Nanoco Group has announced plans to delist from the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, with the board arguing that life as a private company will give it the flexibility and cost savings it needs to push towards commercialising its quantum dot technology.

The group will add to a growing list of firms opting to leave London’s markets and pursue their growth strategies as a private entity.

The decision follows the company’s move in January to abandon its search for a buyer for the trading business. Since then, the board has been weighing how best to preserve cash while backing the parts of the business it sees as having genuine long-term potential.

Delisting is expected to save around £0.7m a year, extending the group’s cash runway as it targets break-even in the medium term.

Nanoco held £10.1m in cash as at 19 May, so this is a company choosing, rather than being pressured, into going private.

The board points to persistent undervaluation and thin liquidity for small caps, a problem felt especially keenly by early-stage businesses like Nanoco with pre-commercial technology and heavy reliance on a handful of key customers.

It will be sad to see another innovative company leave London’s public markets, but not surprising.

Bradda Head Lithium (LON: BHL) has secured a key drilling permit for the Whitejacket lithium project in Arizona. A drilling programme will meet earn-in commitments and go towards a mineral resource estimate. The share price jumped 40.4% to 4p.

Tern (LON: TERN) invested £48,000 in cash and converted £87,000 owed into £270,000 of unsecured convertible loan notes in Talking Medicines. They have a 10% interest rate and if conversion is triggered the share price will be at a 20% discount to a fundraising or exit price. If not triggered, then the convertibles mature on 21 November 2029. The Tern share price gained 27.8% to 1.15p.

Kazera Global (LON: KZG) subsidiary Whale Head Minerals has entered a production sharing agreement with minerals processor Rare Earth Minerals International (REMI) for the Walviskop heavy mineral sands. Taking effect form the 1 June and lasting 12 months, REMI will deploy processing plant valued at £1m and receive 50% of revenues. It will also contribute £27,000/month to project costs. Production should ramp up to 10,000 tonnes of processed heavy minerals sands/month by the end of September. The share price increased 14.6% to 1.175p.

Ariana Resources (LON: AAU) has updates its pre-feasibility study for the Dokwe gold project in Zimbabwe. The post-tax NPV10 is $740m at a gold price of $4,250/ounce. There was a 42% increase in ore reserves to 1.13Moz. Total pre-production capex is estimated at $163.9m. The share price rose 9.46% to 2.025p.

FALLERS

Sound Energy (LON: SOU) is selling its development assets in Morocco for $57m in cash and relinquishing nearby exploration assets. This will leave the company with $11m in cash after debt repayment. There are also solar and hydrogen joint ventures. Annual overheads are $2.9m. New oil and gas assets outside Morocco are being considered. The share price slumped 41.5% to 2.75p.

Union Jack Oil (LON: UJO) reports net production of 0.16m barrels of oil equivalent/day in 2025 and that generated revenues of £2.5m. Cash was £1.6m at the end of 2025. In 2026, revenues are forecast at £3.1m, and net cash is expected to be £1.3m at the year end. Total risked NAV estimate is 35p/share. The share price dipped 17.9% to 3.9p.

Pharma industry technology and data provider Diaceutics (LON: DXRX) had annualised recurring revenues of £20m at the end of 2025. Reported revenues rose by one-fifth to £38.4m and the business returned to profit even after redundancy and acquisition costs of £798,000. The largest customer accounted for 18% of revenues. The order book grew 56% to £38.9m, with £21.1m of visibility for the next 12 months, up from £17.7m last year. Constant currency revenues growth was 15% in the first quarter. The share price declined 10.8% to 148.5p.

Sancus Lending (LON: LEND) says revenues were 44% ahead at £8.5m in the four months to April 2026. New loan facilities written were £42.9m. Assets under management are £326.8m. The current global background has led to slower than expected deployment of capital and the lack of income on cash balances has hit profit, which is below expectations. The company has issued £500,000 of bonds to Somerston Fintech, a subsidiary of the majority shareholder, to provide working capital. The share price fell 8% to 1.15p.

The FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday as investors dared to believe the US and Iran are near an agreement that could avoid a series of economically damaging interest rate hikes.

Although oil prices were higher on Tuesday after the US launched strikes on Iranian boats and missile installations overnight, Brent was still below $100 – a key psychological level for investors trying to plot the inflation outlook.

The FTSE 100 was trading 0.6% higher than Friday’s close on hopes that strikes overnight wouldn’t derail a peace agreement that the US says could take a matter of ‘days’.

“The FTSE 100 was playing catch up to European counterparts on Tuesday after progress on a potential agreement between the US and Iran,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“However, continued doubts about the potential for a deal and an overnight pre-emptive US strike on Iran mean any euphoria is being kept in check. It’s telling that other European indices dipped slightly after the gains they enjoyed yesterday when trading in London was suspended for the bank holiday.

“The big gainers on the UK stock market include miners, retailers, housebuilders and real estate stocks.”

These are the sectors most adversely affected by concerns over interest rate hikes stemming from the Middle East conflict and have previously staged sharp recovery rallies on hints of a deal between the US and Iran.

On Tuesday, the reaction wasn’t as strong as it was when a temporary ceasefire was first announced, but there were pronounced gains for IAG, British Land, JD Sports and most FTSE 100 banks.

Kingfisher was the FTSE 100’s top riser after releasing an upbeat trading statement showing the group was navigating a tricky consumer environment.

“Kingfisher’s update paints the picture of a retailer caught between two very different consumer realities,” said Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro.

“On one hand, households across Europe are feeling the strain from higher borrowing costs and years of cumulative inflation, leaving consumers reluctant to commit to major renovation projects. The late arrival of spring only compounded that pressure by denting footfall and seasonal spending at B&Q.

“On the other hand, there are early signs the backdrop may be becoming a little less hostile. UK inflation recently surprised to the downside, which could eventually ease pressure on household finances.”

Kingfisher shares were 3% higher at the time of writing.

Kingfisher released a confident first-quarter trading update on Tuesday, reaffirming its full-year guidance after double-digit growth in trade and e-commerce sales despite a soft market.

The owner of B&Q and Screwfix is starting to make a habit of surprising the market with positive sales data. Final results released in late March were better than investors had feared, and today’s numbers further highlight that the company is successfully navigating a challenging consumer environment.

Total sales, including marketplace, rose 0.8%, while underlying like-for-like sales fell 0.7% against a strong prior-year comparator, with a late start to spring weighing on footfall and seasonal demand.

The group gained market share at Screwfix and in Poland, with France and Spain broadly in line, and B&Q more exposed to the seasonal slowdown.

Trade sales grew 17% excluding Screwfix, taking group trade penetration to 31%, while e-commerce sales rose 14% on the same basis. Marketplace GMV jumped 39% to £163m.

Kingfisher opened five stores in the quarter, including its first standalone TradePoint, aimed at trade customers in dense urban areas.

By brand, Screwfix delivered like-for-like growth of 4.1% on strong core performance, while B&Q fell 4.1% as the seasonal impact of a strong period last year hit comparisons.

In France, Castorama posted a third consecutive quarter of sequential improvement, and Iberia was a standout with like-for-like growth of 6.6%.

Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro, says: “Kingfisher’s update paints the picture of a retailer caught between two very different consumer realities. On one hand, households across Europe are feeling the strain from higher borrowing costs and years of cumulative inflation, leaving consumers reluctant to commit to major renovation projects. The late arrival of spring only compounded that pressure by denting footfall and seasonal spending at B&Q.”

“On the other hand, there are early signs the backdrop may be becoming a little less hostile. UK inflation recently surprised to the downside, which could eventually ease pressure on household finances.”

For 2026/27, the group continues to expect adjusted pre-tax profit of around £565m-£625m and free cash flow of around £450m-£510m. Its £300m share buyback remains ongoing.

Investors are taking an optimistic approach, and Kingfisher shares were 4% higher at the time of writing.

Helix Exploration, the helium company advancing the Rudyard Helium Project in northern Montana, has begun re-entry operations at its Inez #1 well, aiming to bring it into production from the Souris River interval.

The work follows an earlier setback when downhole equipment became lodged in the wellbore, and the firm is setting about ‘fishing’ it out.

If this ‘fishing’ exercise is successful, Helix will weigh the option of coring a hydrogen-bearing interval in the well, a potentially high-value data opportunity given interest from the Chimaera Fund and the United States Air Force in natural hydrogen data from the Montana Helium Fairway.

If unsuccessful, the company will move directly to re-perforating the Souris River and bringing the well on stream.

Helix said it now has operations active across multiple wells and an offtake arrangement covering 100 per cent of deliverable volumes. The company began production at Rudyard in February and recently announced a sales agreement for offtake.

Bo Sears, Chief Executive Officer of Helix Exploration, said: “I am pleased to announce that operations have commenced. The rig is on site, and we have re-entered the well over the weekend, as planned following announcement of our offtake arrangement to the market. We will perforate the Souris River interval in the coming days and look forward to evaluating its potential. Production is our objective – and what we will deliver as we continue to grow our asset base and strengthen our offtake arrangements.”

Frontier IP has announced that portfolio company Dekiln has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Johnson Tiles, one of the UK’s leading ceramic and porcelain tile suppliers, to explore a strategic partnership.

The collaboration will focus on scaling up, manufacturing and commercialising Dekiln’s kiln-free, low-energy bio-based materials as alternatives to conventional ceramics.

Frontier IP holds a 24.8% stake in Dekiln – one of 77 portfolio companies in the technology space.

Delkin’s partnership aims to speed commercialisation in the UK and beyond by combining its processes with Johnson Tiles’ manufacturing expertise and market access.

As part of any deal, Johnson Tiles will support Dekiln in establishing a pilot or demonstration plant in Stoke-on-Trent, the historic centre of the British ceramics industry.

Dekiln’s technology creates ceramic-like composite materials by combining plant-derived binders with waste mineral powders such as recycled gypsum plaster. The resulting materials look, feel and behave like ceramics but do not need to be fired or glazed at high temperatures, avoiding the energy-intensive kilns used in traditional production. The company says its tiles carry a carbon footprint 94 per cent lower than conventional tiles and contain more than 95 per cent recycled content.

Jason Bridges, Procurement Director of Johnson Tiles, said: “Johnson Tiles are really excited to be forming this partnership with Dekiln and look forward to adding our technical expertise and market knowledge to ensure this unique concept reaches it’s potential in the marketplace.”

CelLBxHealth (LON: CLBX) is collaborating with AdventHealth in the US for two studies monitoring circulating tumour cells. The studies, titled ACTION and SUNRISE, will use Parsortix technology to monitor blood samples of patients undertaking treatment. The share price jumped 59.1% to 1.75p.

Richard and Charlotte Edwards have increased their shareholding in agriculture company Pacsco (LON: PACS) from 14.6% to 23.8%. The share price rose 50% to 0.9p.

Shares in cancer treatment developer Coiled Therapeutics (LON: COIL) commenced trading on the US OTCQB Venture Market on 19 May. This appears to have led to consistently strong trading in the shares across the week and the share price is 46.9% higher at 11.75p.

Automotive interior components manufacturer CT Automotive (LON: CTA) reported a 4% dip in revenues to $114.8m, while pre-tax profit improved by one-fifth to £9.5m. Earnings were 11.4 cents/share. A further improvement is expected this year. The share price increased 44.7% to 34p.

Invinity Energy Systems (LON: IES) has won a project through FlexBase to design a GWh-scale vanadium flow battery to be deployed at the Technology Centre Laufenburg, Switzerland. This datacentre and technology campus required up to 1.5GWh and it could be expanded to 2.1 GWh. There should be phased manufacturing of the batteries. The share price gained 42.9% to 32p.

FALLERS

Energy efficiency technology developer Sabien Technology (LON: SNT) is entering into an agreement for a proposed strategic commercial partnership and financing that will help tot accelerate commercial deployment of the M2G technology. The partnership with Haydale (LON: HAYD) and SaveMoneyCutCarbon (SMCC) means that SMCC will be the M2G distributor in agreed commercial, industrial and public sector markets. Haydale would also help with improving manufacturing efficiency. Non-core investments are being reviewed, and additional opportunities will be assessed. A strategic investor group could acquire the 26.7% stake held by executive chairman Richard Parris and restructure the debt owed to Parris Group. A convertible loan note could raise up to £2m. Final terms have to be agreed. This announcement follows the settlement of a historical contract for £40,000 in cash and £50,000 in shares at 5.71p each. The Sabien Technology share price declined 26.1% to 4.25p. Haydale is 3.1% ahead at 0.3325p.

Gaming hardware and software supplier Nexteq (LON: NXQ) says global political uncertainty and higher memory prices has hit demand for its products. This means that 2026 revenues could be 15% below expectations. Revenues had been expected to be slightly lower, but it is currently forecast to fall from $90.2m to $73m and this means that there will be a fall into loss. The share price slipped 21.4% to 51.5p.

Digital media company Catenai (LON: CTAI) has entered a further extension agreement with Klarian, which will repay £699,160 by 1 July. Each additional month after that will incur a 3% fee on the balance not paid. Klarian has entered into a collaborative project for technology in the resources sector. The share price is one-fifth lower at 0.24p.

Warratah Capital Advisers reduced its stake in Bradda Head (LON: BHL) from 4.55% to 3.78%. There have been positive results from ongoing technical studies by SRK Consulting at the San Domingo lithium pegmatite project in Arizona. Multiple high-profile lithium targets were identified. The share price dipped 19.7% to 2.85p.

Medical devices developer Creo Medical (LON: CREO) has raised £5.5m at 15p/share and the Bank of Wales is subscribing for £2m of convertible loan notes. Creo Medical plans to sell the remaining 49% interest in Creo Medical SL to 51% shareholder CME at book value. The sale of the 51% stake raised £24.7m after costs CME will continue to distribute Creo Medical products in Europe. Cash was £12.4m at the end of 2025 and there was a subsequent dividend of £1.6m from CME. Creo medical made an underlying operating loss of £13.7m on revenues of £6m in 2025 and the additional cash will help to accelerate growth in sales. First quarter revenues were 60% ahead and full year revenues could grow at a similar rate. Operating costs should be reduced by 15%. The share price jumped 28.6% to 14.625p.

FIH Group (LON: FIH) will pay a 40p/share special dividend from the funds from the £11.6m sale of the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company. The shares go ex-dividend on 5 June. Chief executive Stuart Munro gets a £478,000 bonus and finance director Reuben Shamu £293,000 for the successful disposal. The share price is one-fifth higher at 270p.

Arkle Resources (LON: ARK) has completed phase 1 geophysics at its Namibian uranium licences. This has defined two distinct mineralisation styles. Drilling on the Eastern EPL 8995 paleochannel target has been accelerated to June. The share price gained 11.5% to 0.725p.

Tapir Holdings (LON: TAPH) independent non-executive director Philip Johnson has bought 85,000 shares at 35p each in the Africa-focused investment company, taking his stake to 0.87%. The share price improved 7.69% to 35p.

FALLERS

Digital media company Catenai (LON: CTAI) has entered a further extension agreement with Klarian, which will repay £699,160 by 1 July. Each additional month after that will incur a 3% fee on the balance not paid. Klarian has entered into a collaborative project for technology in the resources sector. The share price declined 7.41% to 0.25p.

Sound Energy (LON: SOU) expects to commence LNG sales from the Moroccan Tendrara production concession. There was a £1.82m cash outflow from operations in 2025 with a further £3.6m spent on capex and exploration. The company is moving into hydrogen and helium exploration and renewable energy projects. The share price fell 5.99% to 4.55p.

Biomedical polymer medical devices developer RUA Life Sciences (LON: RUA) expects revenues to grow by 6% to £2.8m in the first half. There should be breakeven at the EBITDA level. The share price has risen sharply on the spinning out its structural heart business as RUA Structural Heart and profit-taking has led to a dip of 4.76% to 20p.

Gold producer Metals Exploration (LON: MTL) produced 65,287 ounces of gold in 2025, but the higher gold price meant that revenues rose by 9% to $208.4m. Free cash generated from operations was 19% higher at $115.3m. Construction of the La India project in Nicaragua is one-third complete. The first gold pour could be in December. Gold production guidance for Runruno has been revised downwards to 40,000-48,000 ounces. The share price dropped 4.55% to 13.65p.