Dish of the day
Joiners: i(x) Net Zero (IX..L) the investing company which focusses on Energy Transition and Sustainability in the Built Environment joins AIM. The Company’s approach to the investments it makes is to be actively engaged in creating, building and developing the businesses of its investee companies within its two core areas of focus: Energy Transition and Sustainability in the Built Environment. Mkt Cap approximately £60.1m Capital raised £10.7m.
Leavers: Yew Grove REIT leaves AIM.
Banquet Buffet
Ceres Power Holding 642p £1,224m (CWR.L)
Ceres Power Holdings plc, a global leader in fuel cell and electrochemical technology, announces that non-binding Heads of Terms have been signed setting out plans for a three-way collaboration with Weichai Power and Robert Bosch GmbH to access the substantial opportunities that exist for fuel cell technologies in China. The addition of Bosch to the existing Weichai and Ceres partnership, and an increase in scope to include stationary power applications, significantly strengthens the planned joint venture. It is now intended that two separate Joint Ventures (“JVs”) will be formed in Shandong Province, specifically: three-way system JV will be set up for the development and manufacture of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems. Bosch and Ceres will licence their respective SOFC system IP to the JV for mobile and stationary applications in China and will share royalties from the sale of products. Weichai will be the majority shareholder. Ceres will hold a maximum 10% share with Board representation. Its investment over time is likely to be around £20m, to be finalised in the detailed agreements. Separately, a stack manufacturing JV (“Stack JV”) will be established to supply fuel cell stacks to the system JV and potentially other third parties. Ceres will not be a shareholder in this JV but will provide the SOFC technology through an extension of Bosch’s existing manufacturing licence to supply the Chinese market. Ceres will receive royalties from this JV on the sale of stacks. License fees of £30m from the System JV and Stack JV to Ceres are expected over the next three years in line with those agreed in the original Weichai-Ceres agreement in 2018, with minimum payments and annual royalties receivable following start of production from each of the JVs.
Chaarat Gold Holdings 18.13p £125m (CGH.L)
The AIM-quoted gold mining Company with an operating mine in Armenia, and assets at various stages of development in the Kyrgyz Republic, announces its production and operational results for the full year ended 31 December 2021. The Company has exceeded its 2021 production guidance at its Kapan Mine in Armenia, however the development of the Tulkubash project was impacted by the events around Centerra Gold’s Kumtor mine and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the Kyrgyz Republic. Highlights include: Kapan Mine: Finished the year with production of 63 thousand gold equivalent ounces (koz) including 14 koz from third-party ore production vs 2021 guidance of 57 koz (+10.5%); EBITDAcontribution of approximately USD 22.7m at Kapan level in 2021 before group accounting adjustments and non-cash items (2020: USD 19m). Tulkubash Development Project: Successfully completed a 4,835-metre drilling programme including infill drilling and initial exploration drilling on new target areas. JORC-compliant resource and reserve estimates are being updated to reflect the infill drill results. Kyzyltash Development Project: Successfully completed a 3,508-metre drilling programme to obtain representative core of the Kyzyltash deposit ready for metallurgical testing. The core is being sent to SGS Lakefield in Canada for a full suite of metallurgical test work as part of assessing the preferred processing route for the project. Corporate Activities: Funding package of USD52.2m closed in February 2021. Reduced interest-bearing debt from USD70.5m as at 31December 2020 to USD38.7m as at 31December 2021 (-45.1%), primarily as result of converting investor and Labro loans into equity in February 2021 and reducing the Kapan acquisition loan by USD9m from Kapan cash flows.
Clinigen 918.25p £1,224m (CLN.L)
The global pharmaceutical Services and Products company, announces it has signed a distribution agreement, with Deciphera Pharmaceuticals for the supply and distribution of QINLOCK® into multiple countries across the globe. QINLOCK® was approved by the European Medicines Agency in November 2021 for the treatment of adult patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor who have received prior treatment with three or more kinase inhibitors, including imatinib. Under the agreement, Clinigen will supply QINLOCK® into multiple countries where it is not yet commercially available. Clinigen will act as the main point of contact for healthcare professionals wanting to access QINLOCK®, managing all elements of the process including order and enquiry management, regulatory compliance, and logistics.
Distribution Finance 48p £86.1m (DFCH.L)
The specialist bank providing working capital solutions to dealers and manufacturers across the UK, announces that after a thorough search process including external candidates the Board has concluded to appoint Mark Stephens as Non-Executive Chair of the Company with immediate effect. Prior to this appointment, Mark was an existing Non-Executive Director of the Company, holding the position of Senior Independent Director since joining the Board on 3 July 2017 and has held the position of Interim Non-Executive Chair since May 2021. Following his appointment, Mark will continue to Chair the Company’s Remuneration and Nomination Committees. The Board has already started a search process of an Independent Non-Executive Director who will, once appointed, Chair the Risk Committee. In the intervening period, Carole Machell will additionally Chair the Company’s Risk Committee. These changes are subject to regulatory approval.
Iomart Group 162.5p £178.6m (IOM.L)
The cloud computing and managed services company, announces the appointment of Ben Savage as Chief Commercial Officer. Ben boasts more than 25 years’ experience working across a range of technology-based sales leadership roles. Ben has also worked for organisations head-quartered in Silicon Valley, Europe, and the Middle East. His most recent position as Managing Director, Sales and Marketing at managed service provider Six Degrees. Bringing with him a wealth of experience working with companies ranging from start-ups to large enterprises, Ben will oversee iomart’s sales team and overarching commercial strategy as well as being a central figure supporting the organisation’s growth ambitions.
Itaconix 3.4p £15.1m (ITX.L)
Itaconix, a leading innovator in plant-based specialty polymers used as essential ingredients in everyday consumer products, announces that it has supplied product for the first production trial using the Company’s plant-based superabsorbent, VELAFRESH® SAP80. VELAFRESH® SAP80 is being trialed by a leading supplier to companies that produce baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, adult diapers, and industrial absorption products. This follows the Company’s production trials for VELAFRESH® SAP80 in 2021. If the prospective customer’s trials are favourable, potential Itaconix revenues are expected to start in 2023. Increasing consumer interest in more sustainable hygiene products is generating new addressable markets for Itaconix’s plant-based polymers. The worldwide market for superabsorbent polymers was estimated at $9.0 bn in 2020 and is supplied almost entirely by fossil-based polymers due to the higher cost or lower performance of current plant-based polymers. The Company believes VELAFRESH® SAP80 offers a superior level of performance, cost, and availability for brands and consumers that are seeking more sustainable hygiene products.
Lexington Gold 3.75p £9.8m (LEX.L)
The gold exploration and development company with projects in North and South Carolina, USA, announces assay results received in respect of the first 11 drill holes from the Company’s Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling programme at its Carolina Belle Project. Results for the remaining 21 drillholes will be announced in due course once received from the SGS laboratory in Vancouver. Highlights include: Initial assay results for 11 of the 32 RC drill holes from the Company’s maiden drill campaign at Carolina Belle intersected the first gold mineralisation identified from drilling; Drilling has identified and confirmed the down-dip extension of the main historical ore-zone mined during the historical third party Iola and Uwarra gold mining operations with a confirmed down-dip extension intersection of 4m @ 2.1 g/t Au from 64m to 68m in hole CRBC-24; Significant gold mineralisation intersected in the Footwall and Hangingwall of the main ore-zone of the historical Iola and Uwarra gold mining operations with: 11m @ 1.01 g/t Au from 68m to 79m (combined Hangingwall, Footwall and mined out historical main ore-zone) in hole CRBC-22 including, Footwall intersection of 4m @ 1.62 g/t Au from 72m to 76m, Hangingwall intersection of 4m @ 0.7 g/t from 68m to 72m and main historical ore-zone intersected between 72.2m and 73.2m.
Oriole Resources 0.36p £7.1m (ORR.L)
The AIM-quoted exploration company focussed on West Africa, provided an exploration update for its 90%-owned Wapouzé gold project in Cameroon. During Q4-2021, the team completed a programme of soil sampling over the southwest extent of the Wapouzé licence, as well as trenching over previously-identified soil anomalies at the Bataol Zone in the east. Results reported today include a best trenching interval of 2.00 metres (‘m’) grading 4.06 grammes per tonne (‘g/t’) gold (‘Au’). Highlights include: Five trenches completed for a total of 2,524m at the Bataol Zone. All trenches have returned anomalous gold (using a 0.10 g/t Au cut-off) with best results including; 2.00m grading 0.53 g/t Au (WPT006), 2.00m grading 4.06 g/t Au (WPT007) and 1.50m grading 0.53 g/t Au and 2.00m grading 0.50 g/t Au (WPT008). Mineralisation is predominantly hosted by quartz veinlets within sedimentary schist; Soil sampling completed over the southwest of the Project area has returned grades of up to 141 ppb Au.
System1 Group 390p £50.2m (SYS1.L)
System1, the marketing decision-making platform, intends to issue quarterly updates for Q1 and Q3 of each year based on unaudited numbers. These updates are intended to keep investors informed of the Company’s performance between the interim and final trading updates and results announcements. System1 today issues the following update on trading for the quarter ended December 2021 (Q3). Revenue in Q3 rose 8% on the comparable period last year to £6.5m, and Data products represented 43% of the quarter’s revenue. Year-to-date revenue to the end of Q3 was 17% higher than the prior year at £18.9m, and Data revenue represented 39% of the year-to-date total (H1: 36%). Period-end cash, net of borrowings, was £8.1m, compared with £6.5m at end-March 2021. Profitability was in line with management’s expectations and reflected an increase in expenditure on people and platform as highlighted in the interim results announcement.
WANdisco 310.5p £186.1m (WAND.L)
The LiveData company, today announces it has completed a significant data migration for a major client to Microsoft’s Azure cloud. The migration demonstrates WANdisco’s continued momentum with LiveData Migrator, which is also embedded within Microsoft’s Azure ecosystem. The migration was transacted through Microsoft on a consumption basis. The Client owns and operates Canada’s largest railway, both in terms of revenue and the physical scale of its rail network. Using the LiveData Migrator platform, the Client successfully migrated data off its operational Hadoop cluster, to the Azure cloud. The Client plans to engage WANdisco to mutually evaluate future use cases for LiveData Migrator, including in IoT data. The scope of the current opportunity is for the migration of 70 TB of data. However, there is the potential for a significant amount of additional revenue with the potential to move another 30 PB of data to the cloud per year through LiveData Migrator.
What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?
Following Nvidia’s decision to walk away from its planned US$40bn takeover of Cambridge-based chip designer Arm from Japan’s Softbank, after regulatory hurdles proved insurmountable, speculation is growing over a potential return to the London Markets.
GCP Co-Living REIT plc, intends to float on the Main Market. The Company is a newly established, externally managed investment company, which it is intended will carry on business as a Real Estate Investment Trust, subject to meeting the necessary qualifying conditions. The Company will invest, predominantly, in independent Co-Living Asset, both operational and under development, let to a diversified mix of residents, located in urban centres in the UK and Ireland where there is a shortage of high quality, affordable residential accommodation. Due March.
Strip Tinning Holdings, an established supplier of specialist connectors to the automotive sector, intends to join AIM. Strip Tinning manufactures specialist flexible electrical connectors related primarily to heating and antennae systems embedded within automotive glazing and to the connection of the cells within electric vehicle (EV) battery packs, increasingly using flexible and lightweight printed circuit technology that also has growing application elsewhere within vehicles. Mkt Cap and Capital to be raised TBC. Due mid Feb.
Spinnaker Acquisitions plc, intends to join the Main Market (Standard). The Company have conditionally agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of HomeServe Labs Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of FTSE250 quoted public company HomeServe Plc, by way of a reverse takeover conditional, inter alia on relisting and successful completion of fundraising activities to be undertaken by way of a placing and direct subscriptions by new and existing investor. If the Proposed Transaction proceeds to completion, it is proposed to change the name of the Company to Ondo InsurTech Plc and the name of Labs, which will become a subsidiary of the Company, to LeakBot Ltd. Should the Proposed Transaction not proceed, then the Company would need to apply for the suspension of its listing of ordinary shares to be lifted and for trading to be restored. £5m capital to be raised. Due early 2022.
Clean Power Hydrogen, the UK-based green hydrogen technology and manufacturing company that has developed the IP-protected Membrane-Free Electrolyser is seeking to join AIM. The Group designs and manufactures hydrogen production units and is focused on the commercial production of green hydrogen in a simple, safe, and sustainable manner. The Group intends to raise approximately £50m. Due Early Feb.
Carbon Air, a nano-technology company which leverages the adsorption properties of activated carbon and other advanced materials to improve suspension systems, enhance acoustics or reduce noise, to join AIM. The Company’s proprietary technology has allowed it to develop a unique portfolio of solutions for a variety of sizeable end markets, including vehicle suspension systems, acoustic insulation for domestic appliances and micro-speakers for smartphones. Mkt Cap and Capital to be raised TBC. Due Late Feb.
Spiritus Mundi due to join the Main Market (Standard), a special purpose acquisition vehicle which will seek acquisition targets in Europe and Asia in the clinical diagnostics sector. The Company has already raised approximately £1.2m in a pre-IPO fundraising round. Delayed until second half of Q1 2022.
Recycling Tech Group to join AIM, a UK-based engineering, research and manufacturing company that has developed a modular and mass producible machine, the RT7000, which processes hard to recycle plastic waste into a synthetic oil that can be sold back to the petrochemicals industry as a chemical feedstock to make new plastics. Targeting a £40m raise. Due early Q1 2022.
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. Due early Feb.
Superdielectrics to join AIM, a Company which is focused on developing technology to build supercapacitors with high energy density, low cost, and environmentally benign electrical energy storage devices that will help create a clean and sustainable global energy and transportation system. Admission is expected to take place in. Delayed until Mid-Feb. Mkt Cap and Capital to be raised TBC.
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