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Appreciate Group thanked as it sells off subsidiary

Last updated: 15:10 11 Aug 2020 BST, First published: 09:24 11 Aug 2020 BST

Actual Experience PLC -

Appreciate Group PLC (LON:APP) found itself in good favour with investors, climbing 7.3% to 37p in late-afternoon after completing the sale of its subsidiary Budworth Properties Ltd for £3.2mln in cash.

Budworth owns the land and buildings located at Valley Road, Birkenhead, which have now been sold to HP (Valley Road) Limited.

Appreciate, a multi-retailer redemption product provider to corporate and consumer markets, said it has also agreed to leaseback a small amount of space for its fulfilment operations at Valley Road from HP.

Meanwhile, Europa Metals Ltd (LON:EUZ) jumped 6.7% to 16p after inking a marketing agreement with concentrate marketing agent Conrad Partners, in relation to product from the Toral lead, zinc and silver project in Castilla y León, north-west Spain.

Conrad Partners has agreed to work with the company to source commercial terms for the potential future supply and sale of concentrate products from Toral. The firm is a leading Hong Kong-based concentrate agent within the industrial metals space, with a track record of structuring agreements and managing concentrate sales for a series of pre-production and producing companies worldwide.

1.30pm: Westmount Energy wanted as drillship arrives offshore Guyana

Westmount Energy Limited (LON:WTE) climbed 21% higher to 21.7p after it was announced that the Stena Carron drillship has arrived at the Tanager-1 wellsite.

Westmount holds an indirect interest in the Kaieteur block as a result of the company's roughly 0.7% interest in the issued share capital of Ratio Petroleum and the company's circa 5.4% interest in Cataleya Energy Corporation.

The Stena Carron drillship will begin drilling operations immediately on the Kaieteur block, which is offshore Guyana.

11.05am: Destiny Pharma higher after nasal gel passes safety review

Destiny Pharma PLC (LON:DEST) climbed 10% to 48.5p after a positive interim safety review on its lead asset.

The clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel treatments for hospital infections said an independent data monitoring committee had concluded there are no safety concerns in the patients treated thus far in the Phase 2b study of its potential post-surgical bacterial infection preventer, XF-73.

“We believe XF-73 nasal gel has the potential to become a well-tolerated, novel and effective treatment for the prevention of post-surgical Staphylococcal infections and represents a significant commercial opportunity. We are now two-thirds of the way through the study and look forward to completing recruitment by the end of 2020,” said Neil Clark, the chief executive officer of Destiny Pharma.

10.00am: Codemasters quick off the grid

Codemasters Group Holdings PLC (LON:CDM) were quick off the grid, rising 6.8% to 402.5p this morning after it raised full-year guidance.

The video game developer said it now expects its full-year revenues and adjusted earnings (EBITDA) will be “significantly ahead of current market expectations” following a “particularly strong” start to its current financial year.

In a trading update, the firm said the upgraded forecasts were driven by a strong performance to date of its F1 2020 racing title as well as continued strength in its back catalogue of games.

9.15am: Actual Experience broadens its Verizon relationship

Actual Experience PLC (LON:ACT) shot 23% higher to 99p in early trade on Tuesday after existing customer Verizon signed up for extra services.

The analytics-as-a-service company said Verizon, the US communications company, has signed up for Actual Experience's Human Experience Management offering.

Actual Experience's analytics will be used to quantify the cost to an organisation that is incurred in employees' wait time when applications are slow to respond or during system downtime. Typically 1%-3% of employees' time is wasted in waiting for the digital world to respond, leading to lost productivity and employee frustration. That little???? 

Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) charged 8.6% higher to 1,360.5p after it unveiled plans to buy back around US$67.5mln of its own shares.

The online contracts for difference (CFDs) broker said the buyback programme will run from Tuesday, August 11, 2020, to February 28, 2021, or until the company announces its full-year results for 2020.

Plus500’s decision followed a strong showing in the six months ended June 30, 2020, with earnings (EBITDA) soaring 452% to US$361.8mln while revenues surged 281% to US$564.2mln, driven by what the company said was “heightened volatility in unprecedented market conditions” as markets were roiled by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Proactive news headlines:

Deltic Energy PLC (LON:DELT) has announced a material upgrade to gas estimates for the Selene prospect, part of its North Sea exploration portfolio alongside Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON:RDSB). Notably, the estimated chance of success has also been lifted significantly (improving by 79%) to now stand at 44% in the ‘P50’ case. The new resource estimate sees some 629bn cubic feet of in-place P50 gas resources, with a range set at 286bn in the P90 (the highest confidence) estimate and 1.02 trillion cubic feet in the P10 (most prospective) estimate.

Europa Metals Ltd (LON:EUZ) has signed an agreement with concentrate marketing agent Conrad Partners, in relation to product from the Toral lead, zinc and silver project in Castilla y León, north-west Spain. Conrad Partners has agreed to work with the company to source commercial terms for the potential future supply and sale of concentrate products from Toral. The firm is a leading Hong Kong-based concentrate agent within the industrial metals space, with a track record of structuring agreements and managing concentrate sales for a series of pre-production and producing companies worldwide.

H&T GROUP PLC (LON:HAT) has announced an interim dividend of 2.5p per share despite the challenges and impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The group's financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2020, revealed a 26.5% reduction in pre-tax profit to £5mln, while operating profit was 32.9% lower at £5.5mln, and diluted earnings per share dropped to 5p, down from 15p. The pawnbroking firm noted that its net pledge book increased by 4.6% to $5.6mln, while its personal loan book reduced 43% to £10mln.

S & U PLC (LON:SUS) said it has been encouraged by recent trading trends although the British consumer remains “skittish and cautious” as the coronavirus (COVID-10) pandemic continues to impact. The motor finance and property bridging specialist said although the coronavirus pandemic would undoubtedly have an impact on the group’s full-year results, it remains profitable and continues to pay dividends. In the Advantage Finance car loan business, sales have recovered from around 40% of normal to nearly 80%.

Inspiration Healthcare Group PLC (LON:IHC) said it is confident it will achieve market expectations for the full year after a strong first half. Underlying revenues in the six months to the end of July 2020, were up by around 30% on the corresponding period of last year. The medtech company said it has a healthy order book that has been boosted by several unexpected opportunities as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, such as the award of contracts to supply ventilators and ancillary services to the National Health Service (NHS).

Power Metal Resources PLC (LON:POW) said that final preparations for drilling on the Molopo Farms Complex project, which is partially controlled by the company, are now underway. Power Metal holds an 18.26% stake in Kalahari Key, which operates Molopo Farms, and has elected to earn-in to a 40% direct interest in the project by spending US$500,000 on exploration, notably target drilling, in 2020. On completion of the earn-in Power Metal will have an effective economic interest of 50.96% in the MFC Project.

Conroy Gold and Natural Resources PLC (LON:CGNR) is raising £800,000 through a placing and subscription of shares at 25p each. The net proceeds of the financing will be used to support activities in relation to the company’s proposed joint venture with Anglo Asian Mining PLC (LON:AAZ), to advance the company’s gold exploration activities in Finland, and for general working capital purposes. Each new share carries a warrant to subscribe for one additional share at 35p.

i3 Energy PLC (LON:I3E) confirmed it has raised at least £29mln, with a further £1mln subject to regulatory approval, as it advances its proposed acquisition of assets owned by Gain Energy in Canada. It comes after the oil and gas company last week struck a deal to concurrently sell a package of the Gain assets to a third party, Harvard Energy, for C$45mln (US$33mln) which meant the net acquisition cost was reduced to C$35mln (US$26mln). In the share placing, some 568.4mln new shares are being issued at a price of 5p. The additional placing will see the issue of 12.65mln shares, if approved.

NQ Minerals PLC (AQSE:NQMI) (OTCQB: NQMLF) (OTCQB:NQMIY), the base and precious metals producer from its Hellyer Gold Mine in Tasmania Australia, announced that it has raised £695,389 (gross) at 7p per share from a UK based Institutional investor and a group of private investors for general working capital purposes and the company will issue 9,934,126 new ordinary shares under the equity issue.

Sareum Holdings PLC (LON:SAR) has said it is advancing initial discussions with potential licensees for its pre-clinical tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) / Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) inhibitor immunotherapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer. The progress report was provided in the company’s latest trading statement, which also provided updates on the two treatments that have commercial backing. Investors were told that investigational new drug-enabling work would be completed for at least one of its TYK2/JAK1 candidates by the end of the calendar year.

Blue Star Capital PLC (LON:BLU) noted that its portfolio firm, Dynasty eSports Pte Ltd, has raised around £1.73mln, at a valuation of £10mln, to further develop its eSports portal management platform. The investment firm said it has participated in the fundraiser, investing a further £225,000 to maintain its 13% holding in Dynasty, taking its total investment in the company to £428,000 and valuing its stake in the group at around £1.3mln.

Panther Metals PLC (LON:PALM) has identified 253 geophysical anomalies at its Big Bear project on the Schreiber-Hemlo greenstone belt in Ontario, Canada, following a recently conducted airborne geophysical survey, with 39 designated for priority investigation. Meanwhile, ongoing sampling, geological mapping and prospecting has identified new hitherto unknown gold in soil anomalies coincident with favourable structural settings interpreted from the magnetic data.

Salt Lake Potash Ltd (ASX:SO4) (LON:SO4) has completed the $A71 million institutional component of its fully underwritten A$98.5 million equity raising at A$0.50 per new ordinary share. The underwritten equity raising comprises the institutional component of the accelerated pro-rata non-renounceable entitlement offer and the institutional placement.

Oriole Resources PLC (LON:ORR) said it is considering its options over an agreement to sell the Hasançelebi and Doğala mining royalties in Turkey. The agreement required partner Bati Toroslar to pay US$30,000 within seven days, with the balance contingent upon the commencement of mine construction at either Hasançelebi or Doğala.

Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (LON:CLDN) has said it will be releasing its operating and financial results for the quarter and the six months ended June 30, 2020, on Thursday, August 13, 2020. The company will be hosting a conference call and Q&A session open to all investors on the same day at 4pm BST UK time. Dial-in details: New York +1 212 999 6659; South Africa Toll Free 0800 980 512; Standard International Access +44 (0) 20 3003 2666; UK Toll Free 0808 109 0700; USA Toll Free  +1 866 966 5335; Call Password - Caledonia Mining Results.

Savannah Resources PLC (LON:SAV), the resource development company, announced that its joint broker finnCap has written a comprehensive research report about the company and in particular its Mina do Barroso Lithium Project based in Portugal. finnCap's research note can be accessed here:  https://www.savannahresources.com/investor-relations/research/

Tiziana Life Sciences PLC (LON:TILS) (NASDAQ:TLSA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing targeted drugs for cancer, inflammatory diseases and COVID-19, announced that members of its management team will participate virtually in the BTIG Biotechnology Conference on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, at 2.30pm EDT. A live webcast of the fireside chat can be accessed by registering for the BTIG Biotechnology Conference, using the link here: https://btig.meetmax.com/sched/event_64849/conference_home.html?bank_access=0&event_id=64849. The investor presentation can be found on the Tiziana website: https://www.tizianalifesciences.com/cms/resources/tlsa-investor-presentation-august-2020.pdf. A replay of the webcast will be archived on Tiziana's website for approximately 45 days following the presentation.

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