Active Energy shares spike on progress in Canadian operations

Ishen Patel
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Active Energy shares spike on progress in Canadian operations

Shareholders of Active Energy Group PLC (LON: AEG) have seen their shares spike on Thursday after the firm gave an updaet on progress in their Canadian operations.

Active Energy Group plc is a London listed (AIM: AEG) renewable energy company focused on traditional and second generation biomass products that have the potential to transform the traditional coal fired-power industry and develop an international forestry management business.

Shares of Active Energy spiked 30.79% to 0.5p on Thursday afternoon. 28/11/19 12:33BST.

Players in the energy industry have seen a turbulent trading period, and results have been sporadic by firm.

Shell (LON: RDSA) have seen a slip in their third quarter profits amid volatile oil prices, and have struggled in tough market conditions.

Additionally, smaller names such as i3 Energy (LON: I3E) and AFC Energy (LON: AFC) have seen their shares crash in the last week.

Active Energy agreed terms for the issuance of its first CoalSwitch licence agreement to RMD Environmentals.

RMS is a Canada-based forestry management and environmental engineering and consultancy business.

The agreement was for the development and management of projects involving the use of CoalSwitch Technology technology in Alberta and British Columbia.

RMDE have got the exclusive rights for the sale and commercial developments to which the new technology could be applied in the territories for the next two decades.

AEG recieved a licence fee of $1.8 million, which pleased shareholders as reflected in the stock price movements across Thursday trading.

Both AEG and RMDE would jointly co-ordinate all future engineering activities for the installation of CoalSwitch technology, plants and equipment under the license

“This inaugural licence agreement with RMDE is a significant strategic milestone for AEG as the company focuses on the commercial roll-out of the CoalSwitch and black pellet biomass technology, which it has invested in and developed over the last four years,” said chief executive officer Michael Rowan.

“AEG’s directors believe the existing and future market opportunity for advanced biomass fuels and fuel additives, which utilise waste wood, including forestry residuals, fire, insect, disease affected timber and other legacy forestry industry waste, and which have significant renewable and sustainability advantages, has never been more relevant.

“To capitalise on these opportunities, AEG recognises that it needs to accelerate market development through the construction of operating, high volume, production facilities in various regions.”

Rowan added that this would be achieved through wholly owned production abilities and commercial partnerships.

“RMDE is a wholly indigenous-owned business and has been incorporated by Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson, RMDE’s controlling shareholder and one of AEG’s long-term shareholders.

“RMDE has an in-depth knowledge of the CoalSwitch technology and has been working with a broad spectrum of partners including government, industry and off take partners to develop commercial opportunities within the territories.

“I am grateful for Grand Chief Derrickson’s continuing support towards AEG and its commercial goals for CoalSwitch technologies; – in turn, we are supportive of the plans RMDE has presented for the commercial developments in the territories.”

Rowan added that utlitising resources, connects and experience should be available to RMDE. He concluded saying the new partnership with RMDE had already presented AEG with new opportunities to expand its existing engineering cooperation with other commercial partners.

“As AEG continues to develop its intellectual property and know-how at the Lumberton Facility, these improvements and enhancements will be made available to licensee partners including RMDE to further benefit their future commercial operations.

“Equally, as RMDE develops its operational know-how and capabilities in the field, these will be passed back to AEG for use in other CoalSwitch production facilities.

“Finally, AEG has commenced discussions with several other potential licensees to license and utilise the CoalSwitch technology in other regions of the world to take advantage of the increasing demand for advanced biomass fuels.”

Redcentric shares jump as it swings to interim profit

Ishen Patel
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0
Redcentric shares jump as it swings to interim profit

Redcentric PLC (LON: RCN) have seen their shares jump on Thursday afternoon after the firm doubled its interim dividend.

Redcentric PLC is a customer focused end to end managed service provider delivering innovative technology to improve business productivity and efficiency.

The IT firm offer a range of Application, Collaboration, Infrastructure, Network, Security and Business Mobile services.

Shares of Redcentric jumped 6.44% after the announcement to 92p. 28/11/19 12:05BST.

The firm announced that it would double its interim dividend after it swung to an interim profit despite lower revenues.

Financial 2019 has been a mixed year of results for Redcentric, as the firm reported a loss in June as it saw a fall in sales.

However, shareholders will be thoroughly impressed as RedCentric seem to have ended the year on a strong note.

In the software industry, competitors such as Avast (LON: AVST) and Kainos (LON: KNOS) have made strong gains.

Additionally, overseas competitor Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) have given shareholders a bullish update, which will stiffen competition for Redcentric.

For the six months ended September, pretax profit swung to £887,000 from a loss of £122,000 the year prior.

This was despite revenue falling 9.1% to £43.2 million from £47.5 million the year before.

“Visibility of future revenues remains strong with recurring revenues reaching 90%,” Chair Ian Johnson said. “New customers were added in the period which, together with effective cross selling, led to quarter on quarter revenue growth. This revenue growth has been achieved despite the ongoing FCA investigation, which continues to impact the pace at which we win new business.”

“Management continues to improve the operational efficiency of the business,” Johnson added. “The strategic data centre and network portfolios review now underway is expected to lead to the realisation of annual savings of at least GBP2.8 million and further improvements in operating margins.”

Redcentric proposed a 0.83 pence per share interim dividend, up from 0.40p the year prior.

“Cash flow remains strong allowing significant investment into our network and a further reduction to net debt in the period,” Johnson continued. “The board is confident that the business will continue to generate strong cash flows enabling it to return cash to shareholders by way of dividend and further share purchases via the share buy-back programme.”

Virgin Money shares rally despite dividend scraps

Ishen Patel
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1
Virgin Money shares rally despite dividend scraps

Virgin Money UK PLC (LON: VMUK) have seen their shares rally on Thursday, despite the firm deciding to scrap its dividend.

Virgin Money is a financial services brand used by three independent brand-licensees worldwide. Virgin Money branded services are currently available in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and were formerly available in the United States.

Last year, it was announced that CYBG (LON:CYBG) had agreed to takeover Virgin Money in a deal worth £1.7 billion.

Since the deal was formalized, Virgin Money has seen a turbulent trading period. Although the announcement today was less than impressive, shareholders seem optimistic.

Shares in Virgin Money rallied 21.75% to 174p. 28/11/19 11:45BST.

The firm reported a loss for the full year and suspending its dividend amid higher-than-expected PPI and restructuring costs.

In its first annual results, the firm made a pretax loss of £265 million after absorbing £804 million of exceptional costs.

These exceptional costs included a £433 million of “legacy conduct” costs and PPI payments.

The company put aside £385 million in the last quarter to cover PPI claims but received 340,000 “information requests” (the first stage in making a PPI claim) in August alone ahead of the final deadline.

Virgin Money said around 9% of PPI claims led to a payout, which does not boast progress for the firm.

Investors however, have seen optimistic on the firms growth in business and personal banking rather than its PPI claims and dividend announcement, which has caused shares to rally.

The bank’s dividend yield, at around 2%, is not one of the largest among listed UK banks, but income has been an important way to win back the trust of investors.

Alasdair Ronald of Brewin Dolphin (LON: BRW) said: “Virgin Money would have hoped for better news on its maiden results as one company. The bank has taken a significant hit from additional PPI provisions and the cost of the merger, while pressure on UK domestic earners continues to take its toll.”

However, he pointed out that the loss before tax is better than expected.

“The decline in Virgin Money’s net interest margin is disappointing, but not surprising against previous guidance,” Ronald added.

“There are undoubtedly further challenges ahead, with increasing competition from other challenger banks potentially eroding new business margins. However, the integration appears to be on track and significant costs savings should be achieved.”

CEO David Duffy said: In the first year of our newly combined business, we have delivered a good operating performance in challenging conditions and made great progress on the integration and rebrand to Virgin Money.”

“Our statutory result was significantly affected by additional PPI provisions, driven by the unprecedented surge in PPI information requests in August, along with anticipated Virgin Money acquisition-related costs”.

Duffy concluded “Our customer divisions have performed well – we have delivered a further c.£2bn in net lending to support UK SMEs and consumers, attracted c.£3bn in customer deposits, and made marked improvements to our customer experience. We achieved all the required approvals in 2019 to enable us to operate as one bank, with one brand, and are ready to deliver our strategy to disrupt the status quo with brilliant customer service and unique Virgin Money products. In December we are launching Virgin Money’s first digital personal current account and three new Virgin Money concept stores. A unique loyalty and rewards programme for customers featuring a number of Virgin Group companies will follow in 2020, along with the launch of our brand new Virgin Money business account”.

“Considering the uncertainty at the start of the year regarding the group’s new integration into Virgin Money, these results do suggest good momentum moving forward and sets a relatively solid foundation for growth,” The Share Centre’s investment research analyst Joe Healey said.

Virgin Money are not the only firm to be hit by slumping business and slow trading. Firms in the industry such as HSBC (LON: HSBA) and Lloyds (LON: LLOY) have struggled in the market.

Additionally, crisis continues to spark at Deutsche Bank (ETR: DBK) who reported a third quarter loss in their recent update.

Ocado set to open robotic warehouse in Bristol

Ishen Patel
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2
Ocado set to open robotic warehouse in Bristol

Shares of Ocado Group PLC (LON: OCDO) have jumped on Thursday after the firm announced plans to open its first mini robotic warehouse.

Shares of Ocado jumped 1.80% to 1,187p. 28/11/19 11:29BST.

Ocado announced that the warehouse will open in Bristol by early 2021.

While Ocado’s retail business holds only a 1.4% share of Britain’s grocery market, its technology has powered the group’s 8.1 billion pound ($10.4 billion) stock market valuation, according to Reuters.

This has enabled it to secure partnership deals with supermarket groups around the world, including Kroger (NYSE: KR) in the United States.

“This is not about Bristol, but about what it says for its technology biz,” said Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne.

Ocado have seen a relatively pleasant time in financial 2019, as the firm saw its sales surge in an update provided in September.

The big supermarkets have seen a period of cut throat trading across the year. Firms such as Marks and Spencer (LON: MKS) and Sainbury’s (LON: SBRY) have seen their profits slump amid tough competition.

As the rise of brands such as Lidl and Aldi continue to dominate the UK industry, competitors such as FTSE100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) listed Tesco (LON: TSCO) have developed non price competition methods to stimulate business.

The Bristol warehouse is being built on an 150,000 square foot warehouse, and will be expected to be fully operational at the end of 2020 or early 2021.

Bristol locals have been further excited as Ocado announced that this will create 815 jobs in the area.

The mini CFC will have the capacity for over 30,000 orders per week compared to about 85,000 orders per week expected from Ocado CFC 5, currently under construction at Purfleet, east of London.

“In the future, mini-sized CFCs can complement the standard-sized CFCs to build a fulfilment network including in areas not suitable for larger CFCs,” Ocado said.

“Despite its smaller size, we expect the Bristol mini-CFC to achieve productivity close to that in our standard facilities,” Ocado said.

John Menzies shares receive boost from positive update

Ishen Patel
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0
John Menzies shares receive boost from positive update

John Menzies plc (LON: MNZS) have seen their shares boosted on Thursday morning after the firm reported good progress in the second half of financial 2019.

John Menzies plc is the holding company of Menzies Aviation, an aviation services business based in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing Ground Handling, Cargo Handling, Cargo Forwarding and Fuelling.

Shares of John Menzies were boosted 3.41% after the positive announcement to 424p. 28/11/19 11:15BST.

John Menzies have experienced a turbulent year, as the firm saw its shares dip in July following a profit warning.

John Menzies said that the reduced earnings reflected what had been a challenging period for the aviation industry, with their business particularly hampered by weak cargo volumes and flight schedule reductions.

Following this warning, seniority at the firm then decided to reshuffle their senior board a week after, announcing the department of the presiding Chairman of the Board in Dr Dermot F Smurfit.

After the hectic year for the firm, it seems that some ground has been recovered which will please shareholders.

The firm said that it had made good progress in the second half of 2019, and will keep in line with management expectations.

Commercially, John Menzies said it has put the business back on the front foot, evidenced by substantial contracts renewed during the year, new contract wins and a full pipeline of opportunities.

In addition, the group is addressing its under-performing operations, and has implemented a cost-reduction programme that delivers at least £10 million of savings during the current year, and into 2020.

“This year has been about building for the future and I am confident that we have the team in place to drive the business forward. The improvements in our operational delivery, commercial activities and customer engagement have been key and I look forward to seeing the benefits of this come through as we progress,” said Chief Executive Giles Wilson.

As John Menzies mentioned, the aviation industry has been troubled and many firms have struggled.

In September, it was announced that Thomas Cook (LON:TCG) had collapsed, and yesterday it looked just as gloomy for Fastjet PLC (LON: FJET).

Additionally, firms such as IAG (LON: IAG) and Ryanair (LON: RYA) have seen slumps in business, which led to cuts in their medium and long term forecasts.

Certainly, with the state of the aviation industry shareholders can be appeased with the update from John Menzies, as recovery has been made in a tough trading year for the firm.

Update: Rathbone Brothers announce Barclays Wealth acquisition

Ishen Patel
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3
Update: Rathbone Brothers announce Barclays Wealth acquisition

Rathbone Brothers PLC (LON: RAT) have announced to shareholders that they will acquire the personal industry and court of protection business of Barclays Wealth (LON: BARC).

Rathbone Brothers Plc is a UK provider of personalized investment management and wealth management services for private investors and trustees.

This includes discretionary investment management, unit trusts, tax planning, trust and company management, pension advice and banking services.

Shares of Rathbone currently trade at 2,140p. 28/11/19 11:00BST.

This morning, the Rathbone Investment Management Ltd sector of the firm announced it had reached an agreement to acquire Barclays Wealth for an undisclosed fee.

Barclays Wealth is a sub unit of FTSE100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) lender Barclays.

The timing of the sale does come as a surprise. In August, Barclays reported an 82% rise in interim profits. This may suggest that the price offered may have been too tempting to resist.

Shares of Barclays dipped 0.046% after the announcement to 174p. 28/11/19 11:02BST.

The business being acquired comprises £500 million in funds under management, being managed on behalf of 600 clients and their deputies and trustees. A team of 10 individuals will join Rathbones’ at completion of the deal, expected in the second quarter of 2020.

The acquisition will be funded from existing capital resources, London-based Rathbone said, and is consistent with the company’s plan of penetrating specialist markets.

At the end of October, Rathbone brothers gave shareholders a warning about low profits, which sunk shares.

However, the firm with the new acquisition has seemed to satisfy shareholders in an attempt to stimulate business in a tough market.

The acquisition comes at a good time, where firms in the industry such as HSBC (LON: HSBA) and Lloyds (LON: LLOY) have struggled in the market.

Paul Stockton, Rathbone chief executive, said: “The personal injury and court of protection sector is an attractive specialist part of the UK wealth management market. The Barclays Wealth team are highly experienced and have a strong set of relationships in their sector. We’re delighted that they are joining us to complement our existing specialist capability.”

Sentiment falls at business and professional services firms

Dina Caruso
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Sentiment falls at business and professional services firms
Business and professional services firms are negative about the outlook for business expansion over the next year, new data revealed on Thursday. The Confederation of British Industry said that sentiment about the general business situation continued to diminish, but this occurred at a slower pace than in the previous quarter. New data revealed that business volumes declined over the last quarter, following a stabilisation period in the three months to August. The Confederation of British Industry added that volumes are expected to decline at a similar pace in the three months to February 2020. Profitability at business and professional services firms “fell sharply” in the three months, the report said. This is the fastest decline since November 2011, and the Confederation of British Industry said that it is expected to fall at the same pace in the following quarter. Meanwhile, employment at business and professional services firms fell at the fastest pace since May 2017. “The current economic climate is holding back UK services firms, which are reporting falling sentiment, declining volumes and weaker profitability,” Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Economist at the Confederation of British Industry, commented on the data. “Neither is the outlook expected to improve, with firms pessimistic about their prospects for expansion, investment plans having been scaled back and hiring on hold,” the Chief Economist continued. “Whoever forms the next Government, it’s essential they commit to refocusing on the domestic agenda, to propel the UK economy forward – prioritising skills and infrastructure investment, as well as reaching net zero by 2050. And securing a good Brexit deal which protects our world-beating services sector, which forms 80% of our economy.” As parties prepare for the general election to be held later this year on the 12th December, speculation prevails over who will form the next government. News emerged on Thursday that the Conservatives are set to win 359 seats, giving the party a majority of 68 seats, according to a new poll. Elsewhere on Thursday, the political climate also weighed on the automobile sector, as UK car production declined for 16 out of the past 17 months.

Amigo shares spike on lifted interim payout

Ishen Patel
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0
Amigo shares spike on lifted interim payout

Shareholders of Amigo Holdings PLC (LON: AMGO) have seen their shares spike on Thursday morning following a rise in their interim payout.

Amigo Holdings is a guarantor loans lender, which provide fast, flexible and straightforward loans. The firm prides itself on no hidden costs, bad credit and CCJ’s accepted.

Also, Amigo provides loans to consumers in which payments are guaranteed by a friend or family members

Earlier this year, Amigo changed their annual expectations which caused shares to plunge. However, it seems that the firm has now won back the appetite of shareholders.

Shares of Amigo spiked 16.6% to 69p on Thursday morning. 28/11/19 10:44BST.

Competitors in the insurance and finance industry have seen slumps in trading in tough conditions.

Big names such as HSBC (LON: HSBA) and Lloyds (LON: LLOY) have seen their third quarter profits slip amid modest updates.

Additionally competitors in the insurance sector including Aviva (LON: AV) and AXA (EPA: CS) have seen their shares fall after slumps in trading.

In the six months to September 30, Amigo recorded pretax profit of £42.3 million, down 13% on the £48.4 million reported the year before.

n the six months to September 30, Amigo recorded pretax profit of £42.3 million, down 13% on the £48.4 million reported the year before.

Amigo saw a 75% increase in total operating expenses, which grew to £40.7 millions from £23.3 million a year ago, which bruised profits.

Revenue was up 12% year on year, from £130.1 million to £145.4 million.

“While the wider environment remains challenging with ongoing economic and political uncertainty, we continue to focus on addressing collections capacity issues. We are investing in both people and technology that will increase agent effectiveness,” the lender explained.

The lender saw its total customers also rise 18% from 188,900 to 222,800 which is an impressive figure considering the state of market conditions.

Chief Executive Hamish Paton said: “The first half of the financial year has demonstrated continued demand for our guarantor loan product with solid growth in customer numbers. We are making encouraging progress as we roll out the operational and strategic initiatives outlined in August. While it will take some time to see the full benefits, we are pleased with the positive start we have made.”

Looking ahead, the firm said: “Over the second quarter we have worked hard to address capacity constraints within the business with action plans initiated to drive further improvements. It will take time to see the full benefits of our actions, but we have made a good start in the first half.

“As a result, we have a strong and flexible balance sheet. Our guidance for the full year is unchanged for key operating metrics (net loan book growth, operating cost to income and impairments to revenue), dividend and gearing.”

On Wednesday, Amigo said the review of guarantor loan products by the Financial Conduct Authority had not raised concerns, but did offer areas where “our customer journey could be enhanced”.

Amigo believes the proposed changes will “not fundamentally alter the attractiveness of the guarantor loan product relative to higher cost alternatives for our borrowers”.

On Thursday, the lender clarified the review was “not intended to examine the guarantor loan product itself nor the underlying business model at Amigo”.

Harcus Parker addresses Watchstone Group over Quindell misinformation

Jamie Gordon
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Harcus Parker addresses Watchstone Group over Quindell misinformation
On Thursday, legal firm Harcus Parker announced it had sent a letter before action to AIM-listed tech company Watchstone Group PLC (LON: WTG) – previously Quindell – on behalf of the Company’s shareholders, who lost money as a result of Quindell’s alleged misinformation. Elsewhere in the tech sector; AdEPT Technology Group PLC (LON: ADT) and Echoh PLC (LON: ECK) both posted strong half year results, while Infineon Technologies AG (ETR: IFX) and Microsaic Systems PLC (LON: MSYS)enjoyed revenue hikes. Harcus Parker said the claims would be bought pursuant to section 90A of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, which deals with misstatements and omissions by listed companies. So far, the Financial Reporting Council has sanctioned KPMG and Arrandco Audit over their conduct in relation to Quindell’s accounts, which involved a failure to “exercise sufficient professional scepticism” – hardly unsurprising to those who know the race to the bottom caused by the auditing cartel. The investigation follows the publication of Quindell’s 2014 accounts, which detailed, “substantial restatements of prior year revenues, profits and net assets. This turned its 2013 £83m profit after tax into a loss of £68m.” An investigation has also been conducted by the Serious Fraud Office into Quindell (Watchstone Group) for more than four years. The claim being heard from Harcus Parker – on behalf of Quindell investors – alleges that Quindell provided misleading information in the following areas:
  • Between 2011 to 2014, Quindell provided misleading information and/or failed to disclose material facts to its auditors;
  • Quindell overstated the revenues and profits it received from claims company TMC (Southern) Ltd, which led in part to the restatement of Quindell’s past accounts;
  • Quindell issued misleading statements on the fees paid to Ubiquity Capital in connection with various acquisitions;
  • Quindell issued misleading statements about the financial performance of PT Healthcare Solutions Corp, a Canadian company in which it bought a 26% stake;
  • Quindell issued misleading statements on the ability of Himex Ltd (now Hubio Solutions Ltd) to enhance the company’s earnings after its acquisition;
  • Quindell issued statements about its planned listing on the full London Stock Exchange when there was no reasonable prospect of this occurring;
  • Quindell delayed disclosing publicly by more than a year that it was being investigated by the Financial Reporting Council;
  • Quindell overstated the likely contribution to its revenue of an increase in noise-induced hearing loss cases;
  • Quindell delayed informing the market that Canaccord had resigned as its joint broker and financial adviser; and
  • Quindell issued misleading statements relating to the financing of directors’ share transactions, including those of former chief executive Rob Terry.
Speaking on the announcement, Partner at Harcus Parker, Jennifer Morrissey, offered the following insight, “Between 2011 and mid-2015, Quindell regularly published upbeat market announcements about its financial good health, when it knew the truth was significantly different.” “We are rapidly building a cohort of shareholders who suffered significant losses when the share price collapsed when the truth started coming out, and we hope Watchstone will recognise the failures of its predecessor and compensate them without the need for a drawn-out legal fight.” The law firm concluded its statement with the following statement, “Shareholders of Quindell between May 2011 and 5 August 2015 may be eligible to join the action. A fact sheet is available here and interested shareholders should contact Harcus Parker direct.”    

ImmuPharma shares soar following US licence agreement for Lupuzor

Ishen Patel
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2
ImmuPharma shares soar following US licence agreement for Lupuzor

Shares of ImmuPharma PLC (LON: IMM) have soared on Thursday morning after the firm said that it had agreed a new US licensing deal.

ImmuPharma PLC is headquartered in London and has its research operations in France and Switzerland (ImmuPharma AG).

ImmuPharma is dedicated to the development of innovative drugs to treat serious medical conditions, characterised by high unmet medical need, low marketing costs and relatively low development costs.

Shares of ImmuPharma soared 206.38% to 20p. 28/11/19 10:30BST.

The firm has landed a licensing deal worth $100 million for Lupuzor, its drug to treat autoimmune disease lupus.

The group will receive up to $70 million of milestone payments, with $5 million due on regulatory approval of the drug.

ImmuPharma will also get royalties of up to 17% on sales, while there are financial incentives to expand Lupuzor’s use into other autoimmune diseases.

Chief executive Dimitri Dimitriou said Avion had a strong track record of taking late stage drugs through the regulatory process and onto commercialisation.

“Importantly, [its] specialist sales team is well respected within the rheumatologist community, whose focus is on prescribing safe and efficacious treatments for auto-immune diseases such as lupus. This makes it a perfect fit for Lupuzor.”

Avion Pharmaceuticals have said they that will fund the $25 million costs of a reformatted phase three clinical trial next year.

Art Deas, Chief Executive Officer, Avion Pharmaceuticals added: “Avion is extremely pleased to sign this partnership with ImmuPharma. After in-depth due-diligence around Lupuzor™, its mechanism of action and learnings within the initial Phase III results, we believe that Lupuzor™ has a unique position within lupus that sets it apart from competition, and we are delighted to be extending our footprint within this therapeutic area. With approximately 1.5 million patients in the US suffering from lupus, there is a significant unmet need for a safe and effective drug for this debilitating disease that we believe Lupuzor™ can meet. We look forward to forging a strong and successful relationship with ImmuPharma going forward.”

Commenting on the Agreements, Dimitri Dimitriou, ImmuPharma’s Chief Executive Officer and Robert Zimmer, President & Chief Scientific Officer, said:

“We are delighted to be entering into this partnership with Avion, a company which has a strong track record within late stage clinical development and commercialisation of products within the US, the largest market for lupus patients. Importantly, Avion’s specialist sales team is well respected within the rheumatologist community, whose focus is on prescribing safe and efficacious treatments for auto-immune diseases such as lupus. This makes it a perfect fit for Lupuzor™. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with the Avion team and look forward to sharing updates on progress with shareholders over the next period.”

Shareholders will be thoroughly impressed with the announcement made this morning as reflected in the massive surge in share price.

As ImmuPharma have won the backing of Avion, this should allow better products and strategy to exploit long term benefits, which shareholders will be excited to see.

The pharmaceuticals industry has seen a mixed set of results by firm across financial 2019.

Market leaders such as Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and GSK (LON: GSK) have reported bullish interim updates, which gives them further foot holding the global pharmaceuticals market.

Additionally, Roche (SWX: ROG) announced the acquisition of US drugmaker Promedior last week.

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