Late on Friday it was announced that Diversity Network Investments had sold its 19.9% stake in Sabien Technology (LON: SNT). The share price is one-quarter ahead at 7.5p.

Thor Energy (LON: THR) has received the completion payment of A$2.25m from Tivan Ltd for the sale of assets that include the Molyhill tungsten molybdenum copper project in Australia. Another three deferred payments of A$1.31m are due in September of each of the next three years. A deposit of A$375,000 has already been paid. This cash will help to finance other projects. The share price increased 17.4% to 0.675p.

Big Technologies (LON: BIG) has announced full and final settlement of the Buddi litigation. Certain shareholders in Buddi were wrongly forced to sell their shares and not given a chance to invest in Big Technologies when it was acquired. They will be paid £38.5m with £31.5m payable immediately. There is already a provision of £35m. The electronic monitoring company will have cash of £61.9m after the payment. Mediation continues with former boss Sara Murray. The share price continued its recovery and gained 16.5% to 100.85p. The July 2021 placing price was 200p.

Oil and gas company Block Energy (LON: BLOE) has completed the farm-out of licence XIQ (Project IV) following approval from the government of Georgia. Block Energy is fully carried through the staged work programme which could cost $95m. Aspect Georgia will earn up to 75% with an option to increase this to 92.5%. The share price improved 10.7% to 0.775p.

Ampeak Energy (LON: AMP) has received planning permission for its Mey BESS project in northern Scotland. This is a 300MW/1,200MWH BESS project on land near to the MeyGen tidal energy activities. This will enable the company to seek partners and funding. Ampeak Energy will want to maintain an equity stake. First operations could be in 2029. Zeus believes that the risked NAV for the project is 2.9p/share. The share price is 13.1% higher at 3.45p.

FALLERS

Premium drinks brands supplier Distil (LON: DIS) says third quarter revenues fell 26% to £173,000 compared to the same period last year as volumes sold to distributors declined 39%. RedLeg Spiced Rum sales rose 36%. Gross margins were maintained at 42%. The medium-term outlook remains challenging. The share price declined 18.9% to 0.1075p.

More good news for Oracle Power (LON: ORCP) from drilling at the Kalgoorlie gold project in Australia. It has intersected shallow gold mineralisation at the Northern Zone Intrusive Hosted gold project. The best result is 8 metres at 5.81g/t gold. There are a further 16 drillholes due to report results in two batches. It is possible that there is a 600 metre wide zone of shallow oxide mineralisation overlapping the Northern Zone porphyry system. The share price fell 16.7% to 0.0625p.

Allergy Therapeutics (LON: AGY) improved interim revenues from £34m to £36.3m even though German TAV products were phased out. Grassmuno is being commercialised in the second half after receiving approval in Germany in December. There was £10.1m in the bank at the end of December 2025. All shareholder loans have been repaid. There is uncommitted funding of £70m. A listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is possible. The share price slipped 9.09% to 11p after a strong rise over the past three months.

Neo Energy Metals has secured a strategic investment worth up to £8 million to advance its Beisa Uranium and Gold Project towards production.

The London-listed mining company’s shares rose after announcing it had received an initial £1.5 million from a UK-based investment group through the placement of 166.7 million new shares at 0.9 pence per share, representing a 16.1% premium to the previous closing price.

A further £1 million was raised through an additional placing of 111.1 million shares at the same price.

The strategic investor has committed to provide an additional £6.5 million in convertible loan funding within 10 days of Neo Energy receiving South African regulatory approval for its acquisition of the Beisa Mine from NYSE-listed Sibanye-Stillwater.

This second tranche will be priced at a 10% discount to the 10-day volume-weighted average price and will carry a 5% coupon.

Under the agreement, the strategic investor will be entitled to nominate one non-executive director and one board observer, subject to maintaining a minimum 5% shareholding.

The proceeds from the placing will fund the company’s four-phase implementation assessment programme, which includes site re-establishment, shaft refurbishment, workforce recruitment, and processing plant recommissioning. Completion of the Beisa Mine acquisition is anticipated in the first quarter of 2026.

The Beisa Mine, located in South Africa’s Free State Province, holds SAMREC-compliant measured and indicated resources of 1.2 million ounces of gold and 26.9 million pounds of uranium.

The mine produced uranium and gold for over 30 years before being placed into care and maintenance in late 2023.

Neo Energy also confirmed that it has agreed to repay £1.176 million to debt providers by issuing 130.7 million ordinary shares at the same price.

CMC Markets UK Plc, trading as CapX, acted as the sole placing agent for the transaction.

Marshalls, a leading manufacturer of building materials, has reported encouraging product sales growth across its divisions for the year ended 31 December 2025, with group revenue rising 2% year-on-year.

However, like many of the housebuilders that use Marshalls’ building products, the company signalled a challenging external environment and outlook, which sapped demand for its shares on Monday.

“After a year in which Marshalls’ share price has shed more than a third of its value, the landscaping and building products group is still trying to regain its footing, and the latest trading update offers a flicker of defiance,” said Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro.

“Full-year revenue rose 2%, while adjusted profit before tax came in line with expectations, supported by cost-cutting measures pushed through during 2025.

“Performance across the group, however, remains uneven. The painful memories of June’s gut-wrenching 96% collapse in landscaping operating profit are still fresh. Unsurprisingly, Roofing and Building products are providing the group’s main source of stability, each delivering modest 4% growth, while Landscaping continues to struggle”

The company’s Building Products division led the performance with revenue rising 4% to £172 million, driven by strong growth in Water Management products, though this was partially offset by softer demand for bricks in the second half.

Roofing Products also delivered four per cent revenue growth to £194 million, with the division’s Viridian Solar business showing particularly robust expansion of approximately 32 per cent. The solar products unit delivered sequential half-on-half revenue growth throughout 2025, though year-on-year growth moderated to around 18 per cent in the second half as energy efficiency regulations matured.

Marshalls’ Landscaping Products division saw volume growth of 4% despite subdued market conditions, though overall division revenue declined 1% to £266 million due to price adjustments and product mix effects.

Despite an uncertain outlook for 2026, Marshalls reported full-year adjusted profit before tax in line with market expectations. The company expects to deliver improved financial performance in 2026 as cost reduction initiatives take full effect.

“Marshalls delivered a resilient performance, evidenced by a return to revenue growth despite the challenging market backdrop, and delivering profits in-line with the market’s expectations,” said

“We have made good progress with our ‘Transform & Grow’ strategy and with an increased focus on execution, I am confident that the Group is well positioned to benefit from a market recovery and structural growth drivers over the medium term.”

Waratah Capital Advisors has sold its 8.64% stake in Bradda Head Lithium (LON: BHL), while Spreadex Ltd has acquired a 3.52% shareholding. The share price recovered 113% to 1.6p.

Eqtec (LON: EQT) is broadening its strategy to gain exposure of critical and precious metals, while continuing with the core waste to energy technology business. They are viewed to be complementary segments of the energy transition sector. Lenders are supporting the move. The share price jumped 56.9% to 0.08p.

Wellnex Health Ltd (LON: WNX) improved gross margin from 22.8% to 31.3% in the first half. Breakeven was achieved in the second quarter. The core Pain Away product generated revenues of A$3.3m in the second quarter. The share price gained 41.7% to 8.5p. The March 2025 placing price was 31.75p.

Mkango Resources (LON: MKA) has completed concept studies for expanding South Carolina and Nevada hubs, which will treble production of magnets and alloys to 4,656 metric tons. The expanded hubs could have a post-tax NPV of more than $2bn. This will help the proposed reversal into the US listed shell. The rare earth recycling and sintered magnet manufacturing plant in Birmingham has been officially opened. The share price rose 34% to 57.6p.

Shares in AOTI Inc (LON: AOTI) rebounded 30.8% to 42.5p after Panmure Liberum initiated research. It forecasts a move into profit in 2025 and rapid growth after that. The 2025 pre-tax profit forecast is $2.4m, rising to $4m in 2026 and $9.8m in 2027.

FALLERS

Shareholders in Indus Gas (LON: INDI) have voted to leave AIM and ahead of that on 23 January the share price slipped 32.4% to 1.59p. JP Jenkins will provide a matched bargains facility.

Shuka Minerals (LON: SKA) has received the £815,000 payment from Gathoni Muchai Investments. A placing raised a further £1m at 4p/share. This funded the completion of the acquisition of Leopard Exploration and Mining and the Kabwe zinc mine. There are 5.723Mt of resources at Kabwe (including 700,000 tonnes of zinc and 100,000 tonnes of lead), with a value in excess of $2bn. The NPV10 is $561m. The placing discount offset the more positive news and the share price fell 26.1% to 4.25p.

Tern (LON: TERN) has been notified by the general partner of SVV2 that Tern has ceased to be a limited partner in the SVV2 partnership because it has been classed as a defaulting investor.  Tern’s interest has been transferred to other partners, and it is unlikely to receive any compensation. The general partner is also seeking default interest and costs of £40,000 and indemnity from consequence of default of £184,000. Tern is taking legal advice. The share price declined by one-quarter to 0.45[.

Virtual product advertising Miriad Advertising (LON: MIRI) says 2025 revenues fell from £1m to £400,000. It expects a much stronger performance in 2026 with positive signs for February and March. There are joint venture discussions for emerging markets. Cash was £1.2m at the end of £1.2m and the monthly cost base is £220,000. The share price slipped by 25% to 0.006p.

In a sign that the equity bulls are firmly in control, the FTSE 100 recovered early losses on Friday as UK markets shook off losses in the mining sector to hit a fresh record high.

After falling sharply in the very early minutes of trade, the index recovered to trade above 10,250, marginally higher on the session – a record high nonetheless.

“Investors have been kept on their toes year-to-date with non-stop geopolitical issues, and mixed messages from the business world. A quieter day on the corporate reporting calendar gave investors a chance to catch their breath and take stock of events,” says Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

“European indices quietened down, with small losses in the UK, France, Spain, and Germany. Asia was mixed, while futures prices point to a positive but unspectacular day on Wall Street.

“Gold miners and defence stocks have been winning trades year-to-date, repeating a trend that ruled in 2025. Investors have felt reassured parking their money in these areas given a backdrop of uncertainty and geopolitical tensions. At some point, they will need to think more about what could unfold in 2026 and where best to put their money.”

The complexion of Friday’s gains was very different to the rally earlier in the week when commodity companies helped lift the index.

After a bout of contained profit-taking, defence-related stocks were in vogue again, with BAE Systems, Babcock, and Rolls-Royce among the top risers, gaining between 1% and 2%.

Schroders, up 2.5%, was top of the pile again as investors continued to buy into the asset manager after the group revealed strong fee income yesterday.

Pearson shares fell again after the company released a disappointing trading update earlier this week. The stock is down 10% in the early stages of 2026.

Miners were the biggest drag on the index with Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Glencore losing between 2%-3%. All three are comfortably higher on the year, and Glencore is one of the best FTSE 100 performers since the turn of the year, after merger talks and higher metals prices propelled the stock higher.

Next shares were 2% lower after redeeming B shares for capital returns to shareholders. There was probably an element of profit-taking in the dip.