RNS Hotlist October 14: Audioboom, Avacta, CleanTech, Corero, Helium One, Lexington, Physiomics, Pulsar, Roundhouse, Sunda, Thor Explorations
The Times: The International Monetary Fund has warned governments this morning against defying “bond vigilantes” by issuing more debt and raising public spending while borrowing costs continue to rise. The IMF told member countries at its annual meeting in Thailand to rein back on spending and borrowing as it forecasted that global debt interest costs are on course to grow from 2.3 per cent of GDP in 2021 to 3.7 per cent by 2031. More here. Speaking following the publication of the forecasts, Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, praised the UK for taking “decisive” measures to cut future spending and raise taxes, and urged the government to “stay the course” in its upcoming budget. Georgieva said the UK was one of the few large economies whose budget deficit was on course to fall sharply in the coming years, and warned that the likes of France and the US need to follow suit.
Comment: Being praised by the strange, Davos functionaries at the IMF is rather like receiving Dracula’s thumbs up regarding how one is running a blood bank. At the same time the Fund seems to be looking at the wrong country if it thinks the profligate spending on handouts that the UK is addicted to is a model to follow.
LSE: The London Stock Exchange today welcomes Roundhouse AI Ltd (RHAI) to AIM. Roundhouse is a Singapore-based technology company building neutral data, identity and reputation infrastructure for the autonomous AI agent economy. The Company's ordinary shares began trading on AIM at 8.00am on 13 October 2026 under the ticker RHAI (ISIN: SGXZ84721265). At the same time, its quotation on the Access segment of the AQSE Growth Market was cancelled. The shares had traded there under the ticker ETHL since 30 January 2026. AI agents are moving from answering questions to transacting, including initiating payments. The merchants, lenders, insurers, marketplaces and other AI agents they deal with will need a reliable way to judge whether an agent can be trusted. Roundhouse's answer is the Roundhouse Dashboard, which it launched at roundhouseai.io on 11 September 2026. The Dashboard observes and records agent-to-merchant activity built from x402 settlements and on-chain identities. It verifies which payments really were x402 settlements and, where it can, links the wallets on both sides to identities.
Comment: It was and is difficult not to have a good feeling about RHAI, both before and in the wake of the move from Aquis to AIM. The company is a genuine AI play, and one that has identified a specialist niche, which will be internationally scalable. Ideally it become central to the autonomous AI economy, like the Bloomberg analogy it has successfully promoted. The shares were up a fully deserved 20% at best from the 5p issue price yesterday.
Sunda Energy Plc (SNDA), the AIM-quoted exploration and appraisal company focused on gas assets in the Asia-Pacific region, is pleased to update that its application for an exploration permit within the offshore area of the Taranaki Basin on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island has now become exclusive. Sunda announced on 14 July 2026 that it had submitted an application under the New Zealand open market competitive process for a new petroleum exploration permit (“PEP”) in the Awakino area, offshore northern Taranaki Basin. The PEP application area, amounting to approximately 645 km2, contains the Awakino-1 and Awakino South-1/ST1 gas condensate field, originally discovered in 1985. In summary, the firm committed programme consists of technical studies of the existing well and field data and, within 36 months, reprocessing of 450 km2 of 3D seismic data. The programme is designed to delineate the gas field for possible future appraisal and development, along with the evaluation of the area’s exploration potential.
Comment: SNDA managed to impress the market in the summer with its NZ news, with the shares 3x in its wake. Now there has been a retracement it is to be hoped that the latest application will revive some of that sizzle.
CleanTech Lithium PLC (CTL) , an exploration and development company advancing sustainable lithium projects in Chile, announce the appointment of Gestión Ambiental Consultores (GAC) as the consultancy firm who will lead the preparation and processing of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for CleanTech Lithium’s flagship project, Laguna Verde. GAC has a high success rate in EIA approvals in Chile and has been awarded this contract based on its expertise in the Atacama region and impressive leadership team. Work is expected to start in the immediate future to capture seasonal baselines studies which will take a minimum of 12 months before being submitted to the authorities for review. Furthermore, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) position is maintained with Gordon Stein remaining as a non-board CFO. Mr Stein’s agreement with the Board has been extended to 31 December 2026. His role is primarily focused on the strategic partner process and the proposed dual-listing on the ASX.
Comment: 2026 was certainly a turnaround year for CTL, and one hopes that it will be the year that we finally get the dual listing to attract a wider and more enthusiastic shareholder base. In the meantime we have the pleasure of stock market stalwart Gordon Stein in place as a safe pair of hands CFO.
Helium One Global (HE1) , the primary helium explorer in Tanzania with a 50% working interest in the Galactica-Pegasus helium development project in Colorado, USA, announces that it has raised gross proceeds of £3,000,000 at 0.29p. The net cash raised from the Placing will be used: to fund the continued development of the Galactica-Pegasus Project in Colorado, USA; and for the payment of the annual mining licence fee on the southern Rukwa Helium Project.
Comment: It was perhaps somewhat surprising that shares of HE1 spiked in the run up to today’s placing, given that everyone and their mother would have known that one was overdue. The company has raised millions, and we are still waiting on the first proper sniff of gas in Rukwa. One would feel that further patience is required, and further cash due before not too long. Who knew there was an annual mining fee?
Avacta Therapeutics (AVCT) , a life sciences company developing innovative, targeted oncology drugs, today announces the Company will present the most recent data analysis from the ongoing Phase 1a trial of Faridoxorubicin (AVA6000) and the design of the FOCUS-01 trial of FAP-Exd (AVA6103) in two poster presentations at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2026 Congress, to be held in Madrid from October 23-27, 2026. A presentation on October 26, 2026 will include the progression-free survival (PFS) data in patients with salivary gland cancer (SGC) as well as FAPI-PET imaging data from this expansion cohort from the ongoing Phase 1a/1b trial of Faridoxorubicin (AVA6000) in patients with Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP)-positive solid tumors A second presentation featuring the design of the Phase 1 FOCUS-01 trial will include updated preclinical data on AVA6103.
Comment: AVCT’s long and winding road to curing cancer continues, as does its retail investor position as sacred cow. With its AVA this and AVA that one gets the feeling that we are getting nearing to the destination, even though as yet there is no guarantee that we will actually get there. At least the placing is out of the way…
The Smarter Web Company (SWC) today announces that, further to its announcements on 29 September 2026 and 12 October 2026, admission of the 211,112 Preferred Shares (being the 111,112 Preferred Shares issued pursuant to the IPO and the 100,000 Preferred Shares issued into the Preferred Shares ATM Facility) to listing on the non-equity shares and non-voting equity shares category of the Official List maintained by the FCA and to trading on the main market for listed securities of London Stock Exchange plc will take place today at 8.00 a.m. The Preferred Shares will trade under the ticker “MORE” and ISIN GB00C0HJ0D12. The first record date for the weekly Preferred Dividend is Friday 23 October 2026 and the expected timetable for the weekly Preferred Dividends was set out in the Company's announcement of 12 October 2026. The Company expects to announce each weekly Preferred Dividend ahead of the relevant record date.
Comment: Shares of SWC have effectively tripled in the recent past, in the wake of the move to Preferred Shares. It has been accepted as a stellar idea, and even more satisfyingly, all of a sudden the name calling, insults and general blogger bullying has gone away. While the shares have a long way to go to get back to last year’s dizzy heights in the Bitcoin Treasury boom, the tide has certainly been turned.
Pulsar Helium Inc. (PLSR), a primary helium company, announced that it has entered into an evaluation agreement with Lunar Helium-3 Mining, LLC ("LH3M") to evaluate LH3M's proprietary helium-3 separation, concentration, recovery and associated processing technology using data and helium samples from Pulsar's flagship Topaz Project in Minnesota, USA. The collaboration targets a potential new U.S. helium-3 supply source for quantum computing and national security applications. The objective is to assess the technical feasibility of recovering and concentrating helium-3 from Topaz gas, including technical compatibility, recovery performance, product purity, operating requirements, scale-up considerations and preliminary economics. The staged program may lead to discussion of a controlled pilot and, if the parties later enter into a separate definitive agreement, potential commercial deployment of LH3M's technology at Topaz.
Comment: Of course helium-3 is the prize nugget as far as the commodity is concerned, so it certainly makes sense that PLSR would like to kick the tyres in terms of what it is sitting on in this respect. Perhaps this update might also start to bring a little bounce back into the share price, which perhaps unfairly has been drifting of late.
Lexington Gold ( LEX), the gold exploration and development company with a high-quality portfolio of projects in South Africa and the United States, announced that the South African Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (“DMPR”) has granted the renewal applications in respect of two significant Prospecting Rights forming part of the Company’s Kroonstad Gold Project in the Free State Province of South Africa, following the successful conclusion of a longstanding appeals process. The successful appeals outcome represents a very important milestone for Lexington Gold, serving to secure approximately 26,275 hectares of tenure at Kroonstad at a time when the Company is materially advancing its technical evaluation of the project and progressing work towards the definition of a JORC (2012) compliant Exploration Target further to the recently expanded historical dataset which has grown by a factor of 9 times.
Comment: In theory the current fundamental backdrop should mean that companies like LEX are front and centre in the minds of investors. Instead, this company seems content to remain on the sidelines as far as profile, something which means the share price is not where it should be. Nevertheless, newsflow such as today’s may turn some heads in a positive way.
Physiomics plc (PYC), a leading mathematical modelling, data science and biostatistics company supporting the development of new therapeutics and personalised medicine solutions, is pleased to announce a new contract win valued at £119,000 for model-informed drug development modelling, incorporating pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modelling. The Company also announces that it has entered into non-binding heads of terms with a third party, whose identity is not being disclosed at this stage, to explore additional commercial opportunities for its personalised dosing software and associated intellectual property. Under the heads of terms, the parties will explore the marketing and commercialisation of the technology and its potential application in additional markets, including the wellness sector and potentially the United States. These opportunities remain exploratory: no specific application, commercial terms or revenue have been agreed, and any collaboration remains subject to the negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement.
Comment: We have become used to chirpy updates from the rebooted PYC, something which means that even though the contracts are in low 6 figures, they provide fundamental momentum for the company and its share price. The prospect of making it big across the pond is an additional welcome driver.
Thor Explorations Ltd. (THX) provided its third quarter 2026 interim operational update for the Segilola Gold Mine, located in Nigeria, and for the Company's mineral exploration properties located in Nigeria, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, for the three months to September 30, 2026 (the "Quarter" or "Q3")."We are pleased to report another solid quarter for Thor, despite the challenging operating conditions experienced at Segilola as a result of exceptionally heavy rainfall during the period. Our team has demonstrated considerable resilience in navigating these challenges, delivering gold production of 15,515 ounces and gold sales of 19,000 ounces, generating revenues of approximately US$81.7 million. I would like to commend our operational team for their continued dedication and commitment to maintaining safe and efficient operations throughout this challenging period. During the Quarter, we were pleased to release encouraging high grade drilling results from underneath the Segilola Pit from our ongoing deeper exploration drilling program.”
Comment: THX has been one of the best London listings of recent years, helped along of course by the spike in commodities. Just as impressive though has been the way that Segun Lawson and the team have managed to flourish in jurisdictions that for many other companies have been challenging to say the least. Now THX is effectively a cash machine, with further exploration likely to gild the lily yet further.
Audioboom (BOOM) , the leading global podcast company, provided a trading update for the quarter ended 30 September 2026. Financial and operating highlights: Record Q3 performance in all key financial metrics, including: Q3 revenue of US$23.8 million, up 17% on Q3 2025 (US$20.3 million). Q3 gross profit of US$5.6 million, up 30% on Q3 2025 (US$4.3 million). Q3 adjusted EBITDA of US$2.2 million, up 89% on Q3 2025 (US$1.2 million). BOOM “The powerful dynamics of our platform business model were on full show in Q3 2026. Revenue increased by 17%, driven by our strongest-ever content slate, record distribution and ad inventory. In turn, gross profit growth almost doubled that rate, up 30%, reflecting continued improvements to our podcaster revenue shares and a greater contribution from higher margin advertising products. Gross profit then geared strongly to adjusted EBITDA which was up 89%. The final stages of our integration of Adelicious into the Company generated ongoing cost synergies, holding our operating costs at approximately US$1.1 million per month. Our adjusted EBITDA margin of 9% for the quarter highlights the strong operational gearing inherent in the business.”
Comment: To be or not to be is an ongoing question. However, the question with BOOM is whether long standing shareholders such as myself are in a fairly valued stock, or overvalued unless there is M&A. As things stand the market seems content with around £5 a share, unless or until the company can 2x or 3x the numbers published today, we are stuck in recent share price ranges.
Corero (CNS), the distributed denial of service ("DDoS") protection specialists and champion of adaptive, real-time service availability, provides the following commercial update for the three months ended September 30, 2026 ("Q3 2026") and is pleased to report continued momentum, building on the strong channel performance delivered in H1 2026. Unaudited Third Quarter Highlights: Q3 2026 orders: up 50% to $11.1 million (Q3 2025: $7.4 million). YTD orders: up 28% to $25.4 million (YTD 2025: $19.9 million). Order Intake grew by 50% to $11.1 million in Q3 2026 (Q3 2025 $7.4 million) with strong demand driven by strong channel growth expanding Corero's geographic reach across North America, Western Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central America and Oceania and new Tier-1 telecommunications customers in the US and UK. Year-to-date order intake increased by a robust 28% to $25.4 million, from $19.9 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
Comment: Today’s update from CNS certainly refreshes the part’s other RNS’s can’t reach, something made all the more impressive given that there are probably only a dozen people (outside the company) in the country who undertstand was DDoS actually means. As well as the hockey stick jump in the numbers what also pleases is the widening of the geographical footprint.