Hybridan Small Cap Feast

A round up of the day’s news brought to you by the team at small-cap broker and advisor Hybridan.

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Off the menu

William Hill has left the LSE following a cash offer by Caesars UK Holdings Limited.

Banquet Buffet

Sareum Holdings* 2.25p £75.3m (SAR.L)

HY Dec 20 results from the specialist drug development company delivering targeted small molecule therapeutics to improve the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Loss on ordinary activities for the six months ended 31 December 2020 (after taxation) of £0.55m (2019: loss of £0.61m).  Cash at bank as of 31 December 2020 was £1.30m (£1.80m as of 30 June 2020, £1.00m as of 31 December 2019). R&D Tax Credit of £0.13m received in January 2021. Salary Deferral Scheme updated. SDC 1801 moving ahead rapidly. Initial results are encouraging and demonstrate that SDC-1801 reduces the levels of cytokines associated with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in human lung cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. Sareum has established the doses to take forward into the pivotal toxicology studies required for Clinical Trial Application, submission is expected to be filed mid-year 2021 subject to successful completion of final toxicity and safety studies.

Symphony Environmental Technologies* 24.5p £43.3m (SYM.L)

Extrusa Pack, a Brazilian plastic manufacturer and user of Symphony’s d2w and d2p technology, has announced a donation to provide the entire public bus system in the city of Guarulhos (858 vehicles in total), with d2p anti-microbial film to cover seats and handles, protecting its 400,000 plus passengers from Coronavirus and multiple bacteria and fungi normally present on these surfaces. The donation was agreed with the City’s Mayor who personally visited the factory where the films are made. Michael Laurier, CEO of Symphony, said: “We would like to commend Extrusa Pack for this thoughtful contribution to public health in the city of Guarulhos. We hope other cities in Brazil, Latin America and the rest of the world, will follow the lead of Guarulhos and provide this kind of anti-microbial protection in their public transport systems, protecting passengers from Coronavirus and other dangerous microbes. We at Symphony, will continue to promote the use of our antimicrobial technology to protect human health and the environment in these challenging times.” 

W Resources 9.5p £7.7m (WRES.L)

The tungsten, tin and gold mining company with assets in Spain and Portugal, has appointed Mr. Jesus Martin as Plant Manager at the La Parrilla tungsten and tin project in Spain. Jesus will bring more than 40 years of experience operating metallurgic and gravimetric plants, mostly on tungsten and tin projects in Spain, including: Rodalquilar, Los Santos, Penouta and most recently the Barruecopardo tungsten mine in Western Spain. The senior La Parrilla management team includes Pablo Neira – Managing Director (Spain), Juan Garcia Valledor – Mine Manager and Jesus Martin – Plant Manager. This appointment strengthens the management team at a key stage in the production ramp up at La Parrilla. With the team at full strength, concentrate recovery rates increasing and progress being made to lower the water levels at the mine, W looks forward to regaining access to the high-grade ore bodies and increasing production. In the quarter to date, W Resources has made three shipments with a fourth scheduled for later this month: Two shipments of 20t of tungsten concentrate, one shipment of 19.3t of tin concentrate, one shipment of 20t of tungsten concentrate is scheduled for 30 April 2021.

The Fulham Shore 16.75p £104m (FUL.L)

Update on trading, as well as an update on new restaurant opportunities. As of today, Fulham Shore has re-opened 70 out of its 72 Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurants for various combinations of al-fresco dining, delivery and collection services. The opening of these outside spaces has been combined with continued social distancing and test and trace measures to comply with government guidelines. Group sales in the week ended Sunday 18 April 2021 were encouraging, being not only ahead of the previous week, but also ahead of the same week two years ago in April 2019 (As April 2020 was in the first lockdown, it is not comparable). These trading results were achieved without any inside seating. Encouraged by these figures, the Group continues to identify potential new locations for its two businesses. “In the last two weeks, we have inspected sites in many towns and cities across the UK including London, York, Durham, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester, for either new or additional sites. Many of the restaurant locations we are seeing are available as a result of insolvency events and, as a result, are typically pre-existing fitted units. Sites of this nature have a lower opening cost to the Group compared to shell units.”

Baron Oil 0.115p £11.99m (BOIL.L)

The oil and gas exploration company, announced the completion of its Earn In for an increased interest in the Chuditch discovery and prospects. Baron has increased its shareholding in SundaGas (Timor-Leste Sahul) Pte. Ltd  from 33.33% to 85%, and thereby increased its indirect interest in the TL-SO-19-16 PSC, offshore Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste from 25% to 63.75%. Andy Yeo, CEO of Baron commented. “We are delighted that the Earn In arrangements have now been completed with the issue of new shares in SundaGas TLS to Baron and that the Company has secured a materially increased interest in the Chuditch PSC project. Everything is in place to allow SundaGas Banda to undertake the PSC technical work programme activities, especially the critical 3D seismic reprocessing. These works will enable an up-to-date assessment of the true potential of the Chuditch discovery and of the viability of drilling an appraisal well and further exploration wells in a timely manner.”

Oilex 0.295p £13.73m (OEX.L)

The Government of India (GoI) has approved the Cambay PSC Work Program and Budget (WP&B) for Indian financial year 2021-22 (April to March). GSPC as the current holder of 55% Participating Interest (PI) has also approved the (WP&B).  The WP&B, implementation of which is subject to financing being secured, includes two key items being i) an appraisal/development drilling program, and ii) the restart of low-rate production at the currently shut-in Cambay production facility. Oilex’s Managing Director, Mr Joe Salomon said: “This approval from the Indian government is another positive step in re-establishing the Cambay PSC work program which is directed at establishing gas production from the substantial resource base in the EP-IV reservoir. As previously reported, Oilex has undertaken detailed studies which have outlined the most effective drilling, stimulation and flow testing programs to develop the discovered gas accumulation, and importantly which identified no impediments to potentially building a significant production base from the known EP-IV gas resource.”

Universe Group 6p £15.7m (UNG.L)

The  developer and supplier of retail management solutions, payment and loyalty systems, announced the appointment of Adrian Wilding as Chief Financial Officer and Graham Bird as a Non-Executive Director. Adrian Wilding is an experienced CFO with experience in B2B and B2C financial services, with experience of working in both listed and private equity-led businesses. Adrian has worked with the Company on a consultancy basis in recent weeks and will formally join the board on 1 May 2021. Carmel Warren, previously interim CFO, leaves with the board’s thanks for her contribution as interim CFO. Graham Bird is a chartered accountant, having qualified with Deloitte, and has over twenty years’ experience in corporate finance and public markets. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Escape Hunt plc, the largest international operator of escape rooms, which is quoted on AIM.

Alba Mineral Resources 0.29p £0.01m (ALBA.L)

Update on the Company’s work activities at the Clogau-St David’s Gold Mine, comprising assay results from the Company’s Phase 1 drilling programme at the Llechfraith mine area. Gold mineralisation has been proven in the veins identified from the drilling, with individual values up to 4.25 g/t. Gold mineralisation confirmed across several individual zones up to one metre thick. The intersection of values strongly reinforces Alba’s view that the newly modelled zone, which Alba is calling the Llechfraith Lode, is a key target for future development and production at Clogau-St David’s. Two other identified vein systems intersected in the drilling – and now confirmed as hosting gold mineralisation – are also targets for further exploration. Results add weight to the Company’s objective to dewater the Llechfraith Shaft as soon as possible to allow direct access to the on-reef development.

E-therapeutics 19.975p £84.05m (ETX.L)

ETX has met two key milestones in its collaboration with Galapagos NV, a commercial stage company specialised in the discovery and development of small molecule medicines with novel modes of action, with a focus on inflammation, fibrosis and kidney disease. In line with its collaboration announced on 10 June 2020, the Company has met pre-defined operational and success-based milestones, resulting in two payments from Galapagos. Despite the global pandemic, the collaboration has remained on schedule. Under the terms of the agreement with Galapagos, e-therapeutics is eligible to receive additional milestone payments through pre-clinical and clinical development as well as commercial milestones. The Company remains free to explore partnering opportunities in all other areas of biology relating to IPF and fibrosis.

Osirium Technologies 24p £4.7m (OSI.L)

The vendor of cybersecurity software, announced the completion of the Proposed Placing and Subscription. The Company has conditionally raised an aggregate sum of approximately £2.17 m. David Guyatt, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted with the result of today’s fundraise and would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support. The funds will support the next phase of our growth as we continue to take advantage of the significant opportunities across our markets.”

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Watchstone Group plc (LON:WTG) intends to apply for admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on the Access segment of the AQSE Growth Market operated by the Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE). It is expected trading will commence on 30 April 2021.

 Catena Group (CTNA.L) to complete reverse takeover and be renamed Insig AI and is acquiring the remaining shares of  Insight Capital Partners. Insight, which is based in the UK, is a data science and machine learning solutions company that provides bespoke web-based applications, advanced analytical tools and modern technology infrastructure to make machine learning accessible to investment professionals. Insight has developed five products specifically aimed at accelerating an asset manager’s data science and machine learning strategy. Capital to be raised on Admission approximately £6.1m. Mkt cap c. £66.4m. Due 10 May.

Semper Fortis Esports* recently announced its intention to IPO onto the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market.  Semper is a multi-operational Esports organisation focusing on gaming technology solutions, brand enhancement and high growth team infrastructures.  The company plans to raise £2.5m to develop their three core areas of establishing an esports team, forming partnerships with brands for sponsorship and B2B consultancy services.  The Board are highly experienced in sports and corporate deal making (Keith Harris, former Chairman of The Football League), technology and electronic gaming (Nolan Bushnell, founder of the pioneering company, Atari), esports and game tech (Kevin Soltani and Jassem Osseiran) and as FD Max Deeley.  Target Admission Date of 26 April.

Emmerson EML.L moving from the Standard List to AIM, The Company’s current market capitalisation is approximately £46m, based upon its share price at close of business on 24 March 2021 of 6 pence per Ordinary Share. Raising £5.5m on admission.  Emmerson is a potash development company focused on the development of the Khemisset Potash Project located in Northern Morocco, approximately 90km from the capital city, Rabat, and the planned bulk port of Kenitra Atlantique and 175km from the port of Mohammedia. The Project has a JORC Resource Estimate (2019) of 537Mt @ 9.24% K2O and exploration potential with a development pathway targeting a low capital expenditure and high margin potash mine. Due 27 April.

Dispersion Holdings PLC, an investor in the high growth FinTech sector within the UK, the USA and Canada, has announced its intention to IPO on the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market.  The Board intends to deploy the majority of the Company’s cash resources in the acquisition of minority interests in a number of different, yet to be identified, companies in the broad FinTech sector, and to apply expertise to the business operations and strategic plans of these companies. Target Admission Date of 30 April.

Darktrace plc. Intends to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (premium).  Darktrace was founded in 2013 with a mission to fundamentally transform the ability of organisations to defend their most critical assets in the face of rising cyber threats. Darktrace is a world-leading provider of AI for the enterprise, with the first at-scale in-the-enterprise deployment of AI in cyber security. Due early May.

Wickes to demerge from Travis Perkins and list on the Main Market. Expected 28 April.

Thor Explorations (TSXV:THX) seeking a secondary listing on AIM. The Company is targeting Admission during Q2 21.   Segun Lawson, President & CEO, stated: “Thor Explorations has advanced significantly, in both project development and capitalisation since the acquisition of Segilola in 2016. This year, the Company is well positioned to achieve two major milestones with the commencement of gold production at Segilola in Nigeria and a maiden resource at Douta in Senegal, as well as continuing to progress our highly prospective Nigerian exploration portfolio on the Ilesha Schist belt.”

Imperial X (AQSE:IMPP) to join the Main Market (standard). It is also proposed that on Admission to the Official List, the Company will change its name to Cloudbreak Discovery Plc.  With effect from Admission, Imperial X will hold equity positions and royalties in a variety of projects in the natural resources sector across multiple jurisdictions, primarily in the Americas and Africa. The Company is proposing to raise up to £1.5m by way of placing of new Ordinary Shares to support further prospect acquisitions. Current Mkt cap £4.7m. Expected April.

*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP

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