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Alien Metals 0.85p  £35.3m (UFO.L)

Alien Metals has completed the acquisition of a 100% interest in the Munni Munni Platinum Group Metals and Gold Project in the West Pilbara, Western Australia. Acquisition of a project containing Palladium and Platinum Group Elements (PGE) plus significant quantities of other strategic metals including Rhodium, Nickel and Copper. Potential to extend the historic resource and identify new mineralised systems in both untested additional PGE bearing reefs and the larger base metal system associated with the regional geology. Consolidation of the highly prospective Munni Munni and Elizabeth Hill project areas for the first time in over 30 years.

City of London Group 57.5p  £61.4m (CIN.L)

City of London Group plc announces that Michael Goldstein, Chief Executive Officer, has notified the Board of his intention to step down effective from today, 22 March 2022. Mr Goldstein has been Chief Executive Officer of the Company since 2017, during which time, he has overseen the implementation of a new strategy for the Group, including the development of Recognise Bank from a fledgling idea through to a fully authorised bank serving small and medium enterprises. Michael has also successfully streamlined the Group to focus on delivering the new Bank. Chairman Philip Jenks said: “On behalf of the Board and everyone at the Group, I would like to thank Michael for his leadership and passion over the last few years, navigating the challenges that every start-up bank faces, to the point that Recognise Bank is now one of only a handful of banks to become fully-authorised since the start of the COVID pandemic. He has worked tirelessly to help shape the Group’s strategy and engage with shareholders and potential investors, resulting in approximately £54m of investment into Recognise Bank since 2017.”

City Pub Group  91.5p  £95.8m (CPC.L)

The owner and operator of 46 premium pubs across Southern England and Wales and a further 4 development sites, announces the disposal of six public houses in two separate transactions for a total cash consideration of approximately £17.1m. The Group has agreed terms and exchanged contracts for the disposal of 5 of  the 6 Disposal Pubs on the South Coast of England, which include three pubs in Brighton (Walrus, Brighton Beach Club, and Lion and Lobster), The Inn on the Beach on Hayling Island and The Travellers Friend in Woodford Green, Essex. All are freehold pubs, with the exception of Brighton Beach Club which is leasehold. These 5 pubs, which had a net book value of approximately £17.1m as at April 2022 and recorded unaudited aggregate site EBITDA of £0.7m for the year ended 26 December 2021, are being acquired by Portobello Starboard Limited for cash consideration of £16.2m. This transaction is expected to complete on or around 11 April 2022, subject to successful lease assignment of the Brighton Beach Club. Separately, the Company has sold The London Road Brewhouse, a freehold pub in Southampton for £0.9m. This sale completed on 18 March 2022. The proceeds from the Disposal Pubs will be used to invest and expand the Group in other geographies across the UK.

Clean Invest Africa 0.09p  £1.23m (AQSE:CIA)

CIA welcomes Mr Ramin Salsali as a strategic investor and a strategic adviser to the Company.  Mr Salsali entered the real estate development business with the main focus of preservation of historical buildings. In 2011 Mr Salsali established a museum for contemporary art in Dubai, Salsali Private Museum (SPM), focusing on Middle Eastern art. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai has recognised and honoured Ramin Salsali as Patron of the Arts for the consecutive years, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, for his sustained support of the art community in Dubai. Mr Ramin Salsali has recently invested £302,276 in the Company at a subscription price of 0.5p per share as an initial investment into the business. Mr Salsali owns approximately 4.6% of the issued ordinary shares in the Company, having subscribed to the placing shares, announced in December 2021 and February and March 2022.

Knights Group 190p  £157.8m (KGH.L)

Trading update for the full year ending 30 April 2022 from the legal and professional services business. “The Group typically has a strong second half, particularly in the fourth quarter, so had anticipated substantial growth following a good first half in which the Group grew organically by 9%.  However, a continuation of the impact of Omicron and recent macro conditions have slowed growth to a greater extent than anticipated. The persistent effects of Omicron across the country have meant, in particular, greater illness rates amongst our people, resulting in the business not benefitting from a faster return to office working and the consequent advantages of our team-based culture. We have also seen a softening in business confidence, possibly due to concerns around the strength of the economy, such that there has been a slowdown in corporate work. This confluence of events has meant that, whilst we have recently seen increasing activity rates, these are lower than management’s expectations. The Group is now expected to deliver revenue of c.£126m and underlying PBT of c.£18m for the year ending 30 April 2022. The Group has not seen any significant losses of clients or fee earners. Given the current uncertainty regarding both the economic conditions and the speed of transitioning people more fully back into offices, it is now prudent to anticipate organic growth of c.5% for the year ending 30 April 2023, with margins rebuilding to historic levels over time. Cash conversion remains robust, with industry leading lock-up and debtor days reflecting the strong discipline of day-to-day cash collection across the Group.”

MTI Wireless Edge 68p  £60.2m (MWE.L)

The technology group focused on comprehensive communication and radio frequency solutions across multiple sectors, announces that it has disposed of its Russian operations. Following the MTI board’s decision to exit the Company’s business unit in Russia, as stated earlier this month in the annual report for the year ended 31 December 2021, the Company has sold its holding in its operation in Russia for a de minims amount. The purchaser is the general manager of the Russian operations.  The MTI board does not expect this sale to have any significant profit/loss impact on MTI.

PCI PAL 61p  £39.9m (PCIP.L)

The global cloud provider of secure payment solutions for business communications has received approval from the U.S. Patent Office for the grant of its patent US20210194939 which covers PCI Pal Agent Assist deployment methods used in the United States. PCI Pal was the first in its market to build and launch a true-cloud, globally available, secure payment platform. Our innovative approach has allowed us to apply for patents to cover the key processes of our cloud services, and this is the first of a number of pending patents worldwide to achieve grant approval status. The patent protects PCI Pal’s core innovation that enables its Agent Assist product to interact with phone calls in a non-invasive, light-touch manner. This approach has been key to PCI Pal’s success in being chosen as a preferred solution provider to more than two-thirds of the CCaaS1 Gartner Magic Quadrant and is a major competitive differentiator.

Reneuron Group 31p  £17.7m (RENE.L)

The UK-based leader in Stem Cell and Exosomes Technologies, announces that Dr Tim Corn and Mark Evans have resigned as Non-Executive Directors of the Company and that Martin Walton has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director, all with immediate effect. Following these changes, the ReNeuron Board now comprises of five directors as follows: Iain Ross (Executive Chairman); Catherine Isted (CFO and Executive Director) and three independent Non-Executive Directors: Dr Michael Owen, Barbara Staehelin and Martin Walton. Iain Ross, Chairman of ReNeuron, commented: “On behalf of the Board and Management I would like to thank Tim Corn for his service to the Company over the last nine years and to recognise his contribution as a director and former Chairman of ReNeuron. Also, I want to thank Mark Evans for the invaluable support he has provided over the last two years as a director and representative of Obotritia, a significant shareholder in ReNeuron. “I would like to welcome Martin Walton to the ReNeuron Board as we look to re-focus the business. Martin, a former investment banker, has completed more than 25 transactions in the last 12 years as a principal or advisor which has included start-up and spin-out investments, pre-IPO and IPO funding; M&A and over $1bn in investment and co-investment capital. He is the co-founder of LSE-listed Arix Bioscience plc (LSE: ARIX) and his current roles include serving as CEO of Excalibur Medicines Ltd and a Board Member of the Liverpool Life Sciences Accelerator Partnership.  He brings a wealth of relevant experience in the life sciences sector.”

Staffline 65p  £107.7m (STAF.L)

FY21 results from the recruitment and training group. Revenue increased to £942.7m (2020: £927.6m) notwithstanding the exit of certain lower-margin contracts. Strong organic growth in like for like revenue and gross profit has more than doubled year-on-year underlying operating profits, significantly contributing to the increase of £15.7m of cash. Strategic actions, and the quality of the organic growth has driven up margins with gross profit increasing by 11% to £82.8m (2020: £74.6m), and gross margin by 0.8%pts to 8.8% (2020: 8%). Underlying operating profit is ahead of market expectations for 2021 increasing 114.6% to £10.3m (2020: £4.8m) with underlying EBITDA surpassing £16m. The Group has an encouraging pipeline of opportunities emerging across traditionally strong sectors such as automotive and travel as the UK economy continues its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Group has today announced a major contract win with BMW and a material extension with Vinci an existing customer, demonstrating Staffline’s scale, reach and its capacity for increasing market share.

Wynnstay Group 590p  £118.8m (WYN.L)

AGM statement from the agricultural and specialist merchanting group. “I am pleased to report that trading in the first four months of the new financial year has been in line with management expectations across core activities, while fertiliser operations at Glasson have continued to experience one-off gains from the exceptional current trading environment that has been sustained into the current financial year. Market volatility across most commodities has persisted, with material price increases since the start of the calendar year. The recent outbreak of war in Ukraine has exacerbated this, and raised concerns over the supply of fertiliser and wheat, in particular. Energy and transport costs also remain a challenge. Wynnstay has managed these difficult circumstances well, and once again the Group’s broad spread of activities is proving a major strength. Farmgate prices have remained strong, enabling customers to absorb elements of this inflation, although higher prices are expected to curtail some demand.” On 18 March, the business completed the acquisition of Humphrey Feeds Ltd and its associated pullets business for an initial consideration of £9.5m. As previously reported, the acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing, and furthers the Group’s feed activity in the growing free range egg sector, expands its manufacturing capacity, and opens up expansion opportunities in the South of England.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

According to Proactive Investors, SpectrumX Holdings Ltd, which is tapping the healthcare and commercial potential of hypochlorous acid, is considering a London listing. It is understood the group has submitted its prospectus to the London Stock Exchange ahead of a float in late spring, targeting a valuation of around £50m. Sources suggest that a £10m pre-IPO round is largely complete, with the group looking to bring in circa £5m at the time of the company’s stock market debut.

Asimilar Group plc, currently listed on AIM, intends to the join Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. The Group invests in the technology and software sectors and aims to focus primarily on opportunities in the Big Data, Machine Learning, Telematics and Internet of Things areas. Whilst the Directors are principally focused on making investments in private businesses, they do not rule out investments in listed businesses if this presents, in their judgment, the best opportunity for Shareholders. Expected 4 April 2022.

Probiotix Health plc intends to join the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. ProBiotix develops probiotics (live microbes that, when ingested, can alter the composition of the microbiome, and improve human health) to tackle cardiovascular disease and other lifestyle conditions which are affecting growing numbers of people across the world. Mkt Cap and Capital to be raised TBC. Expected 31 March

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.

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 1st April 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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