Brave Bison Group plc, the next-generation marketing and technology firm, has announced the largest ever contract win for its MiniMBA subsidiary.

Brave Bison shares were 3% higher at the time of writing on Monday.

MiniMBA, the UK’s leading marketing skills and training platform, will provide its Brand Management programme to one of the world’s largest food and beverage conglomerates. Thousands of employees across the Asia-Pacific region will receive training throughout 2026 under the €1.3 million agreement.

The contract was secured approximately six months after Brave Bison’s acquisition of MiniMBA. Revenue from the deal will be recognised in the current financial year.

“MiniMBA is thrilled to announce the largest enterprise deal in our history, reflecting the growing need among global organisations to ensure a high level of marketing capability in their teams, in a rapidly changing environment,” said Tim Plyming, CEO MiniMBA.

“This deal is a testament to the impact our courses deliver for organisations around the world, and to our core belief that training makes better marketers. Our teams across MiniMBA and Brave Bison are excited to be delivering this dedicated programme based on the MiniMBA in Brand Management.”

Brave Bison shares have increased dramatically over the past year as the company integrated a string of acquisitions and fought off shareholder requisitioned resolutions.

Sancus Lending (LON: LEND) shares jumped 362.5% to 1.8p on an unexpectedly strong trading performance in 2025. The finance provider increased revenues by one-third to £22.1m and a 2025 pre-tax profit of more than £1m is estimated, although that includes gains of £2.6m from repurchasing ZDPs. New lending facilities nearly doubled to £212m and total loans were one-third higher at £317m. The share price soared 288% to 1.55p.

Empyrean Energy (LON: EME) has come to an agreement with Conrad Asia Energy to resolve its dispute over the Duyung PSC and Mako gas field in Indonesia. First gas could be in the fourth quarter of 2027. A special purpose vehicle will be established to own these investments, and Empyrean Energy will own 8.5%. After this Empyrean will pay $353,000 to Conrad and a further $353,000 will be paid out of dividends from the special purpose vehicle. Empyrean’s secured convertible note will be restructured, and the lender will be paid out of dividends from the project. The share price jumped 138% to 0.0894p.

Ovoca Bio (LON: OVB) has completed the acquisition of Tadeen International and it will change its name to Talisman Metals. There was £1.155m raised at 7.7p/share. This means the company has £2.255m in cash. The main asset is copper deposits in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The share price rose 88.4% to 6.5p.

Physiomics (LON: PYC) has been awarded a new contract by long-standing client Numab Therapeutics. The project is for modelling the company’s pipeline to accelerate development of therapies. The share price improved 66.1% to 0.465p.

FALLERS

Contract proteomics services provider Proteome Sciences (LON: PRM) has raised £840,000 via a placing at 1.75p/share and a retail offer raised £132,000, which was more than double the target. The cash will be used to increase Tandem Mass Tags plexing rate from 32x to 96x and introduce novel Solvent Shift chemoproteomic workflows. It will also go towards launching a new range of DXT isotopic plex tags and concluding a DXT licence, will increasing capacity in San Diego. The share price dived 43% to 1.84p.

Sensing and measurement technology developer Transense Technologies (LON: TRT) has not been securing new contracts as fast as it hoped. Also, iTrack royalty income is likely to be10% lower than expected at £2m with the total revenues for the group are forecast at £5.2m, down from £5.55m last year. The SAWsense and Translogik businesses should grow revenues by 30%. The company was profitable in the first half and had cash at £1.33m. The interim results will be released on 17 February. The share price slumped 40.8% to 72.5p.

Eqtec (LON: EQT) is raising £1.3m at 0.035p/share and this represents 36% of the enlarged share capital. A restructuring of £5.79m of debt will lead to £1.93m being converted into shares. The rest will be changed into £1.93m secured, zero-coupon debt and £1.93m. There is £166,000 of debt owed on the convertible facility with GIS. As part of its new strategy Eqtec is acquiring 99% of the Green Rock copper gold exploration project. It is paying $150,000 in cash and shares. The remaining 1% stake has a carry up to $350,000 and after that it will be lent cash by Eqtec to pay for its contribution with repayment out of future revenues. There is also an option over a 99% interest in the Peak Hills gold copper exploration project in Western Australia. The waste to energy activities will continue to be a core part of the group. The share price dipped 26.3% to 0.07p.

Botswana Diamonds (LON: BOD) been awarded eight prospecting licences in north west Botswana. They have been chosen for prospectivity for copper, gold, silver and other critical minerals. The company is speaking with potential joint venture partners. The share price fell 26.2% to 0.225p.

The FTSE 100 rallied towards all-time highs on Friday despite several risks creeping in that could derail the optimism in equity markets in the early stages of 2026.

London’s leading index was 0.5% higher at 10,203 at the time of writing as UK markets shrugged off a raft of concerns, including Trump’s pick for Fed chair, an attack on Iran, and volatility in the dollar.

“It’s a potentially big day for financial markets amid chatter that Donald Trump will announce his pick for the new Federal Reserve chair,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

“Reports suggest Kevin Warsh is primed to take the role. Investors seem to be taking this as a positive sign in terms of Fed independence – with Warsh perceived as a more orthodox choice versus some of the other mooted names. He has previously served as a Fed governor and went up against Powell when he got the job of chair in 2017.

“The decline in US futures prices and uptick in the dollar reflect the thinking that Warsh won’t be a marionette for the Trump administration. It implies the chances of aggressive rate cuts in 2026 regardless of the backdrop, something which Trump has not been shy in calling for, are slimmer.”

Dollar volatility has been a key driver of financial markets this week, particularly for the FTSE 100, sending gold and silver prices to record highs and affecting London’s overseas earners.

On Friday, the dollar rebounded, sending metals prices sharply lower and pushing mining stocks into the red, weighing on the FTSE 100 index.

After breaking through $5,600 just days ago, gold momentarily fell back below $5,000 on Friday before rebounding to $5,134 at the time of writing.

Fresnillo dropped 4% while Antofagasta lost 3.3% after storming gains earlier in the week.

Airtel Africa was the top faller, sinking 7%, after releasing a strong Q3 trading statement that clearly wasn’t strong enough to spark a fresh rally after the stock tripled in 2025.

But there was enough strength elsewhere to lift the FTSE 100.

Experian, up 3%, was the FTSE 100’s top riser after announcing a fresh share buyback of $1bn, which will be music to the ears of investors who have watched the share price drift lower over the past year.

“UK-based data and tech company Experian announced a new $1bn share buyback program this morning, commencing immediately,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“That’s clearly in response to its roughly 20% share price decline year-to-date as the baby’s seemingly been thrown out with the bathwater, on fears of increased competition. Underlying trends at the business remain strong, so this looks like an opportunistic way to create value for current shareholders.”

The dollar’s strength was integral to the FTSE 100’s gains on Friday, with many of the stocks that had suffered from its weakness earlier in the week rebounding.

Heavyweights AstraZeneca and HSBC were both higher by around 1%, adding a substantial number of points to the index.

Amazon is in talks to make a bumper investment of up to $50 billion in OpenAI, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal, as the tech giant seeks to accelerate its artificial intelligence ambitions.

OpenAI is thought to be preparing for an IPO later this year, and the race is on for the firm to be the first pure-play foundational AI model firm to list, with Anthropic also reported to be preparing for an IPO.

The potential deal would make Amazon the largest investor in OpenAI’s ongoing fundraising round, which is reportedly targeting up to $100 billion. The round could value the ChatGPT creator OpenAI at an eye-watering $830 billion. OpenAI is currently valued at $500 billion.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is personally leading negotiations with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, though the exact structure of any agreement remains fluid and could still change, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Should the round value OpenAI at $830 billion, it would set the firm on a path for an IPO at a valuation of over $1 trillion – Saudi Aramco, valued at $1.7 trillion at the time of listing, is the only company to date that has listed with a valuation of more than $1 trillion.

But OpenAI isn’t alone in targeting a $1 trillion valuation on IPO. Elon Musk has touted a $1 trillion valuation for SpaceX on IPO while the FT reported recently that the valuation could be as high as $1.5 trillion.

Empyrean Energy (LON: EME) has come to an agreement with Conrad Asia Energy to resolve its dispute over the Duyung PSC and Mako gas field in Indonesia. First gas could be in the fourth quarter of 2027. A special purpose vehicle will be established to own these investments, and Empyrean Energy will own 8.5%. After this Empyrean will pay $353,000 to Conrad and a further $353,000 will be paid out of dividends from the special purpose vehicle. Empyrean’s secured convertible note will be restructured, and the lender will be paid out of dividends from the project. The share price tripled to 0.105p.

Artemis Resources (LON: ARV) published its quarterly activities report to December 2025. Drilling at the Titan East gold discovery should complete in the current quarter and follow-up diamond drilling will test strike and depth. The company has already announced plans to leave AIM on 13 February. The share price recovered 8.33% to 0.325p.

Video games art outsourcing provider Winking Studios (LON: WKS) expects 2025 revenues to be at least 40% higher than the $31.9m reported in 2024. That is slightly higher than expectations. Organic growth was in mid-to-high single digits. EBITDA is anticipated to be between 7% and 13% ahead of the $4.8m reported in 2024. There are already approximately $34.6m of bookings to be recognised this year. The full year results are due to be announced on 27 February. The share price increased 6.25% to 12.75p.

Investment bank Peel Hunt (LON: PEEL) is trading more strongly than expected in the year to March 2026. No specific figures were announced but the revenues are expected to exceed current consensus of £122.8m, and pre-tax profit should be more than £15m. Revenues will be announced on 1 April. The share price rose 6.07% to 113.5p.

FALLERS

Sensing and measurement technology developer Transense Technologies (LON: TRT) has not been securing new contracts as fast as it hoped. Also, iTrack royalty income is likely to be10% lower than expected at £2m with the total revenues for the group are forecast at £5.2m, down from £5.55m last year. The SAWsense and Translogik businesses should grow revenues by 30%. The company was profitable in the first half and had cash at £1.33m. The interim results will be released on 17 February. The share price slumped 35.6% to 72.5p.

Trading in Aura Energy (LON: AURA) shares continues on AIM but has been suspended on ASX pending a capital raising. Aura Energy is developing the Haggan polymetallic project in Sweden, where the government has overturned the ban on uranium mining. A 20% outside investment in the project values it at A$55m. The share price is 16.7% lower at 10.5p.

Medical device developer RUA Life Sciences (LON: RUA) generated revenues of £6.7m in the 18 months to September 2025 and there was a move into positive EBITDA. The pre-tax loss was slashed from £2.02m to £236,000. Cash was £3.25m at the end of September 2025. Management further hopes to further exploit the company IP. The share price slipped 7.94% to 14.5p.

Allergy Therapeutics (LON: AGY) has appointed Helge Weiner-Trapness as chief strategy officer and Lawrence Allen Wang as independent non-executive director. The share price fell 7.56% to 11p.

Apple shares were steady in the US premarket after the tech group reported record iPhone sales, but left investors worried about costs and a lack of a story around AI.

Apple shares were trading at $258 in the US premarket, barely changed from the cash close yesterday.

There was a lot to like in Apple’s update. iPhone revenue smashed estimates, coming in at $85.3 billion versus the $78.7 billion expected for the quarter. Strong iPhone sales contributed to the group’s record revenue of $143.8 billion.

But record revenue wasn’t enough to spark a rally in shares as investors fretted about the tech giants’ AI strategy. Unlike other Mag 7 stocks such as Meta and Microsoft, Apple isn’t spending mountains of cash on AI. It does, however, lack a coherent narrative about how it will stay relevant in the age of AI.

“Apple delivered a standout iPhone quarter, but investors came away wanting more – specifically, a clearer AI story,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Rather than spending billions to build out its own models, Apple is set to adopt other firms’ tech by integrating Google’s Gemini into its stack.

This will make Apple a hardware play going forward and may not be as attractive as the players that own the AI technology. That said, you can’t take anything away from record iPhone sales, which demonstrate that Apple’s innovation cycle still works and is able to produce growth in China.

There were signs of weakness in Mac sales – something investors will have a close eye on in the coming quarters.

“Markets were expecting a good quarter for the iPhone, but weren’t expecting to see China firmly back in the mix as a major source of strength,” Britzman said.

“With services steady and Apple continuing to spend light while buying back stock aggressively, a clear divergence is emerging between Apple and the other tech giants.

“The outlook for the March quarter was better than analysts had forecast, but not quite enough to shift the overall mood. Apple is still wrestling with parts shortages and rising component costs, which adds some caution to an otherwise upbeat guide.

“What’s really keeping a lid on things is Apple’s slow progress in AI, a gap that now feels pivotal to close. Investors are looking for practical, AI-powered products that genuinely move the needle – something Apple Intelligence hasn’t delivered. Customers remain fiercely loyal to the brand, but shareholders want to see a clearer plan and real execution, which likely explains why the stock barely budged despite a strong quarter. There’s still a great opportunity at hand for Apple to show it can lead again, not just follow.”

Cohort has announced that its subsidiary, Marlborough Communications Ltd (MCL), has won contracts totalling £17.9m.

The larger award, valued at £14.0m, comes from a UK government customer and covers the immediate delivery of uncrewed air systems along with two years of in-service support. MCL will collaborate with its long-standing partner Skydio to supply these systems.

Additionally, MCL has received a separate order worth £3.9m. This contract involves the supply of tactical audio systems for a UK customer.

The dual contract wins underscore MCL’s strengthening position in defence technology solutions and its ability to deliver advanced systems to government clients.

“These valuable orders demonstrate the strength of MCL’s relationships with its UK customers. Its highly skilled and knowledgeable team has a proven track record of combining the latest innovations in technology with expert engineering to meet urgent defence needs,” said Andrew Thomis, Cohort Chief Executive.

“These latest contracts, combined with other recent orders across the Group, further enhance our order book and the visibility of future revenues. Sufficient orders have now been secured to underpin fully the Group’s 2025/26 financial year consensus forecast revenue.”

Cohort shares were around 1% higher at the time of writing.

The fresh contract wins follow Cohort’s interim report released earlier in January, which highlights continued revenue growth for the group. Cohort’s revenue hit £128.8m in the 6 months to October 2025, up from £118m in the same period a year prior.

The FTSE 100 rose on Thursday as miners helped lift the index amid a fresh commodities rally and an encouraging production report from Antofagasta.

London’s leading index was 0.5% higher at the time of writing, trading just above 10,200.

In addition to a buoyant commodities sector, sentiment received a boost from US equities, where the S&P 500 topped 7,000 for the first time after the Fed held rates, highlighting a robust jobs market

“The FTSE 100 got off to a strong start as gold moved through $5,500 and oil ticked up amid mounting tensions between the US and Iran,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. 

“The mining sector did much of the heavy lifting for the index, buoyed by a positive production update from Glencore and the impact of precious metals strength on Fresnillo and Endeavour. BP and Shell were lifted by a stronger crude oil price.

“Wall Street yesterday greeted the latest Federal Reserve decision with a shrug as interest rates were kept on hold – with much of the action coming after the market close as investors reacted to results from Tesla, Microsoft and Meta. Asian markets were more downbeat as the possibility of conflict in the Middle East was weighed up.”  

US futures were pointing to a higher open, suggesting the rally could build as the European session progresses.

In London, Antofagasta was the latest miner to issue its production report amid surging metals prices, sparking a 7% rally in shares on Thursday.

“Yet another FTSE 100 miner has been able to bask in the glow of surging metal prices, which have propelled the share price to astonishing new highs in under a year,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

“Even a miss on copper output has not dented the rally – everyone can see the madness in metals prices, but there seems no sign of it slowing down. Investors can be forgiven for hoping that the vast profits set to be reaped by miners will translate into better dividend payments in the near future.”

Whether Antofagasta’s rally on Thursday was due to the production report or the sharp overnight price increase driven by Chinese investors remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: the copper miner is well placed to create shareholder value in the year ahead.

This sentiment was felt across the mining sector, with Glencore, Rio Tinto, and Anglo American all rising by more than 3%.

BP and Shell rose as oil prices rose amid tensions in the Middle East and a drawdown in US inventories yesterday.

3I Group was the FTSE 100’s top riser after the trust’s top holding, Action, performed well during January, and growth continued to motor with strong like-for-like sales and store openings. 3I shares were 10% higher at the time of writing.

Lloyds shares were flat after beating earnings estimates and announcing a fresh £1.75bn share buyback. The muted market response reflects a strong run into results rather than any disappointment around the results.