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Cornish Metals 13.25p  £38.9m (CUSN.L)

Appointment of Mr. Stephen Gatley to the Board of Directors as an independent non-executive Director. Mr. Gatley is a mining engineer and graduate of the Royal School of Mines, London. He spent the early part of his career working in the Cornish tin industry at both Wheal Jane and South Crofty mines and was the General Manager at South Crofty at the time of its closure in 1998. He also worked for Rio Tinto plc in senior positions at underground base metal mines in both Europe and South America, prior to joining Lundin Mining Corp. where he served as Vice President Technical Services from 2012 to 2021. In this position, he provided technical oversight to Lundin’s operating mines and growth initiatives, including the acquisition and subsequent construction of the high-grade Eagle underground nickel/copper mine in Michigan, USA, the acquisition and subsequent expansion of the Candelaria copper open pit and its three underground mines in Chile and the acquisition and integration of the Chapada copper/gold mine in Brazil.

Echo Energy 0.67p  £8.8m (ECHO.L)

Further to the Company’s announcement of 5 October 2021, that it has completed the first in a programme of sixteen proposed well interventions and workovers to bring non-producing reserves back in to production at Santa Cruz Sur. The first intervention has now been successfully completed on a well in the Chorillos block. For the operation, a surface hydraulic pumping unit was used to induce flow and over a 100-hour period, the well delivered a cumulative 305 bbls of high-quality oil as part of this intervention and flow induction process, a rate equivalent to c.76 bopd. The intervention focused on assessing the production potential and delivery of high-quality oil at low water cut from a well last fully online in 2013. Prior to the intervention the relevant field was producing 17 bopd from a small number of active wells. The intervention and workover programme is in addition to the Company’s previously announced programme of reactivating, at the appropriate time, previously shut-in wells at the Campo Molino oilfield and has been commenced in line with the current strategy of focussing upon production to deliver the highest quality and highest-priced blend oil production at Santa Cruz Sur.  The Company intends to optimise the timing of when the well is brought into full production to maximise cost and operational efficiencies within the larger work programme for the Santa Cruz Sur assets.  As previously announced by the Company,  prior to the completion of the well intervention, liquids production net to Echo averaged approximately 290 bopd in September 2021.

essensys 270p  £174m (ESYS.L)

The global provider of mission-critical software and technology to the flexible workspace industry, has renewed its strategic partnership with Industrious, the Group’s largest and fastest growing customer. The new global framework agreement consolidates all existing business between essensys and Industrious and establishes the framework for essensys to support Industrious’s global expansion plans. essensys currently serves 111 Industrious locations, comprising in excess of 3 million sq ft predominantly in the USA.  The Group has recently supported Industrious’s establishment in the UK.

Kistos 365p  £304m (KIST.L)

The low carbon intensity energy producer pursuing a strategy to acquire assets with a role in energy transition announced that Peter Mann and Richard Slape are being appointed to the board of directors with immediate effect. Peter Mann is appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Richard Slape as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Following these additions to the Board, Andrew Austin, founder of Kistos, will revert to his previous role as Executive Chairman (in place of the current Interim Chairman Richard Benmore) and will step down as Interim CEO. Richard Benmore will re-assume his role as a Non-Executive Director of the Company alongside Julie Barlow and Alan Booth. Peter Mann was CEO and Managing Director of RockRose from 2017 until 2021 following 5 years in the UK onshore oil and gas industry. During this period, Peter was responsible for business strategy and implementing a restructuring strategy in the difficult oil price environment at the time. Prior to joining the oil and gas industry, Peter’s career included various management roles. He also served in the British Army for six years. Richard Slape was CFO of RockRose from 2019 until 2021.

Poolbeg Pharma 11.38p  £56.9m (POLB.L)

The clinical stage infectious disease pharmaceutical company, with a capital light clinical model  provides an update on new patent filings for its PredictViral™ platform that estimates disease severity and contagiousness in people who are recently infected with a respiratory virus. Expanding on existing PredictViral™ IP, these latest patent applications have been submitted in the UK and aims to protect a method of predicting whether an individual exposed to a respiratory virus (such as Influenza, RSV, hRV) will have a higher severity of disease and / or be more likely to be contagious. The Company will continue to focus on expanding its IP portfolio as required.

Purplebricks 58.55p  £179.6m (PURP.L)

The UK’s leading tech-led estate agent, today announces that Chief Financial Officer, Andy Botha, has stepped down from his role and the Board, effective from 31 October 2021. The Company is pleased to announce that Steve Long will be joining Purplebricks as Chief Financial Officer in Q1 2022. The Board would like to thank Andy for his valuable contributions to the Company, particularly for his work during a period of organisation transformation against the challenging backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. Steve joins from esure Group, the provider of market leading personal lines Motor and Home insurance, where he is currently Finance Director, Strategy & Transformation, responsible for the development, financial management and execution of the Group’s strategic plans and transformation programme. 

Ideagen 285p  £727.7m (IDEA.L)

Ideagen, a leader in compliance software for highly regulated industries, has signed an agreement to sell the trade and principal assets of its Pentana Compliance business unit (formerly known as Redland Business Solutions) to StarCompliance, a leading provider of employee compliance technology solutions to the global financial services industry. Pentana Compliance provides solutions for the Senior Managers Certification Regime and associated training and competency services, focussed on the UK market. The Group had concluded that this offering was no longer in keeping with its focus on global software-based solutions for QHSE, GRC and Collaboration, and the proceeds of $21.3m in cash will be deployed in this strategy.

Tekcapital 30.75p  £40.2m (TEK.L)

The UK intellectual property investment group focused on creating valuable products from investing in university technology that can improve people’s lives, welcomed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just released voluntary sodium reduction goals for the food industry “to provide measurable voluntary short-term (2.5-year) goals for sodium content in commercially processed, packaged, and prepared foods to reduce excess population sodium intake. This is a significant milestone for Salarius for the following reasons: The FDA guidelines should encourage snack food manufactures to reduce the sodium levels in their products across the board; Salarius anticipates this should have a positive impact on both B2B sales of MicroSalt® and retail sales of SaltMe! crisps; MicroSalt® as a brand could be viewed as a timely, nationwide solution, to help food companies meet these guidelines without sacrificing the full-flavour of their snack foods, which is key to their successful on-going sales.

Xtract Resources 5.3p  £44.8m (XTR.L)

Preliminary unaudited results for all alluvial and hard rock mining contractors for the Manica Concession for the three-month period ended 30 September 2021. Total mining contractor gold production of 49.34Kg for the quarter, equivalent to approximately 1,586 ounces including initial hard rock production from Guy Fawkes of 170 equivalent ounces of gold. Total of 13.60Kg (equivalent to approximately 437 ounces) attributable to Explorator. Value of Explorator share of gold produced US$784,998. Gold sales in period of 152 ounces. Combined attributable revenue to Explorator from gold sales and other income for the Period amounted to US$373,781. Guy Fawkes development continued during the period and Fair bride progressed.

Zoo Digital 125p  £109.5m (ZOO.L)

The  provider of end-to-end cloud-based localisation and media services to the global entertainment industry, announces the launch of its mastering services division to support leading content creators to deliver for next day air on major streaming services and platforms. The mastering services division provides an additional revenue source for the Company and further enhances ZOO’s position as a provider of end -to-end localisation and media services to the global media and entertainment industry. Mastering is the process of finishing or finalising a programme after post-production to synchronise the video and audio tracks, conform to technical requirements of the target platforms, and perform compression and encoding of the audio-visual materials. ZOO will provide mastering for both UHD and HD content, including next day air servicing for content on major streaming platforms. The service will be led out of ZOO’s Los Angeles facility, which benefits from the latest hardware and software for mastering, QC and packaging.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Gymshark has started to put together plans for a stock market listing according to City A.M. The company hit a £1bn valuation just over a year ago and boasts customers in more than 130 countries. Gymshark was founded by teenager Ben Francis in 2012 in his parents’ garage with products that appeal to Gen Z consumers. Timing TBA

Rubix Group Holdings, the market leading pan-European distributor of industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul products and services  is considering an initial public offering Main Market (Premium).  In the six months ended 30 June 2021, Rubix generated Revenue from Ongoing Operations of EUR1,312m and Adjusted EBITDA of EUR123m (9.4% Adjusted EBITDA Margin from Ongoing Operations), an increase of 10.6% and 19.3% compared to the six months ended 30 June 2020, respectively. Raising proceeds equivalent to approximately EUR850m, and additionally may also include the sale of existing ordinary shares by current shareholders. Timing TBA

Firering Strategic Minerals to join AIM, a holding company for a group of exploration and development companies set up to focus on developing assets towards the ethical production of critical metals. The Company’s portfolio of assets is located in Côte d’Ivoire and contains projects that the Directors believe to be prospective for lithium and columbite-tantalite. Due Early Nov. Offer TBA

Light Science Tech Holdings, the controlled environment agriculture technology and contract electronics manufacturing Group to join AIM. Raising £5m. Expected mkt cap £17.4m. Due 15 Oct.

Harmony Energy Income Trust to join the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market raising up to £230m. The Company’s investment objective is to provide investors with an attractive and sustainable level of income returns, with the potential for capital growth, by investing in commercial scale energy storage  and renewable energy generation projects, with an initial focus on a diversified portfolio of battery energy storage systems located in Great Britain. The Company has contracted with Tesla Motors Limited in respect of its initial portfolio of battery storage projects, to be acquired on IPO, which will benefit from Tesla’s 2-hour duration Megapack systems and Autobidder AI revenue optimisation platform. Due Early Nov.

Stelrad Radiator Group,  the specialist manufacturer and distributor of steel panel radiators in the UK, Europe and Turkey, is considering an IPO on the Main Market (Premium). Potential secondary and primary (c.£25m) offer. Timing TBA.

Pantheon Infrastructure to join the Main Market (Premium). PINT will target attractive risk-adjusted total returns comprising capital growth and a progressive dividend through making equity and equity-related investments in private infrastructure assets alongside other leading private asset investment managers. Due Mid Nov.

Quantum Exponential to join AQSE. The Company intends to identify investment opportunities in the quantum technology sector primarily in the NATO allied countries. The Company has identified over 175 start-ups which potentially meet their investment strategy with a focus on seed funding for start-ups with second stage funding plans in preparation. Offer and timing TBA.

Pod Point, one of the United Kingdom’s leading providers of Electric Vehicle charging solutions is considering a Main Market (Premium) listing. As at 30 June 2021, Pod Point had installed more than 89,000 home charge points and over 13,000 commercial units, including those located at workplaces and destination locations (such as shops and leisure attractions).  Timing and offer TBA.

Tungsten West to Join AIM. Tungsten West is the 100% owner and operator of the historical Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine located near Plymouth in southern Devon, England. Hemerdon represents the world’s third largest tungsten mineral resource, with a JORC (2012) compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of approximately 325Mt at 0.12 WO3.  Capital raised on Admission: £39m. Anticipated Mkt Cap: £106.2m. Expected 21 Oct.

Softline  the global solutions and services provider in digital transformation and cybersecurity, with its headquarters in London, is considering proceeding with a potential initial public offering of global depositary receipts representing its ordinary shares. The Company is considering applying for admission of the GDRs to the standard listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and to trading on the Main Market for listed securities and on Moscow Exchange.  The Group had a turnover of US$1.8 bln for the year ended 31 March 2021, employs c.6,000 people globally, and operates in more than 50 countries across emerging markets.  Primary proceeds from the Offer are expected to be around US$400m. Due Late Oct.

Marks Electrical, a fast growing online electrical retailer, announced its intention to proceed with an initial public offering and to seek admission to trading on AIM. Marks Electrical sells, delivers, installs and recycles a wide range of household electrical products.  In the year to 31 March 2021 revenue grew to £56m, up 78% against the previous financial year, while EBITDA increased to £7.45m, at a 13.3% EBITDA margin. The Group has made a strong start to its current financial year to 31 March 2022, with revenue growth of 78% in H1 FY2022, versus 47% growth in H1 FY2021.  Offer TBA Admission is expected to take place in late October 2021.

Future Metals NL (ASX:FME) (formerly named Red Emperor Resources NL) to join AIM. No funds being raised. Future Metals is a platinum group metals exploration and development company that holds a 100% interest in the Panton PGM Project in Western Australia (the “Panton Project”). The Panton Project comprises 3 granted mining leases (M80/103, M80/104 and M80/105), which cover an area of approximately 23km2 and are located 60km north of Halls Creek and 1km from the Great Northern Highway, in the East Kimberly region of Western Australia. The Panton Project has a JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate of 14.3Mt at 2.19g/t platinum, 2.39g/t palladium, 0.31g/t gold, 0.27 per cent. nickel and 0.08 per cent. copper. Due mid October. Mkt cap c£35.8m.

Bens Creek Group to join AIM. Bens Creek, together with its subsidiaries, will, on Admission, own and operate a metallurgical coal mine located on 10,000 acres in the southern part of the state of West Virginia and eastern edge of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, in the central Appalachian Basin of the eastern United States of America. The Mine’s operations are located primarily in Mingo County, West Virginia. The Mine includes a wash plant and rail loading facility located on the freehold land. Capital to be raised on Admission: £7m. Anticipated Mkt Cap on admission: £35m. Due 19 Oct.

M7 Regional E-Warehouse REIT intends to apply for admission onto The Property Stock Exchange (Wholesale Segment). On admission, the company plans to acquire a portfolio of UK retail warehouses worth £120m from M7 Real Estate Investment Partners VIII. The portfolio currently comprises 18 retail warehouse properties across the UK totalling 978,317 sq ft and fully let to 53 occupiers. Rent collections for Q2 2021 stand at 93% and are expected to revert to 100% in the coming quarters.

Castlenau Group to join  the Specialist Fund Segment of the LSE’s Main Market. Castelnau was incorporated with limited liability in Guernsey under the Companies Law on 13 March 2020 as a closed-ended company limited by shares. The Company’s investment objective is to compound shareholders’ capital at a higher rate of return than the FTSE All Share Total Return Index over the long term. The Company is targeting an issue in excess of £170m. Sir Peter Wood, British entrepreneur and innovator, has committed to make a cornerstone investment of £25m  in the Initial Placing. Due 18 Oct.   

Responsible Housing REIT to join the Main Market (Premium) raising up to £250m. The Company’s investment objective is to generate a consistent and sustainable income-based return from the provision of Supported Housing accommodation assets and aligned sectors. The Company will acquire and create quality, fit-for-purpose accommodation assets to cater for supported residents across a number of care sectors including adults and young people with learning disabilities, mental health issues, physical disabilities, addiction, those with support needs, those in need of temporary accommodation, the elderly and otherwise vulnerable individuals.

Central Copper Resources, a company focused on delivering a high grade copper project into production and exploration of assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in the Republic of Zambia to join AIM. By 2022, CCR intends to be ready to commence the project financing of its Mbamba Kilenda copper project. It pushed back its AIM float on 30^th September from end September to late October. The amount to be raised is still yet to be confirmed.

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