Hybridan Small Cap Feast

Joiners: Silverwood Brands (AQSE:SLWD) an investing company established to identify investment opportunities including, but not limited to, in the foods, organic food, wellness, lifestyle and leisure sectors, targeting admission has joined the AQSE Growth (Access) raising £1.03m.

Leavers: French Connection has left  the Main Market (Premium) following a takeover.

Banquet Buffet

Angling Direct 66.5p  £51.4m (ANG.L)

The retailer of fishing tackle products and equipment, announces that it is currently managing a cyber security incident after detecting unauthorised activity on its network late on Friday 5 November 2021. This unauthorised activity shut down the Company’s websites and these remain inactive. Some of the Company’s social media accounts have also been compromised. The Board has appointed external cyber security specialists whose investigations are underway to establish what happened. Work continues round the clock to bring the websites back online while our 39 retail stores across the UK have remained open and continue to trade. As a precaution, the Company has notified the relevant regulators and law enforcement agencies, including the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK. “We are mindful of our obligations regarding data; it is too soon yet to make any determination around the impact this incident has had on personal data, but we will inform any individuals in line with our regulatory obligations should there be a need to do so. Importantly, the Company does not hold any customer financial data as our website transactions are handled by third parties.” As matters currently stand, the Board does not anticipate that this incident will have a detrimental impact on underlying trading and the Company will continue to assess any cost exposure that this incident may create.

Ascent Resources 4.7p  £5.14m (AST.L)

The onshore Caribbean, Hispanic American and European focused energy and natural resources company, has signed a binding damages-based agreement to pursue the Company’s ECT and Slovenia-UK BIT arbitration claim against the Republic of Slovenia. Further to the Company’s announcement on 27 May 2021, the Company is now pleased to announce that it has signed a binding damages-based agreement with Enyo Law LLP (“Enyo” or “the Firm”), the specialist arbitration and litigation legal firm who filed the Notice of Dispute and represented the Company in the pre-arbitration negotiations, to commence the arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Slovenia under the Energy Charter Treaty and UK-Slovenia Bilateral Investment Treaty. The Firm, which will also be advancing the disbursements which are expected to be incurred in the pursuit of the claim, will only be paid out of the proceeds of the arbitration in the event of a successful damages award or execution of a binding settlement agreement (if achieved sooner). Completion of the damages-based agreement is expected to occur shortly once the condition precedents, which include certain conditions the completion of which does not depend on Ascent, are met.

Deltic Energy 2.2p  £31.28m (DELT.L)

The natural resources investing company with a high impact, natural gas focussed exploration and appraisal portfolio in the Southern North Sea, announced completion of the farm-out agreement of five of its gas licences in the Southern North Sea with Cairn Energy PLC through Cairn’s wholly owned subsidiary, Nautical Petroleum Limited. Following announcement of the Farm Out Agreement on 12 August 2021, Deltic and Cairn have received the necessary regulatory approvals from the Oil & Gas Authority and have entered into joint operating agreements for each of the five licences. Under the terms of the Farm Out Agreement: Cairn has paid Deltic consideration of USD$1m by way of contribution towards historic back costs. Cairn now holds a 60% interest in each of Licences P2428 (Cupertino Area) and P2567 (Cadence) and a 70% interest in each of Licences P2560, P2561 and P2562 which are located between the Breagh and Tolmount Gas Fields. Deltic therefore now has a 40% interest in licences P2428 and P2567 and a 30% interest in licences P2560, P2561 and P2562. Cairn is funding 100% of an agreed work programme for each of the five licences up to the point of making a drill or drop decision on each licence. Following a drilling decision being made on either of P2428 and P2567, Cairn will fund 70% of the costs of whichever well is drilled first, subject to a gross well cost cap of USD$25m. Cairn will now become Operator of each of the five licences.

Enteq Technologies 15.5p  £10.7m (NTQ.L)

Update on the field trials and ongoing development of its disruptive alternative to traditional rotary steerable systems (RSS); the SABER (Steer-At-Bit Enteq Rotary) system. The SABER system is an evolution of a unique concept originally developed by Shell, subsequently licenced to Enteq. Field trials conducted by Shell proved the ability to steer and build significant angle. Following re-engineering by Enteq, the SABER system has proven successful in reaching the development programme milestones and validating all expectations to date. Field trials: During the initial phase of downhole testing in a live drilling environment, SABER’s control system has successfully demonstrated the ability to operate correctly, meeting the test objectives. The downhole test programme will continue, in-line with the technology development plan. System testing: The SABER system performed well during system testing, delivering an operating range better than predicted, increasing the ability to control. In addition, testing has been completed which confirms that the SABER can generate the required at-bit steering forces. Commercialisation: Upon commercialisation, SABER will be marketed in selected operating regions, with the scope to expand the product range with additional system sizes. Successful development of SABER will greatly expand Enteq’s addressable market. ADIPEC exhibition – Abu Dhabi: SABER will be exhibited by Enteq, together with the Group’s MWD and LWD technologies, at the ADIPEC trade exhibition in Abu Dhabi which runs from 15 to 18 November 2021.

Hummingbird Resources 16.5p  £64.8m (HUM.L)

Update on the Company’s progress in adhering to the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles. In line with Hummingbird’s path towards WGC RGMPs conformance, the Company has successfully received an external audited assurance report highlighting Year Two implementation and progress towards full conformance in 2022. Aligned with adherence to the RGMPs, the Company has successfully received an independent limited assurance audit report highlighting Year Two conformance. Throughout the Year Two self-assessment and audit process at its head office and operating site, many of the Company’s existing policies, procedures, practices, training programmes and ongoing commitments are consistent with the RGMP requirements, including ethical conduct, safety and health, working with communities and environmental stewardship. As part of the Year Two internal assessment, the Company completed a Gap Analysis to identify those policies, standards and activities which are already conformed with and those that require further additional work to achieve the September 2022 full conformance deadline. Hummingbird is committed to operating responsibly for the benefit of all stakeholders and remains on track to achieve full WGC RGMPs conformance by the September 2022 deadline.

Katoro Gold 1.05p  £4m (KAT.L)

The gold and nickel exploration and development company has successfully raised total gross placing proceeds amounting to £815k via the issue of 81,500,000 new ordinary shares at 1 pence per share, of par value £0.01 each. Each Placing Share has one warrant attached which is exercisable at 1.5 pence per warrant  and with an exercise period of 24 months from the date of issue. Proceeds from the Placing will be utilised primarily to fund the further advancement of the Haneti Nickel Project, where the Company intends to forthwith commence with a diamond-drill drilling campaign, and for working capital requirements.

Kodal Minerals 0.42p  £66.8m (KOD.L)

Kodal has been granted a Mining Licence for its flagship Bougouni Lithium Project in Mali. The Project is now fully permitted for development with the previous approval of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in November 2019. As a next step, Kodal has commenced a programme of work to update the Feasibility Study announced in January 2020 ahead of securing funding for mine development and construction. The programme has a six-month time estimate and will focus on: Metallurgical test work for variability testing and confirmation of process flowsheet, investigating the potential for increased metallurgical recoveries; Completion of geotechnical and hydrogeological reviews for open pit and the tailings dam; Update and finalisation of capital cost estimates and operating costs for the proposed development; and Community development and stakeholder engagement activities at Bougouni.

Sirius Real Estate 133.5p  £1420m (SRE.L)

The owner and operator of branded business and industrial parks providing conventional space and flexible workspace in Germany, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire Helix Investments Limited (the holding company of the BizSpace business) from Värde Partners for a cash consideration of c.£245m, based on an enterprise value of £380m. Sirius believes the acquisition of BizSpace represents a highly attractive and strategically important opportunity that allows Sirius to enter, at scale, an under-served wider UK market with a one-step acquisition of an established platform. Furthermore, the Board believes that the Acquisition presents an opportunity for the Company to replicate the success of the Sirius model in another European geography, providing Sirius’ shareholders with an opportunity for significant value creation and further long-term growth potential. The Acquisition consideration will be funded by a combination of new and existing debt together with the proceeds of a proposed fundraise which is expected, in aggregate, to raise gross proceeds of c.£135m.

Verici  Dx  73.5p  £104m (VRCI.L)

The developer of advanced clinical diagnostics for organ transplant, announces that it has signed an agreement with Renalytix plc (NASDAQ: RLNX AIM: RENX) and the American Society of Transplantation (AST), to establish and sponsor collectively the Barbara T. Murphy Endowed Lectureship (The Murphy Lectureship), commemorating Dr. Barbara T. Murphy, Verici Dx’s late co-founder and Board member. Under the Murphy Lectureship, a lecture will be given each year in perpetuity during the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week. Dr. Murphy was also a co-founder and Board member of Renalytix plc and a long serving member of the ASN, on whose Council she served and of which she was President-Elect; she was also a former president of the AST and former co-chair of its Public Policy committee.

Woodbois Limited 4.95p  £91.9m (WBI.L)

The African-focused forestry, timber trading, reforestation and voluntary carbon credit company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Federico Tonetti to the role of Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Paul Dolan, previously Chair and CEO, will assume the position of Executive Chair of the Company, and will remain fully involved in the day to day running of the business and especially its strategic development. Federico is a highly experienced senior executive, with a track record of delivering business model transformation and operational optimisation for multi-national enterprises. Most recently, Federico was the Group Safety & Sustainability Director of Compass Group PLC, the largest contract food-service company in the world and a constituent of the FTSE100. Prior to this, he was the Country CEO for LafargeHolcim, a global leader in building materials and solutions, in Poland, and before this held other senior positions within Lafarge. Federico also worked as a Strategy Consultant for Bain and Company.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Ashtead Tech, subsea equipment rental and solutions provider for the global offshore energy sector to join AIM. The Directors have a high degree of confidence in the Group achieving no less than £52m of revenue, £21.5m of Adjusted EBITDA and £12.8m of Adjusted EBITA for FY21 Due late Nov. Offer TBA.

Atrato Onsite Energy, a new closed-ended investment company established to invest in a diversified portfolio of onsite renewable energy assets  to join the Main Market (Premium). Targeting a £150m raise. Due by end Nov.

Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company to join the Main Market (Premium),  an externally managed investment company that will invest in UK forestry and afforestation assets. Raising up to £200m. Due 24 Nov.

Travel Chapter Holdings to join AIM. Travel Chapter operates a leading online platform in the structurally growing UK holiday rental market, connecting a supplier base of property owners with their customers and providing a market leading service proposition to both.  Offer TBA. Due mid Nov.

ATOME headquartered in Leeds, focussed on the large-scale production of green hydrogen and ammonia intends to join AIM towards the end of the year. ATOME intends to be spun-out from AIM-listed President Energy Plc, an oil and gas company which has incubated and financially supported ATOME to date, by way of a dividend in specie and flotation.

Life Science REIT to join AIM  raising up to £100m. This will be the first London listed real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on UK life science properties. Due mid  Nov.

Alinda Capital Infrastructure Investments to join the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange raising up to £350m. Due Late November.

Nu-Oil and Gas  to acquire Guardian Maritime Ltd and Guardian Barriers IP Ltd and become Guardian Global Security plc and join the Main Market (Standard). Guardian is a technology group that supplies products to prevent unauthorised entry into areas that are deemed to have value, with maritime security being the main focus initially. Q4 2021.

ProCook, the UK’s leading direct-to-consumer specialist kitchenware brand, is considering applying for admission of the Shares to the Main Market (Premium). ProCook’s revenue grew by 37% to £53.4m in FY21 (ending 4 April 2021), with Adjusted EBITDA growing by 246% to £13.3m in the same period. Due in November.

Rubix Group Holdings, the market leading pan-European distributor of industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul products and services  to IPO on the 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 EUR850m, potential sale of existing ordinary shares by current shareholders. Raising EUR 850m. Due early Nov.

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.

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 invest 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. Due Early Nov.

Pantheon Infrastructure to join the Main Market (Premium). PINT will make investments in private infrastructure assets. Due Mid Nov.

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.

Central Copper Resources, a company focused on delivering a high grade copper project into production and exploration of assets in the 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. Due Mid Nov. Offer TBC.

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