Celsius Resources has agreed to sell its 95% stake in the Opuwo Cobalt-Copper Project in Namibia to Chinalco Mining, a subsidiary of Aluminium Corporation of China, for US$15 million.

Opuwo is a large, advanced exploration project in Namibia’s Kunene Region, with a resource of 225.5 million tonnes grading 0.12% cobalt, 0.43% copper and 0.54% zinc, containing 259,000 tonnes of cobalt and 970,000 tonnes of copper.

Despite its scale, the project was only carried at around A$3 million on Celsius’s books and made an operational loss of roughly A$37,000 last year.

The sale lets Celsius redirect its attention and cash towards its Philippine copper-gold portfolio, particularly the MCB Copper-Gold Project, once the company resolves its ongoing arbitration dispute with Makilala Mining Company.

Celsius Managing Director, Bardin Davis, said: “Celsius is delighted to have concluded an agreement with an entity of Chinalco (Xiong’an) Mining’s international standing and reputation.

“We believe that Chinalco (Xiong’an) Mining is well positioned to progress the Opuwo Project, which will deliver substantial benefits to Namibia and the local community.  Subject to the conclusion of our MMCI arbitration proceedings, we intend to deploy transaction proceeds to support the development of the MCB Copper-Gold Project.”

Minimally invasive surgical endoscopy equipment manufacturer Creo Medical (LON: CREO) says that there was a strong trading performance in the first quarter of the financial year with growth of 60%. Full year growth could be between 50% and 60%. The sale of manufacturing operations should cut annual overheads by £1m. The share price firmed 9.26% to 14.75p.

Electronics and batteries supplier Solid State (LON: SOLI) reported pre-tax profit 11% ahead of the Cavendish forecast at £8.6m. Revenues were 3% ahead at £154.1m, which was 23% higher than the previous year and gross margin improved. Net debt was £4.2m. The order book is worth £102.4m. The share price gained 6.49% to 205p.

Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas (LON: ECO) has received ministerial approval in Namibia for the farm out of the 85% interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence 98, offshore Namibia, to an arm’s-length wholly Namibian-owned company, Lamda Energy. Documentation is being completed. The share price improved 6.88% to 48.95p.

Real-time market data software provider Arcontech (LON: ARC) has won a three year contract worth £800,000 with a European bank for the CityVision real-time market data platform. Arcontech is on course to make a pre-tax profit of £700,000, down from £1m, in the year to June 2026. The share price increased 7.74% to 83.5p.

Futura Medical (LON: FUM) has terminated its US agreement with Haleon for erectile dysfunction treatment Eroxon because of disappointing sales. Futura Medical has waived the patent milestone and will receive a $1.9m termination fee. The US commercial rights will be returned, as well as being granted permission to use existing marketing materials. Market Performance Group will distribute Eroxon on a commission basis in the US from the beginning of September. MPG has the consumer marketing experience and connections to get Eroxon into retailers. The share price rose 5.58% to 0.53p.

FALLERS

River Global (LON: RVRG) has issued D shares to the holders of the A shares. The D shares will be entitled to receive a distribution of Liontrust Asset Management shares issued for the sale of the fund management business. The company will retain some shares in Liontrust and more than £2m in cash to help fund annual running costs of £400,000. The share price reflected the distribution by declining 62.5% to 2.25p.

Nativo Resources (LON: NTVO) is directing operational resources to the higher grade parts of the Tesoro concession in Peru. A mapping programme to target high grade material and optimise shaft positioning is being undertaken. So far, 46 tonnes of mineralised vein material extracted. There are financing discussions for the La Patona gold ore processing plant. Initial capacity would be 70 tonnes per day at 15g/t to 20g/t gold. The share price fell 13.5% to 0.225p.

Plugin overdraft provider Fiinu (LON: BANK) is taking a £7.3m write-down on the Everfex acquisition. There are arbitration claims against the sellers of Everfex. That write-down increases the 2025 loss to £10.4m. Conister Trust is set to launch Plugin Overdraft during the summer. Further discussions have been held with ten banks in Europe. Monthly burn rate is £220,000. Sami Kalliola is stepping down from the board but will still be involved in developing European white-label opportunities. The share price slipped 13.1% to 5.125p.

The FTSE 100 made a measured start to the week after yet another flare-up in tensions in the Middle East over the weekend sent oil prices marginally higher.

Although the US conveniently announced that the fighting had ceased just before futures markets opened yesterday, a series of strikes by both the US and Iran over the weekend served as a reminder that the free flow of oil from the Strait of Hormuz could be some way off.

Brent oil rose just 0.5%, but it was enough to set a cautious tone in equities. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.1% higher at the time of writing.

“All eyes are back on the Middle East after renewed tensions despite efforts to bring the war to an end,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Brent crude oil nudged up 0.4% to $72.26 per barrel after a weekend of fighting. The scale of the price hike wasn’t as bad as it could have been, helped by reports the US and Iran would stand down once again. Investors will want greater reassurance that the ceasefire is lasting and not a flash in the pan.

Babcock was the FTSE 100’s top faller, losing 6%, after the US and Iran agreed on another ceasefire. The drop does seem drastic, given the short duration of the recent spate of strikes.

BT earned a place among the top risers after announcing a joint venture with Verizon focused on companies’ international businesses. 

“The two companies are combining their international operations, no doubt with the hope this joined-up approach will appeal to multinational organisations looking to streamline their supplier roster. It will create opportunities to achieve cost efficiencies and economies of scale,” Russ Mould said.

Interest rate-sensitive stocks felt the pressure of Middle East tensions, and the Housebuilders – the FTSE 100’s foremost proxy for the impact of the war on the UK economy – were trading negatively.

Barratt Redrow lost around 2% and Persimmon 2.4%.

Lion Finance Group was the FTSE 100’s top riser, adding 3% on early trading on Monday after a broker upgrade.

Attention may shift to interest rates this week as central bankers meet and investors ponder the lasting impact of the Middle East conflict, even if the Strait of Hormuz resumes normal flows soon.

“The prospects of higher borrowing costs are concentrating minds, particularly in the US, given how higher rates affect the value of future earnings, upon which so many heady tech valuations are based. Today though investors appear to be taking a glass-half-full approach, with stocks on Wall Street set for a rebound,” said Susannah Streeter, Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club.

Futura Medical has terminated its US partnership with Haleon and replaced it with Market Performance Group, an omnichannel commerce agency, as it takes greater control of the Eroxon brand’s commercial future in its most important market.

 US sales following the October 2024 launchwere slower than hoped, and Haleon’s strategic appetite for the product had waned creating a situation where it makes sense to part ways. 

 Futura receives a $1.9 million early termination fee and gets back full US commercial rights, plus all marketing assets and domain names developed by Haleon. Finished product caught up in a recent stockout will also transfer to Futura

MPG takes commercial control from 1 September 2026. Under the new structure, MPG handles distribution and promotion on a commission basis while Futura retains manufacturing responsibility and control over advertising spend. This is a notably better arrangement than the previous out-licensing model with Haleon.

The deal helps a tight cash position. The termination fee alongside existing reserves is expected to fund the business into October 2026. 

The broader strategic shift is from a licence-and-step-back model to one where Futura stays actively involved in commercial direction, giving it more control and more upside if US momentum can be rebuilt under MPG.

Investors cheered the deal and shares rose 5% on Monday. 

BT Group and Verizon are merging their international enterprise businesses into a 50:50 joint venture, creating a multinational connectivity platform serving more than 3,000 customers across 180-plus countries with combined annual revenues of around $4 billion.

The deal brings together BT International and Verizon’s international enterprise wireline arm, with Verizon paying BT an equalisation payment of $625 million reflecting the relative size of the two businesses. Completion is expected in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.

Martijn Blanken has been appointed CEO-designate of the new venture, joining BT from 1 September ahead of the transaction closing. He brings nearly three decades of senior telecoms and digital infrastructure experience across Telstra, KPN and EXA Infrastructure, among others.

The aim of the deal is to scale the new entity in a market where global reach and cloud-native infrastructure matter increasingly to large enterprise customers. Both firms say the combination frees them to focus on their respective domestic markets while holding equal stakes in a better-resourced international operation built for AI and cloud-first connectivity demands.

Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive of BT Group, said: “The world’s leading brands and international organisations trust BT International to connect them across the world. Bringing together this expertise and heritage with Verizon’s deep relationships with multinationals will create a stronger, scaled connectivity partner – one that has the reach, innovation and investment to succeed. Customers will benefit from new, secure and resilient connectivity platforms, which are designed for the age of AI and sovereign where it matters. It will create new opportunities for our people and long-term value for our owners. Today’s announcement marks a major milestone for BT International, and an important step forward for BT as a whole, as we deliver on our UK-focused strategy.”

BT recently reported a 3$ drop in revenues.

Mercantile Ports and Logistics (LON:MPL) says the hearing before the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, concerning Karanja Terminal & Logistics is scheduled for 1 July. Creditors rejected the company’s proposals and approved different ownership of Karanja. However, Mercantile argues that the offer was accepted before its own proposals were annulled. The share price recovered 41.4% to 2.05p.

Property services provider Fletcher King (LON: FLK) shares continued to rise and are 30% ahead at 65p, after it had declared a special dividend of 20p/share, which will cost £2.05m, the previous week. The ex-dividend date is 2 July. Cash was £3.48m at the end of October 2025. Founder David Fletcher is leaving the board along with two other non-executives. That still leaves five directors.

Pawnbroker Ramsdens (LON: RFX) is recommending a 600p/share bid from Nasdaq-listed pawnbroker FirstCash, which previously acquired H&T. That is higher than the share price has ever been. Shareholders will also receive the 6p/share interim dividend and special dividend of 3p/share. This values the company at £203m plus £3m in dividends. The bid values Ramsdens at around nine times forecast 2025-26 earnings, although profit has been boosted by the high gold price increasing gold buying activity. A fall in profit is currently expected for 2026-27 indicating a multiple of 13, although there have been previous forecast upgrades for the current year and if gold prices remain high there is upside in this forecast. The share price increased 29% to 590p.

Kazera Global (LON: KZG) has agreed a definitive settlement of $10.5m with Hebei Xinjian Construction in relation to the arbitration award concerning African Tantalum. This is a $7m loan repayment and $3.5m share sale component. There will be an initial payment of $500,000 in Namibia. The rest will be paid over a period up to the end of 2029 and Hebei will then own 100% of African Tantalum. If $9m is paid by the end of 2026 then that would be the total payment. The share price gained 26.3% to 1.2p.

FALLERS

Talon Resources (LON: TAR) moved from the Main Market on 23 June after the reverse takeover of a North American gold explorer with a 90% stake in the Eagle Lake gold project in Ontario for £4m in shares at 1.25p each, plus £170,000 in cash. There was also £2m raised at the same price. The share price had been suspended at 2.75p and started at 2.125p before falling to 1.275p at the end of the week. That is a 53.6% decline, but the share price is still above the issue price.

Energy as a service provider eEnergy Group (LON: EAAS) expects interim revenues to be £22m and full year revenues to be £32m, compared with £38m previously. That means that EBITDA would be £1,7m rather than £4.5m. These adjustments come after the appointment of John Gahan as interim chief executive. He is generating annualised savings of £2m and there will be a restructuring charge of £500,000. eEnergy has a record of forecast downgrades over the years and it is no surprise that the share price has slumped 43.1% to 2.9p. This is the lowest it has been for more than three years.

CPP Group (LON: CPP) announced a general meeting to gain shareholder approval to leave AIM and raise money from a convertible loan note issue. Following disposals, the focus is insurTech platform Blink Parametric, which is still relatively early stage. The final $5m owed by the purchaser of the Indian business has not been paid yet and cash is required. Gresham House Asset Management is offering to invest £3m in convertibles as long as a total of at least £5m is raised and CPP leaves AIM. Shareholders are being offered a chance to subscribe for up to £2.95m of convertibles with a minimum level of £2m. The holders of convertibles will also receive V shares to enable them to vote at meetings. The general meeting is on 14 July. The share price slipped 39.6% to 37p.

Space and aerospace technology supplier Filtronic (LON: FTC) says full year revenues will be in line with consensus forecasts of at least £55.5m, while EBITDA will be slightly better than expected due to improved margins. That means that pre-tax profit is estimated at £8.5m. Net cash is 311.3m. The new facility has capacity of £200m. The strong order book means that 90% of 2026-27 revenues expectations of £62.6m. A second contract has been won for satellite payload technology with a US-based customer worth £400,000. This will be recognised in the current year. The 2025-26 results will be published on 4 August. The share price fell back 39% to 230p, but it is still nearly one-third higher this year.