Alba Mineral Resources PLC (LON:ALBA) shares dived 14% to 0.06p after the company issued 142.5mln shares at 0.04p each.
The shares were issued as a result of a conversion option being exercised by Bergen Global Opportunity Fund.
Following admission of the conversion shares, the company's enlarged issued share capital will comprise 4,060,851,946 ordinary shares with voting rights.
1.00pm: Land Securities determined not to waste a good crisis
Land Securities PLC (LON:LAND) shares, down 11% at 561p, were the worst performers on the Footsie after a downbeat trading update.
The new chief executive, Mark Allan, said the group will use the coronavirus crisis to step back and assess the long-term strategic direction of the property giant.
In a statement accompanying the FTSE 100-listed firm's full-year results, Allan - who took over last month - said that, in many ways, it is "an ideal time to undertake such an exercise".
11.45am: Renold gets its new abacus rattler but when will he start?
Renold PLC’s (LON:RNO) new finance director might be getting a complex as the shares fell 12% to 6.55p on the announcement of his appointment.
The industrial chains maker has been looking for a new bean counter ever since Ian Scapens announced his decision to quit back in November.
The new abacus rattler is Jim Haughey, currently the finance director of Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare. The negative share price reaction is more likely due to the fact that Haughey’s start date still has not been finalised rather than any misgivings about his appointment.
FRP Advisory Group (LON:FRP) shares are up 10% to 127.22p on the back of a trading update for the year ended 30 April where it said it has successfully moved to a working from home model and is “busily engaged in active projects”.
The restructuring specialist has won a number of high-profile appointments, including on the administrations of Carluccios and Debenhams.
FRP expects to report revenues for the half year to 30 April of £31.8mln, including revenues of £11.5mln since its AIM float in March, with profits in both these periods ahead of board expectations.
10.30am: Oncimmune's biomarket discovery engine to be used by a leading US pharma company
Oncimmune Holdings PLC (LON:ONC) rose 10% to 82.5p after it announced a new drug development collaboration agreement.
It said it has signed an agreement with an unnamed “leading US biopharmaceutical company” to help the latter develop new immunotherapies.
The UK group will support its new partner with antigen targeting using its biomarker discovery engine, SeroTag. The technology will be deployed to identify antigen targets from human immunoglobulin antibodies.
9.30am: Velocys jumps after it secures new funding for waste-to-fuels project
Velocys PLC (LON:VLS), up 37% at 3.45p, was setting the early pace in London on Tuesday after it secured further funding for its Altalto project.
The sustainable fuels technology company said its joint development partners, British Airways PLC (LON:BA.) and Shell International Petroleum have agreed to stump up an additional million quid for the Altalto waste-to-fuels project.
British Airways and Shell have each now been granted an option to take a one-third share in the equity capital of Altalto Limited (a subsidiary of Velocys) at a strike price of £1.
Karelian Diamond Resources PLC (LON:KDR) had traders digging the shares too – up 28% at 4.35p – after it was granted three strategic diamond exploration reservations in Finland.
All the reservations are in the Karelian Craton where the company is actively working on the discovery and development of economic diamond deposits.
Following a review of airborne geophysics and past exploration data, the board decided to apply for these new diamond exploration reservations. These reservations secure the adjacent ground to already held and known kimberlite bodies.
Proactive news headlines:
Oncimmune Holdings PLC (LON:ONC) said it has signed an agreement with an unnamed “leading US biopharmaceutical company” helping the latter develop new immunotherapies. The UK group will support its new partner with antigen targeting using its biomarker discovery engine, SeroTag. The technology will be deployed to identify antigen targets from human immunoglobulin antibodies, This agreement allows the firm, or a commercial partner, to develop a companion diagnostic for each candidate that is validated. In a statement, Oncimmune's chief executive Adam Hill said the latest deal was part of a growing pipeline of commercial projects flagged in the company’s February results statement.
Galantas Gold Corporation (LON:GAL) (CVE:GAL) shares rose on Tuesday as it said it has reached an agreement with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) regarding blasting at its 100% owned gold mine near Omagh, Northern Ireland and plans to restart milling at the mine within ten days In April, Galantas announced that confirmation has been received from PSNI in regard to satisfaction of certain secure storage and handling protocols required for an increase in blasting to a commercial level. Some other issues, regarding financial matters, were being progressed. The company said it now understands that financial matters have now been mutually agreed.
Vast Resources PLC (LON:VAST) has described itself as “extremely pleased” with initial indications from metallurgical test work being conducted on ore samples taken from the Baita Plai mine in Romania. The company, in a statement, told investors that initial floatation test results showed concentrate grades of 20%-28% copper with recoveries seen at between 84% and 94%. Test concentrates also included molybdenum, zinc and lead. It said the results come from ‘batch 2’ samples sent to the lab in the UK. Samples were taken from underground working areas within the existing Baita Plai mine. Vast pointed out that the work on Batch 2 confirms historical metallurgical results.
Angling Direct PLC (LON:ANG) has said its online sales in April were up 24% year-on-year, while sales in May have picked up by even more. Cash at the end of April was around £6.0mln, with the company also having access to a £2.5mln undrawn credit facility until September 2020. The fishing tackle and equipment retailer was naturally pleased that the UK government decided that fishing should be one of the sporting activities where coronavirus lockdown restrictions will be relaxed from tomorrow.
ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL) (OTCQX:ANPCY) has said its liquid biopsy has shown potential in a “new and promising area” of cancer therapy. The Med-tech specialist's Parsortix device was used by researchers in Santiago, Spain, to screen people with head and neck and non-small cell lung cancers. They were looking for tell-tale differences, known as biomarkers, identifying suitability to be treated with a new class of drugs called MET inhibitors, specifically MET alterations in circulating tumour cells (CTCs) captured by the ANGLE technology. These changes, mostly found in metastatic patients, have a fundamental bearing on the rate of growth and spread of the disease. ANGLE said the research suggested the Parsortix system could be used as part of a biomarker approach in cancer drug trials of MET inhibitors.
Diversified Gas & Oil PLC (LON:DGOC) confirmed that it has conditionally raised gross proceeds of US$85.8mln to support an acquisition spree in the United States. DGOC, in an after-hours statement on Monday, announced its latest acquisition building on a deal unveiled in April. Together the transactions represent around 18,000 barrels oil equivalent per day (boepd), equating to 20% of DGOC’s output in 2019, and come with a combined price tag of US$235mln. Part of the funding comes from the share placing. The remainder is covered by long-term loan notes. DGOC this morning reported it will sell some 64.28mln new shares each priced at 108p, just a 1.6% discount to yesterday’s average mid-market price.
Condor Gold PLC (LON:CNR) (TSE:COG) has said it ended the quarter to March 31, 2020, with £1.73mln in the bank. "During the first quarter 2020, Condor continued to de-risk La India Project and demonstrate a clear route to production,” Condor Gold chief executive Mark Child said in a statement. “The company has been working on the engineering and other technical studies required ahead of a construction decision and acquiring land for the mine site infrastructure. A high-grade mining dilution scenario study was completed, which supports a smaller, 1,000 tonnes per day processing plant capable of producing approximately 50,000 ounces of gold per year.”
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund PLC (LON:GSF) told investors that construction has now resumed at its two 50 megawatt assets in Northern Ireland. The company, in a statement, said operations are adhering to strict social distancing measures stipulated by the UK government. It added that, due to conservative prior assumptions, the project remains on-track to become fully operational in time to secure the valuable DS3 uncapped contracts in April 2021.
genedrive PLC (LON:GDR) said it has now closed the “oversubscribed” broker option to its recent placing which saw the issue of 1.25mln shares, raising £1mln before expenses. The company added that due to the placing being oversubscribed, allocations of broker option shares had been scaled back, therefore being an existing investor will not guarantee a full pro-rata entitlement or any allocation of broker option shares. The broker option was initially announced last week alongside a share placing through which the company raised £7mln by issuing 8.75mln new ordinary shares.
Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (LON:CMCL) (TSE:CAL) said it produced 14,233 ounces of gold from its Blanket mine in Zimbabwe during the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, up from the 11,948 produced in the corresponding period a year ago. Gross revenues were US$23.6mln, a 48% increase on the $15.9mln achieved in the first quarter of 2019. All-in sustaining costs rang in at US$879 per ounce, down significantly from the 2019 number of US$1,039 per ounce. The company said the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a negligible effect on production and capital projects in the quarter.
Newmark Security PLC (LON:NWT), a leading provider of electronic and physical security systems, has announced the appointment of experienced Asian sector heavyweight, Terence Yap as an independent non-executive director, with immediate effect. In a statement, Newmark noted that Yap is currently the chairman of Guardforce AI Co. Ltd, a group focusing on delivering technologically innovative security solutions within the Asia Pacific region which was established in 2018 and in the same year acquired Guardforce Cash Solutions (Thailand), a cash-in-transit business established in 1982 and which was formerly a wholly-owned subsidiary of G4S PLC (LON:GFS). Marie-Claire Dwek, CEO of Newmark said: “The addition of Terence to the Board with his depth of knowledge is a wonderful endorsement of our strategy and ambition.”
Ncondezi Energy Limited (LON:NCCL) has said its lenders have reconfirmed in principle their support for the company’s restructuring that will extend the debt repayment schedule period. The shareholder loan period has been extended by 12 months from the future restructuring approval date. The company is waiting on a key lender, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), to approve the restructuring process but this is taking longer to process because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. AFC owns 50% of the loan, which currently stands at US$4.5mln, while Ncondezi’s board and management own 43%.
Horizonte Minerals PLC (LON:HZM)(TSE:HZM) said it closed out the quarter ending March 31, 2020, with £17mln in the bank, with the money in part to be used to make the Aragauia nickel project in Brazil construction ready. The group said the project financing process for the project is currently running to schedule and has not been hindered by the coronavirus pandemic. The company added that it remains focused on the safety of all employees and stakeholders and has implemented strict health and safety policies specifically tailored to the coronavirus.
88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) has confirmed that it has now issued a ‘bidders statement’ circular to the shareholders of XCD Energy as it moves to complete its recommended takeover of the Alaska exploration peer. Via an improved paper deal – 2.4 88E shares for every 1 XCD share held - it is consolidating an exploration portfolio and opening up new opportunities for future farm-outs and new wells.
Personal Group PLC (LON:PGH), a leading provider of employee services in the UK, announced that its second dividend for 2020 of 1.5p per share will be paid on June 26, 2020, to members on the register as at May 22 and its shares will be marked ex-dividend on May 21. As announced in the company's preliminary results, the board has taken the decision following the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) to continue the payment of this Q2 dividend albeit at a reduced amount to that paid for Q1. This measure of prudence was taken amidst the uncertain trading environment resulting from the pandemic and this shortfall, together with the remaining 2020 dividends will be revisited later in the year once the impact of the COVID-19 situation on the business is clearer. The company said it maintains a strong balance sheet with no debt.
Personal Group also announced that its annual general meeting will be a closed meeting held at 2.00pm on Thursday, June 4, 2020, at John Ormond House, 899 Silbury Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 3XL. The Notice of Annual General Meeting and Form of Proxy were posted to shareholders on Monday 11 May and these documents are also available to view on the company's investor relations website at https://www.personalgroup.com/why-invest/results-centre.
AdEPT Technology Group PLC (LON:ADT), one of the UK's leading independent providers of managed services for IT, unified communications, connectivity and voice solutions, has announced the appointment of N+1 Singer as its nominated adviser (NOMAD) and broker with immediate effect.
Advanced Oncotherapy PLC (LON:AVO), the developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment, announced that at its general meeting held on Monday, all resolutions were duly passed on a poll. Accordingly, the 61,221,586 new ordinary shares in respect of its share subscription and fee arrangements, as announced on April 9, 2020, will be issued and are expected to be admitted to trading on AIM on May 13.
Arix Bioscience PLC (LON:ARIX), a global venture capital company focused on investing in and building breakthrough biotech companies, has announced that it's annual general meeting (AGM) will be held at the company's offices at 20 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EQ from 2.00pm on Thursday, June 4, 2020. In accordance with UK Government instructions relating to the coronavirus pandemic, it is regretted that shareholders must not attend the AGM in person but are encouraged to submit their vote by proxy by 2.00pm BST on Tuesday, June 2. Details of the procedure for doing so are set out in the Notice of Meeting which has been posted to shareholders and is available on the company’s website.
IXICO PLC (LON:IXI), the data analytics company delivering insights in neuroscience, has announced that it will release its interim results for the six months ended March 31, 2020, on Wednesday, May 20, 2020.