Hybridan Small Cap Feast: 3/10/2024
* A corporate client of Hybridan LLP
** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement
*** Alphabetically arranged
**** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced, or it is a rumour
Dish of the day
Delistings:
Base Resources (BSE.L) has delisted from the AIM market
What’s baking in the oven?
Potential**** Initial Public Offerings:
ITF announced:
30th September 2024: Applied Nutrition, the sports nutrition, health and wellness brand announced that it is considering an IPO onto the LSE Main Market. Across the four ranges, the Group sells approximately 100 different products, with flavour and format combinations across those products resulting in over 500 stock keeping units. July 2024 YE numbers reported revenue of £86m and EBITDA of £25.9m. Offer details TBC but it would comprise existing shares to be sold by certain existing shareholders of the Company.
Banquet Buffet***
An energy transition Company developing low carbon integrated energy solutions in the UK advise that it has entered into a £5.1m loan facility for its Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH) infrastructure project, a large-scale clean energy storage facility. The loan facility is able to support the MESH project through the FEED phase with a view to reaching FID at the end of 2025. EnergyPathways has entered into a binding loan facility (Green Loan) with Global Green Asset Financing Limited (GGAF). GGAF is a new, Luxembourg-based green project and corporate financing platform structured to provide its investors with green impact and yield income returns in sectors including cleantech and renewable energy. Under the terms of the Green Loan, EnergyPathways has entered into a loan facility of up to £5.1m with a minimum commitment from the lender of £2.55m over the term.
The Company advised on 21 August 2024 at the commencement of drilling of the Phase 3 Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling programme on the Shinganda Licence that it would update shareholders with any material updates. A total of 30 holes and 2,213 metres of RC drilling has been completed with six fences of angled short holes typically drilled to an end of hole length of 80 metres. Based on visual inspection, intercepts of the supergene enrichment zone representing the most likely setting for the highest copper and gold grades were seen at the base of several drillholes. As a result, the Company elected to immediately follow up with a short Phase 4 diamond drill programme to ensure maximum recovery of core in this zone and therefore a more accurate assessment of grade than that offered by RC drill chips. A total of three diamond drill holes and 310 metres of drilling has been completed to date to specifically target the supergene zone, intersecting both iron-rich oxides and copper sulphide mineralisation.
The developer of solid-state battery technology completed testing of its Goliath D5 prototypes relative to lithium-ion equivalent batteries. The testing reconfirmed the benefits of Goliath across several key variables - reinforcing the fact that Ilika's cells have the potential to provide electric vehicles (EV) with lighter, safer, cheaper batteries with longer ranges and faster charging capabilities. This was achieved by optimising the cell architecture to increase Goliath's unique safety value proposition without compromising cell energy density. This means that EV designers can reduce the mechanical protection and reinforcement that would otherwise be required to protect the battery pack. This milestone pushes the technology further along the curve to the next data point for larger area 10Ah batteries, the results are expected to be announced in November 2024. The Company believes this underpins the licensing opportunities as the journey continues to a minimum viable product.
A provider of information systems and technical services to transport operators and local authorities announces that its Danish subsidiary, Journeo AS has been awarded a contract with Umove following their award of a public transport contract with Trafikselskabet Movia. The initial contract period runs for 6-years through to 2031, but this may be extended by two 4-year optional extensions to 2039. Trafikselskabet Movia is the public transport agency responsible for buses and local railways in Zealand. It does not own any buses and trains itself, but pays fleet operator subcontractors, such as Umove to run them. Umove was founded in 2013 and has grown to become Denmark's largest privately owned public transport operator with 650 buses and 1,600 employees. Umove won Movia's A23 tender and will operate over 230,000 timetable hours. Engineering and installation works worth approximately £0.5m in revenues will be completed next year, prior to the buses entering revenue service in October 2025. The software licenses and recurring monthly SaaS revenues are expected to generate a further £0.4m during the initial contract period.
A diversified metals producer with operations in South Africa and Zambia announces its audited results for the year ended 30 June 2024. Group revenue increased by 20.2% to US$205.4m (FY2023: US$170.9m), and Group EBITDA decreased by 7.1% to US$27.7m (FY2023: US$29.8m) supported by increased chrome production helping partially offset the impact of the sharp decline in platinum group metals EBITDA. The Company completed an oversubscribed placing of US$16.5m before costs at 5.5p per share on 5 January 2024 to accelerate the Zambian copper expansion drive. Chrome concentrate production guidance is 1.65m tonnes (6.6% increase year-on-year), and 6E PGM production guidance is 36 000oz (similar year-on-year).
The property services Group that delivers compliance and sustainability solutions provides the following update regarding DCB (Kent) Ltd (DCB), the Group's former construction division. Works at the penultimate project concluded in September 2024. The Group has agreed to complete additional further works at this property, which are now underway and will be paid for separately by the client. This does not affect the final cost to complete and the Company will confirm in due course once practical completion has been achieved. As previously announced, the performance bond of £0.9m relating to the final project was deferred after agreeing to the resolution of the final of the nine DBC projects. The Company having met their contractual obligations with the required number of payments having been made, the performance bond has now been released.
The life sciences business developing probiotics to support cardiometabolic health announces a commercial partnership with Ukraine based pharmaceutical distributor Deutsch-Pharm Lcc. Deutsch-Pharm is one of the leading pharmaceutical product distributors in Ukraine, working with over 9,000 customers and partners in the country, supplying products to hospitals, pharmacies and online stores. Deutsch-Pharm works with leading players including Bufour, Ipensa, Hoffmann la Roche and Fresenius. Deutsch-Pharm will utilise two of the Company's products initially: YouBiotixX3 , targeting cholesterol lowering, and YourBiotixVH, targeting general vascular health. Both products will be introduced under Deutsch-Pharm's own brand. The partnership with Deutsch-Pharm will see an initial focus on the Ukrainian market followed by Uzbekistan and other countries in the region. There will be a three to six month product registration process with commercialisation expected during Q1 2025.
A provider of rent guarantee services to prospective tenants across the socioeconomic spectrum wishing to rent property in the UK private rental sector provides a quarterly activities update for the three-month period ended 30 September 2024. Revenue is up 62% year-on-year (YoY) compared with the same quarter last year, and the number of tenant contracts is up 47% YoY, demonstrating an increased demand for the RentGuarantor service. The average revenue per tenant contract also rose by 8% YoY, from £606.23 to £656.94. In Q3, the Company signed partnership agreements with a total of 57 introducers, including letting agents, councils, student accommodation providers, landlords and charities.
A group of companies that design, manufacture and supply professional lighting systems announces its preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2024. Revenue decreased to £175.8m (2023: £176.7m), profit before tax increased to £29.9m (2023: £26.9m) and basic earnings per share increased to 20.73p (2023: 18.73p). With so many companies in the Group, there will be inevitable ups and downs in various locations. All the larger companies are in good shape with stable and experienced leadership teams with good order books at the start of the new financial year. Costs are generally under control, although people cost pressures remain and the companies need to keep working hard to find efficiency improvements.
The Company announced that it had acquired the CTD Tiles brands, including thirty stores, selected stock and all related intellectual property from CTD Tiles Limited (the CTD Business) acting by its administrators, James Lumb and Will Wright of Interpath Limited, for a consideration of £9m. Topps Group notes that, further to its announcement of 2 October 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority has now served an initial enforcement order under section 72(2) of the Enterprise Act 2002 (the IEO) on Topps Group in relation to the CTD Acquisition.
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