Hybridan Small Cap Feast

Joiners: Dowlais Group (DWL.L) has joined the Premium Segment of the Main Market. Dowlais joins the Main Market following the  completion of the demerger of the GKN Automotive, GKN Powder Metallurgy and GKN Hydrogen businesses from Melrose Industries PLC into Dowlais.

Leavers: Bion plc has left AIM.

Banquet Buffet

Dekel Agri-Vision 2.7p £15.1m (DKL.L)

The West African agriculture company focused on building a portfolio of sustainable and diversified projects, provides its maiden Q1 2023 production update from the large-scale cashew processing plant at Tiebissou, Côte d’Ivoire (the Cashew Operation). The Raw Cashew Nut (RCN) buying season commenced mid Q1 2023. The quantity and quality of RCN available to purchase has been in line with the Company’s expectations and the pricing of RCN has been slightly better than the Company’s expectations.  The Company purchased an additional 820 tonnes (tn) of RCN during the period and hold a closing Q1 2023 balance of 2,128tn of RCN. A total of 533 tonnes were processed during Q1 2023, with daily production noticeably increasing at the end of Q1. The feedback on the quality of the product compared to competitors remains favourable.

Dianomi 85p £25.5m (DNM.L)

The provider of native digital advertising services to premium clients in the Business, Finance and Lifestyle sectors, announces the Company’s audited results for the year ended 31 December 2022. Revenue of £35.9m remained flat, (2021: £35.8m) as a result of slower advertising spend and a decrease in newsletter spend. Adjusted EBITDA decreased to £1.6m (2021: £3.1m), as a result of a contraction in gross margin (2022: 27.3% vs 2021: 28.9%) as well as investment in marketing and people. As at 31 December 2022, the Group had no borrowings and cash of £11.7m (31 December 2021: £10.3m). The current year has started in line with management expectations and management believe it is in an optimal position to benefit from a return of confidence amongst advertisers as well as new opportunities with publishers.

Gresham House 815p £311.9m (GHE.L)

The specialist alternative asset manager committed to sustainable investing, provides an update on recent activity across a range of asset classes. VCTs: Baronsmead Venture Trust and Baronsmead Second Venture Trust (the Baronsmead VCTs), completed a fully subscribed fundraise of £50m. The Baronsmead VCTs have combined net assets of £408m as at 24 March 2023. New Energy: Announcement of £140m commitment from Centrica and the UK Infrastructure Bank into the new Gresham House Secure Income Renewable Energy & Storage LP (SIRES) to drive the UK’s transition to cleaner, greener energy. The £65m investment from Centrica will be used to fund the construction of the seed asset, a collocated solar and battery energy storage project in Hartlepool, County Durham, with 50 MWp solar capacity and 75 MWh of battery energy storage. Sustainable Investment: Third annual Sustainable Investment Report released by the Group, outlining how the Company has maintained its commitment to driving the sustainability agenda forward in 2022.

IG Design Group 160p £156.8m (IGR.L)

The designers, innovators and manufacturers of Gift Packaging, Celebrations, Craft & Creative Play, Stationery, Gifting and related product categories, provides an update for the year ended 31 March 2023. The Group expects to deliver revenue for the year of approximately $890m, down 4% year-on-year at constant currency (c. 8% on a reported basis). At constant currency, the Group’s smaller International division grew 10%, with increased revenue across all businesses. The Group’s larger Americas division experienced a drop of 10%. All businesses, save for those operating in continental Europe experienced year-on-year sales decline in the second-half of the year. Group operating margins are expected to be 1.8%, and therefore expected to deliver a Group adjusted profit before tax of some $9m, ahead of market expectations. The Group closed the year with a net cash balance of some $50m.

Intelligent Ultrasound Group 10.45p £34.2m (IUG.L)

The ultrasound artificial intelligence (AI) software and simulation company, announces its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2022. Group revenue grew by 33% to £10.1m (2021: £7.6m); Clinical AI-related revenue grew by over 200% to £0.7m (2021: £0.2m) and Simulation related revenue grew by 28% to £9.4m (2021: £7.4m). The Company reported a loss after tax of £3m (2021: £3.6m). Throughout the period the Company achieved FDA clearance for its second AI-driven product and continue to build its partnership with GE HealthCare with the launch of SonoLyst on the Voluson Expert 22 ultrasound machine. Management expect continued growth during 2023.

Mulberry Group 240p £144.2m (MUL.L)

The British sustainable luxury brand, announces a trading update for its financial year ended 1 April 2023.  FY23 trading was in line with the Board’s expectations, with Group revenue slightly ahead of last year and underlying Group profitability weighted to the second half. The Group has seen an improvement in retail revenue over the second half compared to the first half of the year, driven by performance in the UK and an improving environment in China, underpinned by the direct-to-customer model. Gross margins have been maintained and the Company continue to further invest in the Asia Pacific region. Net cash balances as at 1 April 2023 are expected to be c.£0.8m.

Rockfire Resources 0.23p £3.3m (ROCK.L)

The base metal, gold and critical mineral exploration company, announces that the Company’s environmental study permit at Molaoi has been approved by the Greek Government. The granting of this permit provides authority for Rockfire to drill for the next 5 years, although the Company intends to expedite this drilling, and to complete as much drilling as possible in 2023. 179 drill holes had already been drilled at Molaoi by the Greek Government, meaning that all future drilling is building confidence in a deposit which is already well defined.

Seed Innovations 1.925p £4.1m (SEED.L)

The company focusing on making investments in fast growing and industry leading businesses with a focus on the medical cannabis, health and wellness space, announces that its portfolio company, South West Brands Limited (SWB) has entered into a Sale & Purchase Agreement (SPA) for the sale of SWB to female founded OTO International Limited (OTO) for an enterprise value of £6,235,000 to be paid in OTO shares. SEED will receive a total of £423k in OTO ordinary shares following conversion of the CLN’s SEED holds in SWB and will be repaid cash of £167k being repayment of the £150k 8% Convertible Loan Note, plus accrued interest of £17k invested on 4 October 2021. Following a total investment into SWB of £500k by SEED, the total return represented by the Sale is £590k a blended return of 1.18 times the original investment. Following the completion of the Sale, SEED will hold 71,502 ordinary shares representing 1.4% of OTO.

Trakm8 Holdings 20p £10.0m (TRAK.L)

The global telematics and data insight provider, announces it has been awarded a new contract with Freedom Services Group. Under this contract, Trakm8 will provide insurance data services and devices to Freedom Connect, including Trakm8’s advanced connectedcare data sets and FNOL (First Notification of Loss) crash algorithm. The contract is for an initial term of 3 years and is expected to generate revenues in excess of £6m over this time period. 

Tekmar Group 9.75p £13.3m (TGP.L)

The provider of technology and services for the global offshore energy markets, announces that further to the announcements on the 31 March 2023 and 19 April 2023, Steve Lockard and Colin Welsh will be appointed to the board as Non-Executive Directors with immediate effect, following the completion of customary due diligence checks. Steve Lockard has over 35 years of experience in global operations leadership and has been an operating partner of SCF since 2021 where he supports energy transition investments and company platform building. Colin Welsh is a Partner of SCF Partners. Prior to joining SCF in 2017, he served as Head of International Energy Investment Banking at Simmons & Company International.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Golden Metal Resources Plc a mineral exploration company focused on tungsten, gold, copper, silver and zinc within Nevada, USA intends to join AIM. It was established on 22 April 2021 as a company registered in England and Wales for the purpose of holding all of the Nevada mining assets of Power Metal Resources plc (AIM:POW). The Company holds four mining assets comprising the wholly owned Pilot Mountain, Garfield and Stonewall projects together with an earn-in option over the Golconda Summit project. Each of the projects consists of mining claims located entirely on land managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management. Expected Admission Early May 2023.

Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets Trust Plc intends to join the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange. The Company is a new UK investment trust seeking to achieve long-term capital appreciation through investment primarily in quoted securities that provide exposure to global Emerging Markets and intends to raise £100m at 100p per ordinary share. Expected Admission 3 May 2023.

Drumz Plc is an investing company admitted to trading on AIM with an investment policy focused on technology businesses based in Europe. Drumz currently has two investments, being a 25%. shareholding in Acuity Risk Management (ARM) and a 5.85% legacy shareholding in KCR Residential REIT plc (KCR). Admission to AIM is being sought as Drumz has conditionally agreed terms to acquire the remaining issued shares and to be issued shares in ARM for a total consideration of approximately £3.6m. Drumz plc will be renamed Acuity RM Group plc post Admission. The Company intends to raise £1.45m on Admission and will have a market capitalisation of £5.4m. Expected Admission 25 April 2023.

Vinanz Limited intends to join the Access Segment of the AQSE Growth Market. Vinanz Limited aims to build out a fully-fledged Bitcoin mining company initially focusing on installing clusters of Bitcoin miners in multiple decentralised data facilities throughout the US and Canada through third-party cryptocurrency mining providers such as Compass Mining. Whilst the Company will focus initially on BTC mining, it will also consider mining of other cryptocurrencies, and operations in the DeFi and Big Data space in the future. Expected Admission 21 April 2023.

M7 Box+ REIT plc, a newly established, externally managed closed-ended investment company announces that it intends to join the Wholesale segment of IPSX. Upon Admission, the Company proposes to acquire a portfolio of seven let and operational e-warehouses from M7 Box+ II LP. As at 31 December 2022, the Property Portfolio was valued at £228.9m. Expected Admission April 2023.

*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP

** Content not provided by Hybridan LLP

This document has been prepared by Hybridan LLP for information purposes only and should not be construed in any circumstances as an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to buy any security or other financial instrument, nor shall it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract relating to such action. This document has no regard for the specific investment objectives, financial situation or needs of any specific entity and is not a personal recommendation to anyone. Recipients should make their own investment decisions based upon their own financial objectives and financial resources and, if any doubt, should seek advice from an investment advisor. The information contained in this document is based on materials and sources that are believed to be reliable; however, they have not been independently verified and are not guaranteed as being accurate. This document is not intended to be a complete statement or summary of any securities, markets, reports or developments referred to herein. No representation or warranty, either express or implied, is made or accepted by Hybridan LLP, its members, directors, officers, employees, agents or associated undertakings in relation to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information in this document nor should it be relied upon as such. Any and all opinions expressed are current opinions as of the date appearing on this document only. Any and all opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and Hybridan LLP is under no obligation to update the information contained herein. To the fullest extent permitted by law, none of Hybridan LLP, its members, directors, officers, employees, agents or associated undertakings shall have any liability whatsoever for any direct or indirect or consequential loss or damage (including lost profits) arising in any way from use of all or any part of the information in this document. This document is sent to you as market commentary only. As market commentary this document does not constitute any of (i) investment research and financial analysis or other forms of general recommendation relating to transactions in financial instruments for the purposes of the UK retained version of section B of annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU (“MIFID II Directive”); or (ii) investment research as defined in the UK retained version of article 36(1) of Commission Delegated Regulation 2017/565/EU made pursuant to the MIFID II Directive; or (iii) non-independent research (as such term is defined in the Financial Conduct Authority’s Conduct of Business Sourcebook).