Savannah Energy PLC (AIM:SAVE) has been boosted by an extention to a gas sales agreement.
The group's 80% owned subsidiary Accugas Limited currently supplies up to 35mln standard cubic feet of gas a day to the Afam power plant owned by First Independent Power Limited in Rivers State, Nigeria.
Under the terms of the new agreement First Independent - an affiliate of the Sahara Group conglomerate - will be able to increase the quantity of gas purchased from Accugas to up to 65mln cubic feet to supply itsTrans Amadi and Eleme power plants, in addition to Afram.
Savannah chief executive Andrew Knott said: "Accugas has recorded growth in total revenues from gas sales for each of the last five years, with a realised compound annual growth rate of 15%. New contracts, such as this morning's announcement provide the basis for us to continue this growth into the future and we look forward to continue working with the Sahara Group on this and potentially other projects in the future."
Savannah is up 3.3% to 34.09p.
12.33pm: Homeserve higher as it begins talks with potential bidder Brookfield
Homeserve PLC (LSE:HSV) is higher after the home repairs and improvements business began talks with a potential bidder.
The company announced after the market shut last night that it had received a number of proposals from Brookfield Infrastructure, which had said in March it was considering a possible offer.
It said the proposals had a number of conditions, but it had decided to enter discussions with Brookfield about a potential deal.
So the Takeover Panel has extended a deadline for Brookfield to make a bid from yesterday to 19 May although this can be extended.
The company said there was no certainty a firm offer would be made, but its shares are up 11.83% at 954.5p.
11.55am: Kore Potash climbs as financing for key project progresses
There can be no certainty that a firm offer will be made, nor as to the terms of any such offer. Further announcements will be made in due course as appropriate.
Kore Potash PLC (AIM:KP2, ASX:KP2, JSE:KP2) is climbing after an update on its key project.
It said the process to finance the Kola project in the Sintoukola Basin in theRepublic of Congo was progressing in line with the Memorandum of Understanding signed last April with a consortium headed by private equity firm Summit.
The consortium expects to submit an engineering, procurement and construction contract proposal for the construction of Kola within the next two months.
Once the report's terms are agreed, the consortium expects to provide a financing proposal.
Kore chief executive Brad Sampson said: "Recent global events have heightened concerns for food security and continuity of supply of fertiliser to feed the world's growing population. The dramatic increase in the potash price reinforces the need for the development of new low cost potash production from high quality potash deposits, located close to customers such as our projects in the Sintoukola basin.
"The progress towards financing our Kola Project is exciting and we look forward to receiving the financing proposal later this year. "
Kore shares are up 3.57% at 1.45p.
10.28am: PureGold Mining jumps by nearly a quarter as it outlines new financing plans
Pure Gold Mining, Inc. (TSX-V:PGM, LSE:PUR, OTC:LRTNF) is shining after a refinancing and positive update.
The Canadian gold miner has agreed a new credit facility of up to US$6mln with its lending partner Sprott Private Resource Lending.
Sprott will also waive any defaults under existing agreements.
As part of the arrangement PureGold has agreed to immediately pursue an equity financing for net proceeds of not less than US$5mln to be received on or before May 15, 2022.
Chris Haubrich, chief financial officer, said: "The Additional Credit Facility and support from our lending partner Sprott provides the Company with the liquidity and time needed to maintain the positive momentum of the operational turnaround and optimization initiatives currently underway while, in parallel, we continue working toward updating our Life of Mine plan and evaluating a wide range of strategic and potential financing alternatives."
As part of the turnaround plan, it has reduced headcount, rationalized equipment, and optimized underground development initiatives already completed.
This is expected to lead to a 30% reduction in costs in the second quarter of 2022 compared to first three months, and third quarter costs are expected to fall further still. In addition, a new six-month mine plan is underway, which sees production growing steadily from April through September underpinned by 60,000 metres of definition drilling completed since November 2021.
The production and cost improvement initiatives already completed and underway are expected to see the miner reach positive site-level cash flow by the third quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile Troy Fierro has stepped down as chief executive due to personal health issues, and will be replaced by existing director Mark O'Dea.
O'Dea said "I would like to sincerely thank Troy for his contribution over the past 4 months. He, along with the rest of management have brought focus, creativity, and discipline to the operation. Importantly, the benefits of some of the key initiatives that began several months ago are now being realized leading to reduced costs and increased revenue at our mine."
PureGold shares have jumped 23.53% to 15.75p.
9.15am: One Media IP Group finds heaven as Take That deal helps boost outlook
One Media iP Group PLC (AIM:OMIP) is hitting the right notes.
The firm, which exploits intellectual digital property rights around music, video and copyright technology, said full year revenues rose 10% and earnings climbed 11% to £4.38mln.
The gain was driven by organic growth and active management of its portfolio of rights which now include some of Take That's catalogue.
The producer's income royalties to Take That's 'A Million Love Songs', 'Could It Be Magic' and 'I Found Heaven' came as one of nine acquisitions made since the year end at a total cost of £4.3mln.
Chief executive Michael Infante said: "2021 has been active year for One Media, delivering another strong set of results, driven largely by our independently valued £34.8mln content catalogue.
"We welcomed some high-profile names to our stable, including some of Take That's highest profile hits through the acquisition of their producer's royalties, as well as music by Kid Creole, Culture Club and, in our largest acquisition to date, country music star Don Williams.
"These income accretive investments are in line with our strategy of acquiring proven assets that we know can enhance our recurring revenues, while also providing opportunity to add further value and grow income. This is supported by our complementary business ventures - Harmony IP and [software development subsidiary] TCAT - which will both help us diversify and further improve our revenue.
"The outlook for our industry is extremely encouraging, with growth accelerating and technology advances providing more and more opportunities for us to place our assets and maximise royalties. Against this and with a strong balance sheet we're looking to the future with great optimism."
Its shares are up 6.3% at 6.75p.
Also heading higher is leisure group XP Factory (AIM: XPF.) after an update on last November's acquisition of Boom Battle Bar - a series of games venues which include axe throwing and electric darts.
At the time of the deal, the Boom estate comprised one owner operated site and six franchise sites. Now there are 11 sites trading, two owner-operated and nine franchises, with a further 10 sites currently scheduled to open over the coming months.
XP - which also runs Escape Hunt rooms - believes its target of 27 open Boom venues by the end of 2022 will be comfortably met.
It said trading in the venues is meeting expectations for both sales and profitability.
Chief executive Richard Harpham said "We are delighted at how well Boom Battle Bar has been integrated into the Group. It has been an extremely busy period for site development and we have an exciting run of openings in the coming weeks and months which position us well to deliver on our estate targets for the end of the year. The recent performances from our new Boom sites have validated our expectations for the site level profitability we believe is achievable. In addition, Escape Hunt performance has exceeded expectations for the first quarter, giving us confidence for the execution of our strategy as a whole."
XP is up 6.78% at 31.5p.