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.

Joiners: Draper Esprit (GROW.L) has moved from AIM to the Main Market.

Leavers: No Leavers Today.

Banquet Buffet

Cora Gold 10p  £24.6m (CORA.L)

The West African fused gold company, announced the eighth set of drill results from its largest ever drilling campaign at its Sanankoro Gold Project  in Southern Mali.  The Company is focussed on targeting resource growth as well as infill drilling to convert existing Inferred resources to Indicated.  The results to date have been extremely encouraging with good widths and high-grade results in generally shallow oxide ore. Intersections include: 8m @ 19.11 g/t Au from 90m in hole SC0459 at B1, 32m @ 4.43 g/t Au from 29m in hole SC0453 on the northernmost tested section at B3, 28m @ 2.85 g/t Au from 32m in hole SC0443 at B3, 13m @ 3.03 g/t Au from 77m in hole SC0462 at B1, 25m @ 1.35 g/t Au from 65m in hole SC0436 at B3 down-dip of SC0453. Results at Zone B represent a Phase 1 (P1) programme targeting the mineralisation along the previously defined 1.75km strike length of the deposit. These results demonstrate that there is further mineralisation beyond the existing pit boundaries both at depth and along strike in both directions and offers further encouragement as the Company targets a resource update later in the year. 

Fusion Antibodies 127.5p  £32.9m (FAB.L)

The specialist in pre-clinical antibody discovery, engineering and supply for both therapeutic drug and diagnostic applications, announces that it has achieved its first research milestone payment as part of its ongoing collaboration with a major client. This success milestone payment, for the value of £150k has been received as a result of a humanised antibody project that the Company has provided services to, and was successfully commercialised by the client by way of transfer of rights for value to a third party. The details of the client company concerned are confidential and no further information can be disclosed.

Gateley Holdings 202.5p  £238.8m (GTLY.L)

Gateley, the  legal and professional services group , announced the acquisition by Gateley Vinden Limited of the business and assets of Tozer Gallagher LLP, a leading practice of chartered quantity surveyors and construction consultants, for a total maximum consideration of £700k plus an amount equal to the book value of the assets acquired, expected to be approximately £115k. Tozer Gallagher will join the Gateley Vinden business, which the Group acquired in March 2020. This strategic Acquisition adds further strength and depth to the Group’s Property Platform and is the tenth business that Gateley has acquired since its IPO in 2015. Tozer Gallagher was founded over 30 years ago and is a nationally recognised and highly respected practice of chartered quantity surveyors and construction consultants based in Manchester and London. The business specialises in built environment consultancy, fund monitoring services, and surety advisory. The Tozer Gallagher team, headed by Directors Bill Ibram, Anthony Meaden and Paul Rigby, are well known to Gateley Vinden and Gateley Legal, having previously collaborated on a number of projects.  All three Directors will continue to work as part of the management team of Gateley Vinden incorporating Tozer Gallagher. Tozer Gallagher’s clients include QBE, Euler Hermes, Aviva Insurance and Bank ABC, as well as a number of councils, education trusts and social housing providers across the UK. In the year ending 31 May 2021, Tozer Gallagher produced revenues of circa £1m.

Hotel Chocolat 360p  £453m (HOTC.L)

The premium British chocolatier and multi-channel retailer announced, following the announcement yesterday the successful completion of the placing of having received strong demand from existing Shareholders and other high-quality institutional investors. The Company also announced the successful completion of an offer made by the Company for retail investors in the UK to subscribe for Ordinary Shares via the PrimaryBid platform. Gross proceeds of c.£40m at 355p. Angus Thirlwell, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The £40m growth capital raised today will be invested in our fast-growing business, furthering our aim of becoming a global digital-led chocolate brand. I’m delighted that our issue was oversubscribed, demonstrating the support Hotel Chocolat enjoys with its investors.”

Oncimmune Holdings 180p  £124.4m (ONC.L)

The global immunodiagnostics group, today announces it has signed an autoantibody profiling contract with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute  in Boston, Massachusetts. Dana-Farber, a clinical affiliate and research institute of Harvard Medical School, is a world-leading cancer research organisation and one of America’s top-rated cancer hospitals with more than 1,100 therapeutic and non therapeutic clinical trials in progress. Under this agreement, Oncimmune will be utilising its proprietary biomarker discovery engine, SeroTagTM, to identify autoantibodies that can be predictive of patient response or associated with resistance to checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) and chemotherapy used in Dana-Farber led studies or therapy using atezolizumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, durvalumab and cisplatin-based chemotherapy. In addition, SeroTag will be used for identifying autoantibodies that can be predictive of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in response treatment. The project is scheduled to complete by the end of 2021.

Parsley Box 132p  £55.7m (MEAL.L)

The rapidly growing direct to consumer provider of ready meals focused on the Baby Boomer + demographic, will launch a premium range of chilled ready meals. The Company, known for its cupboard stored ambient ready meals, is expanding its repertoire to further appeal to the broad tastes of its Baby Boomer+ base. The new chilled range, branded the Chef’s Table by Parsley Box, consists of eight meals featuring some of the nation’s favourite dishes including beef lasagne and luxury fish pie. These new larger (350g) additions to its menu have a longer shelf life (up to 10 days from delivery) compared with other chilled ready meals (typically 5 days)) and can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Prime People 61p  £7.4m (PRP.L)

FY Mar 21 results from, the global specialist recruitment business for professional and technical staff working in the Real Estate & Built Environment, Digital & Data Analytics sectors, today announces its audited results for the year ended 31 March 2021.  As previously reported, the Covid-19 pandemic started in the early part of 2020 and, while not having a material effect on outcomes for the year ended 31 March 2020, nonetheless, activity slowed in the final quarter with an increasing impact throughout the 12 months to 31 March 2021. PRP closed the year with headline Revenue of £17.8m (2020: £24.0m) and Net Fee Income (“NFI”) of £10.9m (2020 £15.5m), a 30% year-on-year decline. NFI comprises the total fees for permanent candidates and the margin earned in the placement of contract staff. The Group’s Operating Loss, was £0.12m compared to the prior year profit of £2.0m, before a goodwill impairment of £4.0m. The decline is attributable to lower NFI although there were materially reduced  operating costs as consequence of the income received in respect of the UK Government Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and support programs in overseas locations. Outlook: “All our markets have been impacted by Covid-19 and, although we have experienced reasonable progress as the various economies we operate in start to recover, noticeably in the UK. As an international Group, we may be impacted by ongoing restrictions on travel. Several of our geographic segments face geopolitical uncertainty and, whilst trading in our international offices is encouraging, we are closely monitoring the systemic risks posed over the longer term in all our regions of operation. We believe that with our management focus on the key business drivers, and optimising interaction between our regions, the Group is well positioned to respond swiftly across all businesses to changes impacting our activity. We are confident about our ability to generate worthwhile, long-term returns and will continue to invest for the future.”

Remote Monitored Systems 0.77p  £16.1m (RMS.L)

Notice of GM, AGM and trading update.  Special business for shareholders to consider at the AGM will be to change the name of the Company to nanosynth group plc in line with its proposed rebranding strategy, and adoption of an enterprise management incentive scheme which the Company believes to be a tax efficient means of attracting and incentivising talented management which is key as the search for a CEO continues.  Marketing of the Pro-Larva face mask has improved, with additional support now being provided to distribution partners in the UK, Europe and India, and the Pro-Larva brand has been successfully trademarked in the UK, which should assist with the sales efforts of Francis MacIntyre Limited and potentially lead to further orders following FML’s initial order of 100k masks announced in March 2021. As recently reported, sales have not been significant to date, however encouraging conversations are on-going with potential partners around the world and the Board remains confident that sales will grow in the second half of 2021. Despite the global vaccine roll out and the lifting of certain restrictions, it is clear that masks continue to have a role in reducing general infection risk, with nearly two thirds of people in the UK expressing a desire to continue to wear masks.  Whilst sales of the Pro-Larva mask remain a key priority, the Group is increasing its focus on developing the portfolio of new products. As previously stated, the Board is committed to building up the research and development side of the business as it believes that the ability to commercialise the intellectual property within the business is what will underpin shareholder value.

Secure Trust Bank 1212.5p  £226m (STB.L)

STB has agreed to sell a portfolio of Mortgage loans to Jacqali Designated Activity Company, a financing vehicle established by a global financial institution. This sale represents STB’s full exit from the residential mortgage market, which STB withdrew from in 2019. The consideration for the sale is estimated at £54.6m, subject to reconciliation, payable in cash on completion. The cash purchase consideration for the portfolio was calculated based on an agreed price (including a premium to net book value) for the portfolio as at 31 December 2020, adjusted for cash receipts STB received from the portfolio during the period from then up to the date of completion. The obligation of the purchaser to pay the consideration is backed by the global financial institution. The net book value of the portfolio as at 31 December 2020 was £77.7m. The portfolio contributed £1.95m including allocated costs to STB’s profit before tax in FY2020, on an unaudited basis. The sale is in line with STB’s strategy to focus on specialist lending segments offering higher yields. The capital released is intended to be reinvested into STB’s remaining businesses and for other general corporate purposes.

Simec Atlantis 6.2p  £32.5m (SAE.L)

The global sustainable energy generation company and technology developer, refers to its earlier announcements on 18 May 2021 and 9 June 2021 regarding the appointment of receivers over all of the shares of its major shareholder, SIMEC UK Energy Holdings Limited (SUEH), which SAE understands owns approximately 41% of the issued share capital of SAE. The GFG Alliance (of which SUEH is a member) has confirmed to SAE that the receiver’s appointment has ceased, and the receivers have resigned as directors of SUEH. The GFG Alliance has also confirmed that they are in control of the SAE shares. SAE understands that this matter is now resolved and looks forward to a more stable relationship with its major shareholder. SAE is an independent company, whose focus remains the delivery of its world leading projects, which can play a critical role in the journey to net zero.

What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?

Northcoders, an independent provider of training programmes for software coding, to join AIM. It offers a range of training and software development solutions to individual and corporate customers. The Company’s offering includes ‘bootcamp’ training courses, government funded apprenticeships and bespoke training courses and software development solutions. The Company operates a hybrid delivery model by providing its services in person at one of Northcoders’ regional office ‘hubs’, currently located in Manchester and Leeds, or digitally via its online platform. Gross proceeds for the company of approximately £3.5m  at an anticipated Mkt Cap on admission of £12.5m.Due 27 July.

Quantum Exponential Limited, a company formed to identify investment opportunities in the quantum technology sector, to apply for admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market . Raising up to £5m targeted for August.

SigmaRoc (on AIM) to complete RTO of of Nordkalk Oy Ab, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rettig Group, for a total Consideration of EUR470m. Nordkalk was established in 1898 as a limestone developer in Finland and since expanded across northern Europe to become the leading limestone company in the area. The Company has raised £260m from the Placing and £1.6m from the Retail Offer. Based on the Placing Price, Mkt Cap on Admission is expected to be approximately £542m. Due Late August.

BiVictriX Therapeutics  to join AIM, a UK based drug development company which was incorporated in February 2016 and has developed its proprietary Bi-Cygni® technology. This technology utilises Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADC”s), an existing class of potent biological drugs, for the treatment of various cancers including Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, the first condition which BVX intends to treat.

Central Copper Resources, a company focused on delivering a high grade copper project into production and exploration of assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in the Republic of Zambia to join AIM. By 2022, CCR intends to be ready to commence the project financing of its Mbamba Kilenda copper project. Offer TBA. Due early August.

Spinnaker Acquisitions to join the Main Market (Standard).  A company formed for the purpose of undertaking an acquisition or acquisitions of a majority interest in a company, business or asset. Due 28 July.

South West Brands the multi-brand cannabidiol consumer goods company  intends to float on the Main Market (Standard). Raising funds to continue to develop its existing portfolio of brand IP and pursue its strategy of adding brand IP assets to the portfolio over the course of the first 24 months following Admission. The Company expects Admission to occur in July 2021. Timing and offer TBA.

Big Technologies to join AIM. Big Technologies plc provides products and services to the remote and personal monitoring industry under a number of brand and trading names, with ‘Buddi’ being the most well known and used in respect of activities within the core criminal justice market. The Company’s criminal justice solution involves proprietary monitoring software combined with modular monitoring hardware being used to accurately track the location of tag wearers. Alongside this, the Company also offers monitoring services solutions for its customers. £16.1m via a placing of new ordinary shares. £185.6m via a sale of existing ordinary shares. Market capitalisation on admission based on an issue price of 200 pence of approximately £ 577.0m Due 28 July. 

HydrogenOne Capital Growth to IPO on the Premium Segment of the Main Market. HGEN is targeting a raise of £250m. First London listed investment fund dedicated to clean hydrogen. Due by the end of July.

*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP

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