SigmaRoc PLC has built up a good rise after the quarrying materials group completed the £355mln purchase of Johnston Quarry Group.
Johnston's aggregate products are typically used in infrastructure projects, with its Cotswolds Ironstone and Bath Stone used in specified high end housing applications.
The deal will expand SigmaRoc's offering of construction materials and agricultural lime to service customers in England and Wales.
The news has pushed SigmaRoc's shares 4.12% higher to 94.75p.
2.49pm: Cordel goes into reverse after disappointing results
Cordel Group PLC (AIM:CRDL) has seen its shares come off the rails after disappointing half year results.
The AI specialist focusing on the transport sector said total revenue were down 11% at constant currency, although it cut its losses from £1.26mln to £681,000.
Total expenses increased by 27% after it invested in additional engineers and sales staff, in response to large-scale contracts won in the UK and US.
Chairman Ian Buddery said: "We have delivered positive progress with contract wins and exciting partnerships during the period; however, the interim results are currently running behind our plan.
"As stated in our December trading update, our business was impacted by COVID-19 in the second half, with border closures in Australia and staff at our key customers in self-quarantine that delayed projects in the US.
"However, the board has also recognised that we can benefit from adding significant customer facing expertise to better manage the large and complex customer accounts we are now dealing with which, in the period under review would have helped plan for and mitigate revenue slippage."
So the company has appointed a chief revenue officer in the shape of Mike Turner, a sales manager from the software industry.
Buddery added: "Despite today's results, we look forward with confidence. In the last six months, among other positive steps, we have been awarded a six-and-a-half-year contract with Network Rail to replace the UK's National Gauging Database, expanded our relationship with a major US customer, and formed a partnership with Holland LP in the US. The group is carrying a large backlog of work into the second half, which we expect to produce growth for the full year. We are targeting to be cashflow positive in the fourth quarter."
Even so its shares have lost 15.39% or 1.5p to 8.25p.
2.07pm: Lok'n'Store raises £39mln with sale of four sites
Lok'nStore Group PLC (AIM:LOK) has been lifted by the sale of four of its sites to raise £39mln.
The self-storage company has done the deal for the sites, in Basingstoke, Cardiff, Horsham and Portsmouth, with Self-Storage Trading, an existing institutional managed-store client independent of Lok'nStore and its directors.
Lok'nStore will receive management and performance fees for managing them on behalf of their new owner.
The total amount is subject to a £1.8 million downward adjustment in respect of certain committed works to be completed at two of the sites.
The net proceeds will be used for new stores, and the company has three further sites with lawyers and a number of other opportunities above the current pipeline of twelve stores
The historic cost of the four stores was £13.75mln and their stated fair value as at 31 July 2021 was £31.75mln.
Meanwhile the company said trading since the year end in July had continued well.
Executive chairman Andrew Jacobs said: "This transaction, at a 22.8% premium to the July 2021 independent valuation, demonstrates the value Lok'nStore is creating and the growing institutional demand for UK self-storage assets."
Lok'n'Store shares have added 4% to 1040p.
12.24pm: SDX Energy slips as it says production will fall this year
SDX Energy PLC (AIM:SDX, OTC:SDXEF), the oil and gas company focused on the Middle East and North Africa, is on the slide.
It said 2021 production was at the higher end of guidance, but this year's output would be lower.
The firm is also selling 33% of its interest in the South Disouq concession in Egypt for US$5.5mln. It will retain 67% and intends to start a share buyback of up to US$3mln in the second half of 2022.
But its shares are down 9.28% at 8.8p.
Chief executive Mark Reid said: "Our full year 2022 production guidance is lower than 2021 actual production of 5,886 barrels of oil equivalent per day, mainly due to the proposed South Disouq disposal announced today and natural depletion across wells at South Disouq.
"Production in Morocco in 2022 will be lower due to a decision not to immediately renew a five-year customer contract until we have better visibility on future gas supply and gas pricing to support the full term of a new contract. As a result of this decision, we are reducing 2022 Moroccan capex guidance by around US$6mln compared to 2021. Notwithstanding this, we are still planning to drill up to sixteen wells this year but expect overall capex guidance to be lower in 2022 at US$21.5-US$23mln."
11.24am: MaxCyte lifted by deal with US group Intima Bioscience
MaxCyte Inc (AIM:MXCT) has seen its shares grow after a US deal.
The company, which specialises in technology for ex-vivo cell engineering, has signed a licence agreement with Intima Bioscience, which is developing genetically engineered cell therapies for solid tumor cancer. Intima joins a group of 15 other leading cell therapy companies who have partnered with MaxCyte.
Under the terms of the agreement, Intima obtains non-exclusive clinical and commercial rights to use MaxCyte's Flow Electroporation technology and ExPERT platform. In return, MaxCyte is entitled to receive platform licensing fees and program-related milestone payments.
Doug Doerfler, president and chief executive of MaxCyte , said: "This relationship represents an important achievement for MaxCyte as it expands the use of our next-generation technology platform to support engineering in additional novel cell types."
MaxCyte is up 6.49% or 30p at 492p.
10.05am: Botswana Diamonds shrugs off deal setback
Botswana Diamonds PLC (AIM:BOD) has moved ahead despite a setback in a potential deal.
The company said that Vast Resources, which was intending to be a partner in the purchase of Gem Diamonds Botswana for US$4mln in cash, had now decided not to proceed.
But Botswana said it had identified alternative potential partners to replace Vast as its partner in their joint venture Okwa and had confirmed to the seller, Gem Diamonds, that it was committed to doing the deal as soon as possible.
They have extended the deadline for the deal from from 31 January 2022 to 31 March to allow Botswana to secure the new partner, which may require further approval from the relevant Government of Botswana authorities.
Nonetheless its shares are up 4.88% at 1.08p.
8.54am: Checkit boosted by news of US contract
Investors are checking out shares in Checkit PLC (AIM:CKT, OTC:ECKTF) after the technology firm announced a new US contract.
It has signed a three year deal with Biomat USA, a subsidiary of Spain's Grifols which produces plasma-derived and transfusion medicines.
The Biomat contract is to supply intelligent operations technology in the US and has a minimum value of £2.8mln over three years.
In addition, there are advanced discussions to expand the Checkit platform to cover Grifols' key countries of operations in Europe.
Grifols also plans to build 20 plasma centres in Egypt, with Checkit having recently signed a separate three year contract to provide intelligent operations services to the first ten of these.
Checkit chief executive Kit Kyte said: "This deal provides further confirmation of the importance of our technology in enabling intelligent operations across deskless workforces."
Checkit shares are up 8.69% at 47.28p.
Also heading higher is UK Oil & Gas PLC (AIM:UKOG) after it completed the first part of a seismic programme at Basur-Resan in Turkey.
The second phase of seismic acquisition has been paused whilst the company focuses on drilling and establishing an inaugural producing well on the licence.
Chief executive Stephen Sanderson said: "Concluding the first tranche of our seismic programme, specifically geared to optimise the drilling trajectories of both the B-3S and Resan-6 appraisal wells, marks an important milestone for our Turkish assets as we continue to push towards establishing first production from Basur-Resan. We look forward to the receipt of new processed data and the resultant recommencement of drilling operations."
Its shares have added 12.5% to 0.11p.