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Midatech kicks on again after yesterday's approval of strategic investment

Last updated: 15:00 27 Feb 2019 GMT, First published: 09:14 27 Feb 2019 GMT

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Midatech Pharma PLC (LON:MTPH) came within a whisker of being the day’s biggest riser on the London stock market on Wednesday.

The shares rose 60.2% to 9.45p, a shade behind the 62.5% gain by sector peer Netscientific, as market makers mulled the implications of the approval yesterday of a strategic investment by Chinese billionaire Lam Kong.

Prior to yesterday’s announcement, the shares were trading at around the 4.1p mark.

READ Midatech Pharma soars as Chinese licensing deal is approved​

2.00pm: Redde shredded as it gets nostalgic about "The Beast from the East"

Half year results from accident management outfit Redde Plc (LON:PLC) did not read like a car crash but the shares took a dent all the same.

It’s been a long while since a company has made reference to ‘the ‘Beast from the East’ but Redde gave it a name check, warning that although trading in 2019 had thus continued to show year-on-year growth, the comparatives are starting to get tougher as this time last year the savagely cold spell of weather was taking off its track-suit and warming up – if that is not a contradiction in terms – on the sidelines, ready to come on and wreak havoc.

“The pipeline of new business is nevertheless encouraging with a number of live prospects. Investment in working capital will increase to service the continuing strategic goals of the business,” the company said.

Redde’s shares were down 11.8% at 165p.

1.00pm: Gattaca comments on media reports

Recruitment firm Gattaca PLC (LON:GATC) saw its shares subside again today as it made reference to a news agency article yesterday that mentioned the company.

The article was actually about Huawei, the Chinese electronics giant, but Gattaca’s subsidiary, Networkers Internatonal, was mentioned in relation to a company in Iran called Skycom, suspected of being a means by which Huawei could obtain embargoed US goods.

Gattaca confirmed it had responded to a request for information originating from the US Department of Justice but said it could not comment further on this matter at this time.

11.45am: Webis proves to be a bad punt

Totalisator-style betting firm Webis Holdings PLC (LON:WEB) proved to be a bad punt for traders on Wednesday after its interims came up short.

After the good news on Friday about a key licence renewal for its WatchandWager business in California, the shares came off 9.4% at 2.4p today as the company said the first half of its fiscal year had been a challenging one.

Primarily due to the loss of a large syndicate wagering into international pools, as reported to shareholders on 19 October 2018, Webis experienced a reduction in amounts wagered through its platform, with total amounts wagered at US$ 61.15mln (2017: US$ 209.31 mln). This also affected gross profit, which resulted in an overall loss for the half-year period of US$590,000, versus a loss of US$20,000 in the same period the year before.

11.00am: Mobile Streams shares gravitate towards subscription price after share issue

Loss-making mobile content provider Mobile Streams PLC (LON:MOS) saw its shares subside after it raised £14,000 through a share subscription.

The new shares were issued at 0.35p, compared to last night's close of 0.4p. At noon, the mid-market price of the stock had receded to 0.36p.

The new funds will provide working capital and will be available for the company to tap during the launch of its services in Indonesia.

10.15am: Beeks peaks then profit-takers do their thing

Beeks Financial Cloud Group PLC (LON:BKS), a cloud computing company focused on financial markets, got the cold shoulder from those very markets on Wednesday.

The shares tumbled 16p to 111.5p as traders took profits following its interim results statement; although down 12.6% today, the shares are still trading at almost twice the level they were a year ago.

The company moved into the black in the second half of 2018 with a pre-tax profit of £340,000 versus a loss in the corresponding period of 2017 of £106,000.

The fintech firm announced its maiden dividend of 0.2p.

9.30am: Nuformix boosted by regulatory approval for a clinical study of its lead candidate

Nuformix PLC (LON:NFX), the small molecule drugs developer, has received regulatory approval to commence human pharmacokinetics studies for its lead asset NXP001.

The approval allows Nuformix to initiate the first dosing of NXP001, a treatment for nausea and vomiting suffered by chemotherapy patients, in an open-label study to compare the bioavailability of NXP001 to Merck's EMEND in healthy subjects.

Shares in the Cambridge-based pharmaceutical development company shot up 11.9% to 2.35p.

Zombie company Interserve PLC (LON:IRV) rose from the dead to register a 10% increase in its share price following the publication of its massively dilutive deleveraging plan – just another 1,800% or so to be gained until long-suffering shareholders see their shareholdings return to 2016 levels.

The heavily indebted construction and regeneration company announced a fully underwritten placing and open offer to raise around £435.2mln that will see shares issued at 15.3p.

Existing shareholders will be able to buy the shares on the basis of 19 new shares for every existing share currently held.

The shares currently trade at 22.8p, up 2.1p on last night's close.

Proactive news headlines:

Clinigen PLC (LON:CLIN) is predicting another half of “good progress” as it said adjusted earnings and cash flow grew strongly in the six months to the end of December. The speciality pharma group, which earlier this month unveiled an ambitious £158mln deal to acquire the US rights to a Novartis cancer drug, reported its revenues had grown by a quarter to £208.9mln, buoyed by recent purchases it has made.

Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd (LON:ECO, CVE:EOG) chief executive Gil Holzman has told investors the company is very excited by the opportunity to hopefully discover very significant oil resources in the coming months. As it looks forward to the upcoming high-impact Jethro-Lobe exploration well, in the second quarter, the company today released its financial results statement for the three months ended 31 December.

Bluejay Mining PLC (LON:JAY) has confirmed it is in discussions with Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Canada Inc. (RTIT) in connection with an agreement to assess the commercial potential of Bluejay's Dundas ilmenite project in Greenland. The AIM-listed group said it is optimistic that an agreement will be concluded with RTIT in due course, however, nothing has been finalised at this stage.

Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM) announced a placing on Wednesday to raise around £400,000 to fund due diligence and deal costs for its ongoing acquisitions.

Mining company Vast Resources PLC (LON:VAST) has completed import paperwork related to its Magura Neagra & Piciorul Zimbrului prospecting licences in northern Romania.

Alba Mineral Resources PLC (LON:ALBA) is evidently pleased at the pace of response by Brockham project operator Angus Energy which has detailed the steps it is taking to address water influx issues at the well. The company, in a statement after Tuesday’s stock market close, noted that long lead equipment to isolate the water zones has now been sourced and is ready for shipping from the USA.

KR1 PLC (LON:KE1) announced that yesterday it issued 3,806,675 new ordinary shares in the company following the exercise of 3,806,675 warrants, due to expire on 14 March 2019. The group said the warrants were exercised at a price of 0.76p each and the proceeds of £28,930 will be used by the company for additional working capital.

Franchise Brands PLC (LON:FRAN) announced that, in accordance with the authority granted by shareholders at the company's AGM, on 26 February 2019, it purchased 2,400 of its own ordinary shares at a price of 70p each. The group said these shares will be held as treasury shares.

Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC), the nickel-copper sulphide mineral exploration and resource development company focused on the far east of Russia, announced that it today issued 6,193,997 new ordinary shares in the company to Cuart Investments PCC Ltd and YA II PN Ltd in settlement of US$217,490 of principal and accrued interest due under the convertible loan agreement entered into on 13 February 2018.

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