ATQT Partnership, BYOT Agreement, FBT New Video Codec, IVO Funding Round, MACF Acquisition, MANX Agreement, MDZ* New Business, NSCI Launch, PEG* Directorate Change, PLI* Orphan Drug Grant by European Commission, RAME Commencement, RST Acquisition, RDT Contract Win, SPK Open Offer
A full archive of previous weeks’ Small Cap Wraps can now be viewed on www.hybridan.com.
The Hybridan Small Cap Wrap is a weekly review of some of the most interesting small cap stories of the past week. Our review will usually be of those companies whose market capitalisations are less than £50m although we may occasionally cover larger companies.
ATTRAQT Group (LON:ATQT)
ATTRAQT Group, the online merchandising platform and YUDU Media, a catalogue app developer, are joining forces in an effort to build up the joint service ‘Live Catalog’ combining ATTRAQT’s Visual Merchandising expertise and YUDU’S digital catalogue Technology. The combined forces will allow YUDU’s existing clients to use ATTRAQT’s merchandising technology. ATTRAQT’s flagship service, Freestyle Merchandising is a platform that assists retailers in assessing how products are merchandised on their eCommerce websites. Revenues saw an increase of 32 percent to reach £2.09m in the last fiscal year. The London and New York based company has over 80 clients in its portfolio and added 10 staff to its team to reach 27 employees in 2014. YUDU Media has over ten years of experience in the publishing, education and corporate solutions sectors. Its service enables retailers to convert products catalogues and retail websites into a mobile digital catalogue app and has amongst its client base Screwfix, Swedish automaker Volvo, publisher Wiley or retailer John Lewis.
Byotrol, the specialist anti-microbial technology company, announced that it has signed an agreement to develop and commercialise long-lasting biocidal products with the listed international chemical group Solvay SA. As part of the Agreement Solvay will be making a significant investment in Byotrol's technical cost base in the current financial year. Assuming normal trading conditions prevail, the Board expects the Company to report EBITDA break-even in the six months to 31 March 2016. The Agreement formalises an already close technical relationship between the Company and Solvay's subsidiary Solvay Novecare, a world leader in specialty polymers and surfactants with an annual turnover in excess of Euro 2bn. It is built upon the joint development of anti-microbials, combining the best of Byotrol's long-lasting anti-microbial formulations and Solvay's world-leading polymer and surfactant technologies. The Company has already completed (and patented) one such product for the EU consumer market and is actively marketing it jointly with Solvay to customers. Initially Byotrol will pool technical, commercial and sales resource with Solvay Novecare in targeting Products at the EU consumer market. Over time the company expect to be expanding into other geographies, into professional markets and in due course into personal care markets too. The two parties will then be sharing gross profit from any jointly-developed products.
Forbidden Technologies (LON:FBT)
Forbidden Technologies, the owner and developer of the market leading cloud video platform, Forscene, announced a new video codec, benefiting multiple applications on Forbidden's video platform. The codec, "Blackbird 8", allows for efficient compression and decompression of video. Faster compression is particularly advantageous for users of mobile devices, with the upgrade in some cases halving the processing power required for playback and thus extending battery life. In addition, Blackbird 8 gives a reduction in datarate of up to 60 percent on hand held mobile shot video - which in turn improves the user experience on limited mobile internet connections. eva, Forbidden's new video social network, will be the first of the Company's products to support Blackbird 8. Following the release of the eva app upgrade to beta testers, and its general release shortly after, new video shot in eva will benefit from the enhancements. Forbidden's Javascript video editor, Captevate, will be compatible with the new video format when it launches later this year. In Forbidden's professional markets, Forscene will also benefit from the Blackbird 8 technology, with adjusted parameters to reflect the requirements of the professional market. The codec's lower datarate and faster playback speed will be particularly useful to multicam users, where Forscene supports video from up to 18 cameras playing back at once. Sports clients editing live high action events will also benefit from the lower datarate.
Imperial Innovations Group (LON:IVO)
Imperial Innovations Group has completed a £2.5m Series A funding round in Oxford Biotrans, a University of Oxford spin-out company, which is pioneering the commercialisation of biocatalytic processes for the production of high value specialty chemicals, based on its patented enzyme technology. Innovations first invested in Oxford Biotrans in 2013, making a seed investment of £0.6m in the company, alongside the University of Oxford. Innovations has now committed £1.25m to the Series A round alongside existing investors IP Group and the University of Oxford, with new investors Oxford Innovations and Technology EIS fund and De Monchy Aromatics also participating. Innovations now hold a 41 percent stake in the Company. Oxford Biotrans' first product is a low-cost, natural grade nootkatone, the flavour and scent of grapefruit. Nootkatone, used in citrus soft drinks, confectionery and perfumes, is one of the most challenging ingredients to access in the world and costs around the same as beluga caviar. Oxford Biotrans' product has already created strong market interest and will be available in commercial quantities in the coming months. The Company has already identified several further high-value flavour product targets for the next phase of its development and plans to develop further scalable, 'green', and economically attractive enzymatic processes for production of these new targets.
MacFarlane is in line with its growth strategy in acquiring Nottingham-based packaging company One Packaging in a deal valued at £2.75m. MacFarlane is already present in 26 sites across the UK, Ireland and Sweden, with a customer base of over 20,000 customers. The company built £153.8m in revenue in 2014, an increase of 7 percent from the previous year and employs 730 staff. One Packaging Limited was founded in 2003 and supplies packaging materials and solution to UK based businesses. Its products include retail transit packaging, presentation packaging and food grade papers. Last year, One Packaging posted a £4.9m in revenue and recently invested in 40ft tractor and trailer unit to respond to the growing demand. In acquiring One Packaging, the Glasgow based firm is developing and reinforcing its strategy of growth through acquisitions after acquiring two other packaging companies, Lane Packaging and Network Packaging which resulted in a boost in sales and operating profits.
Manx Telecom, the leading communication solutions provider on the Isle of Man, announced that PokerStars, the world's largest online poker operator, is the anchor tenant for Phase two of its Greenhill Data Centre (GDC). The three year data hosting contract will see a total of 48 data hosting racks and associated equipment moved from their current location in Dublin to Manx Telecom's world class, Tier 3 GDC, which opened last year. The agreement will enable Manx Telecom to proceed as planned with building phase two of the GDC, later in 2015. PokerStars has been one of the Company's hosting clients since 2005, and this new agreement is in addition to the hosting services already provided by Manx Telecom.
MediaZest (LON:MDZ)*
MediaZest, the creative audio-visual company, provided shareholders with an update on more new business confirmed for delivery during the financial year 2015/16. Since the detailed update in April 2015, the group has added further business with many ongoing and several new clients in the new financial year. Following the Retail Week award win for the Hyundai Rockar Dealership at Bluewater shopping centre, the Group has been able to secure several pieces of additional business with Hyundai with more expected to be confirmed before the end of the calendar year 2015. The Bluewater showroom has also recently been shortlisted for a prestigious Point of Purchase Advertising International award. Since April 2015 the Group has again been working with Adidas. Having previously worked with the company for a small number of short-term promotional campaigns around the 2012 Olympics, the Group is now working with Adidas again on an ongoing basis. This has led to two deployments in the UK at high profile sites and one in Germany with another in the UK and one in Belgium to follow in August 2015. At the last trading update, the Board noted a deployment for one of the UK’s largest retailers which it hoped to give more detail on shortly thereafter. This contract was for delivery of audio visual systems and services for a single concept store for the retailer, which was successfully completed in May 2015. The Group is currently tendering for three more stores with this retailer, in a highly competitive environment, and will announce further details in due course. Work with new client Ted Baker continued in the last quarter with the launch of their new store concept, Ted Baker & Moore at Commercial Street in East London. In addition new work has been secured with Chivas Regal, Samsung and Virgin Active in the period. The combined total revenue value of these projects is in excess of £0.5m. With all of these clients the company expect to deploy further projects moving forward in respect of ongoing repeat business.
NetScientific portfolio company, ProAxsis, a medical diagnostics spin-out from Queen's University Belfast, has officially launched its proprietary first-in-class ProteaseTag™ immunoassay kits to research labs and announces its first two customer orders, including a major pharma company. ProAxsis is developing a range of products for the capture, detection and measurement of active protease biomarkers of diseases. This test measures Neutrophil Elastase, a leading indicator of infection in patients with Cystic Fibrosis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and an important drug target. The rapid and easy-to-use tests incorporate patented ProteaseTags™; smart molecules which trap an active protease within a complex biological sample and enable a visual readout of its presence. ProteaseTags™ provide a unique tool to identify and quantify active protease biomarkers and will assist in the clinical validation of new therapeutics. ProAxsis is one of NetScientific's five core portfolio companies that it highlighted at the time of its full year results in March. The biomedical and healthcare technology group began investing in the company in February 2014 to further develop and commercialise its range of novel medical diagnostic tests. Now, with the launch of its first-in-class immunoassay kit, ProAxsis will focus on building its academic and pharma customer base and developing other products for different indications.
Petards Group (LON:PEG)*
Petards Group, the developer of advanced security and surveillance systems, announced that effective 30 November 2015, Andy Wonnacott has decided to step down as Group Finance Director and Company Secretary and will retire from the Board. Andy joined the Company as Group Finance Director in March 2005 and throughout his tenure has worked closely with the former CEO, and for the past two years with the current Chairman, Raschid Abdullah. Andy led the organisation through a period of substantial change and financial restructuring and also led the commercial negotiations with several major international train building companies thereby greatly helping the Group to establish itself in this area.
ProMetic Life Sciences (TSE:PLI)*
ProMetic Life Sciences announced that an orphan drug designation status has been granted for its human plasma derived plasminogen drug by the European Commission for the treatment of plasminogen deficiency. ProMetic is currently investigating the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of its human plasma-derived plasminogen in patients suffering from plasminogen deficiency. ProMetic expects to provide a preliminary report on its program in August of this year. When approved, this product will provide replacement therapy for patients who suffer from a congenital lack of the normal plasminogen protein and/ or its functional activity, and are subject to life-long medical problems, which currently have no effective treatment. Plasminogen deficiency leads to severe clinical manifestations, primarily associated with fibrous depositions on mucous membranes throughout the body. It is a multisystem disease that affects the eyes, ears, sinuses, tracheobronchial tree, genitourinary tract and gums. Orphan Drug Designation is granted to novel drugs or biologics that treat a rare disease or condition affecting fewer than 250,000 patients in the European Union. The designation provides the drug developer with a ten year period of marketing exclusivity upon marketing approval for the designated indication, as well as reduced fees for regulatory activities, the ability to apply for marketing authorisation centrally in the European Union and protocol assistance, a form of scientific advice specifically for orphan medicines.
Rame Energy announced that it has formally transitioned into an independent power producer, alongside the Company's development business, following the completion of all system certification to permit commencement of dispatch of power from its 15MW Raki / Huajache wind project in Chile. Accordingly the project has now been energised, marking a major milestone in line with the Company's strategy to develop 300MW of generating assets in Latin America within the next three years. As previously announced, a 10 year power purchase agreement is in place with EKA Chile S.A., a joint venture between AkzoNobel, a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals, and Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A, a leading Chilean company and a leader in sustainable forest products. Rame holds a 20 percent equity interest in the project alongside Santander.
Restore (LON:RST)
Restore announced that it has exchanged contracts to acquire the business and assets of The Data Imaging and Archiving Company. Completion is expected to take place on 18 August 2015, following staff consultation. Imaging and Archiving, founded in 1995, provides document management services from its base in South London and serves customers in both the private and public sectors. Imaging and Archiving is being purchased for a cash consideration of £1.45m on a cash-free, debt-free basis, funded from Restore's existing banking facilities. For the 12 months ending 31 December 2014, Imaging and Archiving's turnover was £1.3m, on which it recorded a small profit.
Rosslyn Data Technologies (LON:RDT)
Rosslyn Data Technologies, a leading global big data technology company, announced that it has recently won a milestone contract which, the Board believes, demonstrates the scalability and applicability of Rosslyn's platform. The contract is with a large global enterprise in the Fortune 500. This enterprise has chosen the RAPid Big Data cloud analytics platform to replace an incumbent analytics solution to support an increasing need to include analytics, as a value-add layer, to its existing services for the enterprise's largest clients across several industry verticals. Over the next few months, Rosslyn will be working closely with this new partner to develop and deploy four instances of an application that will enable the analysis of operational data, providing insight into business critical Service Level Agreements between the partner and their clients. Upon completion of the first phase of the contract, it is anticipated that several further projects will be initiated and this will continue in line with the client's expanding business needs. The initial four deployments are expected to be expanded to enable the partner and their clients to have greater access and vision into the breadth of their data which, Rosslyn believes, is currently underutilised. This contract represents a multi-year engagement with the first 4 deployments having a contract value of approximately £0.2m. Once the Rosslyn platform is integrated into the enterprise, Rosslyn expects to integrate the remaining clients incrementally.
SPARK Ventures (LON:SPK)
The Board of SPARK Ventures announced the results of the Open Offer, details of which were announced on 21 July 2015. Under the Open Offer, valid applications have been received from Qualifying Shareholders in respect of 54,816 Open Offer Shares, including applications under the Excess Application Facility, representing 15.7 percent of the Open Offer Shares. SPARK has therefore raised approximately £0.5m pursuant to the Open Offer, and total aggregate gross proceeds of £10.6m pursuant to the Fundraising. The total funds raised, including £3.8m raised via the asset swaps, was therefore £14.4m.