Joiners: CYBA (CYBA.L) has completed the reverse takeover of Narf Industries on the Main Market (Standard), a US based group with a track record of successful and advanced cyber security projects with the US Department of Defense and affiliated government agencies like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. £6m raised.
Leavers: No leavers today.
Banquet Buffet
Angle 83.5p £196m (AGL.L)
The liquid biopsy company, provides an update on the accreditation of its clinical laboratory in the United States to allow Parsortix® tests to be offered for patient management. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a Certificate of Registration, under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), to the Company’s United States clinical laboratory. This is a key step towards achieving CLIA accreditation of the laboratory. Following CMS audit, including an inspection of the facilities and documentation on the validation of assays to be performed together with associated quality control procedures, a Certificate of Compliance will be issued. This will complete the accreditation process that permits the laboratory to process samples for patient management from the majority of the United States, with a small number of States requiring additional procedures which will be progressed separately. As previously communicated, ANGLE has established clinical laboratories in the United States and the UK that have the capability of offering validated clinical tests for patient management. Accreditation of the UK laboratory is also being progressed under parallel processes in the UK. The laboratories are intended as accelerators and demonstrators in support of the Company’s established plan for product sales of Parsortix instruments and cassettes for widespread medical use and are already actively providing research use services to pharmaceutical and biotech customers running cancer drug trials.
Applied Graphene 21.5p £13.8m (AGM.L)
The producer of specialty graphene nanoplatelet dispersions has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Rayoung Chemtech Inc. (Headquarters, Taipei, Taiwan). The partnership will extend AGM’s commercial reach directly into the region’s liquid resins, coatings, composites and polymers sectors. Founded in 2008, Rayoung Chemtech Inc. has always been committed to delivering high performance specialty chemicals and shares AGM’s vision for helping customers improve material performance and strengthen product competitiveness. The distribution agreement will see the two companies collaborate on customer opportunities and introduce AGM’s proprietary Genable graphene dispersion technology into the Taiwanese coatings and composites market. In addition to its own commercial hubs in the UK and the United States, AGM now has distribution agreements with local expert chemicals and coatings distributors in a growing number of export markets. As a result, AGM has achieved excellent regional coverage providing detailed customer understanding and appreciation of graphene’s potential.
Bezant Resources 0.165p £8.3m (BZT.L)
Update on the Hope and Gorob drill programme targeting previously untested near-surface copper – gold mineralisation. Historical data compilation has identified a total of 8 known targets for immediate drilling in the prospective Matchless Copper Belt. A total of 2,000m of drilling has been allocated to test the up-dip extensions to known mineralisation previously drilled at depth by other exploration companies. Eight diamond drillholes have been completed at the Gorob Prospect for a total of 395.96m, (out of the 2,000m programme), with drill holes consistently intersecting visible copper mineralisation at, and near-surface. The drill rig has now moved along strike to the Vendome prospect and will aim to test strike continuity within that zone. A 140m deep vertical shaft which was excavated in the 1970’s has been located at the Hope prospect – investigation of the shaft and its alignment with known and projected near-surface mineralisation indicates scope for a high-grade near-term production opportunity. The shaft location, in relation to drilled mineralisation and the latest surface projections is expected to significantly reduce future capital expenditure on underground development.
City of London Group 56.5p £60.3m (CIN.L)
The Company announces the departure of Jason Oakley, as Chief Executive Officer of Recognise Bank Limited, the Company’s principal operating subsidiary. Jason was Co-Founder of Recognise Bank, alongside Deputy CEO, Bryce Glover. Bryce has been appointed interim CEO with immediate effect, while the Board begins the process of selecting a new CEO. The Company also announces plans to further accelerate Recognise Bank’s digital innovation programme with the creation of a dedicated Innovation Hub, leveraging Recognise Bank’s existing technology infrastructure to develop new and improved products and services, create new revenue streams, and help to deliver cost efficiencies. To invest in these vital technology capabilities, the Company will optimise its capital and resources. This will require some realignment of the overall headcount for Recognise Bank over the coming months.
Enwell Energy 18.05p £57.5m (ENW.L)
The oil and gas exploration and production group, advises that, further to the announcement made on 24 February 2022, it has partially restarted production operations in Ukraine at a production rate of approximately 1,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with production expected to be maintained at around this level for the immediate future. However, production operations are likely to be intermittent depending on circumstances in the country.
Gattaca 78.5p £25.2m (GATC.L)
The specialist Engineering and Technology recruitment solutions business, announces that Kevin Freeguard will be stepping down from the Board at the end of March this year and retire from Gattaca at the end of April 2022. Having joined the Group in October 2018, it was Kevin’s original intention to leave at the end of this year but he felt, and the Board agreed, that given the scale of further improvement required in the business, an earlier change of leadership was in the Group’s interest. Having been with the Group since June 2017 and serving under two CEOs, Salar Farzad has also agreed that he will leave Gattaca at the same time, stepping down from the Board at the end of March and leaving Gattaca at the end of April 2022. He and the Board believe that the business will be best served by a CFO who can partner with the new CEO for the long term. In line with the Group’s succession plan, Matt Wragg, currently Chief Customer Officer, is appointed to succeed Kevin as Chief Executive Officer. Matt will join the Board as CEO with effect from 1 April 2022. As part of that succession plan, Oliver Whittaker will succeed Salar as CFO, subject to the successful completion of due diligence by the Group’s Nominated Advisor. Oliver joined Gattaca in 2017 as Group Director of Financial Planning where he has actively supported the Board and works closely with Matt. Oliver was previously UK Finance Director for Fitness First, has held roles with Serco and IBM, and is an ACA qualified accountant.
GENinCode 26p £24.9m (GENI.L)
The predictive genetics company focused on the prevention of cardiovascular disease, announces a collaboration with the Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria (AHSN NENC) to pilot the use of its Lipid inCode® test for the diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia (high levels of cholesterol) and familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). There are 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN) across England, established by NHS England in 2013 to spread innovation at pace and scale – improving health and generating economic growth. Each AHSN works across a distinct geography serving a different population in each region. The AHSN NENC leads a national AHSN programme aimed at identification of FH and lipid management, in collaboration with the Accelerated Access Collaborative and the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence. The launch of Lipid inCode® marks the introduction of GENinCode’s first UK polygenic product aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of hypercholesterolemia and preventing the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Following the successful completion and positive results of its NHS clinical study1 of the Lipid inCode® test, the AHSN NENC collaboration will undertake a short term pilot using Lipid inCode® in primary care and community practice to help in the detection and diagnosis of people with high cholesterol, a known important risk factor for the development of CVD. Improved detection will also support better treatment and preventative care.
One Heritage Group* 46.5p £15.1m (OHG.L)
The UK-based residential developer focused on the North of England, yesterday announced the issue of a Prospectus approved by the FCA in relation to the issue of a £1.5m unsecured corporate bond. Application for the listing of the Bond on the standard segment of the Official List and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange have been made and Admission is expected on 17 March 2022. The Bond has a fixed annual coupon of 8.0%, which will be paid semi-annually, is not convertible, and will mature in March 2024. The net proceeds from the Bond will be used to partially repay the existing loans outstanding from One Heritage SPC, which were extended on 21 January 2022 to 22 July 2023 and 11 August 2023 respectively and have an interest rate of 12.0%. After this proposed repayment, the outstanding loan from One Heritage SPC will be £1.2m with the loan expiring on 11 August 2023. Jason Upton, CEO of One Heritage Group commented: “The issue of the corporate bond demonstrates how the management team is diversifying sources of funding for the Company, in order to reduce the risk of refinancing and the cost of finance. The funds were all raised outside of the UK, which demonstrates the strength of our overseas network, notably in Hong Kong”.
PCI-PAL 57.5p £37.6m (PCIP.L)
The global cloud provider of secure payment solutions for business communications announced a partnership with TrueLayer, the international fintech provider of open banking solutions. Over time the partnership will see PCI Pal make a range of open banking services available to its partner ecosystem and direct customer-base. Through its integration to TrueLayer’s open banking platform, PCI Pal will be initially adding open banking payment capabilities to its existing suite of secure solutions that cover the entire omnichannel mix found in contact centres today. The first products are expected to launch in the next few months with the new services empowering PCI Pal customers to offer additional payment options to consumers as well as making their payment processes faster, safer and more cost effective. Open banking payments allow a seamless and instantaneous payment experience for both the business and consumer, with funds moving between the parties’ banks virtually instantaneously. Risks of fraud and chargebacks1 are also greatly reduced as a result of the Know Your Customer checks that are an inherent part of the open banking payment process. Today, open banking is being adopted across Europe, with progress being made in many other regions globally including Canada, Australia, and more recently the US, as the traditional banking market continues to adopt the flexibility of digital banking capabilities.
Rotala 23.5p £11.8m (ROL.L)
Rotala has signed a new banking facilities agreement with its principal bankers, HSBC Bank plc. These facilities comprise a Revolving Commercial Facility (RCF) of up to £17m and a Mortgage Facility of £5.8m. The RCF has an initial term of three years, expiring on 14 March 2025, with the option to extend it for up to a further two years. It is currently completely undrawn. The Mortgage Facility commenced in 2017 and was originally for £8.0m. Since that time, repayments have reduced the amount outstanding to £5.8m. It remains on a term of up to twenty years expiring in December 2037. In addition, the Company has an overdraft facility of up to £3m with the same bank. This is ample for the Company’s needs and is renewed annually. The Department for Transport has recently announced the extension of its Bus Recovery Grant (BRG) scheme, which was originally due to expire in early April 2022, with a further £150m package under the same scheme covering the period up to October 2022. The Company welcomes this additional funding which reflects the gradual return of the bus industry to normal operating conditions. Rotala’s passenger volumes continue to increase steadily and are currently at approximately 80% of their pre-COVID-19 levels. The Board expects passenger volumes will continue to recover and that the new BRG package will aid that recovery. Rotala provides a range of transport solutions, ranging from local bus services under contract to local authorities, through to commercial bus routes.
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.
New Energy One Acquisition Corporation Plc, intends to float on the 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 tbc, 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. Capital to be raised on admission ££5.6m. Anticipated Mkt Cap approximately £23.71m. Due 17 March 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.
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 early April 2022.
*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP
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