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Surface Transforms higher after raising £18mln via placing

Last updated: 15:11 20 Jan 2021 GMT, First published: 08:53 20 Jan 2021 GMT

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Surface Transforms PLC (LON:SCE) gained 11% to 67.06p in late afternoon trading after raising £18mln via a placing and subscription.

The manufacturer of automotive brake discs placed 35mln shares at 50p each, a discount of 5.7%, which represent 23.2% of its entire issued share capital.

The proceeds will be used to build more infrastructure so it can complete contracts with two clients which would have otherwise been difficult to honour.

2.10pm: Burberry surges thanks to defensive festive trading performance

Burberry Group PLC (LON:BRBY) jumped 5% to 1,831.5p in the afternoon after posting a defensive performance in the 13 weeks to December 26, with revenue down 4% to £688mln.

Luxury bags and trenchcoats were in demand among younger, new clientele, especially online and in Asian countries, but sales were offset by an increase in COVID-19 related trading restrictions, a planned reduction in markdown and reduction in tourist traffic.

The FTSE 100 group only has 15% of stores closed while 36% are operating with reduced hours or restrictions but they remain susceptible to regional disruptions.

12.50pm: Wincanton jumps after upgrading profit expectations thanks to online shopping trends

Wincanton PLC (LON:WIN) jumped 13% to 307p at lunchtime after announcing full-year profits will be “materially ahead” of expectations.

The logistics group returned to growth after revenues were up 10% in the three months to end-December, its third quarter, mostly driven by growing online shopping numbers.

Public and Industrial sector sales have also been boosted by strong volumes in construction and the increased utilisation of its shared transport network.

11.45am: Deltex Medical lower after pandemic effect drags down revenue

Deltex Medical Group plc (LON:DEMG) lost a tenth of its value to 1.76p before lunch after quantifying the pandemic hit because of the reduction in elective surgical procedures worldwide.

Revenues for the year to December 31 came in at £2.4mln, down from £4.3mln in 2019.

The AIM-listed provider of systems to monitor heart activity ended the period with £900,000 in the bank.

10.45am: Faron Pharmaceuticals in demand after drug shows potential wider effects 

Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN) shot up 25% to 431.4p in mid-morning after observations of its precision cancer drug, bexmarilimab, suggested its immune-stimulating effects may be broader than first thought.

The drugmaker discovered that the molecule being targeted by its candidate, Clever-1, is controlling the work of T cells (which are part of our immune system) more than expected.

Faron will now assess whether to increase the drug's dosing regimen, from every three weeks to every fortnight or week and a half, because patients responded well to therapy.

10.45am: Sabien Technology tanks after scrapping acquisition

Sabien Technology Group PLC (LON:SNT) tanked 50% to 0.095p on its first day back to AIM after being suspended.

The energy efficiency products supplier announced that the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Ptarmigan Health Destinations proposed in November will not be proceeding.

The board couldn’t secure the required Swiss and UK regulatory approvals in sufficient time to avoid the cancellation of its ordinary shares on AIM, so it decided to scrap it to be able to continue trading.

In the theme of listing, Pensana Rare Earths Plc (LON:PRE) shed 6% to 109.56p after announcing it wants to leave the Australian Securities Exchange, so it will only be listed in London.

The miner said the additional listing is costly and recent announcements by the EU have made it clear that it is no longer acceptable to import unsustainably sourced raw materials to build the green economy.

In response to this new policy setting, the company is looking to work with the UK government and others to establish a sustainable magnet metal supply chain through the sustainable development of the Longonjo mine in Angola to supply a rare earth oxide processing facility located in the Saltend Chemicals Park in the Humber Local Enterprise partnership UK.

8.55am: DeepMatter an early riser after data licencing agreement with Merck

DeepMatter Group PLC (LON:DMTR) was an early riser on Wednesday as it advanced 11% to 2.6p on the back of a data licensing agreement with Merck’s Life Science unit.

The AIM-listed firm focusing on digitising chemistry will provide the German giant with its proprietary chemical structure and reaction data content. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Remaining in the medtech sector, ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL) added 6% to 69p after sharing research that shows its Parsortix liquid biopsy is able to identify a certain type of cancer cell that is indicative of the spread of the disease throughout the body – a process called metastasis.

It was also better in a head-to-head in this regard than the current antibody-based gold standard for isolating circulating tumour cells (CTC).

“Here we demonstrate the unique attributes of Parsortix which position it as an ideal CTC platform for use in the clinic, including metastatic patients with predominantly mesenchymal CTCs,” said Professor Alison Allan, senior oncologist at the London Regional Cancer Programme.

Proactive news headlines:

Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy (LON:FARN) (First North:FARON) has shared observations of its precision cancer drug, bexmarilimab, that suggest its immune-stimulating effects may be broader than first thought. Researchers assessed data from the phase I/II MATINS clinical trial of the treatment, which targets Clever-1, a receptor known to be expressed on immunosuppressive macrophages. They did so working with Kaiku Health, a data science company that uses an artificial intelligence platform to analyse patient results following treatment with cancer immunotherapies. Faron said the latest scientific observations from the trial included the identification of a new role for soluble Clever-1 related to its capacity to control T-cell activation.

ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY) has shared research that shows its Parsortix liquid biopsy is able to identify a certain type of cancer cell that is indicative of the spread of the disease throughout the body – a process called metastasis. It was also better in a head-to-head in this regard than the current antibody-based gold standard for isolating circulating tumour cells (CTC). The two systems were on a par in identifying an epithelial breast cancer line; however, Parsortix harvested “significantly more” mesenchymal prostate CTCs than the traditional method.

CMC Markets PLC (LON:CMCX) said it is confident that full-year profits will be at the upper end of market forecasts after trading remained strong in its third quarter. The group continued to perform “very well” as a whole in the three months to end-December, 2020, the FTSE 250 firm said in a trading statement on Wednesday, with active client numbers staying “high” and resulting in client trading activity being “strong”, although at lower levels than earlier in the financial year. CMC put the strong performance down to its ability to attract and retain “premium clients”, with a strong flow of newcomers showing similar qualities to prior cohorts of customers.

Bango PLC (LON:BGO) said it has formed a strategic partnership with TPAY MOBILE, a digital payments platform for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, to increase access to digital commerce and accelerate its entry into new markets. The AIM-listed firm said the collaboration with TPAY will allow its merchant partners to “more quickly” gain access to around 1.5bn people thanks to TPAY’s “massive footprint of carrier billing and wallet providers” which are now available through Bango’s platform.

Open Orphan PLC (LON:ORPH) has opened two new walk-in recruitment centres to screen potential volunteers for challenge trials in East London and central Manchester. The new sites, which are part of a planned expansion of trials in 2021, include a repurposed former coffee shop at the street level of Queen Mary BioEnterprise Innovation Centre (QMB) in Whitechapel, East London. The QMB centre currently houses subsidiary hVIVO's current 24-bedroom quarantine clinic, but the new site is the first to be located at street level where volunteers can walk straight in for screening. With the new site, the QMB facility can offer 520 volunteer recruitment visit slots per week. The central Manchester site will have the capacity for 100 visits per week.

Synairgen PLC (LON:SNG) said it has completed recruitment of 120 coronavirus (COVID-19) patients for its Phase II trial evaluating the performance of its inhaled formulation of interferon-beta-1a (SNG001) treatment in the home. Results from the trial are expected in the second quarter of 2021. Synairgen is undertaking a two-part trial of SNG001 on 101 patients in hospital and 120 at home.

Tirupati Graphite PLC (LON:TGR) has highlighted progress being made at the Tirupati Graphene and Mintech Research Centre (TGMRC) in India. The facility is focused on the development of graphene manufacturing and applications, and it is seen in the overall business model as a stand-alone, revenue generative part of the company. “The model is designed to catalyse the commercialisation of graphene applications by developing commercial/bulk scale manufacturing of consistent, high-quality graphene at affordable costs,” said Shishir Poddar, Tirupati chief executive in a statement. “With the global market for graphene forecast to reach over US$1 billion by 2023 as techno commercial bottlenecks are overcome, we intend to be a significant contributor to this growth.”

Amryt Pharma PLC (LON:AMYT) (NASDAQ:AMYT) noted that support groups for people suffering from eating disorder leptin deficiency said they were 'ecstatic' after its treatment for the condition, Myalepta, was approved for the use by the NHS. NICE, the UK’s pharma regulator, has approved Myalepta for reimbursement as an adjunct to diet as replacement therapy for two forms of the condition, generalised (GL) and partial lipodystrophy (PL). In a statement, Joe Wiley, Amryt Pharma’s chief executive, said: “We are very excited to report NICE’s approval which will now give all England and Wales based patients suffering from lipodystrophy the opportunity to access Myalepta."

Alliance Pharma PLC (LON:APH) has said its underlying pre-tax profit for 2020 is expected to be “marginally ahead of market expectations” as its consumer healthcare brands continued to perform strongly despite the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In a trading update for the year to December 31, 2020, the AIM-listed group said its see-through revenues for the year were down 5% at £137.5mln as a result of the pandemic. One bright spot were revenues for consumer products, which rose 1% to £93mln year-on-year, although this was offset by a 14% decline in prescription medicines to £44.5mln as COVID-19 impacted the delivery of routine treatments.

MaxCyte Inc (LON:MXCT) (LON:MXCL) has said its 2021 revenue growth is likely to accelerate after it weighed in with a better than expected performance for the year just gone. The cell engineering specialist said turnover for the 12 months ended December 31, 2020, advanced by 21% to US$26.2mln – a rise it attributed to the “increasing adoption and use” of its technology. The numbers were also buoyed by the launch of an expanded ExPERT range of disposables. Cash and equivalents at the year-end were a very healthy US$34.8mln following the company’s successful US$30.5mln financing last May.

Capital Limited (LON:CAPD) has appointed Giles Everist as the company’s new chief financial officer (CFO, commencing March 1, 2021. Everist replaces André Koekemoer who is leaving the company and returning to South Africa for personal reasons. The company noted that the majority of Everist’s career of over 30 years has been spent in CFO, executive and non-executive roles across the international mining sector.

Sensyne Health PLC (LON:SENS), the UK Clinical AI company, said it has signed a five-year non-exclusive Strategic Research Agreement (SRA) with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.  The agreement will enable the ethical application of clinical AI research to improve patient care and accelerate research into new medicines. The RWT dataset covers 700,000 unique patient records from a patient population of approximately 470,000 people. The new SRA brings the combined total of anonymised data available for analysis by Sensyne to 6.8 million patients.

Learning Technologies Group PLC (LON:LTG) said it has agreed to acquire San Francisco-based performance management software provider Reflektive Inc for US$14.2mln (£10.4mln) in cash. The digital learning group said Reflektive, which specialises in engagement and analytics tools used by corporate teams to boost productivity, will be incorporated into LTG’s PeopleFluent talent management portfolio and provide what the firm said will be cross and up-selling growth opportunities.

Shanta Gold Limited (LON:SHG) has confirmed 625,000 ounces of group-wide gold reserves and 3.2mln ounces of resources. The reserves are defined across two projects in Tanzania whilst the resource inventory is made up across all three projects in Tanzania and Kenya. Last year’s exploration drilling at the NLGM project contributed some 173,000 ounces to reserves whilst the Porcupine South deposit contributed during the year with a 64,000 maiden resource.

Supply@ME Capital PLC (LON:SYME), the innovative fintech platform which provides a unique, market-leading Inventory Monetisation service to European manufacturing and trading companies, has said the authorisation process for its Shariah-compliant Inventory Monetisation Platform has been successfully completed. Following the announcement the groups of November 3, 2020, the company said that with the support of the Shariah Funding Specialist and iMASS, it was told that  "an official pronouncement has been released by Sheikh Dr Mohamed Elgari and Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo in their capacity as members of the Shariah scholar board in relation to the inventory monetisation service."

IronRidge Resources Limited (LON:IRR) has announced a fully underwritten call for the exercise of warrants which will raise £3,793,019 in new capital, before costs, to assist the company's ongoing project exploration and development efforts within Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Chad. The African-focused minerals exploration group said under approval granted by shareholders at the company's General Meeting of June 25, 2020, it has remaining in issue 31,608,492 warrants issued to participants in the company's capital raising announced on May 11, 2020. Each warrant is exercisable at a price of 12p into one Depositary Interest shares of no par value in the company. The company noted that it has the ability to call on the holders to exercise their warrants in the event that the company's ordinary shares trade at a Volume Weighted Average Price at or above 16p per share for a period of five consecutive business days, which was achieved on August 12, 2020.

Tiziana Life Sciences PLC (NASADAQ:TLSA) (LON:TILS), a biotechnology company focused on innovative therapeutics for oncology, inflammation, and infectious diseases has said that, as previously announced, the last day of trading of the company's ordinary shares on AIM will be Wednesday, January 20, 2021. and the AIM delisting will be effective from 7.00am on January 21m 2021.  Admission of Tiziana’s shares to the Official List and commencement of dealing in the ordinary shares on the Main Market will be effective from 8.00am on January 21, 2021.

Albion Enterprise VCT PLC (LON:AAEV) has announced the appointment of Rhodri Whitlock as a non-executive director of the company with effect from January 19, 2021. On appointment, the trust said Whitlock will succeed Lord St John of Bletso as its Audit Committee chairman following his decision to step down from the board on November 30, 2020. Albion Enterprise noted that Whitlock, a chartered accountant, has over 25 years’ experience as a partner providing a range of assurance services and advice to listed and private companies. For 20 of those years, it added, Whitlock worked closely with the non-executive boards of a significant number of investment and infrastructure funds with aggregate assets under management of £1.5bn. He has assisted with IPOs of companies and investment trusts and has experience of valuations. The group also announced that the Dowager Lady Balfour of Burleigh who has been on its board since 2006 has been appointed Senior Independent Director with effect from January 19, 2021.

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