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Belvoir Group 245p  £91.4m (BLV.L)

One of the UK’s largest property franchise groups, has acquired Mr and Mrs Clarke Limited for an initial cash consideration of £0.2m and a possible additional deferred element, funded from existing Group resources. MMC was founded in 2015 by Paul and Alex Clarke, offering a specialist concierge-style personal estate agency model through a national network of 10 licensed partners, predominantly in Warwickshire, South Wales, the Midlands and North London. MMC has created a digital-first brand centred on being “discerningly different” by advertising homes in a truly beautiful way, with an industry leading website that enables its partners to run their businesses effectively without a High Street office. With the brokerage model growing within the estate agency sector, the key strategic driver for the Acquisition is that MMC introduces a high-quality personal agency model to the Belvoir Group that is complementary to its existing high street brands. The Acquisition will offer customers a wider choice of how they interact with the Group, whilst operating in a very similar way as a franchise business. As part of Belvoir, MMC will benefit from a broad range of skills and expertise to support expansion of their network as well as the credibility of being part of an established, highly respected Group.

Billington Holdings 239p  £30.6m (BILN.L)

One of the UK’s leading structural steel and construction safety solutions specialists announced the formation of a new subsidiary, Specialist Protective Coatings Ltd, focussed on surface preparation and the application of protective coatings for products across a variety of sectors including rail, highways, defence, petrochemical, energy, structural steel and infrastructure. Specialist Protective Coatings, which will offer a wide range of paint treatments including anti-corrosion and fire protection systems, has been formed following the Company’s acquisition of the trading assets of Orrmac Coatings Ltd, a specialist painting company based in Sheffield, UK, in January 2022, out of administration. The Group has been seeking to expand its painting capabilities for some time and the acquisition presented an excellent opportunity to strengthen the Group’s internal offering in this area as well as providing a specialist service to the wider market.  Since Billington acquired the trading assets of Orrmac Coatings, sited from the 55,000 square foot facility in Sheffield, it has undergone a substantial refurbishment and investment programme to ensure the facility is able to effectively service the most demanding of projects, including shotblasting and lifting capabilities for steel assemblies that are amongst the largest capacity in the UK.

Brickability 88p  £262.7m (BRCK.L)

The construction materials distributor announced the formation of a joint venture with La Perla Participaties B.V. and Mr Harold Kock for the manufacture of clay roof tiles via a jointly-owned joint venture vehicle Schermbecker Building Products GmbH operating from a factory in Germany leased from Falzziegelwerke Gebr. Nelskamp GmbH & Co. KG, a leading German tile manufacturer and producer of roofing materials.  The Joint Venture, once fully operational, is expected to produce approximately 45,000 tonnes of clay roof tiles annually for distribution into the UK and European markets. The Group currently imports around 25,000 tonnes of clay roof tiles annually.    This production will, when fully operational, provide around 22m additional clay roof tiles annually for the Group which will generate approximately £9m of incremental annualised revenue for the Group. The production of clay roof tiles for the UK market is expected to start-up in Autumn 2022 once the necessary modifications to the factory have been fully commissioned. Brickability to hold 50% interest in the Joint Venture company following a EUR0.5m investment by the Group. Brickability will provide a term loan into the Joint Venture of EUR3.5m, due for repayment at the end of June 2025, to fund Joint Venture working capital, the purchase of assets and new capital investment required to produce tiles for the UK market.

GETECH Group 28.90p  £19.9m (GTC.L)

The net zero technology provider and data-led energy asset developer, announced that H2 Green Limited, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Highland Council incorporated under the Local Government of Scotland. H2 Green is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Getech, focused on developing and operating green hydrogen hub infrastructure. The Highland Council and H2 Green have agreed a vision to create a regional network of green hydrogen hubs across the Scottish Highlands. This infrastructure will accelerate the decarbonisation of the Highlands council area, the largest administrative unit in the United Kingdom covering almost a third of Scotland. The Highland Council will contribute £100k to the cost of this initial work. The Parties have already commenced negotiations on the terms of a Joint Venture Agreement under which the proposed Highlands decarbonisation plan will be delivered. To facilitate this negotiation, the Highland Council has granted H2 Green six months of exclusivity.

Mycelx Tech 52.5p  £10.2m (MYX.L)

The clean water and clean air technology company, announced a proposed placing and subscription of c.$2.21m (c.£1.69m). The proceeds of the Fundraising are intended to be used to aggressively market and commercialise MYCELX’s PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) solution, which are expected to lead to customer education, further trials and contract wins. MYCELX believes it is well placed to play an important role in the global PFAS remediation challenge. In particular, the Company is looking to focus on the US market which is currently experiencing rapidly evolving political and regulatory attention. The Biden-Harris administration is committed to addressing PFAS in drinking water, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released in October 2021 a Strategic Roadmap to address the pervasive problems of PFAS in the US. In January 2022 the EPA submitted plans for a PFAS Superfund designating two legacy substances – PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) – as “hazardous substances” – which, if designated, will allow the EPA to force clean up or reimbursement of PFAS contamination. Notably, the US Department of Defense has begun the environmental restoration process at 687 installations with a known or suspected release of PFAS from Aqueous Film Forming, which is mainly used for firefighting purposes. The Department of Defense estimates clean-up costs of greater than $2.1bn beginning in 2021, in addition to $1.1bn in actual PFAS costs that were incurred through 2020.

One Media iP Group 6.525p  £14.5m (OMIP.L)

The digital music rights acquirer, publisher and distributor, has acquired the licensor’s share of the royalties to the Orbital Digital Ltd catalogue of rights, which contains several thousands of recordings.  As part of the deal, One Media has acquired the licensor’s income share of the catalogue on an in-perpetuity basis, which opens a new route of income and profit for the group. Distributed by FUGA, the Dutch content distributor which will additionally be a new distributor to the group for this catalogue. Orbital/Rapier Music features more than 40 branded labels across all the known digital platforms; African Lives, All About Blues, Travelscape Records, The Music Shed, Rapier Music, and Sunflash to name just a few of the imprints. The Catalogue ranges from classical through to Dance/Hip Hop and features a wide range of artists such as; Jose Carreras, Jo Jo Adams, Kool & the Gang, Irish Tenor Trio, Alexandra O’Neal, Joe Strummer, Sid Vicious, Chic, Lee Perry, The Lambrettas, Dread Filmstone, Sex Pistols, Suketu, Col Abram, Psy-Co-Billy, Rachel Porter’s all female Orchestra, Ebn ozn.  

Oracle Power  0.29p  £7.7m (ORCP.L)

The international natural resources project developer, announced the appointment of H&P Advisory Limited, part of the Hannam & Partners group, (H&P) as financial adviser and consultant to Oracle in relation to the Company’s potential green hydrogen project in Pakistan. H&P will focus exclusively on the Project, providing strategic advisory and financial services to realise its full potential  for the benefit of Oracle stakeholders, including the preparation of a valuation model. H&P’s work will be integrated into the various workstreams which are underway between Oracle and various other partners including buyers, technology suppliers, lenders and other interested parties. Naheed Memon, CEO of Oracle, commented: “Our green hydrogen production project is entering its next phase of planning and development and I am delighted to announce the appointment of H&P who will support us on this journey. H&P are a highly regarded investment bank with a proven track record in the resources and energy industries, and furthermore, they possess an exceptional network of international contacts through which to commercialise our green hydrogen project. “Green energy is at the forefront of governmental decision making and is part of the global conversation more than ever before. Harnessing this emerging green fuel source will support the global transition towards a carbon free future and also enable countries with significant renewable energy potential, such as Pakistan, to become competitive suppliers.  I look forward to providing further updates on this globally significant project in due course.”

Pires Investments 5.95p  £9.4m (PIRI.L)

The investment company focused on next generation technology, announces the completion of a EUR10m funding round by one of its investments, Getvisibility, an artificial intelligence-based data discovery, classification and protection platform company. Getvisibility has raised EUR10m in equity principally from new investors Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC), a global venture capital firm which invests in deep artificial intelligence/ machine learning technology-based companies and Fortino Capital Partners (Fortino), a leading B2B software venture capital and growth equity firm. Certain existing investors, including Pires, Sure Valley Ventures (SVV) and Manifold Investments Limited have also made follow-on investments alongside AIC and Fortino and other additional new investors. As part of this funding round, Pires will be investing an additional EUR50k from its existing cash resources. Pires made its original investment of EUR250k in March 2020, with a follow-on investment of EUR62k in June 2021. Since then, Getvisibility has made significant progress such that, based on the post funding round valuation, Pires’ direct stake in Getvisibility (including its additional investment) is now valued at circa EUR1.5m or over 4 times its total investment cost to date since it made its first investment two years ago.  In addition, Pires has a further interest in Getvisibility via its 13% interest in SVV and an indirect interest through its holding in Sure Ventures plc, which together are now valued at circa EUR1.33m.  Pires’ interest in Getvisibility, in aggregate, is therefore now valued at circa EUR2.83m.

Secure Trust Bank  1,170p  £218.2m (STB.L)

Following a strategic review, the Board of Secure Trust Bank PLC has decided to exit the debt purchase market and announces that its subsidiary, Debt Managers (Services) Limited (DMS), has today agreed to sell its portfolio of loans to Intrum UK Finance Limited (Intrum), one of the UK’s leading debt purchase companies. The Portfolio comprises around 650,000 customer loans acquired from third parties and STB. Intrum will acquire the rights of DMS as lender to collect payments due under the loans within the Portfolio. DMS will service the Portfolio under transitional service arrangements until the customers are notified and the collection and servicing of their loans are migrated to Intrum and its systems. Following migration of the Portfolio (which is expected to take up to 6 months from completion of the sale), under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 all of DMS’s staff are expected to transfer to Intrum. The cash purchase consideration for the Portfolio will be determined by the financial position of the Portfolio as at completion, taking account of debt collections and of further debt purchases from STB by DMS to date, from 30 September 2021 (the reference date for the purchase price) to completion. The gross value of the Portfolio as at 30 September 2021 was £84.7m and the value of the consideration for the Portfolio as at 30 September 2021 was £94m. The actual forecasted cash consideration for the Portfolio is estimated at £79.7m, if completion were on 31 May 2022. Completion is subject to approvals from originators of the loans. Completion is expected towards the end of HY2022.  

UK Oil and GAS 0.13p  £24.2m (UKOG.L)

With respect to the Company’s appeal against Surrey County Council’s refusal of planning consent for its Loxley conventional gas and hydrogen feedstock project, the Planning Inspectorate has now confirmed that the inspector has submitted his report to the Secretary of State (SoS) to assist in his determination. The Planning Inspectorate has also advised that they expect the SoS to issue his decision on or before 7 June 2022. The above follows the Company’s announcement in January of this year that the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities had recovered the appeal from the Planning Inspectorate.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Aquis Exchange (AQX.L) the exchange services group, announced its intention to apply for admission of the Group to trading on the Apex Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. Aquis’ shares will continue to trade on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc to satisfy certain regulatory requirements. The Group is targeting admission to the AQSE Growth Market on 29 March 2022.

Private equity firm Blue Owl Capital is planning to list assets from its Dyal Capital Partners business in a London IPO, Bloomberg reported. The assets are expected to be worth more than $10bn. Blue Owl went public in the US through a SPAC merger at the end of 2020.

Developer and publisher CI Games is preparing for a potential listing on the London Stock Exchange according to GamesIndustry.biz. CI Games became a public company in 2007, and is already listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

New Energy One Acquisition Corporation Plc, intends to float on Main Market. NEOA is a special purpose acquisition company incorporated in the United Kingdom that has been established to focus on pursuing a Business Combination with targets that are positioned to participate in or benefit from the global transition towards a low carbon economy. Capital to be raised £175m. Timings TBC

Anglesey Mining, a UK mining company currently listed on the Main Market (Premium) intends to move to AIM. Anglesey’s principal asset is a 100% interest in the Parys Mountain copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver project on the island of Anglesey in North Wales. Anglesey is currently exploring and developing the property, which has a high potential for the discovery of additional mineral resources through the development of a new, modern mine in an environmentally sustainable manner. Anticipated Mkt Cap, current capitalisation c£8m. Expected 8 April 2022.

Summerway Capital plc, (AIM:SWC) to be renamed Celadon Pharmaceuticals plc following completion of the acquisition of Vertigrow Technology Ltd, is to relist on AIM. Vertigrow is a UK based pharmaceutical Company specialising in the researching, growing and supply of medicinal cannabis, for a total consideration of £80m. Summerway is an investing company focused on investment and acquisition opportunities across the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, particularly within new and emerging therapeutic areas. Capital to be raised on admission £8.5m. Anticipated Mkt Cap approximately £101.8m. Due 28 March 2022.

Cordiant Global Agricultural Income plc intends to float on the Main Market (Premium). The Company’s investment objective will be to seek to provide an attractive yield, with potential capital growth, by providing secured medium-term finance to the global agricultural sector. The Company will seek to promote more sustainable crop production and help address a capital solutions gap which exists in the agricultural sector in select regions. The Company will provide finance for crop inputs and for capital investment in new technologies and infrastructure which help increase crop yields and have a sustainable benefit. Mkt Cap and Capital to be raised TBC.

Shellraise plc, to join AQSE Growth Market. The Company will focus on identifying investment opportunities in companies operating in the viticulture sector which require funding to increase output. Mkt Cap and Capital to be raised TBC. Expected 18 March 2022.

Cleantech Lithium intends to join AIM. The Group is intending to produce lithium using a sustainable direct lithium extraction method, which returns water to its source instead of depleting vital aquifers. Each of the Projects are based in Chile, one of the world’s best regions for solar and other renewable energy. The intention is to utilise renewable energy for process power. The result being that the overall process will have a very low CO₂ footprint potentially giving a critical advantage in the European Union market which has set strict CO₂ emissions limits. Mkt Cap and Capital to be raised TBC. Due 14 March 2022.

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.

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 March.

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. Mkt Cap and Capital to be raised TBC. Due 14 March 2022. Due early April 2022.

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