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What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?** 

Ora Technology plc, a software company developing a digital carbon trading platform, offering users the ability to buy, sell and retire verified carbon credits in the voluntary carbon market, intends to join the AQSE Growth Market. Ora’s platform aims to allow access to carbon assets - and the broader carbon economy - with the goal of reducing the complexity of current industry practices, and an emphasis towards providing a simple and intuitive user experience. 

 

Praetura Growth VCT plc, a newly established VCT announces its intention to float on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company will provide growth funding to scalable businesses predominantly based in the North of England, across a range of sectors including technology and healthcare. The Company will be managed by Praetura Ventures Limited, a venture capital and EIS business associated with the wider Praetura Group, a Manchester based venture capital investor and small business lender. The Company is targeting to raise £10m at 1 pence per share, via an offer for subscription. The Directors will have the option to utilise an over-allotment facility that will allow the Company to issue a further 10m Ordinary Shares under the Offer. 

 

CAB Payments Holdings Limited a market lender to business to business (B2B) cross-border payments and foreign exchange, specialising in emerging markets intends to join the Premium Segment of the Main Market. The Group announced revenues of £41.3m for the three months ended 31 March 2023 with the YTD adjusted EBITDA margin at 64%. The Offer is expected to comprise a secondary sell-down of existing ordinary shares by Merlin Midco Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Helios Investors III, L.P. and Helios Investors III (A), L.P.) It is rumoured to be valued at between £800m and £1bn with Admission currently expected to occur in July 2023

 

Banquet Buffet*** 

Accsys Technologies 79.6p  £174.6m (AXS.L) 

The chemical technology company focused on acetylation of wood announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2023. Revenue increased 34% to EUR162.0m, driven by continuing product demand, higher average sales prices and implementation of Energy Price Premium (EPP). Gross profit margin increased 4% to 34%, remaining above target level of 30%. Underlying EBITDA was EUR22.9m, an increase of 120% and ahead of previous market guidance. Underlying profit before tax increased by EUR9.7m to EUR11.0m and the Company reported a statutory loss before tax of EUR67.1m. Net debt increased by EUR16.9m to EUR44.1m due to the planned investment into Accoya USA (EUR29m), capex investments of EUR29.8m into the Arnhem reactor 4 and Tricoya Hull projects (partially offset by a placing in May 2022 which raised net proceeds of approximately EUR19.0m), the reduction in the NatWest loan (EUR9.4m) and EBITDA generation during the year. FY24 performance is inline with management expectations. 

 

ADM Energy* 0.48p  £1.8m (ADME.L) 

The natural resources investing company, announces its audited full year results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2022. Revenue decreased to £0.7m (2021: £1.8m). Operating costs reduced by 81% to £0.4m (2021: £1.9m) and Loss before after tax fell 16.5% to £2.1m (2021: £2.5m). As of 31 December 2022, the Group had cash and cash equivalents of £0.025m (2021 £0.3m). During the period, ADM appointed Stefan Olivier as CEO and Claudio Coltellini as Non-executive Director. Post period, ADM has invested in five oil leases through an acquisition of Blade Oil V, LLC for US$1,614,000. The focus of the acquisition is one lease in the Midway-Sunset Oilfield, one of the largest fields in the US. 

 

Arecor Therapeutics 240p  £73.5m (AREC.L) 

The biopharmaceutical group advancing today's therapies to enable healthier lives, announces that the European Patent Office has granted a key patent (EP3518892), protecting novel formulations of the Group's proprietary insulin products, AT278 and AT247. In addition, the China National Intellectual Property Administration has granted a further patent (CN110582285) protecting AT278 and AT247. The Group's intellectual property (IP) portfolio currently comprises 36 patent families, including >75 granted patents in Europe, the US and in other key territories, and provides protection for its key products. As part of this strategy, Arecor has robust IP that protects the novel compositions of AT278 and AT247 as well as their specific properties and methods of use until 2037. 

 

CML Microsystems 455p  £70.5m (CML.L) 

The developer of mixed-signal, RF and microwave semiconductors for global communications markets, announces its Full Year Results for the year ended 31 March 2023. Revenues increased by 22% to £20.64m (FY22: £16.96m). Profit before tax grew to £5.22m (FY22: £1.74m), which included the completion on the sale of the first parcel of excess land at Oval Park, yielding a £2.06m profit. Adjusted EBITDA increased 37% to £5.90m (FY22: £4.31m). The Group's cash position was at £22.6m with no debt (FY22: £25.04m). During the period, CML released 7 new products. The Company anticipates FY 24 is expected to be a further year of improvement, with growth in revenues and operational profitability. 

 

Coro Energy 0.24p  £6.9m (CORO.L) 

The South East Asian energy company with a natural gas and clean energy portfolio, announces that its application for the Philippines Department of Energy's Wind Energy Service Contract (WESC) in respect of an area of interest for the onshore Oslob Wind Power Project has now been approved and a WESC formally awarded. The Company will now proceed with the supply and install of a Met Mast. 

 

Eleco 78p  £64.9m (ELCO.L) 

The specialist software provider for the built environment, announces that it has acquired 100% of Buckinghamshire-based BestOutcome Limited, a profitable, high quality SaaS business and leading UK provider of simple, scalable Project Portfolio Management (PPM) software, for an initial consideration of £4.825m in cash (an adjusted initial value of £3.525m on a cash-and-debt-free equivalent). The transaction includes a potential deferred consideration of £0.5m subject to the BestOutcome management team attaining specific performance targets in 2023 and 2024. Total potential consideration to be £5.325m. The Acquisition will be exclusively financed by the Company's internal cash resources. The Board of Eleco anticipates that the Acquisition will enhance both annualised recurring revenue and earnings in the second half of the year ending 31 December 2023 and beyond. 

 

Evgen Pharma 3.3p  £9.1m (EVG.L) 

A clinical stage drug development company developing sulforaphane-based medicines, provides an update on the research partnership with Sapienza University of Rome, which has confirmed the radiosensitising effects of lead asset SFX-01 in-vivo in Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Previous data showed that SFX-01 was effective at reducing RMS tumour cell growth in-vitro, both as a single agent and in combination with radiotherapy where it was found to be synergistic. These positive effects have now also been confirmed in-vivo in a mouse xenograft model of RMS. The group investigated the effects of SFX-01 given orally on the growth of patient derived RMS tumour cells, in-vivo. SFX-01 was shown to be effective at reducing the growth of tumour masses given as a single agent dosed once daily orally. It was also given in combination with a radiotherapy regime where it was shown to act synergistically, resulting in a more positive outcome than would be expected by simply adding the two agents together. The data from both sets of studies will now be brought together for submission to a peer reviewed publication. 

 

Kefi Gold and Copper 0.57p  £26.9m (KEFI.L) 

The gold and copper exploration and development company with projects in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, announces the appointment of Dr Alistair Clark to the Company's Board as a Non-Executive Director effective from 1 July 2023.  Alistair is a graduate of Bradford University and obtained his PhD from Imperial College, London. He sits on the Board of trustees of the charity Television for the Environment and Venus Minerals UK, a copper explorer in Cyprus and has further held Senior Vice President and Senior Management positions at URS Dames & Moore. 

 

KRM22 44p  £15.7m (KRM.L) 

The technology and software company focused on risk management in capital markets, announces its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2022. Revenue increased 4.9% to £4.3m (2021: £4.1m), with 92% of total revenue generated from recurring contracts. Annualised Recurring Revenue increased by 26.3% to £4.8m (2021: £3.8m). KRM22 reported an operating loss of £2.6m (2021: Loss of £3.0m). In 2022 the Company signed 22 new contracts totalling £1.3m; 11 with new customers, including a Tier One bank, and 11 with existing customers for new products and extensions of existing products. 

 

Physiomics* 1.03p  £1.0m (PYC.L) 

The mathematical modelling company supporting oncology drug development and personalised medicine solutions, announces that it has completed a fundraise of £335k at 1 penny per share. The company is raising funds to carry out activities including: Further expansion and diversification of its client base; expansion of its consulting business into the adjacent area of pharmaceutical biostatistics services; and exploration of opportunities around its personalised oncology software offering. Dr Jim Millen (Executive Chairman and CEO) and Dr Christophe Chassagnole (COO) intend to participate in the Fundraise via direct subscriptions of £5k each at the Placing price. In addition, Physiomics announce that a retail offer to existing shareholders will be shortly launched via the Winterflood Retail Access Platform (WRAP), to raise up to a maximum of £150k at a price of 1 penny per share. 

 

* A corporate client of Hybridan LLP

** Arranged by most recent first

*** Alphabetically arranged

 

  

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