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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ADM Energy * 3.3p £5.4m (ADME.L)

The natural resources investing company, has completed the sale of 188,778 shares in Superdielectrics Ltd  for a total consideration of £849,501, a profit of £656,003.55 on ADM’s original investment leaving ADM with a holding of 6,222 shares following the sale. ADM has received the proceeds from the sale of the investment. Osamede Okhomina, CEO of ADM Energy plc, said: “We are delighted to complete this successful transaction with an excellent return on our investment. The proceeds of the sale, together with our recent fundraise, will be used to support our growth strategy as we advance our current assets at Aje and the Barracuda Field, while continuing to identify and pursue new projects that can bring value to the Company. In line with ADM’s investment strategy, the Company is open to considering further renewable energy investments in future, such as solar and wind power projects.”

Crossword Cybersecurity * 425p £24.5m (CCS.L)

The technology commercialisation company focused on cyber security and risk management announced that Chairman Sir Richard Dearlove KCMG OBE along with other Directors and Senior Executives will provide a live presentation relating to the Full Year results for the year ended 31 December 2020 via the Investor Meet Company platform on 26 May 2021 at 10:00am BST. The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 9:00am the day before the meeting or at any time during the live presentation. Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet CROSSWORD CYBERSECURITY PLC.

Eurasia Mining 26.5p £745m (EUA.L)

The palladium, platinum, rhodium, iridium and gold producing company, has entered into a securities purchase agreement for a private placement of 53,306,751 new ordinary shares of the Company and warrants to purchase up to 53,306,751 ordinary shares to a single institutional investor at the market price of 26.5p per ordinary share and associated Warrant, for gross proceeds of £14,126,289, or approximatelyUS$20m(not including any gross proceeds from the exercise of the Warrants), before deducting placement agent’s fees and offering expenses. The Warrants have an exercise price of 26.5p per ordinary share and may be exercised at any time upon issuance and prior to the 3-year anniversary of the issuance date.  The net proceeds of the placing are intended to be used primarily to finance the joint venture with Rosgeo, as announced via RNS dated 26 March 2021. The Directors have decided to limit the financing to £14,126,289 to keep shareholder dilution to a minimum and to focus primarily on advancing certain Rosgeo JV projects to production via EPC and financing contracts with minimum equity injections.

Itaconix 11.95p £51.9m (ITX.L)

The innovator in sustainable specialty polymers, has received the London Stock Exchange’s Green Economy Mark in recognition for the Company’s contributions to the global green economy. Itaconix generated 96% of its 2020 revenues from the sale of plant-based products. The Mark, first introduced in 2019, was created to highlight companies and investment funds listed on all segments of the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market, and on AIM, that are driving the global green economy. John R. Shaw, CEO of Itaconix, said: “We are just starting to tap into the potential that our proprietary plant-based technologies have to transition brands and consumers to a low carbon economy, with almost all of our 2020 revenues derived from plant-based products.  The London Stock Exchange’s Green Economy Mark is an important recognition for our current work and will support our efforts to communicate our green credentials to investors and other stakeholders.  It is a real honour and achievement for Itaconix to be recognised as an early leader for the Mark in the Advanced Materials industry sector.”

Kape Technologies 327.5p £733m (KAPE.L)

AGM statement from the digital security and privacy software business. Below is an extract from the statement by Ido Erlichman, CEO. “I am pleased to report that Kape has made a strong start to 2021, buoyed by sustained demand for our digital privacy products globally, as well as the acquisition of Webselenese, which we completed in March 2021. We are on-track to deliver on our guidance of revenues of between $197-202m (a c. 65% expected increase) and Adjusted EBITDA of between $73-76m (a c. 90% expected increase) for the full year 2021 on a reported basis as announced at the time of the Webselenese acquisition. Kape now supports c. 2.61m paying subscribers globally. Since the beginning of the year, we have been adding c. 25,000 new customers a month, on a net basis, in our digital privacy division, and we expect this to accelerate. Webselenese is proving to be an excellent addition to the Kape family. We have launched multiple cross-company initiatives which are enabling the Group to benefit from Webselenese’s substantial technology knowhow in the space and are already enhancing our product development roadmap and go-to-market capabilities.”

NetScientific 53.5p £8.8m (NSCI.L)

The international life sciences and sustainability technology investment and commercialisation Group, announces that its corporate finance and venture capital division, EMV Capital Ltd (EMVC) has advised on a £3.4m equity raise in PointGrab, a maker of smart sensors that help businesses maintain social distancing in post-COVID offices. The fundraise included a direct investment of £60k by NetScientific. PointGrab’s product is a smart workplace platform system enabling organisations to count, track the flow and locate people at individual desks, on floors or across an entire campus. It alerts users when social distancing measures are breached. The system also features cleaning and sanitation measures to help make offices COVID secure. The platform is already used in over 40 countries, by 45 Fortune 500 Companies. With the return to the office now in sight, globally, employers are working on ways to help their teams return to work in safe environments that meet new COVID-secure working practices. PointGrab’s solution is well tried and tested, having been deployed in over 200 locations across five continents. It offers an immediate and integrated solution to the problems facing commercial real estate managers and companies in a post-COVID world. This funding will build on a solid pipeline of new deployments globally. EMV Capital’s syndicated investment will be used to address increasing requirements from PointGrab’s new and existing clients to provide technological solutions to help people return to offices in a COVID-safe manner.

N4 Pharma 8.6p £15.6m (N4P.L)

The specialist pharmaceutical company developing Nuvec®, a novel delivery system for cancer treatments and vaccines updated on collaboration discussions and its ongoing in vivo work programme. The Company has entered into two Material Transfer Agreements (“MTAs”) to assess how well Nuvec® can bind and be optimised for transfection with two different proprietary plasmids. The first is with a major international company working in the gene therapy space and the second is a pharmaceutical company developing its own proprietary vaccine for Covid-19 using a DNA plasmid.  The Company has made good progress developing and testing a monodisperse formulation of Nuvec®. Previous updates have highlighted the success in preparing monodisperse formulations and recent results from a pilot in vivo study undertaken by Nanomerics have now indicated that a lower dose of 10ug pOVA bound to optimised, monodispersed Nuvec® gives a better result than a 50ug dose of the original, agglomerated Nuvec® used in previous in vivo studies. This recent study will be repeated and extended to validate the results seen from this pilot study which, if consistent, would demonstrate a significant improvement through the use of this newly formulated Nuvec® following 18 months of optimisation and formulation work.

Purplebricks Group 96.5p £292.4m (PURP.L)

The UK tech-led estate agency business, announced a trading update for the year to 30 April 2021. The UK housing market continued its recovery into 2021, resulting in strong instructions performance for the year, which was aided by the extension of the Government’s stamp duty holiday. Total instructions increased by 12% to 60,238 (FY20: 53,680), with instructions in the second half performing ahead of market expectations.  In H2 FY2020 and H1 FY2021, the Company claimed a total of £1.0m under the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme initiative having furloughed a number of customer-facing employees. Due to our continued strong trading into the second half, and the strength of our balance sheet, the Board has made the decision to pay back all furlough monies received. Overall, the Company expects to report full year Adjusted EBITDA in line with current market expectations. This reflects the increase in instructions in the second half and operating cost control more than offsetting the additional £1.0m of furlough funds repaid. The balance sheet remains strong with cash at 30 April 2021 of £74.0m (31 October 2020: £75.8m).

Semper Fortis Esports* 3p £12.5m (AQSE:SEMP)

The esports company focused on establishing esports teams, forming brand and technology partnerships, and providing business to business advisory services announced that Mr Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton and England) has been appointed as a brand ambassador to the Company. Remuneration to Mr Calvert-Lewin will be paid in the form of warrants which entitle him to subscribe for ordinary shares in the Company at an IPO exercise price of 1 pence per share.  The five year warrants cannot be exercised in the first twelve month period post their issue. Semper Fortis Esports sees the brand ambassador role as an integral component to the Company’s mission in bridging the gap between physical and digital. Initially ambassadors will be positioned to promote assets under the Semper Fortis brand, the TOP BLOKES team being an important part of that. Every brand ambassador is also expected to work on other opportunities committed to content, community and fan activation. As part of Semper Fortis Esports, brand ambassadors will interact with online audiences via digital platforms and bring their wealth of experience in traditional sports to an organisation in esports. Dominic Calvert-Lewin said: “Esports has been on my radar for quite a while now and I am excited to take my first steps into the space with Semper Fortis. As an athlete, being competitive is part of my DNA so it’s great to be an ambassador for a brand that is striving to be the best. I’m looking forward to connecting with new audiences and getting involved with the multiple opportunities the burgeoning gaming industry has to offer. This exciting chapter has just begun.”

SourceBio International 165p £122.4m (SBI.L)

The international provider of integrated state-of-the-art laboratory services and products, announces that it has been successful with its tender for the Lot 4 Framework Agreement under  Public Health England’s (PHE) National Microbiology Framework to provide its Clinical Laboratory Diagnostic Testing Services. PHE’s National Microbiology Framework is appointing suppliers to framework agreements in four lots. Lot 4 covers Clinical Laboratory Diagnostic Testing Services, utilising new and existing techniques to ensure that there are consistent and affordable provision of high quality, safe and compliant testing services which should be delivered efficiently and effectively to support wider clinical services. The term of the Framework Agreement for Lot 4 is for an initial two years with the option to extend by up to a further two years. Under the National Microbiology Framework, participating public health authorities across the United Kingdom can use any of the 50 qualifying companies of Lot 4 to call-off contracts to procure goods and testing services. One of which is SourceBio, however this agreement is not exclusive to SourceBio and does not guarantee orders.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings Plc to IPO onto the Standard List. They are a pre-revenue pharmaceutical company with an objective to develop cannabinoid-based prescription medicines approved by regulatory agencies including the US Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, and the Medicines and Products Healthcare Regulatory Authority. Their drug development strategy includes the development of proprietary cannabinoid derivatives, natural phytocannabinoids and other drug compounds that interplay with the endocannabinoid system. The company has raised £16.5m with a market cap of £48m.  Admission expected 21^st May. 

Arecor Therapeutics announces intention to Float on AIM.  The revenue generating biopharmaceutical company that is targeting improving patient care by bringing innovative medicines to market through the enhancement of existing therapeutic products using its innovative proprietary formulation technology platform, Arestat™. Admission is expected to occur in early June 2021.  Deal details TBC. 

Marex Spectron Group expected intention to float on the London Stock Exchange. Marex have a broad service offering, primarily across energy, commodity and financial markets through its Market Making, Commercial Hedging, Price Discovery and Data & Advisory businesses, and has strong positions across its core energy and commodities markets, executing around 35m trades and clearing over 175m contracts in 2020.  Headquartered in London, the Group was formed in 2011 and currently has 19 offices worldwide with around 1,000 employees and more than 12,000 clients across Europe, Asia and America.  In the year ended 31 December 2020, the Group’s net revenue increased by 17.7% from $352.2m to $414.7m, and adjusted operating profit before tax increased by 15.2% from $53.4m to $61.5m. Should Marex proceed with an IPO, the current expectation is that the shares would be admitted to the Premium Listing Segment of the LSE and the offer would comprise of an offer of existing shares to be sold by certain existing shareholders of the Company.

Trellus Health which is commercialising a scientifically validated, resilience-based, connected health solution for chronic condition management to float on AIM. Expected to raise gross proceeds of approximately £25m. Due 28 May.   

Elcogen Group has announced its intention to IPO on AIM.  They are a manufacturer of ceramic anode-supported, low temperature solid oxide cell technology. Elcogen has two core product lines, ElcoCell and ElcoStack. Both product lines are used by customers to integrate into their own end products or systems either for distributed power generation (fuel cells), green hydrogen production (electrolysers) or syngas production (co-electrolysis).  The Group operates in Estonia and Finland with headquarters in Tallinn, Estonia. Company financials and deal details TBC. Expected admission date early June 2021. 

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. Raising £1m Due 26 May.

Clarify Pharma, an investment vehicle specialising in biotech and life sciences companies seeking to prove the safety and efficacy of psychedelic-based substances, announced its intention to apply for admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on the Access Segment of the AQSE Growth Market. The flotation is expected to value Clarify Pharma at approximately £10.5m. The Company plans to raise approximately £5m. 

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. 

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 Access Segment AQSE Growth Market. Admission 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.

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. Due 3 June.

*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP

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