Arc Minerals shares sink as Anglo American exits Zambian joint venture

UK Investor Magazine
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Arc Minerals shares sink as Anglo American exits Zambian joint venture

Arc Minerals tumbled on Monday after announcing the termination of its joint venture with mining giant Anglo American, marking a major blow for the company’s Zambian copper exploration strategy.

The LSE-listed exploration company revealed that Anglo American has withdrawn from their partnership and surrendered all interests in the Zambian mining tenements. The decision came after a prolonged period with no drilling activity throughout 2025.

As part of the separation agreement, approximately $800,000 will remain in the joint venture company Handa Resources Limited’s bank account. Arc will resume full control of Handa after Anglo American surrenders its shareholding.

“While we are sorry to part company with Anglo American, I am pleased that we revert to a controlling position in what is widely regarded as one of the most prospective copper tenements in Africa with only a fraction having been drilled to date,” said Nick von Schirnding, executive chairman of Arc.

“We will explore our options for these assets which may include a new joint venture partner.

“We remain resolutely determined to complete the court processes underway in Zambia to deal with the improprieties carried out by an individual intent on holding the Company to ransom which we naturally will not countenance.”

Arc Minerals shares were down over 50% at the time of writing.

Director deals: Franchise Brands attracts buying at bargain price

Andrew Hore
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Director deals: Franchise Brands attracts buying at bargain price

Nigel Wray has bought a further 50,000 shares in Franchise Brands (LON: FRAN) at 120p each, taking the non-executive director’s stake to 16.07 million shares.
Earlier in month, executive chairman Stephen Hemsley acquired 50,000 shares at 120.5871p each. He owns 22.9 million shares. Previously, finance director Andrew Mallows exercised options over 305,682 shares and sold them all for prices between 126p and 137.2934p. The options were exercised at 88p or less.
Slater Investments has raised its shareholding from 15.03% to 16.01%.
Business
The focus is B2B franchises. Metro Rod specialises in dr...

Aquis weekly movers: ProBiotix Health sales grow

Andrew Hore
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Aquis weekly movers: ProBiotix Health sales grow

Majestic Corporation (LON: MCJ) finance director Man Bing Lee bought an initial 2,857 shares at 175p each. The share price increased 17.3% to 152.5p.

ProBiotix Health (LON: PBX) increased sales 30% to £1.97m in the nine months to September 2025. There is sufficient cash for the company’s needs. A commercial partnership with RevivaBio has been set up to launch a new cholesterol lowering product powered by the ProBiotix patented probiotic strain LPLDL®. Chairman Adam Rynolds bought 100,000 shares at 8p each. The share price is 14.8% higher at 7.75p.

B HODL (LON: HODL) has taken its Bitcoin holding to 142 at a total cost of £12m. AlbR Capital has been appointed joint broker. Four directors have been buying shares at prices between 11.88p and 13.88p each. The share price rose 10.9% to 14p.

Mendell Helium (LON: MDH) still has an option over M3 Helium and production at Rost is expected to start by the end of October. Potential expansion opportunities are being assessed. The planned move to AIM is progressing. The share price improved 8.33% to 3.25p.

Hydrogen Future Industries (LON: HFI) is changing its name to energy B. It has consolidated 50 shares into one new share. The share price moved up 6.67% to 60p, although it is still below the adapted suspension price of 75p.

FALLERS

The Smarter Web Company (LON: SWC) has bought 100 Bitcoin for £9.08m. It owns 2,650 Bitcoin. The share price dived by two-fifths to 55.5p.

Coinsilium (LON: COIN) plans a strategic update in the next few weeks. Malcolm Palle will become non-executive chairman, and Federica Velardo is leaving the board. Coinsilium owns 182 Bitcoin, and they are valued at £15m. The share price slipped 27.8% to 3.9p.

Vault Ventures (LON: VULT) will start closed user testing for vSignal.ai. The share price fell 16.3% to 0.9p.

Time To Act (LON: TTA) has sold £1m of surplus coating compound for £1m, which was not valued in the balance sheet. This will pay off the CBILS loan. The cash will be received in two instalments by early December. The share price decreased 14.3% to 15p.  

Igraine (LON: KING) raised £7.15m at 0.25p/share. Oliver Murphy is joining the board. Some of the funds will be invested in Ethereum, as well as being used in the battery energy storage systems (BESS) and electric vehicle (EV) charging sectors. The share price slid 6.14% to 0.325p.

AIM weekly movers: Good news about Redmoor for Strategic Minerals

Andrew Hore
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AIM weekly movers: Good news about Redmoor for Strategic Minerals

Modular housing company Eco Buildings Group (LON: ECOB) has expanded its geographical reach and the computerisation of the production process. It has set up a new subsidiary with Socotra Real Estate Development and Investment Company to offer modular housing in Sudan. The Khartoum-based partner will invest €5m to fund two production lines and receive 50% of any net profit. The share price jumped 167% to 12p.

URU Metals (LON: URU) has appointed GeoFocus to undertake a combined ground gravity and frequency-domain electromagnetic survey over two targets at the Zeb nickel project. The share price improved 88.9% to 8.5p.

Positive drilling results for the Redmoor tungsten tin copper project have pushed up the share price of Strategic Minerals (LON: SML) by 84.2% to 0.875p. The drilling results confirm multiple zones of high-grade tungsten mineralisation at the project in Cornwall. These results are from one borehole. This suggests that Redmoor could be the highest-grade undeveloped tungsten deposit. There are also positive results for copper. The tin assays are still being reviewed. Drilling continues. Zeus has a 1.9p/share fair value for Strategic Minerals.

Genedrive (LON: GDR) failed to gain shareholder approval for the recent placing and retail offer. There is cash left until the end of 2025. David Nugent has built up a 15.1% stake, and the company is talking to him. The share price rose 50.8% to 0.6p.

FALLERS

Premier African Minerals (LON: PREM) is seeking further disapplication of the pre-emption provision for share issues to make it easier to raise the cash it requires. A total of $6.3m is required to settle debts and fund phase 5 of pre-production readiness. This follows the consolidation of ten shares into one new share when trading began on Tuesday, and the share price declined 32.5% to 0.135p.

MyHealthChecked (LON: MHC) is selling its loss-making trading subsidiary Concepta Diagnostics to Boots UK for £2.375m. The company will become a shell with £5.7m of cash after the costs of the disposal, including an exit bonus to chief executive Penelope McCormick who is leaving with the subsidiary. The share price fell 30% to 7p.

Podcast platform operator Audioboom (LON: BOOM) increased third quarter revenues by 9% to $20.4m and EBITDA by 18% to $1.2m. There is strong growth of video views, following the Adelicious acquisition. Nine months revenues are 5% higher at $55.5m, while EBIDA more than doubled to $3m. Booked revenues for 2025 are more than $79m. A strategic review is ongoing. The share price dipped 28.1% to 500p.

Mosman Oil & Gas (LON: MSMN) has raised £1.67m at 0.0225p/share and a retail offer could raise up to £500,000. This will close on 21 October. The cash will be spent on US helium projects, including Sagebrush and Coyote Wash in Colorado. The Independent Prospective Resource Validation at Coyote Wash is expected before the end of the year. The share price slid 24.1% to 0.024p.

Pioneering sustainable printed electronics and conductive silver inks with Ail Arian

UK Investor Magazine
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Pioneering sustainable printed electronics and conductive silver inks with Ail Arian

The UK Investor Magazine was thrilled to welcome Dr James Claypole, founder of Ail Arian, to discuss the sustainable printed electronics pioneer’s technology and its current funding round.

Ail Arian is revolutionising printed electronics with patented, recyclable silver conductive inks that achieve a 94% recovery rate.

Find out more about Ail Arian here.

The company addresses critical sustainability challenges in the electronics industry—precious metal depletion and stringent environmental regulations—while helping manufacturers drastically cut CO2 emissions and manufacturing waste.

Their innovative design-for-recycling approach creates the first circular ecosystem for printed electronics. This enables customers to reduce e-waste, comply with emerging legislation like ESPR and PPWR, and meet ESG commitments.

The global conductive inks market, valued at $2.73B in 2023, is projected to reach $3.98B by 2032. Ail Arian has already developed a working MVP with positive early customer feedback and secured key development partnerships through signed MOUs.

As a CleanTech StartUp of the Year Finalist 2025, they’re positioned to capture market share by selling sustainable silver inks while allocating investment toward R&D and marketing to scale their circular manufacturing solution.

AIM movers: Steppe Cement increases sales and Mosman Oil and Gas raises cash

Andrew Hore
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AIM movers: Steppe Cement increases sales and Mosman Oil and Gas raises cash

Steppe Cement (LON: STCM) reached record cement production levels in the nine months to September 2025. Sales volumes increased from 1.34 million tonnes to 1.55 million tonnes in a growing cement market in Kazakhstan. Revenues improved from $66.6m to $75m even though the price fell. Cash was $14m on 6 October 2025. Surplus cash will be distributed to shareholders. The tax dispute has been resolved at a cost of $100,000. The share price rose 2.78% to 18.5p.

Peter Gyllenhammar has increased his stake in infrastructure services provider Nexus Infrastructure (LON: NEXS) from 28.15% to 29.14%. Michale Thomas Morris has cut his stake from 7.68% to 4.41%. The share price improved 2.08% to 122.5p.

Allan Gray Bermuda has reduced its stake in Caldonia Mining Corporation (LON: CMCL) from 4% to 2.93%. The share price increased 1.45% to 2800p.

FALLERS

Mosman Oil & Gas (LON: MSMN) has raised £1.67m at 0.0225p/share and a retail offer could raise up to £500,000. This will close on 21 October. The cash will be spent on US helium projects, including Sagebrush and Coyote Wash in Colorado. The Independent Prospective Resource Validation at Coyote Wash is expected before the end of the year. The share price declined 26.6% to 0.0235p.

Focus Xplore (LON: FOX) has used AI to identify critical mineral targets in Ontario. It has raised £427,000 at 0.04p/share and shares have been issued to creditors owed £57,000. Planetary AI has partnered with Focus Xplore to develop AI tools specifically for the Ontario landscape. The share price slipped 19.1% to 0.0425p.

Wishbone Gold (LON: WSBN) says drilling on hole 2 at the Red Setter gold dome project in Western Australia has been completed at 950 metres. Drilling of hole 3 should start on 21 October. The share price is 12.5%n lower at 1.225p.

Asia-focused gas explorer Sunda Energy (LON: SNDA) closed its WRAP offer early because it was oversubscribed. The size of the offer was raised from £230,000 to £470,000. The offer price was 0.025p. The total amount raised through the offer and subscription is £710,000. The share price dipped 11.9% to 0.0275p.

Tower Resources (LON: TRP) has raised £550,000 at 0.028p/share. This will finance work on oil and gas licences in Namibia and Cameroon. The share price slid 10.3% to 0.0305p.

Energy storage technology developer Gelion (LON: GELN) raised £10m via a placing and subscription at 20p/shar and up to £500,000 could be raised by a retail offer, which closes on 23 October. The cash will finance commercial pouch cell prototypes. The cash will last for 18 months. The share price fell 8.16% to 22.5p.

FTSE 100 sinks amid US regional bank concerns

UK Investor Magazine
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FTSE 100 sinks amid US regional bank concerns

The FTSE 100 fell sharply on Friday amid concerns about US regional banks, which rocked global equity markets after several institutions warned of credit fraud risks.

London’s leading index was down 1.2% at the time of writing as investors rushed to reduce equity positions after the strong rally of recent months.

“It was an ugly session on Wall Street yesterday, as small gains gave way to an accelerating move to the downside on fears about the US regional bank system,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

“This feels like a rerun of 2023, but it comes as the market is struggling to digest the latest US-China trade spat and spells trouble in the short-term at least. Sentiment remains skittish, and the instinct will be to sell first and ask questions later.”

FTSE 100 banks and financials were heavily hit as a result on Friday. Asset manager ICG was the FTSE 100’s top faller as gyrations in financial markets capped a torrid week for the stock, with its uptrend disintegrating. ICG shares fell 6% on Friday, touching their lowest levels since June.

Barclays shares took a pasting and were trading 5% lower at the time of writing. Standard Chartered, Schroders, and St James’s Place were down around a similar amount.

“The pullback in UK-listed banks will be sentiment-driven. Investors have been spooked and moved to trim positions in the sector, possibly opting to have lower exposure in case a crisis is brewing,” explained Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“There is no evidence of any issues with the London-listed core banking names, but investors often have a knee-jerk reaction when problems appear anywhere in the sector.”

Concerns about regional banks brought back memories of 2023’s volatility and forced investors into safe havens, extending this year’s meteoric rise in gold.

“Gold climbed above USD 4,380 per ounce on Friday, setting yet another record before easing slightly, as investors continued to favor the metal amid global uncertainty and growing expectations of further US monetary easing,” said Daniel Takieddine Co-founder and CEO, Sky Links Capital Group.

“Despite some profit-taking, bullion remains on track for its ninth consecutive weekly gain.”

Interestingly, precious metals miners Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining—the FTSE 100’s two best performers of 2025—were among the losers on Friday, reflecting risk aversion running through the market.

Pearson was the FTSE 100’s top riser after revealing that virtual learning helped sales growth in Q3.

Smiths Group agrees to sell Interconnect division for £1.3bn

UK Investor Magazine
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Smiths Group agrees to sell Interconnect division for £1.3bn

Smiths Group has agreed to sell its Interconnect division to Molex, a Koch company, for £1.3bn. The deal values the business at 15.1 times its headline EBITDA of £86.1m for fiscal year 2025.

The sale follows Smiths’ strategic overhaul announced in January 2025, which aimed to sharpen its focus as an industrial engineering company amid activist investor pressure.

Smiths plans to return a substantial portion of the proceeds to shareholders. The company is already executing a £500m share buyback programme, due to finish by the end of the calendar year 2025.

The firms said the board will provide further details on the use of proceeds when it releases its first-quarter trading statement on 19 November 2025.

The market reaction was muted with Smiths Group shares rising just over 1% in mid-morning trade on Friday.

“This is an important step as we deliver on our commitment to focus Smiths and unlock the inherent value in our business,” said Roland Carter, Chief Executive of Smiths.

“Today’s announcement, and our recent results, show we are delivering on our strategy with pace and purpose and I am confident that we will continue to do so as we further focus our business as a high-performing industrial engineering company.

“We thank our Smiths Interconnect colleagues for their significant contribution to the Smiths Group over many years and wish them every success as they transition to their new owner, Molex, who is well placed to support their future growth.”

Chesterfield Resources shares soar on director dealing

UK Investor Magazine
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Chesterfield Resources shares soar on director dealing

Chesterfield Resources shares soared on Friday as a director’s family member added to their stake. The purchase follows a strategic investment by a UAE-affiliated group last week.

The firm announced that the spouse of Non-Executive Director Paul Ensor purchased 1,929,089 shares at 1.12 pence each, bringing their combined holding to 4,101,930 shares, or 2.18% of the company.

Chesterfield Resources shares were 50% higher at the time of writing on Friday.

The director’s deal follows a recent placing by a strategic investor, completed at a 50% premium to the closing share price the day before.

Kashif Afzal, Executive Chairman of Chesterfield, said at the time of the investment that the premium was evidence of the strategic investor’s “confidence and commitment to supporting a strategic transformation of Chesterfield.”

“The investors are led by an entity affiliated with Arowana, a leading B Corp investment group helmed by its founder, Kevin Chin, and includes a family office connected with a ruling family in the United Arab Emirates,” Afzal said.

“This group has previously co-invested in public companies with a view to transforming their future trajectories. A recent example is VivoPower International PLC which has experienced a share price increase exceeding 500% over the past 12 months.”

Chesterfield has also disposed of a proportion of their stake in Sterling Metals Corp to boost their cash pile to £900,000. They retain 400,000 shares in Sterling Metals worth around £380,000 at the current market price.

Something’s afoot at Chesterfield, and its low market cap is catching investors’ attention.

Wishbone Gold ramps up Red Setter drill programme

UK Investor Magazine
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Wishbone Gold ramps up Red Setter drill programme

Wishbone Gold (AIM & Aquis: WSBN) has provided an exploration update on its Red Setter Gold Dome Project, located 20km south-west of Greatland Gold’s Telfer gold mine in Western Australia.

Today’s announcement provides investors with little more than an update on which holes the company has been drilling and what’s next for the programme.

The market will have to wait for updates on grades and results of recent drilling.

Diamond drilling on hole 2 has been completed at 950 metres, and operations have now moved to a planned 500-metre deep hole situated 1.6km north of the first two holes.

Core samples from hole 2 revealed multiple zones of fracturing with pyrite and will be dispatched to ALS Laboratories in Perth for cutting and assay.

Hole 3 is targeting the area where previous drilling intercepted 7 metres at 2g/t gold and 0.38% copper from 273 metres depth.

The next phase will kick off from 21st October, targeting shallower copper-gold intercepts from 117 metres.

“Diamond drilling is now on double shift and with the Reverse Circulation drill rig arriving this weekend we are ramping up activities to expedite exploration,” said Ed Mead, Wishbone Gold WA director.

“I look forward to the results arriving soon from the first drill hole, and while we await these results, we have sent the diamond rig to nearby hole 3 to investigate past findings. I look forward to presenting further updates on progress shortly.”

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