ITM Power has secured a major boost from the UK government, with a £40 million equity investment from Great British Energy and a £46.5 million grant from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to scale up production of its next-generation hydrogen technology.

The combined £86.5 million package will fund a new large-scale automated manufacturing line in the UK with 1 GW annual capacity for ITM’s Chronos electrolyser stack, a platform the company says offers superior energy efficiency and substantially lower costs than its predecessors.

The backing followed rigorous third-party technical and commercial due diligence, and ITM described it as a clear vote of confidence in both its technology and the UK’s ambitions for sovereign clean-energy manufacturing.

Ed Milliband, Energy Secretary, said, “This investment is the Government’s clean energy mission in action – rebuilding our energy security with clean homegrown power and good industrial jobs for South Yorkshire.

“Communities have long been calling out for a new generation of good industrial jobs, and with these plans we answer that call, helping to create an economy in which there is no need to leave your hometown just to find a decent job. Thanks to this government’s commitment to clean energy, a generation of young people in our industrial heartlands can have well-paid secure jobs.

“This has only happened thanks to months of intense collaboration between Great British Energy, our publicly owned energy company, the government and ITM Power. It is time to make and build things in Britain again, and with this Government’s clean energy mission, we will.”

ITM, based in Sheffield, said Chronos should help it grow market share, accelerate industrial adoption of hydrogen, and speed its path to profitability, underpinned by what it called strong order momentum and a growing backlog over the past two years.

The firm has upgraded its FY26 cash guidance to £210-215 million, up from £170-175 million previously, reflecting the GBE subscription proceeds.

ITM shares were 14% higher on Thursday.

MobilityOne has moved to temper expectations around its Islamic digital banking ambitions on Thursday, confirming that conditions attached to its conditional approval from the Labuan Financial Services Authority have not yet been met.

The AIM-listed e-commerce payments group issued the clarification in response to media reports suggesting its Malaysian subsidiary had already secured a full Islamic digital banking licence, which is not the case.

MobilityOne shares were down 20% in early Thursday trading as a result.

MobilityOne received conditional approval in December 2025 for its wholly-owned Malaysian arm, MobilityOne Sdn Bhd, to set up MBO Bank (Labuan) Limited to carry on Islamic digital banking business in Labuan, Malaysia.

However, the green light is yet to be given and hinges on the proposed bank meeting a series of requirements, including sufficient capital reserves, robust corporate governance, and other operational and prudential standards set by the regulator.

The company said it is actively working to satisfy those conditions but gave no timeline for completion, stating only that it would update the market “as and when appropriate.”

MobilityOne’s CEO, Dato’ Hussain A Rahman, said in December: “This conditional approval from Labuan FSA represents a significant step for the Group to expand its fintech ecosystem from payment processing and e-money services into full-scale Shariah-compliant digital banking. In addition, it reflects Labuan FSA’s confidence in MobilityOne’s proposed business model, governance framework and commitment to regulatory compliance.”

Van Elle has become the latest company to highlight London’s inability to provide liquidity for small- and medium-cap stocks, as it announced plans to exit London’s public markets through a takeover.

Austrian construction giant STRABAG is buying AIM-listed ground engineering specialist Van Elle Holdings for 52.3p per share in cash, valuing the business at approximately £58.8 million.

The offer represents a 58.5% premium to Van Elle’s closing price of 33p on 8 April and has the unanimous backing of the Van Elle board. The deal will be implemented via a scheme of arrangement.

For STRABAG, the acquisition slots neatly into its “WORK ON PROGRESS” growth strategy, which targets vertical integration and geographic diversification. The group has been scaling its UK presence through major programmes and sees Van Elle’s specialist geotechnical capabilities as a natural complement to its broader civil engineering offering.

The two businesses share exposure to residential, water, energy and transport markets, and STRABAG expects the combination to unlock cross-selling opportunities and revenue synergies.

Frank Nelson, Chairman of Van Elle said: “Formed in 1984, Van Elle is one of the UK’s largest specialist geotechnical engineering contractors. Across its diverse end markets including residential and housing, infrastructure and regional construction, the Van Elle Group is proud to have delivered over 1,000 projects over the previous financial year.”

“Van Elle’s life as a quoted company is a short part of that history, however a period containing some significant global events. While strongly positioned in a number of key markets, broader sector and macro-economic issues have impacted value creation opportunities. Given the ongoing cycle, the Van Elle Board believes that the offer not only represents a significant premium, it also provides shareholders with the certainty of cash consideration and Van Elle’s customer base with a supportive sector specialist owner focused on developing its product offering.”

Close Brothers shares jumped on Wednesday after reassuring investors that the FCA’s motor finance redress scheme will not derail its growth plans, estimating the total cost at around £320 million, only marginally above its existing £294 million provision.

The group said the hit would shave just 25 basis points off its CET1 capital ratio, bringing it to 14.0% on a pro forma basis. This is still well clear of its 12-13% medium-term target.

No changes to its existing provision have been recognised at this stage.

The estimate covers roughly 720,000 qualifying UK motor finance loans written between April 2007 and November 2024, including around 640,000 under discretionary commission arrangements and a further 80,000 meeting the FCA’s “tied” or “high commission” criteria.

Notably, Close Brothers’ average redress payment is around £500 per customer, significantly below the FCA-cited industry average of £829. This reflects smaller loan sizes and lower commission levels across its book.

Close Brothers shares were among the heaviest hit when the FCA launched its investigation in 2024, and despite a 17% rally to 452p on Wednesday, shares are yet to get anywhere near the 800p mark they traded at before the scandal came to light.

Bezant Resources (LON: BZT) published a new mineral resource estimate for the Hope and Gorob project, where it has a 70% interest. There is a sevenfold increase in open pittable mineral resource. Measured resource is 1.1Mt, while indicated is 0.5Mt and inferred is 1.4Mt. The life of the open pit mine has been extended to 7.5 years. There is significant mineralisation outside of the area of the current mineral resource estimate. More than five years could be added to mine life. The share price rose 18.5% to 0.08p.

Solid State (LON: SOLI) says fourth quarter trading was ahead of expectations, and the order book is worth £106.5m. There was a recovery in the components business and trading improved in the power division, due to strong drone demand from defence customers. The integrated systems business is building up revenues. Zeus has raised its forecast revenues by 5% to £152.2m and pre-tax profit by 9% to £7.9m, a sharp recovery from £5m last year. The share price increased 14.7% to 160p.

Greatland Resources (LON: GGP) says full year gold production could be slightly better than guidance of 260,000-310,000 ounces. In the third quarter 82,723 ounces of gold and 4,128 tonnes of copper were produced. That takes nine month production to 249,887 ounces of gold and 11,022 tonnes of copper. There was $1.21bn in cash in the bank at the end of March 2026. A recovery in the gold price following the Middle East ceasefire will help income. The share price jumped 15.1% to 767.25p, which is the highest it has ever been.

Alien Metals (LON: UFO) says joint venture partner GreenTech Minerals has identified material upside potential for the Munni Munni Platinum-Palladium-Copper-Nickel project in Western Australia not included in the current mineral resource estimate of 24Mt @ 2.9 g/t PGE₄ for 2.2Moz. Alien Metals has a 30% interest and a free carry until completion of a bankable feasibility study. High grade zones have been identified and there is potential for open pit mining. The results of the maiden drilling programme should be announced later this month. Joint venture partner West Coast Silver has announced a 1,500 metre drilling programme for the Elizabeth Hill silver project in Western Australia. The share price rebounded 14.3% to 0.12p.

FALLERS

Trellus Health (LON: TRLS) has issued 48.7 million shares following the conversion of £50,000 of secured convertible loan notes. That is just over 15% of the enlarged share capital of the developer of Trellus Elevate, which provides analysis of the management of chronic conditions. The share price slipped 30% to 0.175p.

A 14% decline in the Brent oil price to just over $94/barrel has hit AIM oil and gas producers and explorers. North Sea-focused Serica Energy (LON: SQZ) dived 14.9% to 248.3p, Falcon Oil & Gas (LON: FOG) dipped 14.8% to 16.4p, Arrow Exploration (LON: AXL) declined 11.1% to 20p and Pantheon Resources (LON: PANR) fell 10.3% to 11.12p.

Sunda Energy (LON: SNDA) subsidiary SundaGas Banda Unipessoal has entered a letter of intent with Finder TIMOR-LESTE B.V. to secure a drilling rig for campaigns offshore Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. SundaGas plans to drill the Chuditch-2 appraisal well on the TL-SO-19-16 Production Sharing Contract. Sunda Energy is also diversifying its interests by acquiring New Zealand based Matahio Energy NZ, which owns production and exploration permits onshore of the Taranaki Basin on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. The assets produce 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day. The purchase price will be between $8m and $14m depending on the oil price and there is contingent consideration of up to $13m based on the outcome of exploration. A subscription will raise £900,000 at 0.02975p, while directors will contribute a further £800,000 through loan conversion and subscription. Convertible loan notes could raise up to £4.25m. A WRAP retail offer can raise up to £750,000. Hannam and Partners estimates a risked NAV of 0.18p/share. The share price is 9.2% lower at 0.0325p.

The FTSE 100 surged on Wednesday after the US and Iran agreed a two-week ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The deal, struck just an hour before a deadline set by Trump that could have seen the US attack Iranian civilian infrastructure, sparked a global risk-on rally that sent stocks higher and bond yields sharply lower. 

UK 10-year gilt fell to 4.65% after closing yesterday’s session around 4.9%. The FTSE 100 jumped on the news, trading over 2% higher at 10,620.

“Investors’ wish for a ceasefire has been granted, triggering a rally across financial markets and pulling down the oil price,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

There are still many things that could go wrong with the ceasefire agreement, but after more than a month of trading headline to headline, investors will be pleased to see a two-week break in the fighting that may prove to be permanent. 

Oil prices sank overnight as traders reacted to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and hopes of free-flowing oil from the Middle East.

Brent Crude oil prices tumbled around 14% to change hands well below $100 at $94. WTI was down 16%.

“The 14% decline in the Brent Crude oil price to $94 a barrel puts energy prices in the right direction as far as businesses and consumers are concerned,” Dan Coatsworth said.

“However, it’s impossible to assume they will quickly return to the sub-$70 a barrel level seen before the Iran crisis began in March. There has already been considerable disruption to the flow of supplies and that might remain the case for some time, even if the Strait of Hormuz becomes fully functional again.”

Despite uncertainty about the medium-term trajectory of oil prices, the UK’s interest rate-sensitive sectors were among the best performers on Wednesday, amid hopes that inflation could be managed without a series of rate hikes.

Housebuilders, heavily hit by concerns about possible Bank of England interest rate hikes to fight off inflation caused by the Middle East war, were among the best performers on the day.

Persimmon was 9% higher while Barratt Redrow added 8%. Both Housebuilders are still significantly below 52-week highs.

Other consumer-facing stocks enjoyed a reset in inflation expectations. JD Sports jumped 8%, and Burberry rose 6%. Gambling firm Entain also joined the rally, adding 6%.

Miners surged on the ceasefire agreement. Antofagasta was the top riser at the time of writing, rocketing 12% higher. Fresnillo rallied 10.7% and Anglo American surged 10.3%.

Oil prices falling 15% suddenly made the oil majors BP and Shell’s recent rally look overdone, and the pair were rooted to the bottom of the FTSE 100 leaderboard. BP and Shell were down around 6% at the time of writing.