New AIM admission: Poolbeg Pharma

Andrew Hore
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New AIM admission: Poolbeg Pharma

Poolbeg Pharma is a spin-out of non-core pharma assets from Open Orphan (LON: ORPH). These are all early-stage assets and Open Orphan did not want to spend money on them.
Poolbeg’s strategy is to reposition products with existing positive clinical safety data. It will undertake trials so that sufficient data is collected to make the treatments attractive to larger pharma companies with more cash to invest.
There will be multiple treatments developed so that they are ready for phase II trials, that will then attract licensing or partnering. POLB 001 is already phase II ready and further investm...

All Active Asset bid approach for Audioboom

Andrew Hore
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All Active Asset bid approach for Audioboom

All Active Asset Capital Ltd (LON: AAA) should have plenty of knowledge about bid target Audioboom (LON:BOOM). One of its directors, Rodger Sargent was involved with the reversal of the business into an AIM shell and was a director for a short time. The bidder is also in the process of acquiring a stake in AAQUA, which has a 12.4% shareholding in Audioboom.
Rodger Sargent joined the board of Audioboom following the reversal of Audioboo into One Delta on 20 May 2014. He already had a shareholding in the company, and he acquired more shares at the time of the reversal to take his then stake to 1...

New standard listing: Acceler8 Ventures

Andrew Hore
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New standard listing: Acceler8 Ventures

Shell company Acceler8 Ventures will have £450,000 after expenses to seek a suitable acquisition candidate. The £300,000 of expenses seem high, but costs will be relatively high when a company is so small.
Adviser Tessera Investment Management has pocketed £100,000 in fees and previously subscribed £25,000 for a 3.3% stake.  It will be paid a success fee on completion of the first acquisition and will be paid fees for other services.
Patronus Partners received an introducer fee of 5% of cash it raised, and its clients hold 183,000 shares in a nominee account. That equates to just over £9,...

New AIM admission: Forward Partners Group

Andrew Hore
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0
New AIM admission: Forward Partners Group

Forward Partners Group provides a way of smaller investors gaining exposure to early stage, high growth technology companies. It has an experienced investment management team, and it has a good track record in its eight years as a business.
The early investments should be reaching a point where they are maturing and there could be exits that will enable cash to be recycled into new investments. Before that happens, the money raised in the flotation will fund new investments and additional cash for the existing ones.
The share price ended the day at 102.5p (100p/105p). That equates to a premium...

Investment to improve drug development boosts Sareum Holdings share price

Liam Roche
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Investment to improve drug development boosts Sareum Holdings share price

Sareum Holdings share price

The Sareum Holdings share price jumped by 10.29% on Monday, at the time of writing, after the company confirmed it raised £1m courtesy of a high-net-worth individual to move forward its drug development programmes.

The drug discovery and development company has been on an excellent run as of late, just recently announcing positive results from its government-funded Covid-19 research project, As a result, interest from investors in the AIM-listed company has risen, as has the Sareum Holdings share price. Over the past six months, the Sareum Holdings share price is up by 242.73%.

£1m Investment

The investor subscribed to 14.3m shares at 7p per share, a 4.5% premium on last week’s close, Sareum Holdings revealed.

The drugs company said the money will be used to improve its SDC-1801 and SDC-1802 programmes, which Sareum is developing as therapies for autoimmune diseases.

Dr Tim Mitchell, CEO of Sareum Holdings plc, commented: “We are delighted that our proprietary TYK2/JAK1 development programmes are attracting such interest and new investment. With this new subscription, the total funds raised from recent subscriptions and warrant exercises is over £3.5 million.”

“These new funds will allow us both to advance SDC-1801 into clinical development in autoimmune diseases, including the immune overreaction to Covid-19 and other viral infections, and to progress the preclinical development of our second TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor SDC-1802 against cancers.”

Risks

As ever is it risky to invest in drug development programmes and companies. While some drugs make it through all the stages, many do not make it. Complications can also occur with timing, with delays being commonplace.

Having said that, the investment received is exciting for the company, along with recent news, and investors are clearly galvanised. This has been reflected in the recent upturn of the Sareum Holdings share price.

Sumo share price jumps as Tencent says it is buying UK video game developer

Liam Roche
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Sumo share price jumps as Tencent says it is buying UK video game developer

Sumo Share Price

The Sumo share price (LON:SUMO) is soaring on Monday as news emerged that Tencent, the Chinese gaming giant, is set to takeover the British video game developer. The Sumo Group share price is up by 38.13% on Monday and now stands at 494.50p per share. It is a continuation of a strong performance throughout the past 12 months for the growth stock, which is up by 172% over the time period.

Tencent Takeover

Tencent confirmed on Monday that it has agreed to acquire Sumo, the AIM-listed company, for £919m. The Chinese company tabled a 513p per share offer for Sumo, a 43% premium to the firm’s closing price on Friday.

The acquisition is an addition to Tencent’s present 8.75% holding in Sumo. Tencent is the largest gaming company in the world and already owns stakes in Rot Games and Epic Games.

“Chinese deals may imply a higher regulatory risk, but we see no likely resistance or counterbid,” analysts at Jefferies Financial Grou said in a note on Monday, as reported by Bloomberg.

“Tencent intends to bring its expertise and resources to accelerate the growth of Sumo both in the U.K. and abroad, supporting Sumo in the market for top-tier creative talent, and the U.K. as a hub for game innovation,” said James Mitchell, chief strategy officer at Tencent.

“We believe the proposed transaction benefits all stakeholders, and delivers compelling value for Sumo shareholders, while enhancing Sumo’s capabilities for the future.”

OPEC+ reaches agreement over deal to increase oil supply

Liam Roche
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OPEC+ reaches agreement over deal to increase oil supply

Brent crude oil is down by 2.26% to $71.64 per barrel

OPEC and its allies have reached an agreement to increase oil supply in an effort to keep soaring crude oil prices under control.

The group will now pump an additional 400,000 barrels per day each month during August, increasing output by 2m barrels per day by the end of 2021.

The monthly increases will rise next year, as OPEC+ confirmed it has extended the deal from April next year to December 2022.

During the pandemic, OPEC and its allies slashed production by 10m barrels a day as the downturn saw a collapse in demand for oil and prices.

However, as economies are reopening, the price of oil is surging again, which is leading to inflationary pressures and brining the recovery of the world economy into doubt.

Brent crude oil is down by 2.26% to $71.64 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate also slipped by 2.24% to $69.85.

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the deal proves that the group is able to strike agreements and gives more certainty over the future.

“This agreement should give market participants comfort that the group is not headed for a messy break-up and will not be opening up the production floodgates any time soon,” Helima Croft at RBC Capital Markets told The Times.

UK house prices rise again as homebuyers seek outdoor space

Liam Roche
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UK house prices rise again as homebuyers seek outdoor space

The average price of a UK home now stands at more than £338,000

The average price of UK homes coming to the market increased by 0.7% between the middle of June and early July, compared to the month before.

It is the biggest rise in UK house prices for the time of year since 2007, despite the stamp duty holiday being scaled back, according to data from Rightmove.

The average price of a UK home now stands at more than £338,000, an increase of more than £21,000 over the past six months.

The price surge has come about thanks to a number of factors. First, people are demanding larger properties with outdoor space as they are spending more and more time at home. There is also a narrowing of supply on properties following an extended hot-run thanks in part to the government’s stamp duty holiday.

While the housing boom has supported the UK economy during a downturn, it has also exacerbated wealth inequality between those who own homes and those who don’t.

Properties with four bedrooms and above are seeing the biggest imbalance in supply and demand, while homes with two bedrooms and fewer had an unchanged number of new sellers.

John Eastgate, Managing Director of Property Finance at Shawbrook Bank, commented: “The exceptional times in which we find ourselves makes any analysis of short term movements in house prices more than challenging. Extreme demand, extreme stimulus and a dearth of supply have created a unique scenario.”

“But if we look longer term, history shows us that the housing market has a long-term pattern of strength and resilience. While the ending of lockdown and the Stamp Duty Holiday will naturally lead to a slowdown in activity levels, a supply/demand imbalance and continued commitment to move from buyers will help to ride out any significant drop-off in activity.”

Freedom Day gives no cause for celebration for the FTSE 100

Liam Roche
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Freedom Day gives no cause for celebration for the FTSE 100

Freedom Day, 19 July, is finally here, but the UK stock market is not in a celebratory mood. The FTSE 100 is down by 1.94% during the morning session 6,872.38, well below the 7,000 mark it worked so hard to get above earlier this year.

“There is no ticker tape parade, cheers from the rooftops or people dancing in the streets as Freedom Day finally comes,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Many of the stocks leading the UK stock market downwards are related to travel and leisure, suggesting that investors are extremely worried that we’ve lifted restrictions too soon and that another lockdown could be a month or two round the corner,” Mould added.

Covid is on the rise again and air travel firms, restaurants and other leisure companies may not get the positive summer period they have been crossing their fingers for. “The fact Cineworld is down 8%, Carnival falling 7% and Restaurant Group 4% implies that investors think the reopening trade is now a dud,” said Mould.

While many have been vaccinated, they are also finding out that the jab does not make them invincible, as cases begin to rise, or people are getting told to go into isolation.

“Pictures from UK airports would suggest some increase in flying but certainly nowhere near the levels one might have expected a few months ago. Then, everyone was talking about their big plans to celebrate once Freedom Day came around, and now it’s proved to be a damp squib.”

“The big concern for the market is whether we going to see a slowdown in the global economic recovery, and this could be the overriding force which results in a bad period for equities in the weeks ahead.”

FTSE 100 Top Movers

It’s never good news when only a handful for of companies are in the green. Today, on a dismal day for the FTSE 100, 3i Group, up 0.19%, is the only riser.

At the bottom end of the index out of the other 99 companies, Rolls-Royce (-4.25%), St James’s Place (-3.97%) and Glencore (-3.75%) are the top fallers on the FTSE 100.

Edison Group confirms senior appointments to drive technology and ESG expansion

Liam Roche
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0
Edison Group confirms senior appointments to drive technology and ESG expansion

Edison Group continues its expansion following a successful year

Edison Group, the international research and investor relations consultancy, confirmed on Monday that it has hired Paul Miller as CTO and Kelly Perry as head of ESG Client Services.

Paul Miller specialises in technology solutions, data management, e-commerce, and business process improvements, as well as founding a selling a number of companies. Miller has also consulted for and advised various companies undergoing technology transformations.

Miller’s role will involve overseeing the technology side of the company as it undergoes its own digital transformation, Edison said in a statement today.

Paul Miller, CTO, Edison Group, commented: “In today’s market, technology is at the cornerstone of any business. For a company like Edison, it is critical to ensure clients, readers, and other stakeholders are able to access the valuable market information they need in a timely manner, all the while making all the internal processes as efficient and smooth as possible.”

Kelly Perry joined Edison from the London Stock Exchange, where she focused on privates markets fundraising, in addition to being a member of WIN (Women inspired Network).

Before her time at the London Stock Exchange, Perry worked at Cowen and Company, leading Corporate Access across the US and Europe. She is also actively engaged with the CFA Institute ‘ESG Investing’ programme.

The appointment of Kelly Perry to head of ESG Client Services falls closely with Edison Group’s continued expansion and focus on its ESG offering.

In her role, Kelly will lead the firm’s efforts to commercialise ESG solutions and integrate them across existing Research and Investor Relations, Edison said in a statement on Monday.

Kelly Perry, Head of ESG Client Services, Edison Group said: “ESG is the fastest growing area of Capital Markets, with ESG funds on track to hold more assets under management than their non-ESG counterparts by 2025. Rapidly becoming one of the most important factors for companies when engaging with investors.”

“As scrutiny around ESG shows no sign of slowing, financial market participants will continue to hold sustainability at the centre of their decision making,” Perry added.

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