Aquis weekly movers: Valereum moves to Apex segment
Valereum (LON: VLRM) has been admitted to the Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange. The share price improved 9.3% to 11.75p.
Vinanz Ltd (LON: BTC) has added another 21 bitcoin miners to its site in Nebraska, taking the total to 56. The share price rose 2.73% to 14.125p.
FALLERS
Aquaculture technology developer OTAQ (LON: OTAQ) has sent out the circular seeking shareholder approval to leave Aquis. The general meeting will be held on 10 December. Delays in orders mean that 2024 Dowgate forecasts a drop in revenues from £4.4m to £3.1m (previously £4.2m) this year and a £1.8m loss, up from £1.2m in 2023. There should be net cash of £100,000 by the end of the year. Convertible loan note interest can be capitalised with up to 75% of proceeds from the sale of certain inventory will be used to pay back the holders. The share price fell a further one-third to 0.5p.
Invinity Energy Systems (LON: IES) has sent a circular to shareholders to gain approval to move the domicile from Jersey to the UK. The share price dipped 16.9% to 12.25p.
Global Connectivity (LON: GCON) has had its stake in Rural Broadband Solutions diluted to £9.5m. The valuation of the stake has been reduced from £13.6m to £11.7m, which is equivalent to 3.2p/share. There is an agreement in principle for an investment in a new business. The share price is 12.1% to 0.725p.
Tap Global Group (LON: TAP) has cancelled its long-term incentive plan and granted options to directors with most of the options vesting when there are increases in the share price. Peter Wall has been formally appointed as chairman. The share price slid 9.84% to 2.75p.
Marula Mining (LON: MARU) has appointed Morre Kingston Smith as auditor. Results from metallurgical testing work on ore from the Kinusi copper mine should be available in the first quarter of 2025. Further test shipments will happen before the end of the year. Sampling work of high-grade tungsten deposits at the Northern Cape lithium and tungsten project in South Africa is continuing. Tungsten concentrate could be produced next year. The share price declined 7.14% to 4.875p.
Oscilate (LON: MUSH) has identified areas to start hydrogen operations in Minnesota. Work is under budget. The share price slipped 5.56% to 0.85p.
AIM weekly movers: Ilika progresses development of Goliath battery
Ilika (LON: IKA) has reached the D6 milestone through the testing of 10Ah cells in its Goliath solid state batteries for electric vehicles. These larger cells have been shown to be safe and the D7 version should be available to potential customers in the second quarter of 2025. This moves the company nearer to finding a partner for the Goliath battery. The share price recovered 36.5% to 21.5p.
Guardian Metal Resources (LON: GMET) believes that the tightening of export controls by China enhances the potential for its tungsten project in Nevada. Drilling at the Pilot Mountain project is progressing well. This will support the pre-feasibility study, and the next batch of results should be available in the next few weeks. The share price increased 36.2% to 32p.
In the year to June 2024, Greatland Gold (LON: GGP) reported a net cash outflow from operating activities of £12.2m, which is slightly higher than the figure for the previous year. The capital spending fell from £28.8m to £13m. The acquisition of the remaining stake in Havieron gold copper project and readmission of the shares should happen in early December. The share price rose 31.4% to 6.9p.
Programmatic advertising services provider Nexxen International (LON: NEXN) has launched a $50m share buyback ahead of asking shareholder permission at its AGM for a departure from AIM and change its Nasdaq listing from ADRs to ordinary shares. The share price improved 30.9% to 392p.
FALLERS
Webis (LON: WEB) has decided to leave AIM. The US-focused gaming company will seek shareholder approval on 18 December. This will help to reduce costs. The operations remain loss making. The share price slumped 79.2% to 0.125p.
Proton Motor Power Systems (LON: PPS) is going ahead with plans to leave AIM and winding down the business. Talks with a potential German industrial partner over funding have ended. The company has net liabilities. The share price dived 58.8% to 0.175p.
Cannabis-based medicines developer Celadon Pharmaceuticals (LON: CEL) has received a further £200,000 drawdown from the committed credit facility and the lender is committed to providing the remaining £500,000. However, it has to sell an investment to provide the cash. There is still £400,000 outstanding from a share subscription. Celadon Pharmaceuticals has enough cash to get it to January. Talks with another lender continue. The share price dipped 55.4% to 12.5p.
Caledonian Trust (LON: CNN) shareholders passed the resolution to leave AIM. The last day of trading is 25 November. The share price halved to 35p.
FTSE 100 set to finish week on a high despite poor UK retail sales data
The FTSE 100 was firmly on the front foot on Friday, with retail shares shaking off the impact of slow pre-budget retail sales in October.
UK retail sales fell 0.7% in October as investors held off making big purchases ahead of the budget. Investors, however, are looking past the soggy sales of October and taking an optimistic view of the FTSE 100’s consumer-facing companies which were trading broadly higher on Friday.
B&M Retail was 4% higher while Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer added 4% as the FTSE 100 gained 0.9%.
“It could be that people were simply keeping their powder dry, saving their pennies for the late half-term or to indulge over Christmas,” said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis. “It could also be that unseasonably mild weather simply delayed the purchase of winter woollies which have been needed over the past week.”
A strong session in the US overnight also helped lift the mood on Friday, with interest rate fears subsiding and technology shares showing further signs of buoyancy.
“The FTSE is up taking its cue from Wall Street and eastern exchanges as risk appetite bounced back from earlier in the week,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“US unemployment claims came in below expectations reaching a seven-month low and although this may give hawks at the Fed a little more support, it’s also reflective on underlying strength in the US economy.”
Vistry was among the gainers, rebounding from heavy selling with a 3.4%. Peers Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon rose in sympathy. The poor retail sales data released on Friday increased the chances of an interest rate cut, which will always support the housebuilders.
Hopes of a rate cut were evident in the FTSE 100 banks as investors sold Lloyds, NatWest, and Barclays in anticipation of lower rates eroding their net interest margins.
Sealand Capital Galaxy moves into Artificial Intelligence and shares more than double
Technology consolidator Sealand Capital Galaxy (LON: SCGL) is making its maiden AI investment. This sparked a 132% jump in the share price to 0.325p. That values the fully listed company at £2.4m.
After evaluating suitable opportunities, the company has decided on EVOO AI (www.evoo.ai), which is a data platform with AI learning models incorporated. It provides insights to the luxury goods sector, such as market trends and consumer behaviour. The main product is Olive, a luxury e-commerce marketplace that offers personalised shopping.
The company was incorporated on 15 December 2023 and in April it became a plc. That was after 40 million shares were issued to acquire Rule 7 Productions Ltd.
On 14 March 2024, EVOO AI had net assets of £848,000, including fixed asset investments of £800,000 and £1 in cash.
The plan is for Sealand Capital Galaxy to invest in a convertible loan note. The first tranche is £200,000 and the second trance will be £100,000. The annual interest rate is 12% and the term is 18 months. Interest is payable on maturity. There will be a fee of one million warrants exercisable at €0.06/share. If the company floats at a lower share price the exercise price will match that price.
The conversion price will be the lower of €0.03 or a 50% discount to the flotation price. There is also a proposed agreement on co-investment by the two companies.
Elena Suet Sum Law has stepped up from general manager to chief executive. Nelson Law has resigned as chairman. Geoffrey Griggs remains a non-executive director.
Sealand Capital Galaxy has entered an agreement with Toronto-based Liberty North Capital for a placing to raise £170,000 at an issue price of 0.15p/share. There will also be a convertible loan issue of up to £3m, yielding 12%. The conversion price will be based on an average market price or the last placing price.
Tekcapital shares gain as Guident gears up for IPO
Tekcapital shares gained on Friday after the technology incubator released a comprehensive operational update for portfolio company Guident ahead of its proposed IPO.
Guident has made strides forward on numerous fronts in recent months. The autonomous vehicle safety company has been busy improving its technology stack and developing commercial relationships as it pursues the $25 billion opportunity in automotive active safety systems.
The key to a successful IPO will be demonstrating commercial traction and validating Tekcapital’s investment thesis. Today’s update goes a long way toward this by announcing deployments of Guident’s Remote Monitoring and Control Centers (RMCC) and several proposals for additional deployments.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority has extended its contract with Guident for several autonomous vehicle projects. Simultaneously, negotiations are underway for Remote Monitoring and Control Center (RMCC) deployments at two major educational institutions: Michigan State University and the University at Buffalo.
In Georgia, a new proposal has been submitted for an autonomous vehicle project that includes RMCC capabilities for the City of Peachtree Corners.
Guident hasn’t shared any revenue figures yet, but given the scale of the organisations they partner with, one would assume these deployments would run into millions of dollars.
On the technical front, significant improvements have been implemented, including a redundant multi-network connectivity system that integrates private and public mobile networks using 4G/5G technology alongside both GEO and LEO satellite systems.
The user interface has been enhanced to better manage multi-vehicle and AV fleet operations, while safety features have been upgraded with advanced AI-based Incident Risk Level algorithms.
“We are very excited about the recent progress of Guident and the performance of its leadership,” said Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D., Executive Chairman of Tekcapital.
“We believe the timing for Guident’s potential IPO next year is quite opportune considering the transformative capital market events in the AV industry during the past sixty days. We are looking forward to Guident realising its first mover advantage in the rapidly developing AV industry and the potential contribution it can make to saving lives.”
As Clifford Gross alludes to, Guident is seeking an IPO as autonomous vehicle capital markets activity enters a boom phase.
WeRide’s public offering and concurrent private placement are expected to generate $458.5 million in proceeds, while Waymo secured its largest-ever funding round of $5.6 billion from investors. Meanwhile, Pony.ai has announced plans to raise $200 million at a proposed $4 billion valuation.
Tesla made headlines with its Robotaxi launch announcement in October, and Elon Musk’s new role in the White House is expected to accelerate the rollout of autonomous vehicles as regulations are addressed.
Many states, including California, Florida, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and Louisiana, require all autonomous vehicles to have remote control and monitoring functionality.
AIM movers: Tavistock boosts assets under management and Webis to leave AIM
Tavistock Investments (LON: TAVI) is acquiring Alpha Beta Partners, which is an asset manager with £3bn under management. The business is focused on retail investors, and this will scale up the existing business of offering asset management services to third party advisers. Operating profit was more than £500,000 on revenues of £4m in the year to September 2024. The initial payment is £6m, with the maximum consideration of up to £18m. Two disposals have been completed and the initial payment of £22m will be received in early December. They could eventually generate £37.75m. The share price increased 9.86% to 3.9p.
Portable oxygen devices developer Belluscura (LON: BELL) has secured a credit facility of up to $4m with Sallyport Commercial Finance. This will last for three years and enable the formal launch of the DISCOV-R portable oxygen concentrator, which will be in full production by early 2025. The share price is 7.89% higher at 10.25p.
Recruitment firm RTC Group (LON: RTC) says economic conditions are challenging but it its trading in line with expectations. The shore price is 7.69% ahead at 105p.
Sustainable fuel technology developer Quadrise (LON: QED) says progress has been slower than anticipated, but three projects are moving towards commercialisation and there are other projects in the pipeline. The trial agreement with Cargill and MSC should be signed by the end of the year. Proof of concept should start in the first quarter of 2025. The share price improved 4.05% to 1.605p.
Frontier IP (LON: FIPP) is raising £3m via a placing and subscription at 28p/share. A retail offer via Primary Bid could raise up to £1m. Minimum subscription is £250. The offer closes at 5pm on 25 November. Frontier IP made unrealised gains of £1.3m in the year to June 2024, but there was an overall loss of £1.3m. NAV is 79.7p/share. Despite that, there is a shortage of cash in the balance sheet and the additional cash should last 12 months as the company tries to generate some additional cash from investment realisations. The share price rose 3.57% to 29p.
FALLERS
Webis (LON: WEB) has decided to leave AIM. The US-focused gaming company will seek shareholder approval on 18 December. This will help to reduce costs. The operations remain loss making. The share price slumped 68.8% to 0.125p.
Alien Metals (LON: UFO) says that general meeting resolutions have been sent to some shareholders by mistake. The AGM is on 16 December. The share price fell 8.11% to 0.085p.
Electrical products supplier LPA Group (LON: LPA) traded at near to breakeven in 2023-24 as expected. There will be a restructuring charge, though. Revenues were 10% ahead at £23.8m, but orders fell because of rail project delays. Year-end order book is £25m. There is a potential small acquisition. The share price dipped 4.13% to 58p, which is near to the low for the year.
Vietnam Holding Investment Trust expands its fund after trading at a premium
The Vietnam Holding Investment Trust has achieved something no other London-listed Vietnam-focussed Investment Trust has been able to do for over 15 years – expand the size of its fund by issuing shares to investors.
Vietnam Holding’s strong performance has captured the attention of investors to the extent it has completely erased its share price discount to net asset value (NAV), enabling managers Dynam Capital to issue new shares to investors.
Investment Trusts can only issue new shares to investors when the share price trades at a premium to NAV to avoid diluting existing shareholders.
Vietnam Holding’s ability to do this is remarkable not only because no other Vietnamese Investment Trust has issued shares in over a decade but also because very few Investment Trusts of any asset class or size have delivered a premium to investors and issued shares in recent years.
Vietnam’s growth story has been a core driving force in VNH’s success. However, Dynam Capital’s high-conviction approach to fast-growing Vietnamese equities has set it apart from its peers.
To add context to VNH’s achievement, its peers are still trading at well over 20% discounts to NAV despite having access to the same universe of Vietnamese equities.
While some investors may see value in the wide discounts when considering Investment Trusts, it should be noted that Vietnam Holding has produced the best NAV returns of the single country emerging market Investment Trust space in recent years and has been rewarded with a CityWire AAA Rating for doing so.
Vietnam Holding takes a high-conviction approach to Vietnamese stocks and has built a concentrated portfolio of stocks that play into key themes of digitalisation, industrialisation, and urbanisation.
Their strategy has been amplified by an innovative share redemption scheme that allows investors to realise their shares in VNH at fair market value annually.
Nvidia, BP, Bitcoin, and UK Banks with Marc Kimsey
The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Marc Kimsey, Director at F&O Research, back to the podcast for a deep dive into a range of US and UK equities.
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We start with a look at macroeconomics and geopolitics before moving on to individual shares.
We discuss Nvidia results and the implications for the wider equity market. The reaction in shares was fairly muted, but Nvidia still holds the key to the entire AI-related rally.
Marc explores UK shares BP, Barclays, and Natwest. Oil prices have weighed on BP and we question how long the softness in BP can last.