Hybridan Small Cap Feast

Joiners: Aura Renewable Acquisitions (ARA.L) has joined the Standard Segment of the Official List. The Company will pursue opportunities to acquire businesses in the renewable energy sector. The Company intends to consider opportunities within the renewable energy sector focusing on businesses operating in the global renewable energy sector supply chain, particularly participants in the wind, solar, biomass, hydropower and green hydrogen supply chain ranging from raw materials resourcing to power generation, energy storage and recycling.  Raised gross proceeds of £1m.

First Tin (1SN) a tin development company with advanced, low capex projects in Germany and Australia, has  listed on the Standard Segment of the Official List. First Tin is led by an experienced team of tin specialists, committed to the environmentally sensitive and low carbon development of advanced hard rock tin projects in conflict free, low political risk jurisdictions. The Company has raised £20m to execute its plan to bring its two 100% owned tin mines into production before the end of 2025 so that it can provide provenance of supply to support the current global clean energy and technological revolutions. Raised £20m. Mkt Cap £80m.

Anglesey Mining (AYM.L), a UK mining company has moved from the Main Market (Premium) 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£10m.

Financials Acquisition Corp (FINS.L), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) has floated on the Main Market (Standard), formed for the purpose of completing an initial merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganisation or similar business combination with a technology-enabled company or business operating principally in the insurance or broader financial services industry. The Company has a global geographic focus, but specific attention will be paid to those companies and businesses operating in the UK and across Europe. Capital raised £150m.  Due 8 April 2022.

DG Innovate plc (DGI.L), formerly Path investments, announced its admission to the standard segment of the Official List. It has completed the acquisition of Deregallera Holdings Ltd (formerly DG Innovate Limited)  for an initial consideration of £32.4m satisfied by the issue to the DG Innovate Shareholders of Initial Consideration Shares at a deemed issue price of 0.6 pence per Ordinary Share. Mkt cap £44.2m.  DG Innovate is an advanced research and development company pioneering sustainable and environmentally considerate improvements to electric mobility and storage, using abundant materials and the best engineering and scientific practices. DG Innovate is currently developing its products alongside a number of major manufacturers across the transportation and energy sectors, research institutions and the UK Government, and has filed 18 patents worldwide.

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Banquet Buffet

Avacta 94p  £239m (AVCT.L)

The clinical stage oncology drug company and developer of powerful diagnostics based on its innovative Affimer® and preCISION™ platforms, announced that AffyXell Therapeutics, a joint venture between Avacta and Daewoong Pharmaceutical, has entered into a collaboration agreement with Biocytogen, a Chinese company specialising in developing new biological drugs, and the Korea Non-Clinical Technology Solution Center (KNTSC). The collaboration is aimed at developing new immune disease in vivo models and carrying out proof-of-concept and toxicity testing of AffyXell’s drug candidates using the developed disease models. The collaboration is designed to improve the translation of AffyXell’s programmes into human trials and accelerate drug development.   The KNTSC’s role in the collaboration is to provide the infrastructure and overall management for pre-clinical trials. AffyXell was established in January 2020 by Avacta and Daewoong as a joint venture to develop novel mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapies. AffyXell is combining Avacta’s Affimer® platform with Daewoong’s MSC platform such that the stem cells are genetically modified to produce and secrete therapeutic Affimer® proteins in situ in the patient. The Affimer® proteins are designed to enhance the therapeutic effects of the MSC creating a novel, next generation cell therapy platform.

Falcon Oil 10.7p  £111.6m (FOG.L)

Following the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, it has issued Common Shares  at a price of CAD$0.20 per share to Sheffield Holdings LP for gross proceeds of US$10m pursuant to the private placement announced on 31 March 2022. The Company has applied for admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM  with Admission expected to occur on 13 April 2022. Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd is an international oil & gas company engaged in the exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas assets, with the current portfolio focused in Australia, South Africa and Hungary. Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd is incorporated in British Columbia, Canada and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with a technical team based in Budapest, Hungary.

Invinity Energy 91p  £105.6m (IES.L)

The global manufacturer of utility-grade energy storage  announced the conclusion of a successful test and validation program by Hyosung Heavy Industries, the Power & Industrial Systems Group of Hyosung Corporation, one of Korea’s largest industrial conglomerates, and subsequent signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding  for a global partnership with an exclusive relationship in Korea. Hyosung Heavy Industries is one of Korea’s foremost suppliers of heavy electrical equipment and one of the region’s largest energy storage and renewable energy project developers with approximately 2 GWh of operational projects globally. Hyosung today announced that it has comprehensively tested a 200 kWh Invinity energy storage system which was purchased in 2020, the sale of which was disclosed within Invinity’s 15 June 2020 Trading Update. The Invinity energy storage system, which has been operational since late 2020, has now been validated as suitable for addition to Hyosung’s growing portfolio of projects across the world.

Jet2 1,205p  £2,586m (JET2.L)

An update on trading for the year ended 31 March 2022 (FY22) has been released today. Passenger sectors flown and average load factors in October and November 2021 increased markedly following the dropping of the UK Government traffic light system in early October 2021. However, the improving conditions were adversely affected in December 2021 and January 2022 as a result of the new Omicron Covid variant and the reimposition of international travel restrictions, both of which served to dampen customer confidence. Pleasingly, progressive relaxation of UK travel restrictions in early 2022 – firstly, with the removal of pre-departure tests for vaccinated people travelling to the UK; and subsequently no longer having to take a post-arrival lateral flow test – resulted in bookings increasing materially with average load factors for February and March 2022 approaching seasonal norms as customer confidence in travelling internationally rallied. As a result, the Board expects to report a Group loss before foreign exchange revaluation and taxation for the year of between £378m and £383m. Total cash at 31 March 2022 was £2.23bn with an ‘Own Cash’ balance (excluding customer advance deposits) of £1.08bn. Year ending 31 March 2023 (FY23) on sale seat capacity for Summer 2022 is approximately 14% higher than Summer 2019 and bookings are encouraging. Booking momentum is accelerating, customer confidence is continuing to grow and pricing robust, as customers treat themselves to their long anticipated and well-deserved holidays.

Marwyn Acquisition 1.7p  £11.4m (MACP.L)

Further to the announcement of its interim results on 31 March 2022, the Company confirms that it is continuing to assess potential platform acquisition opportunities. Alongside this, discussions with potential management teams are also being progressed, and the Company will update the market on any such board appointments in due course. Separately, discussions with independent non-executive director candidates are ongoing, and an appointment to the board is expected in the short term.

Physiomics* 4.55p  £4.4m (PYC.L)

The consultancy using mathematical models to support the development of drug treatment regimens and personalised medicine solutions, has been awarded a contract by new client, the Servier Group, an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in France.  Cancer is one of Servier’s priority therapy areas and it has a particular focus on immunotherapies and monoclonal antibodies for difficult to treat diseases with high unmet medical needs. Physiomics will be providing specialist mathematical modelling services using its Virtual Tumour software platform to model and simulate the effect of a number of immuno-oncology combinations involving Servier drugs in development in pre-clinical and clinical settings.  It is anticipated that the project will be completed over the course of the next 7-8 months. 

Premier Miton 147.5p  £233m (PMI.L)

PMI gave an update on its unaudited statement of Assets under Management for the second quarter of its current financial year. It reported £12.8bn closing AuM at 31 March 2022 (31 December 2021: £13.9bn), £216m of net outflows from open ended funds for the Quarter (£303m net outflows for the financial year to date) and positive net flows in fixed income funds and diversified multi-asset funds. PMI has 491 products managed by 17 investment teams at the Period end, and reports strong relative investment performance with 87%  of AuM and 77%  of funds in the first or second quartile of their respective sectors since manager inception. New institutional distribution capability was announced in the Period.

Smoove  71.7p  £46.5m (SMV.L)

ULS Technology plc (AIM: ULS) announces that further to its announcement on 7th April 2022, the Company’s change of name to Smoove plc (AIM: SMV) has now been completed and is expected to take effect on AIM from 8.00 a.m. today.  The Company’s ticker will be SMV and the website address (including the investor relations content and the information required by AIM Rule 26) is available at hellosmoove.com. Smoove’s (hellosmoove.com ) mission is to revolutionise the home moving and owning process for everyone involved. The Company’s cornerstone cloud-based platforms provide significant leverage for growth with strong, established client bases and routes to market – including mortgage brokers, conveyancers, estate agents and lenders. eConveyancer ( https://econveyancer.com/ ) is one of the leading distribution channels for conveyancing in the UK, bringing consumers and legal professionals together via comparison services, which provide solutions for home movers and the re-mortgage market. The Company’s growing digital focus including the DigitalMove platform, which has been absorbed into the eConveyancer offering  and Smoove brand, is focused on supporting the whole home moving and ownership experience.

Sound Energy 2.1p  £34.2m (SOU.L)

Further to its announcement on 18 January 2022 in relation to a possible all-share offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Angus Energy Plc, Sound Energy confirms it does not intend to make an offer under Rule 2.7 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers  to acquire Angus. Sound thanked the Angus management team for their time and consideration of this potential transaction. The Company will maintain a disciplined framework while continuing to evaluate a range of compelling strategic opportunities. Sound remains firmly focused on delivering the phased development of its Tendrara Concession in Morocco, having issued the Notice to Proceed for the Phase 1 micro LNG project per its announcement on 16 February 2022 and continues to progress the Phase 2 pipeline project per its announcement on 14 March 2022.

Webis Holdings 3.45p  £13.6m (WEB.L)

Webis, the Group specialising in pool wagering and the operators of WatchandWager Cal Expo, the Californian harness track, announced that its principal USA based subsidiary, WatchandWager.com LLC, has this week signed a contract with the owners of Arizona Downs racetrack in Prescott Valley, Arizona for a commercial lease to operate live Harness Racing, pari-mutuel wagering and food and beverage operations at the venue, subject only to regulatory approval. This is a significant new contract for WatchandWager, augmenting last week’s announcement of the extension of its contract to run live Harness Racing at Cal Expo, in Sacramento, California, until 2030. The contract is for five years to 15 November 2027, with an option to renew for a further five years. WatchandWager understand that the Arizona Department of Gaming will consider the provision of regulatory approval, currently expected to be in the summer of 2022.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

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. Targeting gross proceeds of US$300m. Expected 12 April 2022.

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 later in April.

*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP

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