Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 18 April 24

18th April 2024 * A corporate client of Hybridan LLP ** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement *** Alphabetically arranged **** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced Dish of the day Admissions: Delistings: What’s baking in the oven? ** Potential**** Initial Public Offerings: Reverse Takeovers: Electric Guitar (ELEG.L) Concurrent with its Admission to trading on AIM, Electric Guitar is proposing to acquire the entire issued share capital of 3radical Limited for

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 14 September 23

14th September 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 ob

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 24 Apr 23

24th April 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 object

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 20 Feb 23

20 February 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 objec

Keystone Law - Trading Update - Ahead of Market Expectations

Keystone Law has announced a trading update indicating that the Group has performed well through the second half of the year and that like-for-like performance has returned to near pre-COVID levels. This results in the Group expecting to see results “comfortably ahead of current market expectations” for FY21 which we see as a strong message and reiterate our buy rating.

Keystone Law - FY21 Interim Results – Solid in market context

Keystone Law has reported good top line growth YoY for the first half albeit with PBT below last year. In the context of Covid-19 and lockdown in the UK, we see this as a solid performance. The stock has underperformed significantly in the past couple of months suggesting to us that market expectations were low heading into the results and the recommencement of the dividend should support better performance going forward.

Keystone Law

FY20 Results – Resilience for FY21

Cracking the WIP; a deep dive into sector fundamentals and trends

With 6 law firms now listed in the UK, and likely more to come, the listed legal model is gaining clear momentum, with significant outperformance against the broader market (sector index up c.25% against c.10% ASX Index, YTD). We publish a follow-on from our sector note published earlier this year; ‘Courting success: the future of listed legals’, exploring three separate areas; o The broader legal services market o Developments within the listed legal sector o A quantitative deep-dive into

Interim results; slight upgrades to FY20E

Keystone’s interim results, out last week, saw H1 revenues of £23.0m (up 15.3%), with Adj PBT of £2.7m (up 15.3%). Cash conversion remained strong at 90.3%, with net/gross cash (no debt) increasing to £6.4m. An interim dividend of 3.2p, and an 8p special dividend was declared. We nudge up FY20E revenues by c.1%, to £49.0m with a c.1.5% increase at Adj PBT level to £5.7m, albeit leave FY21E forecasts unchanged. At 35.2x FY20E (31.3x FY21E), we maintain our PT of 520p and Neutral recommendation.

Upgrades to forecasts, release of FY22E numbers

Following FY19A results last week, we upgrade FY20E and FY21E forecasts to reflect an increase in business momentum. We increase FY20E revenues by 3.0% to £48.6m, and adjusted PBT 6.7% to £5.6m. For FY21E we nudge up revenues by 1.3% albeit keep earnings broadly flat. Our newly released FY22E forecasts expect £62.3m of revenues and £7.2m Adj. PBT. We increase our PT to 520p from 460p (set by DCF) on updated forecasts, yet remain Neutral.

FY19 Results ahead of expectation

Keystone Law released FY19 results this morning, coming in ahead of forecasts with revenues of £42.7m (Arden £40.8m) and Adj. PBT of £5.1m (Arden £4.8m), despite having upgraded forecasts in January upon pre-close trading update. We highlight strong double-digit topline growth of 35.1%, outstripped by PBTA growth of 56.8% due to a one-off piece of work at higher margin and the operational gearing of the Keystone model. The shares travelled well into results, and trade on a relatively full-lookin

Upgrades to forecasts

We update our forecasts following Keystone Law’s trading update on Monday 21st January. The Company’s pre-close trading guided to reported profits comfortably ahead of current market expectations, and we model c.8% upgrades to FY19E Adjusted EPS as a result.

All rise!

The UK legal service sector looks intrinsically attractive to investors, with its inherent high added-value, resilient growth through all but the very worst of economic times and fragmented nature. Five companies representing about 1% of the huge UK legal sector are all we have seen so far on the UK stock market and this is clearly going to grow, as listed law firms drive home their advantages and expand. Their UK domestic focus has brought share prices under pressure which looks wrong given the

Elixirr - Outperforming competitors and the global Consulting market

Elixirr offers investors exposure to the long-term growth trends in the global Consulting market (including digitisation and the ongoing technology revolution, demand for innovation, efficiency and specialised expertise) all turbo charged by the group’s ‘challenger’ strategy driving market share gain from a low base. FY 2023 results showed the power of Elixirr’s differentiated model with revenue up +20% and adj. EPS up +22% in a market subdued by global uncertainty. With net cash of £18m, a posi

Morning Note – 22 April 2024

City of London Investment Group (CLIG LN) - 3Q IMS: return to growth

CLIG’s 3Q IMS reveals 5.5% rise in FuM in the first three months to March 2024 to US$10.1 billion. In the quarter performance added US$302m and group net inflows were US$224m.

Hardman & Co Insight: 2023 was an annus horribilis for Quoted UK Infrastructure and Renewable Energy

The focus of Hardman & Co Research is on the nine quoted Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and on the 22 Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs): the stocks analysed are all members of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). We are updating our publication of January 2023, assessing both the lacklustre share price performances during 2023 and the key issues, including interest rates, inflation and power prices. As a 31-strong group, its combined market capitalisation is no

LIBERUM: MindGym: Delivering on the controllables

SP Angel Morning View: Gold prices slide following profit taking as traders look to US data

Malvern International - Positive results confirm turnaround on track; cash-generative and a strong bid pipeline

A positive trading trajectory for MLVN has continued to emerge strongly in this morning's results, with FY23A revenues standing at £12.2m (FY22A: £6.3m / +79%) and £0.2m PBT profit as against a £1.1m PBT loss the year before (excluding a £94k fair value movement / loan write back). MLVN provides education services including (1) a range of university-related courses for overseas students, (2) adult ELT and (3) summer schools for juniors. MLVN's contract with the University of East London (UEL) st

hVIVO - FY 2023 results, revenue in-line, margin better, future is bright

hVIVO has delivered FY 2023A results in-line with the 30 January 2024 TU, with total customer revenues of £56m, growth of 16% versus 2022A. Other income related to tax credits added another £2.6m. 2024 revenue guidance of £62m has been reiterated, representing 11% growth over 2023A, and ahead of the £60m that we had previously forecast. The company has good visibility with the 2024 figure, with 90% already being covered by the existing orderbook (stands at £80m at the end of 2023), as well as in

The Hardman & Co Monthly: April 2024

Feature article: Steady as she goes, but could be better: A review of investment company liquidity since 2016 Liquidity is the lifeblood of equity markets. The measurement of liquid asset availability to a market or company is a way of gauging a market’s health. This article builds on our previous work, which analysed the liquidity data for non-financial trading companies, by applying the same analytical techniques to the investment companies (IC) space. We analyse liquidity for ICs as a whol

LIBERUM: The Liberum Leisure Digest: NLW increase - pricing power is key

LIBERUM: Science Group: The Science of shareholder value

Morning Note – 26 March 2024

Anexo Group (ANX LN) - Key Supreme Court Judgement: No cap on non-whiplash compensation

Key ruling sets out the ability to claim compensation for non-whiplash injuries alongside whiplash claims, without the quantum of damages being restricted by the Whiplash Injury Regulations, supporting the Group’s legal services division Bond Turner in pursing the optimal outcome for the claimants it represents.

Hardman & Co Insight - Asset managers had a poor 2022

Asset managers had a poor 2022: the S&P Composite 1500 Asset Management Index was down 22% and, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), worldwide mutual funds fell by 20%, from $76tr to $60tr. When bond and equity markets fall, the results are unlikely to be pretty: with revenues trending down and multiples contracting, there is a double whammy to contend with. So how do valuations shape up now, after a bullish start to the new year? The first chart is my favourite chart of asset m

Allenby Capital: Franchise Brands - Capital Markets Day

A well-attended and successful Capital Markets Day (CMD) was held yesterday with the theme being “unlocking the Group’s maximum potential and financial targets” with presentations by all Group companies and divisions. Financial targets for the Group have been set for the period from FY25 to FY27 which emphasises the growth that the Board believes the Group capable of achieving. We include these targets in our financial model with the proviso that at this early stage they are more indications of