Strong H1'23 results; forecasts upgraded

Equals Group (EQLS LN) - Interims justify rise in forecasts

What’s new: Equals Group has delivered outstanding interims, which have exceeded even the positive commentary at the Capital Markets Day in May and the trading update on 5 July. With trading “ahead of expectations”, we raise our 2023E revenue forecast by 7% to £95m and adj EBITDA forecast by 11% to £20m, as well as nudging up our forecasts for 2024E and 2025E.

Equals Group (EQLS LN) - Interim update & CMD summary

Equals’ interims trading update (5 July) and capital markets day "CMD" (17 May) remind investors that its revenues are growing faster than consensus expectations. Equals Solutions revenue is more than doubling yoy, driving gross profitability higher than consensus. This note summarises the CMD and trading update. When interims are released (12 September), we will raise our forecasts.

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 05 Jul 23

5th July 2023 @HybridanLLP Status of this Note and Disclaimer This document has been issued to you by Hybridan LLP for information purposes only and should not be construed in any circumstances as an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to buy any security or other financial instrument, nor shall it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract relating to such action. This document has no regard for the specific investment objectiv

Strong H1'23 trading update

LSE AIM - Market Screener (30 May 2023)

 The market capitalization of AIM stocks was £95.9bn as of 26 May 2023, down 3.7% since 14 April 2023. Among the top YTD winners, there were Celadon Pharmaceuticals (up 216.6%), Vast Resources (+325% YTD), B90 Holdings (+212.4%), Verditek (209.1%, MktCap £7.5mn), Star Phoenix Group (+175%), Inspecs Group (+166.3%). Among the bottom movers, were companies canceling admission to AIM: Applied Graphene Materials (-88%,), Circle Property (-93%, MktCap £1.2mn), Purplebricks Group (-93.1% on a possi

CMD - Broadening & deepening client relationships

NewRiver REIT+ (NRR, House Stock at 85p) - High quality earnings story – upgrade potential

Regional REIT - Dividend rebase pragmatic and sustainable

Regional REIT’s (RGL’s) post-pandemic recovery in new lettings paused in H123, as occupiers adopted a cautious ‘wait and see’ approach, although rents increased and the strong ‘return to the office’ supports RGL’s expectation that leasing will accelerate. With DPS lowered to match reduced income prospects, the shares have fallen sharply, maintaining a sector-high dividend yield. Including asset sales focused on low-income properties, our forecasts show the rebased dividend to be fully covered an

NextEnergy Solar Fund - H1/24 interim results and asset recycling update

NextEnergy Storage Fund now has 100 operational assets with a combined installed capacity of 933MW and exclusivity over, or ownership of the project rights for, most of its c£500m pipeline of domestic and international solar and energy storage assets. H1/24 performance was robust, with power generation in line with budget and the 36MW Whitecross solar farm energised. The first sale from the asset recycling programme has been completed post-period, with the proceeds being used to reduce short-ter

Henderson Far East Income - Cautious of continued volatility but value on offer

In our last review of Henderson Far East Income (HFEL) in July, Attractive yield despite modest dividend increase, we drew attention to the dividend increase from what is comfortably the highest yielding fund in the AIC Asia Pacific Equity Income sector. It was pleasing to see that in the company’s published full year results to the end of August, the dividends paid by the company were covered and that over £1m was added to the revenue reserves over this period. In this note we examine the drive

DSW Capital+ (DSW, House Stock at 51p) - H1 results –promising outlook

Fund Insight: JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (JGGI) - All-Weather Approach

Our new Fund Insight report series breaks down the strategies and performance of listed funds. This investment trust research is available to all readers.

Georgia Capital - NAV per share stable in local currency in Q222

Georgia Capital’s (GCAP’s) NAV per share in Georgian lari total return (TR) terms remained broadly stable in Q222 (a 0.2% increase) after absorbing the impact from lower public market multiples and higher discount rates in Q122 (when NAV per share declined by 16.5% in TR terms). Having said that, the continued appreciation of the Georgian lari against sterling (driven by the strong local economy) resulted in a solid 14.4% NAV TR in sterling terms in Q222 (-2.1% in H122). We also note that the sh

NewRiver REIT+ (NRR, House Stock at 87p) - H1 preview: resilient underlying growth

Personal Group Holdings - Solid interims

Personal Group’s interims show strong growth momentum, with revenue up by 34% and EBITDA increasing by 75%. Given strong new insurance sales have continued at the start of H2 and retention levels have remained robust, the group is confident in meeting full-year expectations. The balance sheet remains strong (H1 net cash of £22.6m) and confidence in the outlook is reflected in the 10% increase to the interim dividend. Overall, this is an encouraging set of results and underlines the resilience of

LIBERUM: Ramsdens Holdings* - Worth its weight in gold

LIBERUM: New Energy Nuggets: Hydrogen - the future is green

Taking the Upper Brand: Brands Sector Overview

The earliest dated brand has long been contested; the majority point to Kongō Gumi, a family run construction company that specialised in Buddhist temples in Japan; its documented record of ownership goes back to 578 AD. Like Kongō Gumi, several different brands have withstood the test of time, albeit without then same degree of longevity. The term brand originates from the 1500s and means "to burn" in Ancient Norse and was initially used to mark cattle for ownership. This practice can be consid

Hardman & Co Research: Real Estate Credit Investments (RECI) - Portfolio management to optimise risk/reward

In previous notes, we have reviewed why we believe RECI has procedures and practices that limit downside losses to help ensure the resilience of the NAV. In this note, we explore further how portfolio management helps optimise risk/reward with a dynamic approach to bond portfolio allocation, leverage, top 10 concentrations, geographical sectors, and duration. RECI’s portfolio is not a static, long-duration, totally illiquid book. It is actively managed to the latest market opportunities, with an

Double win! Gold and rare earth resources both upgraded

Cobra has reported upgrades to both the gold and rare earth element (REE) Mineral Resource Estimates (MRE) at its Wudinna multi-mineral project located in South Australia’s Gawler Craton. Cobra moves another step closer to demonstrating the commercial opportunity of this unique multi-mineral occurrence in a Tier 1 jurisdiction.

The Joy of Techs - Cavendish Technology quarterly sector note

£23.3bn in enterprise value has been returned to AIM technology shareholders over the past six years in the form of 51 public to private takeouts, including 10 in 2023 alone with the takeovers of Smoove* and Tribal announced in early October. With UK valuations appearing cheap and looking more attractive to potential acquirers, we take a moment to reflect on the trends of corporate and private equity bidders targeting AIM-listed technology companies going back to 2017, through the uncertainties