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Aura Energy 16p  £80.8m (AURA.L)

Uranium Resource Upgrade Programme Underway. 10,000 metre infill drilling programme to commence in May 2022, with completion expected in Q3 CY 2022 and Resource upgrade results early in Q4 CY 2022. Focused on increasing Measured and Indicated (M&I) Resources, as Aura transitions from a uranium explorer to producer at Tiris. A potential increase in M&I Resources will aim to support the expansion of mining Reserves, leading to possible increased target production rates. Contracts entered with drilling and downhole radiometric logging contractors for mobilisation in May 2022. The program will include re-evaluation of targets in the Tiris West resources using drilling and downhole radiometric logging, with the aim of expanding the global Tiris uranium and vanadium resources. Results are expected in Q3 CY 2022.

Cake Box 209p  £83.6m (CBOX.L)

The specialist retailer of fresh cream cakes, announced a full year trading update for the 12 months ended 31 March 2022. Continued sustainable growth. Trading during the second half has continued to be strong across the Group’s store estate and online delivery channels. Accordingly, the Group expects to report revenues for the year as up c.50% year-on-year, with adjusted profit before tax in line with market expectations. Revenues for the 10 months to 31 March 2022, excluding the impact of the March 2020 lockdown and associated store closures from the comparative period, are expected to have increased c.32%, with total franchisee sales increasing 12% on a like-for-like basis. The online delivery and Click & Collect options continue to expand the Group’s customer base, and franchisee online sales increased c.41% during the year and c.27% on a 10 month basis. The Group opened 11 new franchise stores in the second half (excluding kiosk openings), bringing the total number of stores opened in the full year to 31 (FY 2021: 24), and leaving the total number of Cake Box stores at period end at 185. New locations opened in the second half include Tottenham, Plymouth and Sunderland.

Crossword Cybersecurity* 29p  £21.7m (CCS.L)

The technology commercialisation company focused on cyber security and risk, announced its final results for the year ended 31 December 2021. Delivered 43% revenue growth to £2.3m (including Grant Income of £152k included in ‘Other Income’), despite the turbulence in the economy. Revenues from product and services expanded by 56%. Annual recurring revenue doubled during 2021. £1.3m cost increases driven by headcount increasing by 74%, with continued investment in sales and marketing and product development, and increased professional fees in 2021 driven by two acquisitions, two equity fund raises and the opening of an overseas company in Oman. £457k gain on revaluation of CyberOwl Limited shareholding measured at fair value.  Crossword catalysed the creation of CyberOwl Limited in 2016. Loss of £2.5m. Expects rate of growth in income to be circa 75% in 2022, in line with market expectations. £3.4m closing cash. Tom Ilube, CEO of Crossword Cybersecurity plc, commented: “I am incredibly pleased with the progress Crossword made in 2021, achieving 43% total revenue growth, and 56% growth in our product and services revenue. We expanded our product portfolio with the addition of Identiproof, our services offering with the addition of Nightingale, and our geographical reach with the opening of our Oman office. We were delighted to welcome new institutional investors in our February and July 2021 fund raises and are appreciative of the ongoing support of our shareholders.

D4T4 Solutions 237.5p  £95.5m (D4T4.L)

The data solutions provider, announces the following trading update for the year ended 31 March 2022. The Group performed strongly in the second half of the financial year, and consequently the Group Revenues are expected to be in line with market expectations, whilst the Adjusted Profit Before Tax is expected to be at the upper end of the range of market expectations. Moreover, during the year the Group increased annual recurring revenue significantly by 32% to £14.0m (2021: £10.6m). The Board remains highly confident in the Group’s strategy, the Company starts the new financial year with a strengthened management team, good revenue visibility, and a strong pipeline of opportunities across both the Celebrus Customer Data Platform and Fraud Data Platform products. The Company expects to announce further contract wins in the coming months. Final results for the year to 31 March 2022 are expected to be announced in early to mid-July.

Haydale Graphene 5.8p  £29.6m (HAYD.L)

Advanced materials group, Haydale is celebrating a double award win, with the Group picking up an award at the prestigious 2022 British Engineering Excellence Awards (BEEAs) and named as a winner of the Kidney Research UK MedTech Competition respectively. The global company with its head office in Ammanford, Wales was the overall winner in the ‘Materials Application of the Year’ category for the surface treatment, CeramycGuard™. The BEEA judges said it was ‘a great development of materials, which is simple to use and meets multiple applications.’ CeramycGuard™ is a concrete surface coating developed and manufactured by Zirconia and exclusively distributed by Haydale in the UK. The surface treatment uses Haydale’s proprietary silicon carbide microfibre, along with nano-Alumina and Zirconia Silicates to renew and preserve concrete surfaces. After pitching to the Kidney Research UK MedTech Competition Dragons’ Den, Haydale, as the industrial partner, and the Wales Kidney Research Unit at Cardiff University were chosen as one of seven winners. The cash prize will allow the collaborative team to work towards developing a urinary electrochemical microRNA sensor for rapid detection of problems with newly transplanted kidneys, potentially replacing slower and more costly PCR-based methods. The sensor will use Haydale’s biomedical functionalised graphene ink to accelerate detection without the need for invasive biopsy.

Invinity Energy Systems 97.5p  £113.1m (IES.L)

The global manufacturer of utility-grade energy storage, has been certified as compliant with ISO standards for Quality Management (ISO 9001), Environmental Management (ISO 14001) and Health & Safety  Management (ISO 45001) following an extensive audit process undertaken by leading global assurance provider SAI-Global. This achievement means that Invinity becomes one of the only flow battery manufacturers worldwide to hold all three standards concurrently, further demonstrating the Company’s position as a leading provider of utility-grade products to the stationary energy storage industry.

Marlowe 929p  £890.3m (MRL.L)

The specialist in business-critical services and software which assure safety and regulatory compliance, announces that it has acquired TP Health, incorporated as TP Health (Holdings) Ltd, a leading provider of technology-enabled Occupational Health services in the UK, for an expected enterprise value of £14.9m.  TP Health, established in 2006, is headquartered in Northampton and employs approximately 240 staff, including over 130 clinical professionals. The acquisition of TP Health offers attractive operational synergies with Optima Health and adds further scale to Marlowe’s UK leading Occupational Health offering, a core compliance market for Marlowe within its Governance, Risk and Compliance division. For the year ended 31 December 2020, TP Health generated a profit before tax of £1m on revenue of £14.6m. Net assets at 31 December 2020 were £1.9m. The total enterprise value will comprise an upfront cash consideration of £13.3m in addition to an estimated £1.6m in performance-related contingent consideration. The acquisition will be funded from Marlowe’s existing cash resources.

Stanley Gibbons 2.15p  £9.2m (SGI.L)

Trading update for the year to 31 March 2022. Trading during the second half of the year continued to improve across all areas of the business and revenue for the year ended 31 March 2022 is expected to be approximately £12m. While the reduced impact of COVID related restrictions and resultant consumer behaviour has undoubtedly played a part, there are a variety of internal elements which have also influenced this. “The  primary creditor and majority shareholder (Phoenix S.G. Limited) has remained extremely supportive and engaged.  They have, as in previous years, once again formally waived the loan covenants which we are in default of.” Further evidence of their support is through their provision of loan finance for the purchase of the British Guiana 1c Magenta as announced on 8 June 2021.

Tintra 172.5p  £25.1m (TNT.L)

Wholly owned subsidiary, Tintra Payments (Mauritius) Limited , has been granted permission to commence business under its Payment Intermediary Services License from the Mauritius Financial Services Commission.  This allows TPM to operate as an online Payment Service Provider, covering   the provision of payment services and merchant online services for accepting electronic payments by a variety of methods including credit card, bank-based payments such as direct debit, bank transfer, and real-time transfer based on online banking. Mauritius has become an important financial services hub for Africa and South Asia and the approval of TPM to commence operations is viewed by the Board as an important step in the development of its Web 3.0 Banking strategy.  TPM, a Mauritian incorporated company, is currently finalising its name change from Oyster Payment Services, a brand that the Company used when forming the original vehicle, that was never activated, in 2018. Name Change of JV Company. To more closely align with the Company’s strategy, the name of the Group’s AI Joint Venture vehicle that houses its relationship with TMC2, which was announced on 24 November 2021, has changed from Finsensr Ltd to Tintra 3.0 Ltd.

Venture Life Group 37.5p  £47.2m (VLG.L)

Further to the announcement on 23 March 2022 Venture Life provides an update on the timing of the announcement of its results for the year ended 31 December 2021. The Company’s auditors continue to experience resourcing issues and as such have advised that additional time is required to finalise their procedures.  Accordingly the Company now expects to be able to announce its audited results for the year ended 31 December in early May.  The Company reiterates its guidance stated in its trading update on 31st January 2022: Revenue of £32.6m for the FY21(2020: £30.1m), up 8% on the prior year; Revenue in the second half of the year was £18.7m, an increase of 35% over the revenues in the first half of the year (£13.9m); Adjusted EBITDA in line with market expectations; Momentum building in the business post acquisitions demonstrated by Q4 revenue 59% above that in Q3; and Net debt of £3.2m pre-IFRS16 (£7.3m IFRS16) reflecting a phasing effect on working capital as a result of higher receivables following strong Q4 revenue.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Lift Global Ventures plc to join AQSE Growth Market. The Company’s investment strategy is to operate as an enterprise company seeking acquisition or investment opportunities within the financial media and technology industries. Within these broad industries, areas of focus may include: Financial news websites and other forms of “new media”, Investment research providers, Financial PR, IR, design and marketing agencies, Production studios and visual content providers and Technology platforms which facilitate capital raising and/or lending.  Mkt Cap and Capital to be raised TBC, expected 29 April.

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. 

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. IPO PAUSED.

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