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AIM:
Total number of AIM Companies (Incl Susp):
955*
Total number of AIM Companies trading:
906*
*as at close of business 6 March 2018
Standard List** of Main Market:
Total number of Standard List Companies
(Incl Susp):
136*
Total number of Standard List Companies trading:
123*
*as at close of business 6 March 2018
NEX Growth Market:
Total number of NEX Growth Market Companies (Incl Susp):
88*
Total number of NEX Growth Market Companies trading:
82*
*as at close of business 6 March 2018
*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP
** Standard Listing as defined by Hybridan LLP to be a business with strictly operational activity
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What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?
AIM
City law firm Rosenblatt reported in the press to be considering a London listing. The commercial firm had a reported revenue of £16m in 2017
VR Education Holdings—a virtual reality software and technology company. Raising £6m at 10p, mkt cap £19.3. Due 12 March
SimplyBiz, a Financial Services Firm, reported to be considering an IPO targeting a market capitalisation of between £140m and £155m in a listing that would raise £30m of new money.
Bacanora Lithium—Readmission. No new money. Mkt cap £140m. Due 21 March. the new holding company for Bacanora Minerals Ltd
Core Industrial REIT—established to invest in Irish-based industrial properties, predominantly located in the Greater Dublin Area. Vendor placing and new funds to a total of €225m, Target gross proceeds €207m. Expected Mid March
Polarean - Medical drug-device combination company operating in the high resolution medical imaging market. Offer TBC. Due Early March
Block Energy—a NEX Listed UK based oil exploration and production company whose main country of operation is the Republic of Georgia, looks to join AIM end of February 2018. Offer TBC
Main Market Specialist Funds
Life Settlement—closed-ended investment company whose principal activities will be to support and manage portfolios of whole and partial interests in life settlement policies issued by life insurance companies operating predominantly in the US. Due 6 Mar.
Main Market Premium Listing
Helios Towers—Sub-Saharan telecommunications tower operator. FYDec17A revenue of $345.m and Adjusted EBITDA of $146m. Expected to join FTSE 250. Due early April. JSE Secondary listing.
Augmentum Fintech—Seeking to raise £100m at £1. Focused strategy to invest in fast growing and/or high potential private fintech companies in the UK and wider Europe
Energean Oil & Gas—Seeking gross proceeds of c.$500m. Independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on exploration, development and production of assets in the Eastern Mediterranean . Due march 2018.
Amigo Loans—Sub prime lender reported to be preparing for an IPO targeting a £500m valuation.
Eaton Towers– press reports African mobile telco mast specialist is seeking a £1.5bn London listing
Breakfast buffet
Crossword Cybersecurity* (AQSE:CCS) 410p £13.1m
The technology commercialisation company focusing exclusively on the cyber security sector, announced it has completed an oversubscribed placing and subscription of £2.16m.
Hybridan acting on behalf of the Company have placed 400,000 new Ordinary Shares of £0.05 per share par value in Crossword at a subscription price of £2.70 per Placing Share and the Company has procured the subscription of 400,000 new Ordinary Shares at the Placing Price. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Placing and Subscription to invest in:
* expanding sales and marketing activities to accelerate sales growth;
* developing new cybersecurity products based on university research; and
* general working capital.
"The Company is in a high growth phase of its development and we are delighted to receive the levels of support we have from both new and institutional investors which led to an oversubscribed placing and subscription.”
OptiBiotix Health (LON:OPTI) 61.5p £47.9m
OptiBiotix Health, a life sciences business developing compounds to tackle obesity, and high cholesterol, announced the launch of its award winning SlimBiome® in Nutri-Bites® with its US partner, Cereal Ingredients, at the 2018 Natural Products Expo West & Engredea. The exhibition is the world's largest trade show for organic, natural and healthy products and typically attract more than 80,000 food and ingredient buyers from around the world.
OptiBiotix has partnered with specialty ingredients manufacturer CII Ingredients, to launch its patented weight management technology, SlimBiome® in CII's Nutri-Bites® range of cereal based food products. This extends SlimBiome® applications from snack bars and shakes to breakfast cereals and bakery products (e.g. cookies, cakes and tortillas) as well as increasing the range of options for healthy snacks, yoghurts and cereal bars.
Communisis (LON:CMS) 67p £134.42m
The provider of integrated business services, Communisis plc, reports preliminary results for the year ended 31 Dec 2017.
Financial Highlights:
* Adjusted EPS up 5% to 6.4p (2016 6.1p)
* Adjusted PBT up 3% to £17.2m (2016 £16.7m)
* PBT up 24% to £14.4m (2016 £11.6m)
* Strong free cash flow at £12.5m (2016 £12.9m)
* Net debt reduced by £6.1m to £24.3m (2016 £30.4m)
* Full year dividend per share increased by 10% to 2.66p (2016 2.42p)
“Strong trading in 2017 saw Communisis generating profitable growth with good levels of free cash flow and a significant reduction in net debt. Long-term contracts have been secured with a major UK Bank and with Proximity Ltd to provide communication services to the BBC for the TV Licensing programme. A strategy for the Group's next phase of growth is being launched today: a focused, three year plan to create enhanced returns to shareholders as we raise the value we provide to our clients.”
Diversified Gas & Oil (LON:DGOC) 88p £127.67m
The independent US based gas and oil producer focused on the Appalachian Basin, confirmed that the Company has completed the acquisition of Alliance Petroleum Corporation. DGO announced on 31 Jan 2018 that it had signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Alliance Petroleum from Lake Fork Resources Acquisition Corporation.
The total consideration for the Alliance Petroleum acquisition is $95m (£66.9m) comprising the purchase price of $70m (£49.3m), plus repayment of certain debts of Alliance Petroleum in the amount of $25m (approximately £17.6m). The consideration has been met from the Company's own resources, following completion of the $189m share placing on 20 Feb 2018.
The assets of Alliance Petroleum comprise gas wells close to the Company's existing operations in the Appalachian Basin principally in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with some wells in Ohio. Alliance Petroleum has proven reserves of approximately 49.3 MMboe with an estimated NPV10 of $168m (£118.3m), as estimated by Wright & Co., the Company's independent reserves auditor. Current net daily production is approximately 53 Mcfed (8.8 kboed). Based on trading in the 11 months to 30 Nov 2017 Alliance Petroleum generated unaudited annualised pre-tax profits of $13.5m (£9.5m).
Concepta (LON:CPT) 6.45p £7.07m
Concepta the UK healthcare company and developer of a proprietary product targeted at the mobile health market with a primary focus on women's fertility, announced that it has received Ethics Committee approval to commence the user trial for its myLotus product in the UK.
The trial is expected to commence in the next month, with 120 women testing the device for ease of use and clarity of instructions. Patient recruitment for the trial, the process of testing, collecting samples, reporting, result analysis and the final report is expected to take approximately four months. The results will be included alongside those of the stability trials1 and the technical file2 to support the Company's CE-mark.
Concepta also announces that the myLotus product format and the labelling for EU markets has been finalised and it is currently waiting to undergo the strict audit process of the Company's Notified Body: BSI. The audit is expected to be carried out upon completion of the trial in order to obtain final CE-marking.
FIH Group (LON:FIH) 310p £36.55m
FIH group, the international specialist services group with businesses in the Falkland Islands and UK, provided an update on the Group's expected trading performance for the year ended 31 Mar 2018.
Based on management results for the 10 months to Jan 2018 and on current levels of trading activity, the Board currently expects overall Underlying Pre-Tax profits will be higher than previously anticipated, and materially ahead of last year's results which showed Underlying Pre Tax profit of £2.4m. This is ahead of market expectations and follows improved H2 trading particularly at the Group's Fine Art Handling subsidiary, Momart and in the Falkland Islands.
For the year as a whole, all three of the Group's trading businesses are expected to show encouraging progress compared to the prior year, with increased revenues and margins.
The Group has also maintained its strong cash position whilst continuing its search for strategic acquisitions and a number of opportunities remain under consideration.
For the Group as a whole, the outlook for the following year remains generally positive; recent progress has been made towards securing a second air link to South America, boosting the longer-term prospects for tourism in the Falkland Islands, and the recovery in oil prices is adding to hopes of oil development in the Islands in the medium term.
Applied Graphene Materials (LON:AGM) 48p £23.48m
Applied Graphene Materials, the producer of specialty graphene materials, announced the first result of its collaboration with Magna Exteriors and SHD Composites Limited on the W Motors Fenyr SuperSport tailgate
The collaboration has seen Magna enhance the tailgate of W Motors' performance-focused supercar using AGM's graphene-enhanced Epoxy Prepreg, supplied by AGM's commercial partner SHD.
This development follows the launch of a range of AGM graphene enhanced prepreg materials by SHD in Mar 2017, with SHD subsequently developing an industry-leading graphene enhanced epoxy prepreg system - MTC9810.
Included in Magna's design, the MTC9810 prepreg aims to mechanically enhance the W Motors Fenyr SuperSport tailgate by offering increased torsional stiffness, interlaminar shear strength and laminate fracture toughness, in addition to improved surface finish, in-service fatigue life and enhanced properties under hot and wet conditioning.
The long-term aim of the collaboration team is to build on the delivered baseline mechanical enhancements and ultimately move towards designing in many of graphene's multi-functional capabilities on future joint development programs, to offer additional benefits such as extended life moisture barrier performance, conductivities and even energy storage.
Tern (LON:TERN) 3.12p £3.97m
Tern PLC, the investment company specialising in the Internet of Things, announced that it has terminated the Convertible Unsecured Loan Note facility announced on 30 Nov 2017 with immediate effect.
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has raised £0.65m through an unconditional placing of 25,490,196 new ordinary shares of 0.02p each at a price of 2.55p per ordinary share, utilising the existing share authorities granted at the 2017 AGM.
The net proceeds of the Placing will be used primarily to provide additional finance to develop the businesses of the existing portfolio companies and invest in new portfolio companies.
Gama Aviation (LON:GAMA) 691p £644.35m
Gama Aviation, the global business aviation services company, has appointed Richard Kearsey as Director of Corporate Development following the conclusion of its successful £48m equity placing.
Richard Kearsey, a chartered accountant by profession, enjoyed a successful 27-year career as MD of Close Brothers' Aviation & Marine Finance Division establishing the UK merchant bank as a market leader in business aviation and leisure marine finance. A veteran of syndications, financing and corporate restructuring, his appointment enhances an already strong Leadership team.
"Gama Aviation has the structure, financial means and shareholder backing to capture the opportunity that exists within the business aviation sector. I'm delighted to join the company and look forward to the Company's development in the years ahead."