Panther Metals has dumped its remaining shares in Fulcrum Metals in a discounted placing that will net Panther just over £250,000.

Fulcrum Metals was spun out of Panther Metals in an AIM IPO in 2023, with Panther Metals retaining a stake of 10m shares in Fulcrum worth around £1.7m at the time of the IPO.

The company has crystallised more than three-quarters of this stake today for just £266,000.

It’s unlikely either set of shareholders will be happy with the placing. Panther Metals has sold the remainder of its stake after having plentiful opportunities to do so at prices many times higher than the current level. 

Fulcrum Metals shareholders now know there is weak demand for their shares with the placing price so far below the market price. On a positive note, Fulcrum shareholders can be pleased that a distressed seller has now been cleared out.

Underscoring Panther Metal’s need for cash, the company agreed with brokers to break a renewed lock-in period that was supposed to run until May 2025. 

Today’s share sale is Panther Metals’ third cash raise this year, having raised £450,000 in January and issuing a smaller amount of shares at the beginning of April. 

Panther shareholders hope the recently raised cash will be put to good use in developing the company’s Canadian assets before the firm taps the market again.

The FTSE 100 tumbled again on Monday as the fallout of Donald Trump’s tariffs continued to rock global equities.

The weekend failed to offer any reprieve from the negative sentiment towards stocks, with many analysts and investors now expecting the US to enter a recession later this year.

London’s leading index fell as much as 6% in the early minutes of trade and remained under pressure as the session progressed.

“The US economy is barrelling rapidly towards recession, and will probably end up taking most of the rest of the world with it,” said Michael Brown Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone.

“Concurrently, inflation is going to ramp substantially higher for the next couple of quarters, at the very least. Here we are then – stagflation.”

The S&P 500 fell more than 10% over two trading sessions at the end of last week – the biggest two-day drop since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Investors continued to dump European stocks on Monday, and US equities looked set to open lower. 

After such sharp declines at the end of last week, some may have expected a bounce, or at least a pause in selling on Monday. However, the fears about a global recession and little commentary for Trump from the White House over the weekend created an overarching sense of nervousness in markets on Monday.

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman provided some insight into what he thinks should happen next in a social media post, capturing the attention of equity bulls hoping for a change in approach by Donald Trump. The billionaire suggested delays to tariffs could be announced by Trump, allowing time for deals to be made with other countries, although no such sounds have been made by the Whitehouse yet.

One would have to imagine that President @realDonaldTrump’s phone has been ringing off the hook. The practical reality is that there is insufficient time for him to make deals before the tariffs are scheduled to take effect.

I would therefore not be surprised to wake up Monday…

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 5, 2025

There was a very small and short-lived bounce on Friday when news broke that Trump had a telephone call with Vietnam and discussed the reduction of tariffs. However, claims by the White House that Trump had calls with dozens of other countries over the weekend failed to elicit any meaningful positivity in stocks on Monday. 

Indeed, the initial moves in the FTSE 100 on Monday were nothing short of a bloodbath. All FTSE 100 stocks were down at the time of writing.

Rolls Royce lost another 13% while Glencore sank 12%. Anglo American, Antofagasta, Babcock all fell more than 10%.

The best performers – those with the least declines – were UK-centric housebuilders and supermarkets.

Applied Nutrition has made a strong start to life as a listed company by reporting revenues for the six months to 31 January 2025 that were ahead of guidance provided at the time of the IPO.

Revenues for the period were £47.6m – higher than the £46m the supplements and wellbeing company said they expected to generate at the time of the IPO.

“We are pleased to have announced a positive set of maiden results, ahead of what we said we would do at the time of IPO, with the Company delivering strong growth, expanding globally, and driving innovation in our industry,” said Thomas Ryder, CEO of Applied Nutrition.

“This has been a period of significant milestones and progress – our IPO in October, launching our first TV advert to promote our products starring Coleen Rooney, developing relationships with exciting new customers, and expanding into new geographies. The interest in our brand since our IPO has reached new heights and we are very grateful for the strong support we have received from our customers, partners and shareholders.”

Despite revenues growing in the period, Applied Nutrition’s adjusted Ebitda fell 15% to £13.8m in the period and margins contracted. Operating profit fell 28%.

Applied Nutrition’s shares are down materially from their 140p IPO price. Falling profits and lower margins will do little to encourage the share price back up to the listing price.

The company said it is increasing shelf space with major retailers and growing its social media reach through collaborations with celebrities such as Coleen Rooney. These played a part in higher revenues.

Investors, however, will want to see higher revenues translate into higher profits.