Mporium Group PLC (LON:MPM) rose 4.77% to 4.5p after confirming that it had raised £2.3mln, selling new shares priced at 5p, to provide “working capital and to support the continued momentum of the business.”
Maestrano Group Plc (LON:MNO) shot up as high as 10p in the per share on the news that its cloud computing platform for a major US based banking customer has now gone live.
Science in Sport Plc (LON:SIS) shares gave up 10p or 14% to trade at 60p after the comapny announced a £29mln share placing (priced at 60p) to fund the acquisition of PhD Nutrition Ltd in a £32mln deal.
Debenhams Plc (LON:DEB) was down 12%, at 5.87p, following a regulatory statement informed investors that Brandes Investment Partners had reduced its shareholding to 11.92% from 12.29%.
Oilex Ltd (LON:OEX) again saw its share price diminished amid its dispute in India, earlier today the oil and gas junior announced that the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) had applied to extend a deadline for a submission to the High Court of Gujarat.
9:28am: Flybe and Smiths Group among Wednesday’s early movers
Airline Flybe Group PLC (LON:FLYB) saw its shares soar more than 10% in early deals – and, after 9:00am had retreated back a little - after it said it would put itself up for sale, blaming Brexit uncertainty, higher fuel costs and the weaker pound as its interim profits were cut in half.
The carrier said due to the above factors, a takeover deal was likely to be required to preserve its future. The group has already cut hundreds of jobs and closed unprofitable sites as it attempts to cut costs amid a growing price war in the industry.
Flybe shares were up 5% at 12.3p.
Smiths Group PLC (LON:SMIN) was up 5% as it announced plans to spin off its medical division alongside a first-quarter trading update that showed a drop in revenue.
The company said the proposed separation would allow it to focus on growing as an industrial technology group while giving Smiths Medical the freedom to capitalise on its investments and large programme of new product launches.
Shares in Seeing Machines Limited (LON:SEE) were lifted in early trading Wednesday after its chairman, Jack Boyer, hailed an “exciting and pivotal” 12 months for the firm in a statement at its annual general meeting (AGM).
Boyer said the firm, which develops AI-powered driver monitoring technology, had had its position as “a leader in camera-based driver monitoring technology” validated by five program awards with world-leading automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
The share climbed 1.88% to trade at 5.95p.
Speedy Hire PLC (LON:SDY) was slightly higher, and it hiked its interim dividend by 20% as its strategy for targeting SME customers helped profits more than double in the first half. The tools and construction equipment rental firm reported a pre-tax profit of £13.2mln for the six months to 30 September, up 120% on the same period a year ago, while revenues climbed 6% to £194.6mln.
Proactive news headlines:
Digital marketing specialist Mporium Group PLC (LON:MPM) has raised £2.3mln by issuing shares at a premium. Existing investors subscribed for 46mln shares for which they paid 5p apiece – 11% above Tuesday’s closing price of 4.5p.
Wealth Manager Tavistock Investments PLC (LON:TAVI) has received a £1mln cash injection from affinity specialist Lighthouse as part of a strategic alliance. The two companies will develop a range of investment products for Lighthouse’s clients under its Luceo brand.
Redx Pharma PLC (AIM:REDX) has unveiled a new drug candidate, which will enter clinical trials in 2020. RXC006 is a new breed of pill called a porcupine inhibitor and it will be used as a first-in-class treatment for a rare but life-threatening disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
The chairman of Seeing Machines Limited (LON:SEE), Jack Boyer, has hailed an “exciting and pivotal” 12 months for the firm in a statement at its annual general meeting (AGM). Big Pic in August.
MaxCyte PLC (LON:MXCT) has negotiated a clinical and commercial licence deal with Precision Biosciences of the US. Under the terms of the agreement, Precision will use MaxCyte's flow electroporation cell engineering technology alongside its own ARCUS genome-editing platform.
Tekcapital PLC (LON:TEK) said its portfolio company, glasses innovation group Lucyd, has launched an affiliate and reseller programme.
Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (LON:CMCL) told investors that gold production amounted to 13,978 ounces, down 2.9% versus the comparative period of 2017. Output for the nine-month period measured 39,558 ounces.
Asiamet Resources Ltd (LON:ARS) has begun the additional drilling and geotechnical work at its Beruang Kanan Main (BKM) copper project in Indonesia. The explorer had hoped to have delivered a bankable feasibility study for BKM by now but decided last month to carry out extra work in order to optimise the mine design and further enhance the project economics.
Arc Minerals Ltd (LON:ARCM) has announced significantly higher grade cobalt results from shallow drilling of the oxide portion of its Kalaba (Zamsort) Cobalt-Copper Project in Zambia. The AIM-listed firm said the reverse circulation drilling results showed cobalt grades of up to 0.35%, intersected together with copper grades up to 1.50%.
Trinidad-focused Touchstone Exploration Inc (LON:TXP) (TSE:TXP) told investors that crude oil production averaged 1,758 barrels per day in the third quarter as the group successful well programmes continued to deliver. The third quarter production measure represented a 22% improvement against the 2017 comparative.
Regency Mines PLC (LON:RGM) is to take over the legwork at the Mambare cobalt/ nickel project in Papua New Guinea. The renewal application has been recommended for approval by the Mining Advisory Council in Papua New Guinea and awaits Ministerial signature, it added.
African Battery Metals PLC (LON:ABM) has started to assess other targets at its Kisinka prospect in the DRC after auger results on two tracts indicated minimal amounts of cobalt and copper. Work has also started in Cameroon on the licences acquired with the purchase of Cobalt Blue in August.
Jersey Oil & Gas PLC (LON:JOG) has hired Vicary Gibbs as its new chief financial officer with immediate effect. At the same time, Scott Richardson Brown has stepped down from his current role with immediate effect, to focus on his other directorships and business interests.
Maistro PLC (LON:MAIS) confirmed on Tuesday evening that it had raised £1mln through a placing of 100mln new shares at a placing price of 1p each, a 68% discount to Monday's close price of 3.15p.
BlueRock Diamonds PLC (LON:BRD) announced late on Tuesday that Paul Beck, a founder director of the company, had resigned as a non-executive director of the company with immediate effect.
Base Resources Limited (LON:BSE) (ASX:BSE) said the latest company presentation, which was presented today at the TZMI Congress in Singapore, is available from the company’s website.
Ariana Resources PLC (LON:AAU) said it is hosting two corporate events in London, an Analyst and Investor Day on Thursday 29 November 2018 at the Hilton, Angel Islington, 53 Upper Street, London, N1 0UY between 9:00am and 6:00 pm, and a Shareholder Evening, Presentation and Q&A session on Monday 3 December 2018 at 6:00 p.m., at 1 America Square, 17 Crosswall Street, London, EC3N 2LB.