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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Great Western Mining 0.25p £9.3m (GWMO.L)

Progress report on its 2021 drilling campaign in Mineral County, Nevada. The initial 6 hole programme at the Trafalgar Hill prospect  is now complete, with 4,430 feet (1,350 metres) achieved, against a plan of 4,425 feet (1,348 metres). Due to a high rate of penetration, the 6 holes were completed in 15 drilling days at an average rate of 295 feet (90 metres) per drilling day with no safety incidents, significantly ahead of schedule and under budget. All 6 holes initially appear to have intercepted the main shallow target structure, providing a potential strike length of at least 300 metres and a continuation down dip of over 100 metres. The two northernmost holes also intercepted the Company’s deeper target in the footwall of this breccia zone. Laboratory assay results from the first 4 holes are expected later this month and will be announced when available.

Greencare Capital 31p £4.6m (AQSE:GRE)

The investment company focused on investing in medicinal cannabis, CBD and related areas announced the appointment of Richard Tonthat as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Fabio Carretta, whilst stepping down from the Board to spend more time on his other business interests, will continue to support the Company, particularly in relation to capital market activities. The Company also announces that Nicholas Lee, a non-executive director, has been appointed as Non-executive Chairman with immediate effect. Mr Tonthat qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and is an experienced corporate financier and investment adviser with recent experience in the cannabis sector. Prior to joining Greencare, he was an independent consultant advising on M&A, debt financing and equity investments. During this time, he worked with British American Tobacco plc on a number of transactions, including a C$221m equity investment into a listed Canadian cannabis licensed producer.

Gresham House 862p £283m (GHE.L)

AGM Statement from the specialist alternative asset manager. At this early stage in the financial year, current trading is in line with market expectations. “It is pleasing to see the continued growth across the business despite the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating the continued resilience of our business. We continue to invest in growing the business sustainably as we scale our platform and remain focused on prioritising the safety and wellbeing of our staff. It has been an exciting start to the year with the launch of our first sustainable investment report, demonstrating our commitment to sustainability at the core of our business and we have begun fundraising for our second sustainable infrastructure Fund, our specialist shared ownership housing Fund and additional Forestry fund vehicles in line with our plans. It is also pleasing to see our recent VCT fundraising completed at the maximum figure targeted. We also look forward to the completion of our acquisition of Appian Asset Management in due course, building our international presence, Assets Under Management and product offering. We remain confident in our pipeline and delivering against our ambitions as part of our five-year strategic plan GH25.”

Metal Tiger 27.25p £42.3m (MTR.L)

The investor in natural resource opportunities has subscribed for 5,000,000 new ordinary shares in Artemis Resources Limited (ASX:ARV) (“Artemis”) at an issue price of A$0.10 per share for a total consideration of approximately A$500k (c.£279,293). The investment forms part of a capital raise by Artemis of A$10m. The placement was met with strong demand from institutional investors. The use of the proceeds from the capital raising will be to fund exploration drilling at the Paterson and Carlow Castle gold-copper projects in the Pilbara, Western Australia, as well as for general working capital purposes.

Nightcap 25.5p £34.5m (NGHT.L)

Nightcap has conditionally raised £10m at 23p. The Placing raised significantly more funds than originally indicated in Nightcap’s announcement of 4 May 2021, following receipt of strong investor demand. The Placing follows Nightcap’s announcement on 4 May 2021 regarding the acquisition of the Adventure Bar Group. Upon completion of the Acquisition, Nightcap will become the operator of an additional nine bars. The bars being acquired are seven established themed bars located in popular London locations, a large outdoor bar, food and entertainment venue in Birmingham, a bar site opening in Birmingham on 17 May 2021 and a 50% interest in a central London roof-top bar.

President Energy 5.1p £200m (PPC.L)

The energy company with a diverse portfolio of production and exploration assets focused primarily in South America, provides an operational update with regard to certain activities in the Rio Negro Province, Argentina. Positive results from the secondary recovery pilot project in the main Puesto Flores field. Potentially significant implications for arresting and reversing declines in certain of President’s mature structures in Rio Negro.

TMT Investments* $9.00 $26m (TMT.L)

The venture capital company investing in high-growth technology companies, announced a portfolio update this morning. TMT have continued to actively invest the proceeds from their $41m exit from Pipedrive, which was completed in December 2020. These new and further investments cover a range of sectors including dark kitchen and virtual food brand operators, wellness and femtech, Covid-19 hygiene market, social media/digital marketing, cyber-risk management and fintech.  As of 12 May 2021, TMT has approximately US$25.2m of cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet, and the Company continues to research and identify suitable investment opportunities.

Uniphar 257p £710m (UPR.L)

AGM Statement. “Uniphar delivered a strong financial performance in 2020, outperforming expectations. We continue to execute on our strategy: building out our global Product Access platform and a Pan-European platform in Commercial & Clinical through a combination of organic growth and M&A, while simultaneously strengthening our market leading position in Supply Chain & Retail. During the year, the Group successfully completed a number of acquisitions including the Hickey’s Pharmacy Group, Innerstrength Limited and two US acquisitions, Diligent Health Solutions and RRD International. The progress made during the year is reflected in the financial performance, with Uniphar achieving 20.3% growth in gross profit, EBITDA growth of 13.9% and ending the year with strong liquidity and modest leverage of 0.6x.” Uniphar is an international diversified healthcare services business servicing the requirements of more than 200 multinational pharmaceutical and medical technology manufacturers across three divisions; Commercial & Clinical, Product Access and Supply Chain & Retail.

VR Education 15.5p  £40.1m (VRE.L)

Update on the Group’s partnership with HTC Corporation. HTC is a global leader in VR technology and equipment and a strategic partner of the Group in which HTC holds a c.20% stake. Earlier today, HTC made two announcements which are expected to increase the rollout of the Group’s proprietary software platform, ENGAGE, which is sold as VIVE Sessions in China. HTC has announced VIVE Sessions will be included in the software bundle of the HTC’s new headset, the VIVE Focus 3 XR. HTC also announced a partnership with HP to roll out “VIVE Sessions” on new HP ProBook laptops sold inside China.

Xeros Technology Group 244.5p £58.1m (XSG.L)

The developer and licensor of platform technologies which transform the sustainability and economics of clothing and fabrics during their lifetime, announces that its Chinese license partner, Jiangsu SeaLion Machinery Co, Ltd has today launched their Hydrology brand comprising a range of commercial washing machines incorporating Xeros’ XOrb™ and XDrum™ technologies. Sea-Lion is the largest commercial washing machine manufacturer in China with sales and service offices in each of China’s 30 provinces and in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen, serving customers in the hotel, industrial laundry, hospital, military and dry-cleaning markets.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Pioneer Media Holdings Inc to join the Access segment  AQSE Growth market. The Company is an investment company focused on the eSports and mobile gaming industries, and all business sectors related thereto. No funds being raised. Due 25 May.

Pharma C Investments to list as a SPAC on the Access segment of the AQSE Growth Market. It is specifically seeking to take advantage of the dynamic regulatory environment surrounding legal Medicinal Cannabis.  Due 26 May. No shares being issued on admission.

Aquila Energy Efficiency Trust to admit its shares on the Main Market (Premium). Seeking raise of up to £150m. The Company will seek to generate attractive returns for Shareholders, principally in the form of income distributions by investing in a diversified portfolio of Energy Efficiency Investments. Due 2 June

Taylor Maritime Investments to join the Main Market (Premium). The Company is an internally managed investment company with an Executive Team led by Edward Buttery. The Executive Team has to date worked closely together for the Commercial Manager, Taylor Maritime. Established in 2014 by Edward Buttery, Taylor Maritime is a privately owned ship-owning and management business with a seasoned team that includes the founders of dry bulk shipping company Pacific Basin Shipping (listed in Hong Kong 2343.HK) and gas shipping company BW Epic Kosan (formerly Epic Shipping) (listed in Oslo BWEK:NO). Taylor Maritime’s team of experienced industry professionals is based in Hong Kong and London. Taylor Maritime’s principals have been some of the most active buyers of Handysize and Supramax dry bulk ships having made over US$1.3b of asset purchases and sales since 1987. Seeking a $250m raise. Due 27 May 2021

Kitwave Group, the independent, delivered wholesale business to join AIM. The Placing of the Placing Shares will raise gross proceeds of £64.0m for the Company and the Placing of the Secondary Placing Shares will raise gross proceeds of £17.6m for the Selling Shareholders. Mkt cap £105m. The management team, led by Paul Young, has overseen significant growth in both revenue and operating profit with revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growing to £592.0m and £27.6m respectively in FP20 (an 18-month period). In the 12 months to 30 April 2020, the Group’s revenue and Adjusted EBITDA was £399.0m and £17.5m respectively. Due 24 May.

Belluscura to Join AIM.  The designer and manufacturer of FDA cleared, lightweight and portable oxygen concentrators to raise £15m, with an expected pre-money market capitalisation of £35-40m. Due late May.

Dianomi, the provider of native digital advertising services to premium clients in the Financial Services and Business sectors, announces its intention to seek admission of its shares to trading on AIM. Admission is expected to take place during May 2021. Offer details TBA. In FY 2020, revenue was £28.43m, representing growth of 58.8% compared to FY19. The majority of the Group’s revenue is generated in the Americas (FY20: 76.6 %) followed by EMEA (FY20: 17.0%.), and APAC (FY20: 6.4%.) Earnings before interest and taxation was £2.02m in FY20 having grown from £0.25m in FY19. 

Boanerges Limited, announces an application of admission onto the Aquis Stock Exchange. The Directors believe that an opportunity exists to acquire and consolidate holdings in SMEs operating in the technology sector, with the intention of creating value for Shareholders. Initially, the Company’s focus will be searching for companies which are based in the UK or Europe where there may be a number of opportunities to acquire interests in undervalued or pre-commercialisation technologies, or current commercialisation technologies, which when applied, produce cost saving or revenue enhancement for customers. Technology company acquisitions may include those involved in Big Data, Machine Learning, Telematics and Internet of Things sectors. Early acquisition of these innovative technologies should provide maximum returns for Shareholders. Expected 17th May.

Voyager Life, the health and wellness company established to supply high-quality Cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp seed oil products, announces the Company’s intention to seek admission to trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market (Access Segment). Admission on AQSE is expected to occur before the end of June 2021. Voyager was incorporated in November 2020 as a health and wellness business focused on CBD and hemp seed oil products. The Company’s directors believe that a significant opportunity exists in the CBD market due to the forecast growth and ongoing regulatory changes.

Alphawave IP Group is considering an IPO on the Main Market (Standard). Alphawave IP is a leading semiconductor IP company focusing on the hardest-to-solve connectivity challenges created by the exponential growth of data. Funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, and Janus Henderson, have each entered into cornerstone agreements with the Company to subscribe for, subject to certain conditions, in aggregate, c. USD 510m of Offer Shares at an offer price representing an equity value of up to USD 4.5b for the Group at Admission. During the year ended 31 December 2020, the group generated revenue of USD 32.8m, exhibiting robust growth and delivering a CAGR of 161 per cent. since the year ended 31 May 2018.

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 tbc.

*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP

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