TRADING UPDATES: Cordiant raises GBP200 million; Home REIT spends

(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on ...

Alliance News 25 January, 2022 | 7:12PM
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(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

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Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Ltd - investment firm focused on digital infrastructure assets - Raises GBP200 million from placing of 188.7 million shares at 106 pence each. "The net proceeds of the placing will be used to fully finance the acquisition of Emitel," Cordiant says. Emitel is a multi-asset digital infrastructure business based in Warsaw.

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Home REIT PLC - homeless accommodation investor - Deploys remaining GBP55.1 million from GBP350 million fundraise. Acquires 240 additional properties, located across England and providing 880 beds. Bring total portfolio to 7,953. "Each of the properties is immediately income producing and, following these transactions, the blended net initial yield of the company's portfolio is ahead of expectations," Home REIT says.

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Phoenix Spree Deutschland Ltd - Investor specialising in German residential real estate - Inks new EUR60 million loan facility, comprising a EUR45 million acquisition facility and EUR15 million capex facility. Matures in September 2026 and carries 1.15% over 3-month Euribor interest. In addition, refinances existing debt provided by Berliner Sparkasse. Says total value of loans which have been refinances stand at EUR49.7 million.

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Frontier IP Group PLC - London-based intellectual property commercialisation company - Sells 183,901 American depositary shares in portfolio firm Exscientia PLC to net USD4.0 million. Now owns 1.4 million shares in investee. "The directors of Frontier IP intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of ADSs in Exscientia for general working capital purposes and to provide further support to the group's existing portfolio companies," Frontier IP adds.

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Foresight Sustainable Forestry Co PLC - forestry investment trust, managed by private equity firm Foresight Group LLP - Agrees variation to deal to acquire seed assets portfolio Foresight Inheritance Tax Fund. Allocation of afforestation assets upped to 34% from 27%, closer to 40-50% target. Says Blackmead Forestry Ltd, which it has option to acquire, receives planning approval and confirmation of grant funding for Banc Farm.

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AIQ Ltd - Cayman Islands-based firm focused on acquiring and developing e-commerce sector businesses - Raises GBP500,000 through issue of unsecured convertible loan notes to three existing shareholders. One GBP250,000 note issued to Executive Director Li Chun Chung, who has 2.2% stake. Two GBP125,000 notes issued to Soon Beng Gee and Lee Ching Liang. Gee and Liang each own 18% stake in company. "The proceeds of the loan notes will be used for working capital purposes as well as widening the company's offer to new sectors," AIQ says.

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River & Mercantile Group PLC - London-based asset manager - Proposes sale of River & Mercantile LLC, its US Solutions arm, for minimum of USD8.6 million to Agilis Holding Co LLC. River has agreed to a GBP98.8 million takeover from AssetCo PLC. AssetCo's buy is contingent on River & Mercantile successfully selling its solutions business to Schroders PLC. A deal for the division was announced back in October, with Schroders set to pay GBP230 million.

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Atlantic Lithium Ltd - lithium-focused exploration company - Reports further results from drilling at Ewoyaa lithium project in Ghana. Says second highest metal content drill intersection returned to date. "Further infill drilling results continue to confirm grade and continuity across the Ewoyaa deposits," Atlantic Lithium says.

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IOG PLC - London-based gas and infrastructure operator with projects in the North Sea - Says Bacton onshore terminal "now 93% complete". Chief Executive Andrew Hockey says: "Although it is very frustrating that it has been slower than planned, we are making every effort with the terminal operator Perenco to facilitate the fastest possible resolution. An expanded team is working days and nights aiming to be ready for back-gassing in mid-February, with First Gas expected approximately a week later." Eyeing new location for drilling rig at Southwark asset. Says total phase 1 capital expenditure to exceed GBP305.5 million field development plan budget by between 20% to 25%. "As a prudent additional measure, the company also recently signed a EUR5 million working capital facility with a recognised international bank. Meanwhile, despite recent volatility, the UK NBP gas forward curve currently remains significantly above its long-term historical annual average," IOG says.

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Galantas Gold Corp - Northern Ireland-focused gold producer based in Toronto - Enters into USD1.1 million loan agreement with Ocean Partners UK Ltd. Loan is payable six moths from date of issue and bears 10% annual interest. "The loan is to be used for further development of the Omagh Gold project in Northern Ireland and working capital," Galantas says.

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Caspian Sunrise PLC - Kazakhstan-focused oil & gas exploration and production company - Reports inital output from Deep Well A8 at BNG area. Output on 2021 was 533,857 barrels at the average rate of 1,462 bopd. "Production for sale in January 2022 is expected to be approximately 65,000 barrels," Caspain adds.

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Trinity Exploration & Production PLC - oil exploration company focused on Trinidad & Tobago - Says fourth quarter output average 3,103 bopd, up from 3,018 in third quarter. Average for year is 3,069 bopd, in line with guidance provided at start of 2021.

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President Energy PLC - Leeds-based oil & gas company focused on Latin America - Says well DP-2001 at the Puesto Guardian, Argentina, has been successfully tested. Notes "oil to surface from the two expected formation intervals that are also flowing in other parts of the Dos Puntitas field". Well to place onstream in one week. Says further analysis of well DP-2003 logs suggest potential, including in deeper interval drilled below original depth. "Whilst it serves no purpose to speculate at this stage as the company only has electric and mud log analysis with petrophysical review, the workover rig currently finishing DP-2001 will be mobilised this coming week to DP-2003 to conduct flow tests. During that time the drilling rig will be temporarily laid down in an adjacent location in the field," President says. Adds there is a further well to drill at Puesto Guardian Concession.

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Artemis Resources Ltd - Perth-based miner with gold, copper and cobalt projects in Pilbara region of Western Australia - Raises GBP5 million from placing of 133.3 million shares at 3.75 pence each. Artemis on Monday announced plans to list on AIM on February 7.

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N4 Pharma PLC - Derby, England-based pharmaceutical company - Says studies conducted with Nanomerics to evaluate Nuvec show treatment "demonstrated a significant inhibition of tumour growth derived from a human cell line". As a result of promising findings, N4 begins work with Medicines Discovery Catapult to identify suitable loads to add to Nuvec to take to clinic.

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Intelligent Ultrasound Group PLC - Cardiff, Wales-based artificial intelligence ultrasound software firm - Signs extension to women's healthcare AI agreement with GE Healthcare, part of General Electric Co. "Although the terms of the agreement and the timings of the related product launch are undisclosed, this supplementary product line is expected to support the growth of the group's royalty revenues in the longer term," company says.

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Graft Polymer (UK) PLC - Slovenia-based polymer modification and drug delivery systems - Updates on ongoing commercial trials. Says some of 2021 numerous trials leading to commercial order requests. Company says: "It is expected that the number of orders will increase during 2022-2023, some leading to further partnerships and others moving into the next stage of the trial," Graft Polymer says. On patents, Graft notes request P-2021106347 approved in Russia and Slovenia. "The patent application, which relates to core technologies included in Graft Polymer's proprietary drug delivery system, focuses on smart nanostructured materials to deliver drugs to target sites with the aim of reducing dosage frequency and mitigate the side effects experienced with traditional therapies," Graft explains.

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Northcoders Group PLC - Manchester-based training programmes for software coding - Says underlying performance was in line with expectations in 2021. Non-underlying costs to be lower than forecast so reported results to top market expectations. Says revenue visibility for 2022 stands at just over GBP3 million. "As the national reach of Northcoders has expanded, the group's Apprenticeship division also delivered contracts across the breadth of England. An increasing number of large employers, such as online fashion retailer, Pretty Little Thing, and logistics company, Hermes, are seeing the benefit of engaging with Northcoders to deliver apprenticeship courses on their behalf. The group has also launched its new apprenticeship 'hire to train' programme which is proving to be very popular with both corporates and individuals alike," Northcoders says.

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Novacyt SA - Surrey-based biotechnology group focused on clinical diagnostics - Says revenue and Ebitda to be in line with expectations for 2021. "In 2021, we delivered a financial performance in line with expectations, excluding our ongoing dispute with the DHSC. This highlighted the agility of the company to rapidly respond to the changing marketplace for our products, with a noticeable increase in demand from the private market for Covid-19 testing in travel, sport, film, media, and workplace settings," CEO David Allmond says. Says underlying revenue meets guidance of "approximately GBP100 million". Underlying revenue for 2021 is GBP95.8 million, down from GBP277.2 million in 2020. Ebitda before exceptionals down to GBP36.0 million from GBP176.1 million.

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EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC - Cardiff-based diagnostics and central laboratory assay maker - Says performance in 2021 was "strong", with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ahead of market expectations. "Trading in EKF's core business in the final quarter continued to be robust and ongoing demand for sample collection kits and testing remained strong through to the end of the year. The group announces that core business revenues grew over 13% compared with the previous financial year," EKF says.

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tinyBuild Inc - video games publisher and developer - Says performance in second half of 2021 topped expectations, helped by contribution from new acquisitions topping forecasts. "Overall, FY 2021 saw a substantial easing of restrictions related to Covid-19, with expectations that video games sales may be negatively impacted. Conversely, tinyBuild performed strongly in the second half of 2021, both in terms of back catalogue and new titles," tinyBuild says. "Early indicators of positive consumer traction across the company's pipeline, including Hello Neighbor 2, are very encouraging and we look ahead to FY 2022 with confidence."

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Sopheon PLC - enterprise software provider - Expects 2021 revenue of USD34 million, up from USD30 million. Says revenue visibility for 2022 stands at USD23.4 million. Adjusted Ebitda for 2021 to top USD6 million, up from USD5.9 million in 2020.

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DSW Capital PLC - business advisory services provider - Adds to service line with two asset-based lenders. "Hazel Lomas and Martin Ellison have over 60 years' experience between them, during which time they have worked with most of the major names in the ABL industry," DSW says. "The focus of the business is to provide asset-based lenders with specialist due diligence and risk management services across multi-asset classes to support their lending decisions and ongoing support and advice to advisers, investors and their portfolio companies."

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Sivota PLC - investment vehicle focused on later-stage, Israeli technology-related sectors - Enters into deal to acquire majority stake in digital marketing engagement platform Apester. "Apester will be Sivota's first acquisition, and is closely aligned with Sivota's strategic principals. Sivota is keen to leverage Apester's existing assets whilst applying forward thinking leadership and insight in order to increase value for the company's investors over time," Sivota says. To receive 14.9 million preferred seed shares for USD12 million.

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By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
DSW Capital PLC Ordinary Shares 45.50 GBX -9.00 -
Intelligent Ultrasound Group PLC 8.34 GBX -4.69 -
Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Ord 64.01 GBX 0.02 -
Phoenix Spree Deutschland Ord 143.50 GBX 1.06 -
Sopheon PLC 915.00 -
AIQ Ltd 3.00 GBX 0.00 -
IOG PLC
TinyBuild Inc 6.36 GBX 6.00 -
N4 Pharma PLC 0.87 GBX 2.53 -
River and Mercantile Group PLC
Sivota PLC 20.00 GBX -38.46 -
Home REIT Ord 38.05 GBX -1.81 -
EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC 28.90 GBX 5.47 -
AssetCo PLC 32.22 GBX -2.36 -
Northcoders Group PLC 152.00 GBX -5.00 -
Caspian Sunrise PLC 2.88 GBX -4.17 -
Foresight Sustainable Forestry Ord 68.37 GBX -1.19 -
Frontier IP Group PLC 42.40 GBX -2.53 -
Atlantic Lithium Ltd 20.01 GBX -1.44 -
Graft Polymer (UK) PLC Ordinary Share 0.12 GBX -11.11 -
President Energy PLC 11.38 GBX -1.04 -
Trinity Exploration & Production PLC 39.62 GBX 0.31 -
Galantas Gold Corp 11.50 GBX -11.54 -
Novacyt SA 0.83 EUR 11.07 -

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