SMALL CAP MOVERS: Aim’s winning streak ends on a quiet week
Restored to trading, shares in Clean Power Hydrogen slumped 90 per cent this week, the reckoning for problems dating back to late May, when its hydrogen electrolyser failed during factory acceptance testing.
The damage was so severe the unit was deemed irreparable. A planned fundraiser was shelved and the contract subsequently terminated.
The company has now secured new investment of up to £7.5 million, but at a severe discount. New shares were issued at 1.5p each, a massive haircut given the stock traded at 13.6p before the suspension.
The capital injection came with a boardroom reshuffle as Clean Power pivots to a capital-light model focused on licensing its proprietary membrane-free electrolyser technology. Whatever that means.
In all, a chastening experience for all involved. One tiny glimmer: management is working with insurers to assess the claim and a potential interim payment.
The Aim All-Share’s winning streak came to an end this week after a dull week for small-cap news
Winning streak ends on a quiet week
Turning to the wider market, the AIM All-Share’s two-week winning streak came to an end. It fell 1.6 per cent to 765.13 on what, frankly, was a dull week for small-cap news. The FTSE 100 kept it company on the way down, off 1.8 per cent.
There was another flurry of fundraisers before the City packs its bags for the traditional summer lull.
The mark-downs were in some cases brutal (and mathematically symmetric, funnily enough). The theory goes that a short, sharp shock to the share price buys longer-term value creation. The theory doesn’t always hold.
Fundraisers come thick and fast
By far the most ambitious round came from EnSilica, which designs chips for the satellite communications, industrial and healthcare industries.
It raised about £14 million through an oversubscribed placing and subscription, giving it fresh firepower to accelerate new products, projects and a growing contract pipeline. The shares ended the week a modest 3 per cent lower. As these things go, a result.
Phoenix Copper, off 58 per cent, brought in £2.1 million net to repay its short-term debt facility and fund process design engineering.
Quadrise, which is developing a green fuel additive for the shipping industry, launched a £2.4 million round as it pushes projects towards commercial supply.
The proceeds will support commercial marine trials with MSC and Cargill, including work towards a supply hub in Antwerp. There are also projects with OCP in Morocco, Valkor in Utah and industrial power opportunities in the Americas. Quite the itinerary. The stock fell 42 per cent.
GoldStone Resources bucked the trend, advancing 23 per cent after the gold miner secured £3.51 million from Persistence Gold Group, which takes a 20.96 per cent stake at 1p a share.
Investors welcomed the funding certainty. Proceeds will expand drilling at the Homase mine in Ghana, grow the resource base and bolster working capital. Persistence gains the right to nominate a director, with industry veteran Jeff Malaihollo expected to join the board.
Takeover talk sends Safestay soaring
Now, onto the risers proper. Safestay shot up 122 per cent after the hostel operator confirmed talks with Infill Capital Partners over a possible £41 million take-private offer. The approach may include a cash offer and an unlisted share alternative. Not bad for a bed for the night.
Victoria rose 25 per cent after the flooring group agreed a refinancing that cuts senior secured debt and preferred share liabilities by more than £300 million. The deal with Koch and noteholders removes near-term dilution risk, trims annual finance costs by £34 million and pushes maturities out to 2031. Trading, meanwhile, shows year-on-year revenue growth.
Insig AI added 20 per cent after chief executive Richard Bernstein proposed investing £250,000 at 15p a share, a premium to the market price. Nothing signals confidence like a CEO reaching for his own chequebook. The data analytics firm expects revenue to more than double to £1.65 million in financial year 2027, reaching operating profitability, and is weighing a NASDAQ dual listing.
IXICO delivers away from the limelight
And finally, IXICO is quietly getting on with it away from the limelight, with plenty of headroom if the broker’s price target proves correct. Shares in the neuroscience imaging specialist rose 8 per cent to 9.15p this week after it lifted revenue guidance for the year.
It now expects at least £8 million, up 22 per cent year-on-year and ahead of market expectations, having previously pointed to £7.5 million. The AI-driven contract research group credited contract extensions and a broadening client base.
Chief executive Bram Goorden said the performance validated a strategy launched in 2024. Broker Cavendish believes the new TechBio strategy can deliver high-margin, recurring revenues alongside the established imaging business.
Its price target is 26p, nearly three times the current share price.
For all the market’s breaking tech news, go to www.techdefused.com
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