Investment firm Gunsynd PLC (LON:GUN) saw its shares tumble 15.3% to 0.03p in late-afternoon trading after mining firm Metminco Ltd pulled out of acquiring its investee company Sunshine Minerals Ltd.
Gunsynd, which holds a 20% stake in Sunshine, said Metminco still regarded the project as "attractive" but was "unable to complete due diligence to its satisfaction".
In the risers, shares in Scancell Holdings Plc (LON:SCLP) were up 1.6% at 7.8p after pre-clinical data showed that its Modi-2 vaccine has the potential to treat different types of cancer to its forerunner, Modi-1.
Modi-2 is the second vaccine developed from Scancell’s Moditope platform after Modi-1, the lead Moditope vaccine which is due to enter the clinic in 2019.
Meanwhile, Xtract Resources PLC (LON:XTR) jumped 12.7% to 0.7p after it said it had agreed to revise the terms of its collaboration agreement with Nexus Capital Limited for the mining of alluvial gold deposits at its Manica concession in Mozambique.
The AIM-listed miner said on Tuesday that amendments made to an agreement made between the parties in June 2017 would create a new “equitable agreement".
1.00pm: Pelatro rises as it inks contract with Cypriot telecom firm PrimeTel
Shares in marketing software group Pelatro PLC (LON:PTRO) moved up 5% to 72.5p in lunchtime trading after it secured a contract with PrimeTel, a telecom provider in Cyprus.
The firm said that following the contract win, it now had US$3.3mln in revenues contracted for the 2019 financial year.
Meanwhile, WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) shares jumped 6.8% to 1,852p as the retailer expanded its travel business into the US with the US$198mln (£155mln) cash acquisition of InMotion, a market leading retailer of digital accessories in US airports.
In a statement, the FTSE 250-listed high street books and stationery stores firm pointed out that the acquisition will double the size of its fast-growing international travel business and said it expects the purchase to be earnings per share accretive in the first full financial year after completion.
In the small caps, Rosslyn Data Technologies PLC (LON:RDT) saw its shares rise 6.7% to 7.8p after the firm inked a contract to provide data analytics to one of Europe’s largest logistics firms and issued a bullish trading update.
The company said the three-year contract, worth over €560,000, would provide €320,000 of anticipated revenue in the first year and €120,000 per year thereafter, with an option to extend beyond the initial term and add additional services.
11.00am: Nostrum Oil & Gas slides as it cuts full-year sales guidance
Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC (LON:NOG) shares dropped 3.8% to 210.5p in mid-morning trading as it cut its full-year sales guidance due to lower third-quarter volumes.
The firm said that for the three months to September, average sales volumes were 31,776 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 36,635 in the same period last year.
Elsewhere, shares in The Restaurant Group PLC (LON:RTN), the owner of Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito, tumbled 14.1% to 255p after it agreed to buy the Wagamama chain in a deal valued at £559mln.
The company will fund the acquisition of the Asian Restaurant Group using £357mln in cash, £202mln in debt and a £315mln fully underwritten rights issue.
In the risers, WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) shot up 16.6% to 0.3p as it streamlined its WideAcademy business, saving the stem cells services company around £400,000 a year.
As part of the restructuring, WideAcademy’s senior vice president Alan Greenberg, who is also chief business development officer and a director of the board, has resigned from his positions.
Meanwhile, in the blue-chips, AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) was up 0.9% at 5,921p as it sold off the rights to two of its drugs for almost US$1bn to Grünenthal – the German pharma giant which first developed and sold thalidomide.
FTSE 100-listed Astra is selling the prescription medicine rights to its Nexium heartburn treatment in Europe for an initial US$700mln plus up to another US$90mln in milestone payments.
9.00am: TomCo shares surge on Red Leaf disposal
Shares in shale oil group TomCo Energy PLC (LON:TOM) surged 23.8% to 13.7p in early trading after it disposed of its interest in Red Leaf Resources for US$133,333.
The company also said it had raised £100,000 through the placing of around 1.1mln new shares at a price of 8.5p, a 23% discount on yesterday’s close price.
Elsewhere, SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited (LON:SAE) shares jumped 6.3% to 12.5p as it joined a joint venture (JV) that will develop a large scale tidal power project in Le Raz Blanchard, Normandy.
Atlantis will hold a majority stake in the JV, Normandie Hydrolienne. Its partners are the Development Agency for Normandy (AD Normandy) and the regional investment fund, Normandie Participations.
In the fallers, oil services group Hunting PLC (LON:HTG) slipped 3.9% to 670p after it delivered a solid performance in the third quarter but warned that the US offshore and international markets remain slow.
The firm on Tuesday said revenues during the third quarter remained steady in North America as activity within the onshore shale basins continued, with good demand for its perforating products and accessories. It added that it was on track to hit full-year targets.
Meanwhile, household products giant Reckitt Benckiser (LON:RB.) dropped 4.6% to 6,307p as it reported underlying revenue growth of 2% in its third quarter after being hit by temporary manufacturing disruption in Europe, which dented sales.
The maker of Durex condoms, Vanish detergent and Airwick air fresheners, on Tuesday said its like-for-like sales had grown 2% in the quarter, thanks to solid performances at its health and hygiene home divisions, which helped it partly absorb the hit caused by the production issue.
Proactive news headlines:
WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) has streamlined its WideAcademy business, saving the stem cells services company around £400,000 a year.
Sunrise Resources PLC (LON:SRES) has completed commercial trials on bulk samples taken from the CS pozzolan-perlite project in Nevada.
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited (LON:SAE) has joined a joint venture (JV) that will develop a large scale tidal power project in Le Raz Blanchard, Normandy.
Rosslyn Data Technologies PLC (LON:RDT) has inked a contract to provide data analytics to one of Europe’s largest logistics firms.
Obtala Ltd (LON:OBT) is looking to either seek a strategic partner for or spin out its agriculture business in order to focus on its growing forestry and timber trading divisions. The AIM-quoted company grows crops such as butternut squash and melons at its farms in Tanzania, while it also sells a range of tinned foods and sauces under its Mama Jo’s brand.
Pre-clinical data has shown that Scancell Holdings PLC’s (LON:SCLP) Modi-2 vaccine has the potential to treat different types of cancer than its forerunner.
Frontier IP Group PLC (LON:FIPP) is taking a 25% stake in Des Solutio, a green chemical products firm as part of a spin-out process.
MySQUAR Limited (LON:MYSQ), the Myanmar-language mobile internet technology firm, has raised £600,000 through a share placing.
Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd. (LON:RB.) exported 350 tonnes of rare earths concentrate from its mine in Burundi during the three months to 30 September 2018, an increase of 27%.
Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd. (LON:CGH) has entered into a special purchase agreement with the Russian mining giant Polymetal for the acquisition of Kapan Mining and Processing Company. Kapan owns a polymetallic mine in Armenia.
Tlou Energy PLC (LON:TLOU) believes it has ‘submitted a compelling and robust proposal’ for a thermal power station at the Lesedi coal bed methane site in Botswana. The company, which was asked to re-tender for the contract, said it had ‘outlined a staged development commencing with up to 10MW of generation as well as outlining project feasibility, proposed field development, installation of power generation facilities and supply of power into the grid in Botswana.
Egdon Resources PLC (LON:EDR) expects fracking to start at the Springs-1 UK site in the first half of next year. Egdon’s conventional oil plans have been hampered by delays to Wressle in Lincolnshire. An appeal has been launched against the rejection of its planning application. The consortium that owns the licence, includes Union Jack Oil (LON:UJO) with a 27.5% stake. Union Jack Oil also owns 22% of Biscathorpe, where Egdon says drilling of a new exploration well should begin before the end of the year with site construction well advanced.
BB Healthcare Trust PLC (BBH) said, further to its announcement in February 2018, the company has instructed its advisers to make arrangements for the publication of a new prospectus later this year, in order to facilitate the issuance of further ordinary shares pursuant to an Initial Issue and a share issuance programme in 2018 and beyond. The company noted that its portfolio manager, Bellevue Asset Management AG, continues to see significant opportunities to deploy additional capital, in accordance with the company's investment objective and policy. The group also said a portfolio update is available on the following link: https://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/6916F_1-2018-10-30.pdf
appScatter Group PLC (LON:APPS) has established a new advisory board which includes the former chief information officer of Lufthansa and a current global lead partner from consultancy firm Deloitte.
88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) has acknowledged the passing of Brent Villemarette, a non-executive director of the company. The firm said his passing was unexpectedly sudden; however, it was related to a known health condition.
Arc Minerals Ltd. (LON:ARCM) announced that Michael Foster, a non-executive director of the company has been awarded share options in lieu of cash remuneration for services rendered with respect to Casa Mining Limited. The firm said Foster has been issued options over a total of 1.2mln new ordinary shares which have an exercise price of 4.5p each, representing an approximate 34% premium over the group’s closing mid-market price on 29 October 2018. It added that the share options are exercisable from 29 October 2018 and expire on 30 October 2021.
Harvey Nash Group PLC (LON:HVN) said, further to the declaration that its takeover offer has been declared unconditional, it received letters of resignation from its non-executive directors (other than Adrian Gunn) on 29 October 2018, which took immediate effect.
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) PLC (LON:EOG), the UK and Ireland focused oil and gas exploration, development and production company, announced that it will be making a presentation at the Atlantic Ireland Conference in Dublin on Tuesday, 30 October 2018, with a copy of the presentation to be available on the company’s website.