Funding Circle took a hammering in conditional dealing on Tuesday, dashing hopes that the peer-to-peer lending platform would get off to a fast start when it joins the London Stock Exchange tomorrow.
Last week, the fintech firm was forced to reduce its price range to between 440p-460p a share having previously set it at 420p-530p a share.
Shortly before the close of play in London, the stock was changing hands for 396p – a 9.8% fall for the day. Full trading is scheduled to begin tomorrow.
Alexander Mining’s tech to be used at Turkish zinc mine
Alexander Mining PLC’s (LON:AXM) AmmLeach mineral processing technology is to be used at a new zinc processing facility in Turkey.
Martin Rosser, CEO, said: "We are delighted with the excellent news and swift progress made by our partners Proses and greatly appreciate their hard work and efforts to reach this exciting milestone.”
Tesco ‘facing multi-million-pound equal pay claim’
Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) shares are 1.4% down today on a report in the Retail Gazette that it is facing a multi-million-pound equal pay claim.
Campaigners from the Tesco Action Group have accused the supermarket giant of paying shopworkers – predominantly women – up to £3 less per hour than warehouse and distribution centre workers who are mostly men.
More than 8,000 workers have reportedly signed up to pursue the claims, which Tesco has denied.
A separate claim by law firm Leigh Day demanding up to £4bn in back pay for affected workers was lodged earlier this year. It is unclear if the two lawsuits are linked.
Ilika on track to launch next line of miniature batteries in early 2019
Battery maker Ilika PLC (LON:IKA) has seen its share price surge after it started shipping the pre-launch evaluation samples of its tiny Stereax batteries.
The batteries, code-named Golden Hind, are designed for miniature medical implants.
Batches have now been sent out to Ilika’s commercial manufacturing partners in the US and Asia that make those kinds of devices.
Ilika is finishing up the work on its prototypes ahead of a planned product launch early next year. Shares powered 17% higher to 19.9p.
Profit taking hits Ferguson’s share price
Ferguson Plc (LON:FERG), the plumbing products retailer which trades as Wolseley in the UK, has seen its shares fall despite posting what looked like a solid set of full-year numbers.
The FTSE 100 company said its ongoing trading profit rose 14.7% to US$1.51bln in the year to the end of July on revenue 7.5% higher at US$20.75bln.
Ferguson, which has returned over US$2bln to shareholders during the year through dividends and buybacks, hiked the final dividend by 21% to 189.3 cents and re-based future dividends by 10%.
But the stock fell 4.6% to 6,232p on Tuesday Morning, with commentators putting that down to profit taking given that shares have gained 18% over the past six months.
Global Petroleum confident of success in Namibia despite last week’s well result
Global Petroleum Limited’s (LON:GBP) move to reassure investors about the viability of its offshore Namibia oil portfolio seems to be working this morning.
The explorer’s partner, Tullow Oil plc (LON:TLW), reported last week that it was plugging and abandoning one of the wells after failing to find enough oil to make it commercially viable.
But Global hit back today, stating that the fact hydrocarbons were found at all, coupled with the presence of wet gas signatures (indicative of oil), mean the issue was with that particular well rather than the area itself.
The company also pointed to several nearby wells which have shown evidence of a “functioning hydrocarbon system”.
“Accordingly, Global believes the well result does not impact the prospectivity of its portfolio,” read a statement. Shares rose 13.3% to 2.38p.
Analysts hammer Royal Mail
Royal Mail PLC (LON:RMG) rushed out a late-afternoon profit warning on Monday, and investors are still returning their shares this morning as analysts start to weigh in their downgrades.
One such bear was Liberum’s Gerald Khoo, who described yesterday’s update was “shocking”.
“We have been bearish on the outlook for productivity improvements, but yesterday's profit warning was shocking in its scale and timing,” Khoo said in a note to clients.
He repeated his ‘sell’ recommendation as he slashed his price target to 250p from 415p. Royal Mail shares, having slumped 17% yesterday, fell another 7.6% this morning to 361.3p.
Pennant wins major contract in Middle East
Pennant International Group PLC (LON:PEN) has been awarded a major new contract worth an initial £10.2mln, sending shares in the training simulations developer climbing by 9% to 148.2p.
As part of the contract, which was provisionally agreed back in March, Pennant will supply and install a selection of training aids to a customer based in Qatar.
The aids will be used to train airport workers, including maintenance of mechanical and avionics systems, aircraft marshalling and ground handling activities.
Proactive news headlines
Alliance Pharma plc (LON:APH) has launched the UK’s only prescription treatment for vomiting and nausea during pregnancy.
Avacta Group Plc (LON:AVCT) says it has made “significant progress” in its partnering discussions and expects to deliver at least one “substantial” licensing deal before its Affimer technology reaches the clinic.
The order book for Obtala Ltd’s (LON:OBT) trading business remains very healthy at more than US$10mln, the company said in a third quarter update.
Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (LON:CMCL) has declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.06875 per share. The shares will go ex-dividend on 11 October, and the record date is 12 October.
Tekcapital PLC (LON:TEK) has raised US$1.1mln through a share placing to fund the commercialisation of its portfolio, while also announcing the appointment of a chairman to the board of one of its companies.
Julia Ralston has officially taken up her position as an executive director of Cello Health plc (LON:CLL), the communications and consulting group. Formerly chief executive of the business’ US arm, she joined the company in 2011 following the acquisition of MedErgy. “Julia's presence on the board will ensure appropriate levels of governance and control around Cello's expanding US business,” the company said.
Blockchain and crypto currency investor KR1 Plc (AQSE:KR1) has sold out of two of its investments at healthy prices. The last of KR1’s holding in Golem (GNT) was sold for 22c per token, raising US$134,000.
Bacanora Lithium PLC (LON:BCN) has revealed the findings of an external report commissioned to provide an analysis of the significant beneficial holders of the company's shares as at 11 September 2018. The largest holder is M&G, with 10% of the shares, followed by Blackrock, with 9.8%. Then comes Hanwa with 9.2%, Cadence Minerals and Igneous with 7.4% each.
AfriTin Mining Limited (LON:ATM) is to buy two more tin and tantalum licences to expand its footprint in Namibia.
App management platform appScatter Group PLC has appointed Andrew Bushby as a non-executive director. He brings 25 years of experience in the industry working previously for Oracle Corporation, Sun Microsystems and Novell.
Block Energy Plc (LON:BLOE) has appointed Christopher Brown as a non-executive director to replace Tim Parson. Brown is a consultant with nearly 40 years' experience across the international upstream oil and gas sector.
ECR Minerals PLC (LON:ECR) said the option period for due diligence work on the Iceberg gold project in Western Australia has been extended to allow for a thorough review of historical data supplied by the vendors.