in the past few weeks. The latest placing raised nearly £126,000 at 7.3p a share. So far this year, NQ has raised nearly £900,000.
Malcolm Burne has increased his stake in Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) by 500,000 shares, taking his shareholding to 6.19%.
Kryptonite 1 (KR1) consolidated every 19 shares into one new share on 4 April.
AIM
StatPro (SOG) is acquiring UBS Delta, which provides risk and performance analysis services, for €13m (£11.1m) over three years. UBS Delta has 115 clients with 100 of these being new to StatPro. This provides a ready made customer base for the StatPro Revolution product. UBS Delta has annualised recurring revenues of £14.5m and the combined group will have £53m. This is a highly earnings enhancing deal. A full contribution in 2018 leads to an improvement in forecast earnings per share from 4.5p to 7.4p. Net debt will double to £20.2m by the end of 2017 and then start to come down through cash generated from operations.
Bushveld Minerals Ltd (BMN) has completed the purchase of a 78.8% stake in Strategic Minerals Corporation, which owns 75% of the company that owns Vametco Alloys in South Africa. Bushveld says that the $16.5m it has paid is less than the cost of setting up a greenfield mining operation. The deal is part of the strategy to develop a vertically integrated vanadium operation. Bushveld is acquiring a low cost, open pit mine and plant with an existing customer base. There are enough ore reserves to last for 24 years at current production levels, plus scope to increase these reserves. Vametco is also near to Bushveld’s Brits vanadium project. Bushveld has also agreed to work with Sinohydro Corporation on developing a 60MW coal powered plant and related transmission infrastructure in southern Madagascar. Sinohydro will pay for the bankable feasibility study and project implementation proposal in the next 12 months. Bushveld is also moving ahead with the acquisition of an interest in the Uis tin project in Namibia.
AdEPT Telecom (ADT) says that its figures for the year to March 2017 will be ahead of expectations. Revenues are expected to be 16% higher and EBITDA 26% ahead. Net debt of £15.8m is £1.3m lower than forecast. The total dividend will be increased by 19% to 7.75p a share.
Belvoir Lettings (BLV) grew its 2016 revenues by 43% to £9.94m, while pre-tax profit improved from £2.2m to £2.5m. Contributions from acquired letting networks helped the growth. Demand remains strong for rented property. The estate agency business continues to grow from a low base and there are plans to increase revenues from other services. The final dividend is unchanged at 3.4p a share.
Gatemore Capital Management has withdrawn its requisition for a general meeting to change the board at DX (Group) (DX.) following the announcement of the discussions for the merger with Menzies Distribution.
Staunton failed to secure 50% acceptances for its 300p a share bid for FIH Group (FIH). The level of acceptances was 34.74% but nearly two-thirds of those were related parties to Staunton, which itself already owned 2.34%. The bid has lapsed. Dolphin Fund Ltd is still waiting in the wings but has not made a firm offer.
TechFinancials Inc (TECH) returned to profit in 2016 but there remains uncertainty due to the loss of the company’s major customer. There are plans to widen the range of products offered in order to offset the loss and the impact of regulatory changes. There was $7.7m in the bank at the end of 2016 and since then a $3m dividend has been received from the DragonFinancials joint venture.
Gresham House Strategic (GHS) has revealed plans to pay a maiden dividend. The 15p a share final dividend will be combined with a share buy back programme. At the end of March 2017, there were £1.7m of realised gains and 50% of that is available for dividends and buy backs. The company has already bought 500 shares at 831p each.
BP Marsh (BPM) is selling its 29.9% stake in Trireme for £2.96m, compared with a book value of £2.53m. Trireme will also repay a loan of £2.16m.
Revenue recognition changes mean that Styles & Wood (STY) will report lower revenues for 2016 but pre-tax profit will be in line with expectations.
Botswana Diamonds (BOD) has discovered two kimberlite blows at the Frischgewaagt project in South Africa. This could mean that the kimberlite dyke system could widen, thereby providing higher volumes of kimberlite.
Tracsis (TRCS) is investing up to £1.3m in Vivacity Labs Ltd, which has developed machine learning software to help solve traffic and transport problems. Tracsis could use the technology to reduce the costs of processing video for its traffic and data services division. Tracsis will invest £1m to take a 23.3% stake and it has an option to acquire a further 4.8% for £300,000.
MAIN MARKET
IT firm Triad Group (TRD) says that its full year pre-tax profit will increase from £863,000 to around £1.5m. The majority of that improvement came in the first half but there was also profit growth in the second half.
World Trade Systems (WTS) says that its health foods subsidiary is planning to enter cooperation agreements with two companies that will help it to diversify its product range and extend its market in China. CHelac and WTS plan to collaborate on R&D to develop cosmetic products using the former’s collagen stimulating technology. Fine Japan is linking up with WTS as a way of increasing its business in China. WTS is heading towards the first decade of the suspension of trading in its shares.
SMALLCAP AWARDS 2017 NOMINATIONS
IPO of the Year
Accrol Holdings; Blue Prism Group; Franchise Brands; InnovaDerma
Company of the Year
DP Poland; Fulcrum Utility Services; Gear4Music; Harvest Minerals
Nex Exchange Company of the Year
Adnams plc; Capital for Colleagues plc; Chapeldown; Crossword Cybersecurity plc; Sandal plc
Social Stock Exchange Impact Company of the Year
Capital for Colleagues; Caretech; Impax Asset Management; Obtala
Executive Director of the Year
Stephen Moon, CEO, Science in Sports; Andrew Jacobs, CEO, Lok’nStore; Nick Jarmany, CEO, Quixant; Tim Mitchell, CEO, Sareum
Transaction of the Year
Amino Technologies; Keyword Studios (Synthesis Group); Marlowe ; SCISYS (Annova)
Analyst of the Year
Mike Allen – Zeus; Andrew Blain – Cenkos Securities; Eric Burns – WH Ireland; Simon Strong – Cenkos Securities
Journalist of the Year
Paul Scott – Stockopedia; Jamie Nimmo – Evening Standard; Simon Thompson – Investors Chronicle
Advisor of the Year
Cenkos Securities; FinnCap; Panmure Gordon; Shore Capital; Stockdale Securities; Zeus Capital
Fund Manager of the Year
Paul Jourdan – Amati Global; Simon Knott – MI Discretionary Trust; Paul Mumford – Cavendish; Giles Hargreave and Guy Feld – Marlborough Fund
Andrew Hore
Quoted Micro 26 September 2016
ISDX
Brewer Shepherd Neame (SHEP) reported record results for the year to June 2016. Revenues increased by 1% to £139.9m, while underlying pre-tax profit was 11% higher at £10.3m. The growth in revenues and profit came from the managed pubs business. The brewing division reported a lower profit due to the loss of the Kingfisher brewing contract and higher costs of the water treatment plant. The final dividend is 3% higher at 22.05p a share, making a total for the year of 27.5p a share.
Crossword Cybersecurity (CCS) is starting to build up its revenues from products created in partnership with a number of UK universities. Distributors are being appointed for the cyber risk product Rizikon which is based on research by City University. In the six months to June 2016, revenues were £164,000 – eight times the previous twelve months. The loss was £403,000. There was £668,000 in the bank at the end of June 2016, which is slightly more than the cash outflow in the first half. Boss Tom Ilube was on the panel for the cyber security seminar held at ICAP’s headquarters last Wednesday.
Blockchain businesses investor Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) reported revenues of £196,000 and a loss of £270,000, including an impairment charge of £120,000, in the first half of 2016. There was nearly £164,000 in the bank at the end of June 2016. There are investments valued at £1.67m in the balance sheet.
Residential property developer Via Developments (VIA1) has issued a further £1m of 7% debentures 2020. This takes the total issued to £4.5m.
London Nusantara Plantations (LNPP) has identified potential oil palm estates investments in east Malaysia. The company has acquired an 11% stake in 404 hectares of land to use for oil palm cultivation. There is nearly £162,000 in the bank. Acquisitions will be funded by a mix of debt and equity.
Incubator company Milamber Ventures (MLVP) has become involved with 15 companies and one of these, Knowledge Motion, has signed a seven figure deal with Pearson. Milamber has the rights to 5% of Knowledge Motion. There was £289 in the bank at the end of March 2016 and the NAV was £291,000. Since then, a further £45,000 has been raised. Service and success fees plus grant-related revenues mean that this years revenues should be much higher than the £70,000 reported in the year to March 2016.
White Fox Ventures Inc is subscribing for $2.35m of shares in Australian minerals explorer NQ Minerals (NQMI) in seven tranches over six months. The issue price is 11.1 cents (8.4p). White Fox has already subscribed for $150,000 worth of shares. White Fox (www.whitefoxventures.com) is an OTXQB-traded company and this is the first of a number of strategic investments planned by the company. The company is also seeking acquisitions and its current activity is educating people how to make money.
AIM
Electricity and gas supplier Yu Group (YU.) could reach profitability in the second half of 2016. Even before it moved into profit Yu is paying a maiden dividend of 0.75p. A growing dividend is planned. Yu is still building up its revenues and they were £5.1m in the first half of 2016 but higher operating expenses meant that there was an underlying interim loss. Yu could become highly cash generative. It is expected to end 2016 with cash of £6.6m and this could rise to £10.3m a year later.
Bond International Software (BDI) has recommended the increase Constellation Software bid of 115.5p a share, which is near to the 116p-118p a share the company expects to distribute to shareholders if it were wound up. The bid provides a certain outcome whereas there is a risk that the total distributions could be lower. However, if there is a majority vote at the upcoming general meeting to agree to the sale of the remaining businesses the offer will lapse. That would mean that the proposed acquirer would have to be paid up to £350,000 due to the deal falling through.
Sinclair Pharma (SPH) was undergone significant changes in the past year but it has still to enjoy the benefits of some of these. It does have cash of £24.4m following the disposal of non-core activities in order to concentrate on aesthetic treatments. Sales are growing internationally but the taking over of distribution in Brazil and the US distribution deal for Silhouette InstaLift will make more significant contributions in a year or two. The latter will require a lot of investment in the coming year or so but it should help Sinclair to move into profit in 2018.
Structural steel supplier Billington Holdings (BILN) is continuing its recovery and the acquisition of Shafton Steel Services, which is based five miles away from the head office, enables Billington to increase its capacity. In the six months to June 2016, revenues improved from £24.5m to £27m, while pre-tax profit edged ahead from £1.7m to £1.74m after redundancy costs. The pre-tax profit margin is back above 6% but there is still more potential for recovery. Strong cash flow meant that cash more than doubled to £6.24m. There will be some additional capital investment required to increase capacity. The order book continues to grow.
Mobile payments processor MiPay (MPAY) is being used to process an increasing number of transactions, although interim revenues were affected by a change in terms with a large customer. The good news is that although revenues were 7% ahead at £1.6m, gross profit was one-third higher. Combining that with lower overheads means that the operating loss was reduced by three-quarters to £250,000. Clients are attracted by MiPay’s ability to reduce the risk of fraud. There should be £3m of net cash at the end of 2016. MiPay could make a small profit in 2017.
Fund manager Miton Group (MGR) increased its funds under management to £2.54bn by the end of June and that was despite an outflow from the CF Miton UK Value Opportunities Fund. The figure has risen further to £2.71bn since then. In the six months to June 2016, pre-tax profit recovered from £800,000 to £3.1m. Net cash was £18.4m at the end of August 2016.
Mortice Ltd (MORT) says that its UK facilities management business has been appointed to a £60m framework contract with London Universities. The contract for cleaning and associated services is for a three year period. Those companies on the framework will be invited to bid for individual contracts. Mortice’s subsidiary is the only company that has been appointed to all three parts of the framework.
Fishing tackle and consumables retailer Fishing Republic (FISH) grew its first half revenues by one-third to £2.5m. This was via a combination of organic growth and new store openings, although these newere sites are still building up trade. Online sales were weaker as management moved the focus away from third party sites to its own branded website. That will help margins in the medium-term. Underlying pre-tax profit edged up from £149,000 to £157,000. Two more stores will open in the second half. Investment in new stores will hold back this year’s profit whih is expected to rise from £305,000 in 2015 to £404,000. Earnings per share will decline because of the recent share issue but that cash is being put to work and the benefits should show through next year.
Talent management technology and services provider NetDimensions (NETD) remains on track to move into profit next year. Higher margin licence sales rose during the first half but overall interim revenues were slightly lower at $10.5m. Recurring revenues are more than two-thirds of total revenues. Full year revenues of $26.6m and a loss of $400,000 is forecast. In 2017, a profit of $1.2m is expected on revenues of $31.5m.
Coins investor Avarae Global Coins (AVR) plans to ditch its AIM quotation and it is offering to buy back 16.16 million shares at 11.5p each. It plans to buy back the same number of shares after it leaves AIM. High quality coin prices are plateauing and a small loss was made in the year to March 2016. There is no dividend. There was a cash balance of £570,000 at the end of March and the NAV was 14.6p a share.
Project management services provider Styles & Wood (STY) is paying an initial £2m in cash and shares for Keysource, which will boost the group’s expertise in projects for critical facilities and data centres. The deal will be earnings enhancing next year. In the six months to June 2016, Styles & Wood improved its underlying pre-tax profit from £200,000 to £500,000, although the business is second half weighted so the full year outcome will be much higher.
MAIN MARKET
AIM-quoted Kibo Mining (KIBO) is reversing the Imweru and Lubando gold projects into standard list shell Opera Investments (OPRA). Kibo will receive 61 million shares in Opera at a notional price of 6p each for the Tanzania-based projects. Imeru could be producing gold in 18 months. An AIM admission document is expected to be published before the end of November and at least £1.2m will be raised at 6p a share. The Opera share price has slumped from 10p to 4.38p since it floated in April 2015. Two previous acquisitions have fallen through. It will be interesting to see whether Opera will change its name to Katoro Gold Mining.
Andrew Hore
Dairy Crest To Be Impacted By Food Price Inflation
Dairy Crest Group DCG Expects a good first half performance, with Clover, Country Life and Frylight all showing strong volume growth for the half year which will end on the 30th September. Market share continues to be increased. However there are clouds on the horizon in the shape of price inflation which has already started and which the company expects to impact margins and butter volume in the second half. The milk price paid to farmers has risen by 12% and the price of cream has doubled in a very short period.
Petra Diamonds PDL Net profit after tax rose by 12% for the year to 30th June following only a 1% rise in revenue on production up by 16%. Petra describes these as a strong set of results despite pressure on prices in the first half and unusually it gives no further information on prices, preferring instead to the look to the future outlook it see for 2017 which it claims will be the year when all the promises start to become reality. Firstly it will enter the final stage of its expansion program and in the second half it expects to become free cashflow positive, despite some caution about future diamond prices but again no further information is provided.
Finsbury Food FIF performed strongly during the year to 2nd July with adjusted profit before tax up by 40.8% and the final dividend increased to to 1.87p, making a rise for the year of 12%. Like for like revenue was up by 5% and total revenue by 24.8%. 2016 was the year when it delivered on its growth strategy and rolled out vision and value at all levels, whatever that may mean. For 2017 claims to be excited about new innovations for muffins and doughnuts. The balance sheet is strong and it has made record capital investment for the future
Styles & Wood STY produced a strong performance for the half year to 30th June with good growth and strong cash generation. Significant success was achieved in securing long term contracts as its diversification program began to bite. The company returned to profitability with last years first half loss of £0.5m being turned into a profit of £0.4m and earnings per share coming in at 2.6p compared to last years loss of 10.2p per share. Net debt has been virtually halved.
Beachfront Property For Sale In The Greek Islands – visit; http://www.hiddengreece.net
Brand CEO Alan Green on Andalas Energy & Power (ADL) plus Styles & Wood (STY) on VOX Markets podcast
Brand CEO Alan Green discusses Andalas Energy & Power (ADL), Styles & Wood (STY) and VectorVest with Justin Waite on the VOX Markets podcast.
Styles & Wood (STY) – VectorVest views as undervalued ahead of interims, rates as buy
Altrincham-based Styles & Wood Group (STY.L) and its subsidiaries offer a full range of professional and contracting services to banking and finance, retail and leisure, commercial and public sector organizations. The services are provided through a number of divisions, including portfolio & property support, project management,
technology and building intelligence, design, programme services and renewable energies.
Full year results in April 2016 revealed a 55% boost in underlying profits, a 19% hike in revenues to £115m and a bulging order book. The company said that a shortage of new office space and the drive for operational efficiency continued to create demand for refurbishment and fit-out work. Added to this, Styles & Wood said it sees accelerating demand for high quality commercial space over the next five years.
An opportunity to invest into the Styles & Wood growth story was picked up at the start of the year by UK stock screening company VectorVest, which uses a range of metrics to identify opportunities early in the growth cycle. In particular, the VectorVest value ratio (a measure of a stock’s current worth) attributes a current Value of 698.00p per share vs. the current price of 445p per share. Value is computed from forecast earnings per share, forecasted earnings growth, profitability, interest, and inflation rates. Certainly the raft of contracts won since the April results underscore this view.
Another VectorVest metric is GRT (Earnings Growth Rate). GRT reflects a company’s one to three year forecasted earnings growth rate in percent per year. Styles & Wood has a forecasted Earnings Growth Rate of 28.00%, which VectorVest considers to be excellent.
The chart of Styles and Wood is shown for the past 6 months. The green line above the price shows the VectorVest valuation while the blue line in the window below the price shows the rising Earnings per share (EPS).
Since the Brexit low the share has made two rising bottoms and recently broken above the 52 week high. Technical Analysts refer to the reversal pattern over the last 6 months as a cup and handle. This pattern was made famous by William James O’Neil in his ground breaking book “How to make money in stocks”. The cup and handle is a bullish signal and the share looks highly probable to advance further from here.
In summary, Styles & Wood is undervalued at 445p, compared to the VectorVest valuation of 698p per share. With a strong forecasted growth rate, and in the run up to interim results in a few weeks, we rate Styles & Wood as a Buy.
David Paul
14th September 2016
PS: Readers can examine the opportunity at Styles & Wood, and indeed on a host of other similar stocks for a single payment of £5.95. This gives access to the VectorVest Risk Free 5-week trial, where members enjoy unlimited access to VectorVest UK & U.S., plus VectorVest University for on-demand strategies and training. Link here to view.
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HSS Hire Lower
HSS Hire Group HSS invested in growth in 2015 and saw profits plunge. Not to be put off by this minor quirk of fate the board decided that it would plough on with the same objectives which were the correct ones, despite profitability for the year to 26th December being lower than expected. Indeed the second half did see something of a turnround with revenue growth of 10%, well ahead of market growth of only 1.5%. Like for like growth for the year came in at 8%. Revenue growth in the first half had been a lowly 4.7%.
Nonetheless reported operating profit was savaged, down from £23.6m to £6.8m and the previous years earnings per share of 8.6p were transformed into a loss per share of 9.9p. A final dividend of 0.57p brings the full year dividends to 1.4p. and all will be much better this year as last years cost cutting programme is expected to bring cost savings of £10m.
Styles & Wood STY Profit before tax shot up by 309% and basic earnings per share by 694% as refinancing and additions to the board appear to have worked wonders in the year to the end of December. Net debt was slashed from £11.76m to £1.43m
easyJet EZJ could the original budget airline be losing out to Ryanair? easyJets load factor appears to have been rising month by month virtually for ever but last months statistics saw a shock fall of 1.3 points, despite the number of passengers rising by 4.3%. Over the past 12 months load factor has risen by only 0.66 points which is perhaps what happens when a budget airline becomes a non budget airline.
UK Mail Group UKM has, believe it or not, suffered from a continued mix effect. That at least is the reason it expects us to believe for the 1% fall in revenue which it is likely to have suffered in the year to the end of March. Mail volume rose by 5% but mail revenue fell by 3%, whilst parcels volume showed growth of 4%.
Villas & houses for sale in Greece; http://www.hiddengreece.net
Quoted Micro 21 December 2015
ISDX
Asia-focused investment company DKG Capital (DKGP) is acquiring a 30% stake in Hong Kong-based Ronix Resource Co, which provides concierge VIP services for the travel and leisure sector, for £600,000 in cash and shares. Ronix is completing the acquisition of online betting and gaming business Global Media Ltd, which has an agreement with a Malaysian firm for the referral of VIP customers as well as jointly developing an online gaming services. DKG plans to raise £200,000 from a placing early in 2016. At 1.75p (1.5p/2p) a share, DKG is valued at £900,000.
Carduus Housing (CHP2) is acquiring 15 properties for £1.19m and £2.5m of 6.25% bonds 2020 have been admitted to ISDX. The freehold properties being acquired are two/three bedroom homes in southern Glasgow. The first seven properties have been bought and the others will be acquired in January. The homes will be rented out and managed by a housing association.
Investment company Gledhow Investments (GDH) has been hit by the decline in the value of its investments in resources companies. No new investments were made last year. The NAV fell from £626,000 to £497,000, including cash of £247,000, at the end of September 2015. At 0.75p (0.5p/1p) a share, Gledhow is valued at £370,000.
Investment company Lombard Capital (LCAP) has a new major shareholder. Mark Jackson has sold his 28.8% stake in Lombard at 10p a share to David Grierson. That is a large premium to the market price of 6p (5p/7p) a share.
AIM
Molecular diagnostics company Premaitha Health (NIPT) has secured a £5m loans and warrants investment from Thermo Fisher. Premaitha’s man product is the IONA test, which is used to screen the foetus to assess if there are any genetic disorders. Thermo Fisher supplies the DNA sequencing instruments used to assess the IONA pre-natal test. European countries are starting to offer reimbursement for the use of the test. The first country is Switzerland. The additional cash will be used to further develop the test. Premaitha had £6.6m in the bank at the end of September 2015. The Thermo Fisher deal provides backing for Premaitha’s IP litigation with Illumina, which could drag on for some time.
Tungsten Corp (TUNG) is selling its bank to concentrate on its trade finance operations. Tungsten will receive £30m for the bank, which is in the books for £25.4m. It could take up to 12 months to complete the disposal. Tungsten remains heavily loss-making and there was £15.9m in the bank at the end of October 2015 – excluding the bank. Even with cost savings, cash could be running low by the time the money comes in for the bank.
Fit-out and projects contractor Styles & Wood (STY) has been retained by TSB as contractor for branch refurbishment after the bank reduced the number of contractors in the framework agreement from five to two. This should generate at least £10m a year for Styles & Wood over the next five years. Group revenues were £97m in 2014. Even though the first half profit was small, house broker Shore forecasts 2015 earnings per share of 29.5p, rising to 37.2p a share in 2016. The balance sheet has been strengthened following a refinancing of Styles’ preference shares earlier this year. Net debt, including preference shares, was £6.42m at the end of June 2015 and cash flow should be strong from now on.
Business information provider Progressive Digital Media Group (PRO) intends to acquire healthcare business information provider GlobalData Holding and sell its non-core print assets to the owners of the GlobalData. An all-share deal is likely to leave the sellers with just over one-third of the enlarged group. Progressive will have three legs: healthcare, consumer and technology. In July, Progressive bought information assets from Informa for £25m.
NWF Group (NWF) says that trading is in line with expectations and net debt continues to be reduced. Lower milk prices continue to hamper the feeds division, while the food distribution division used overflow capacity and the fuels distribution division did better than expected in the summer months – although the warm winter could hold back second half progress. The interims will be published on 2 February.
Online video content revenues generator Rightster (RSTR) is raising £10m at 5p a share – a premium to the market price. The cash will help to finance the restructuring of the business and cover continuing losses. Rightster wants to focus on enterprise customers and create targeted channels to attract certain consumer groupings. Investment in production teams and other specialists will be required. The placing is being backed by Woodford and Invesco. The number of shares in issue will be increased by nearly 60%. Ashley Mackenzie, a founder of one of the companies acquired by the group, took on the role of chief executive in November.
Thor Mining (THR) has agreed to sell its gold assets in Australia to PC Gold for A$3.5m. The deal includes the Spring Hill and Dundas gold projects. There is an initial deposit of A$150,000 with the rest of the first tranche of A$2m to acquire a 60% stake in the projects due early next year, followed by a further A$1.5m within 12 months to acquire the rest. There are also royalty payments of A$6/ounce unless the gold selling price goes above A$1,500/ounce when the payment goes up to A$14/ounce. The initial cash will pay off A$1.2m loan taken out to acquire the rest of Spring Hill. The rest of the cash will be invested in the company’s tungsten projects in Australia and the US.
Sunrise Resources (SRES) has signed a 25 year lease agreement with EP Minerals for its County Line diatomite project in Nevada. Sunrise will not have to spend any more of its own money developing the project. This project could be up and running and generating a royalty stream for Sunrise within 18 months. There is an initial payment of $450,000 in 18 months and then minimum royalty payments each year. Sunrise has acquired a second industrial minerals project in Nevada. The Pozz Ash project could be a source of natural pozzolan, which is an alternative additive to cement.
MAIN MARKET
Standard list company General Industries (GNI) is paying £1.2m for Murja from founders Richard Murphy and Christopher Jack. Murja is a treasury management consultancy and the deal has been passed by the FCA. When the acquisition is completed Richard Murphy will become an executive director. General Industries has already acquired affordable housing adviser Altair Consultancy & Advisory Services and this should provide additional client for Murja. An interim dividend of 0.22p a share is being paid on 21 December.
Standard list shell Opera Investments (OPRA) continues to try and raise cash to enable it to complete the acquisition of SoloPower Systems but it is taking longer than expected. The original announcement of heads of terms was on 20 July and trading in the shares was suspended. US-based SoloPower manufactures solar photovoltaic cells and modules from thin-film copper, indium, gallium and selenium materials and its current owner is Hudson Clean Energy Partners. SoloPower believes that its thin film solar products are cheaper to produce and install than those of its competitors. The deal is valued at $220m based on an all share acquisition at 28p a share. The plan is to raise at least $40m. An initial £1.06m net was raised at 10p a share last April. Because Opera is not on AIM there is no limit on the time that the shares can be suspended.
Andrew Hore