Semper Fortis Esports* recently announced its intention to IPO onto the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. Semper is a multi-operational Esports organisation focusing on gaming technology solutions, brand enhancement and high growth team infrastructures. The company plans to raise £2.5m to develop their three core areas of establishing an esports team, forming partnerships with brands for sponsorship and B2B consultancy services. The Board are highly experienced in sports and corporate deal making (Keith Harris, former Chairman of The Football League), technology and electronic gaming (Nolan Bushnell, founder of the pioneering company, Atari), esports and game tech (Kevin Soltani and Jassem Osseiran) and as FD Max Deeley. Target Admission Date of 26 April. Dispersion Holdings PLC, an investor in the high growth FinTech sector within the UK, the USA and Canada, has announced its intention to IPO on the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. The Board intends to deploy the majority of the Company’s cash resources in the acquisition of minority interests in a number of different, yet to be identified, companies in the broad FinTech sector, and to apply expertise to the business operations and strategic plans of these companies. Target Admission Date of 30 April. Darktrace plc. Intends to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (premium). Darktrace was founded in 2013 with a mission to fundamentally transform the ability of organisations to defend their most critical assets in the face of rising cyber threats. Darktrace is a world-leading provider of AI for the enterprise, with the first at-scale in-the-enterprise deployment of AI in cyber security Due early May, musicMagpie is a leader in re-commerce in the UK and US in the circular economy of consumer technology (including smartphones, tablets, consoles and personal computers), books and disc media (including CDs, DVDs and video games). Expected 28 April. Offer details TBA Wickes to demerge from Travis Perkins and list on the Main Market. Expected 28 April. Thor Explorations (TSXV:THX) seeking a secondary listing on AIM. The Company is targeting Admission during Q2 21. Segun Lawson, President & CEO, stated: “Thor Explorations has advanced significantly, in both project development and capitalisation since the acquisition of Segilola in 2016. This year, the Company is well positioned to achieve two major milestones with the commencement of gold production at Segilola in Nigeria and a maiden resource at Douta in Senegal, as well as continuing to progress our highly prospective Nigerian exploration portfolio on the Ilesha Schist belt.” PensionBee has confirmed its intention to float on the High Growth Segment of the Main Market of LSE. The online pension provider had approximately 130,000 Active Customers and £1.5bn of assets under administration as at 28 February 2021. The Offer will comprise new Shares raising gross proceeds of approximately £55m and existing Shares to be sold by certain existing small minority shareholders of up to £5m. None of the founders, directors or members of senior management of PensionBee are selling any existing Shares. Expected in April. Imperial X (AQSE:IMPP) to join the Main Market (standard). It is also proposed that on Admission to the Official List, the Company will change its name to Cloudbreak Discovery Plc. With effect from Admission, Imperial X will hold equity positions and royalties in a variety of projects in the natural resources sector across multiple jurisdictions, primarily in the Americas and Africa. The Company is proposing to raise up to £1.5m by way of placing of new Ordinary Shares to support further prospect acquisitions. Current Mkt cap £4.7m Expected April. Proposed move to AIM from the main market (standard) by Emmerson (EML.L) to provide Emmerson with access to a market and environment which is more suited, in the Board's view, to the Company's current size and strategy ahead of pivotal period for the Company with the commencement of mine construction at the Khemisset Potash Project expected by end of 2021. Follows recent award of Mining Licence granting Emmerson exclusive right to develop and mine the potash deposit and £5.5m raise to fund ongoing project development work. Due 27 April.
Companies: BOKU RBGP MUL WATR GFIN MKA TIDE MNO INX TUNE
Wickes to demerge from Travis Perkins and list on the Main Market. Expected 28 April. Advance Energy to complete an RTO on AIM indirectly acquiring up to 50% of Carnarvon Petroleum Timor which holds a 100 per cent. working interest and is the contractor under the Buffalo PSC, offshore Timor-Leste. Carnarvon Petroleum Timor is a subsidiary of ASX listed company, Carnarvon Petroleum Limited. The net proceeds of the Placing of approximately £20.01m (approximately US$27.51mm) will be used to fund the Acquisition. Due 19 April. NFT Investments plc is an investment company that specialises in non-fungible tokens (NFT). Has applied for admission to the Access segment of the AQSE Growth Market. No funds being raised. Due 16 April. Thor Explorations (TSXV:THX) seeking a secondary listing on AIM. The Company is targeting Admission during Q2 2021. Segun Lawson, President & CEO, stated: “Thor Explorations has advanced significantly, in both project development and capitalisation since the acquisition of Segilola in 2016. This year, the Company is well positioned to achieve two major milestones with the commencement of gold production at Segilola in Nigeria and a maiden resource at Douta in Senegal, as well as continuing to progress our highly prospective Nigerian exploration portfolio on the Ilesha Schist belt.”
Companies: ROCK NTQ TRCS GROW BARK AFM SPSY ALT WATR BGO
Water Intelligence has released a very positive trading update for FY20 indicating profits will be ahead not only of our FY20 estimate, but 2021 as well. Strong execution in all areas has led to the group delivering consistent, robust growth and from 2018 to 2020 it has grown revenues by almost 50% while more than doubling both PBT and EPS. Water Intelligence continues to make great strides in the development of its water infrastructure services platform, both in the US and internationally, as it deploys technology-enabled services and reacquires franchises. The group has a vast addressable market and we see continued strong demand for its products, particularly as ESG concerns rise to the fore. We raise our PBT/EPS forecasts by +25% to $5.6m/26c ($4.4m/21c) and view these as conservative given the momentum across all areas of operations and the success of the group in driving margins at Corporate-Owned Operations. The group has $10m of firepower which we calculate could add a further +30% to our FY21 PBT/EPS estimates. We raise our target price to 630p (was 510p) and believe that after delivering a strong performance last year, the group is ideally placed to make further gains in 2021.
Companies: Water Intelligence plc
Today's FY20 update from WATR reflects an impressive beat to expectations and prompts us to upgrade our profit forecasts for the coming year by more than 30%. Once again, the business has grown very strongly, by 17% (revenues) and 78% (statutory profits); and growth was across the board, albeit with star turns from Franchisee-Related (revenues +18%) and Corporate (+21%). Beyond US domestic growth, international revenues were also strongly up. WATR is the only player in its space offering full coverage in the US national market, a big plus for its growing raft of insurance clients. It is an “essential service provider” which has proved able to assist its customer-base through a variety of Covid-related challenges. Strong results foreshadowed in this morning's update cap a period of excellent newsflow, notably: (1) 8% upgrades in Q3-20, (2) a successful <$US5m fund-raise in October, (3) further major insurance company wins and a swift succession of notable reacquisitions. Insurance is estimated to be a $US13bn addressable market, representing a huge additional opportunity for this company. Ahead of detailed numbers with the results, our fair value assessment now sits at 590p (550p), with significant further upside potential. As an LSE Green Economy Mark stock since last July, and a strong multinational distribution platform which is investing in growth, we see WATR as a very attractive opportunity.
Water Intelligence ("WI") has reacquired the American Leak Detection franchise in Seattle. The purchase is the largest franchise reacquisition to date and strategic in creating a North-western hub alongside Portland and a new greenfield territory in Vancouver. Seattle is an important centre for "green economy" technology. The Group's 2Q20 reacquisition of San Jose is in the centre of Silicon Valley which alongside Seattle reinforces the Group's access to new technologies that are relevant for leadership in the Green economy. The Seattle purchase caps an accretive streak following 4Q20 New Orleans and Florida purchases, creating significant momentum for accelerating growth in 2021. Our previous 600p scenario analysis was based on $20m deployed to reacquire $2.3m of PBT. We note that WI has put $8.8m to work and reacquired $1.4m of PBT since our initiation in 3Q20. Our current 2021E forecast does not reflect the upside from two national insurance account wins and three franchise reacquisitions. We will update our forecasts at WI's pre-close trading statement.
WATR has opened the New Year with its largest ever franchise reacquisition, building on an impressive 2020, which included six reacquisitions, two new insurance customers and a profit upgrade in Q3. We look forward to the year end trading update in the coming weeks, which will reinforce the growth trajectory of the group, despite Covid. The acquisition itself could add as much as $US0.8m to the bottom line in the coming twelve months from a business that generated $US2.7m of revenues pro forma in 2020. The headline revenue and pre-tax multiples for the deal are approximately 2x and 6.9x respectively, but we note that some of this is subject to clawback if targets are not met. This clearly is another major step forward for the Corporate Operated side of the business, differing in scale from many of WATR's previous reacquisitions, while also creating a meaningful platform within Corporate for further growth acceleration in a key geography (the North-West of the US).
It has been a year the likes of which we have never seen before, and hope never to see again. The description of the impact of the CV19 pandemic as K-shaped certainly feels accurate, with some sectors being well placed to benefit from the creative disruption that has engulfed the world, accelerating structural changes, while others through no fault of their own have been severely impacted. This has been the case for the Dowgate portfolio of corporate clients, with our quoted clients falling into three groups. The first, comprising Cambridge Cognition, GRC, The Panoply, S4 Capital and Water Intelligence have on average seen their share prices double this year as structural changes accelerated by CV19 have been accompanied by strong execution. The second, comprising Franchise Brands, OTAQ and SEEEN, have experienced share price declines averaging a third as their businesses have either been directly impacted by CV19 or their growth aspirations curtailed. The final group comprises those companies which have been bid for this year, namely Be Heard, Hunters Property, Huntsworth and Reach4Entertainment. Looking into 2021, we expect continued strong performance from the first group and a rebound in the second as the world returns to normal. Finally, having completed Series A/B rounds for a range of private companies this year, we hope to bring these entrepreneur-led, growth companies to market in 2021.
Companies: COG FRAN GRC OTAQ TPX SFOR SEEN WATR
One week on from its last franchise reacquision, Water Intelligence has this morning announced that of Melbourne, Florida, for $1.55m payable over a three year period. The business is reported to have generated pro forma 2020 revenue of c.$1.2m and profitability of $0.3m, implying an aracve 1.3x revenue and 5.2x pre-tax profit acquision mulples. The franchise management team is remaining, with the business expected to be earnings accreve and fuel further growth in FY 2021E and beyond, thereby having the potenal to enhance our exisng forecasts in due course. Importantly, the addion of this latest franchise will create a wider plaorm in Eastern Florida for Water intelligence where strong demand is being seen, linking its exisng corporate operaons of Orlando and Miami. In aggregate, these three territories are ancipated to have generated revenue of almost $5m in 2020 and are expected both to deliver faster growth in totality and operang efficiencies from the combinaon.
One week on from its last franchise reacquisition, Water Intelligence has this morning announced that of Melbourne, Florida, for $1.55m payable over a three year period. The business is reported to have generated pro forma 2020 revenue of c.$1.2m and profitability of $0.3m, implying an attractive 1.3x revenue and 5.2x pre-tax profit acquisition multiples. The franchise management team is remaining, with the business expected to be earnings accretive and fuel further growth in FY 2021E and beyond, thereby having the potential to enhance our existing forecasts in due course. Importantly, the addition of this latest franchise will create a wider platform in Eastern Florida for Water intelligence where strong demand is being seen, linking its existing corporate operations of Orlando and Miami. In aggregate, these three territories are anticipated to have generated revenue of almost $5m in 2020 and are expected both to deliver faster growth in totality and operating efficiencies from the combination.
Another day, another reacquisition from WATR. We note that this acquisition is expected to be earnings accretive and fuel further growth in 2021 and beyond, which should add to our existing forecasts in due course. This follows on from the recent fundraise, designed to accelerate this growth even further with $20m of available capital, and the strong Q3 update published in October. The reacquisition of the Louisiana franchise for $US1.77m shows this capital being put to good use and takes the quantum of reacquisitions in the year to six, a very impressive number. The new reacquisition is positive across several dimensions, notably (1) bringing both the Louisiana State capital and its largest city within the Corporate division, (2) with a modest 5.9x pre-tax profit price, the deal is earnings enhancing, (3) the existing (and successful) team is to remain in place. Generating $US1.1m of sales in 2019 and $US0.3m of profits, the acquired business is expected to exceed this in the current year despite the challenges 2020 has brought to the great majority of businesses.
Water Intelligence has entered into an agreement to reacquire the American Leak Detection ("ALD") franchise that encompasses the cities of Baton Rouge (0.8m population) and New Orleans (1.2m) in Louisiana. The reacquisition should enable ALD to form a strategic operational centre in the southern part of the United States from which to support the growth of other franchise and corporate locations. The reacquisition of Louisiana follows two insurance channel wins in October that should feed organic growth for both franchisee's and corporate locations. Despite the disruptions of Covid-19, the Group continues to grow strongly at both top and bottom-lines. The Group's ALD is an 'essential service provider' and provides consumers with solutions to water infrastructure issues as they 'shelter in place'. Water Intelligence has been on a growth drive in 2020 and raised capital (both equity and debt) to fuel future growth, The reacquisition of Louisiana is the first use of this capital and lead to strong future earnings growth.
Another insurance win, announced by WATR this morning, underlines the national presence of its subsidiary American Leak Detection, which has helped to make it the go-to player for providing pinpoint services at once identifying water leaks and minimizing damage claims across the whole of the United States. The new client is a major insurance company, the second in two weeks, third in H2-20 and the sixth in the three years since the company effectively entered the space as part of management's long-term growth strategy. WATR has been growing fast, generating 30% CAGR in recent years, and the insurance channel has been a notable component of this growth, at over 30% in each of the past five years. These wins, combined with the Company's recent fund-raise, reinforce this trajectory, even from a larger base.
Water Intelligence ("WI") has announced a new national contract with a leading insurance company in the United States. The new win is the third in H2 and confirms the growing recognition among major US insurance companies that WI is a trusted national partner to minimise water-related claims. The Group's two October wins will further accelerate growth from the B2B channel. The latest win is the sixth nationwide contract for American Leak Detection ("ALD") with a top US insurance company, reflecting ALD's position as the only nationwide pinpoint, minimally invasive leak detection specialist. Despite the disruptions posed by CV-19, WI has performed well in 2020E and this new win reinforces the Group's impressive growth trajectory. We maintain our Buy recommendation and believe shares could continue to rerate closer to 600p.
This morning's announcement of another insurance client win caps a week of excellent newsflow from WATR. Since the company entered this colossal ($US13bn-plus) sector, strong insurance-derived growth has been achieved in this area, helped by WATR's status as the only national player to provide pinpoint services identifying water leaks while minimizing damage claims. Beyond this morning's announcement, this has been a week to remember for WATR, with a strong Q3 update on Oct. 14th generating c.8% '20 /'21 profit upgrades followed by the news at the start of the week of a successful fundraise delivering just shy of $US5m which can be put to work generating growth for the company and its shareholders. As the fifth such win, this morning's announcement is a reminder of the very good traction the company has achieved with the US insurance majors. Our 550p fair value estimate includes the annuity-style earnings stream from the franchise businesses in a Sum of the Parts structure. We note the company's conclusion that demand is high for its solutions and also the fact that WATR is an “essential service provider” in the Covid context. Beyond this morning's encouraging news, we also note the recent award of the Green Economy Mark from LSE and the company's consistent track record of 30%+ CAGR in recent years.
WATR's Q3 update this morning highlights more good news around the business, including YTD double digit overall revenue growth and Franchise-Related, Corporate and International up by respectively 14%, 15% and 21%. Once again, this evidences the model very aptly, since these excellent growth rates reflect respectively WATR's innovative - and national – exploitation of the insurance channel, the strong growth of the company-operated stores which have been a big strategic feature of recent years, and lastly the growing global dimension of this business. As an “essential service provider”, WATR is well-placed to assist its customer-base through Covid-related challenges. We raise profit forecasts by a blended c.8% across ‘20/-'21, but we believe there is plenty more potential for upside here. In a $US13bn addressable market – just for the insurance opportunities - WATR remains the only national player; while in today's update the company highlights encouraging developments in a new growth area (“dirty” water diagnostics), which is also an area of interest in the context of the pandemic. We continue to see plenty more upside for this company which carries on delivering, raising our SOTP-based fair value assessment to 550p.
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RBG Holdings has reported good 2020 results albeit well-flagged through the recent trading update and company presentations. The Group's mix of business is well-aligned to current market conditions and although the stock has re-rated sharply in 2021, potential earnings upgrades this year and the acquisition of Memery Crystal could continue to see the stock move higher in our view.
Companies: RBG Holdings Plc
RBG Holdings FY20A results show revenues in line at £25.6m (vs. N1Se £25.5m, +0.3%) and Adj. EBITDA ahead at £7.5m (vs. N1Se £7.1m, +5.2%). Momentum has continued to build and so we make further FY21E organic upgrades of +8.0% revenue to £30.3m, +6.7% Adj. EBITDA to £10.0m, and release FY22E forecasts; £32.5m revenues, £11.6m Adj. EBITDA. Of greater significance, RBG has announced the acquisition of Memery Crystal Ltd (“MC”) for £30m consideration, which should close in May subject to SRA approval. MC is a London-based law firm and will sit alongside RBL. We expect this to be materially earnings enhancing (+19% FY22E) and will update forecasts upon completion. Rolling forward RBG’s 11x EV/EBITDA to our new FY22E forecasts would suggest an intrinsic value of 145p (excl. MC).
FY results to 31 December 2020 contain few surprises following the February update, with year-end cash of £47.9m and a higher than expected adjusted net loss of £14.0m (FC est £11.8m) due largely to fully expensed R&D. Focus turns to the imminent CE marking and launch of its AffiDX SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow test in May, following the recent clinical validation data. With this major de-risking event behind us and confirmation that GAD has manufactured batches at scale, we now look forward to commercial deals, given that Avacta is in active discussion with distributors in 25 EU markets. We remain very excited by the opportunities that exist in both businesses and reiterate our SOTP-based 310p target price.
Companies: Avacta Group PLC
Companies: KIBO MTW GWI MTR DUKE ITM GDR MSMN CMCL PTRO
The UK market showed a continued recovery in the first quarter albeit the indices are still well short of their all-time peaks, unlike many of their international peers. The FTSE 100 has risen by 1,186 points (21.4%) since the end of October and the FTSE 250 by 4,304 points (25.0%). The comparable performance since the start of the year is less spectacular- the FTSE 100 has risen by 253 points (3.9%) and the FTSE 250 has risen by 1,070 points (5.0%). The factors behind the sustained rally are familiar. The belief that the roll-out of the vaccine and some relaxation of lockdown limitations will lead to a significant economic recovery, compared to the collapse seen in the first half of 2020, due to lockdowns. Indeed, the recent economic picture is becoming more optimistic than previous expectations. According to the ONS, the economy grew a little more than initially estimated in Q4 last year. This means GDP for 2020 as a whole contracted by 9.8%, revised up marginally but still the worst contraction on record. Markets, in general, have focused upon the potential scope and extent of the recovery. The sectors and stocks that have outperformed have been seen as ‘recovery’ plays with a rotation from stocks seen as ‘lockdown’ winners into those set to benefit from the ‘unlocking of society’ and/or exposed to the consumer. We expect 2021 will continue to be a “stock-picker’s” market. The sharp increase in the household savings ratio in Q4 highlights the scope for a recovery driven by expenditure. As further lockdown limitations are lifted, evidence of this growth will help to underpin the more optimistic outlook for Q2 and beyond.
Companies: AMYT ARBB BPC BAG BVC BEG BONH BLVN BRSD CML CWK CRPR EYE ECHO FDM FAR FA/ GPH GSF HUW INSE JDG KAPE KP2 MACF MPAC MNZS NESF NBI OTMP OBD PREM QFI RUA SCS SEN SOS SUR TON TOU TXP TGL TCN UEM VLS WYN
We take significant encouragement from the Franchise Brands’ AGM statement which reveals that Q1 adjusted EBITDA was ahead 24% year on year (yoy) at a record £2m (Q1 2020: £1.6m). The strong start to the year serves to underpin the organic element of the Board’s financial growth strategy that seeks to achieve a revenue run-rate of £100m and adjusted EBITDA of £15m by the end of 2023. The promising start points to another year of strong earnings growth and cash generation which we expect to be reflected in an equally strong share price. We believe a fair value of c.200p is appropriate for such a well- managed growth company that is on target to deliver its 2023 objectives.
Companies: Franchise Brands plc
Franchise Brands has released a very encouraging AGM update which states that it has made a strong start to the year. In Q1 the group delivered record EBITDA of £2.0m, up +24% on last year with turnover returning to pre-CV19 levels in March despite the hospitality sector having not yet reopened. In addition to positive revenue momentum, Franchise Brands is benefiting from efficiency savings from the new ways of working established during lockdown as the group continues the digital transformation highlighted at the FY20 results. This strong start to the year firmly underpins our FY21 estimates and positions Franchise Brands to achieve the organic element of its strategic financial targets of £100m in run rate revenues and £15m EBITDA by the end of 2023. In addition, the group continues to seek opportunities to deploy c£20m of cash and available facilities. As detailed in our March note, achievement of the group's strategic financial targets would feed through to 2023 EPS of over 9p. We maintain our forecasts at this early stage of the year, though see clear scope to upgrade as we progress through 2021. We raise our target price to 185p (was 170p) and retain our Buy recommendation.
Another deal from RBGP’s CF division brings YTD completions to four, with today’s netting the Group a fee of £1.5m (£2.6m deal fees YTD). Our bullish view on 2021 M&A activity levels (set out here) continues to be substantiated, and a further eight deals are expected to complete in the short to medium term. As we learnt at the recent CMD, Convex has focused on building a portfolio of potential deals across multiple COVID-resilient sectors, with a strong pipeline beyond the near term. On current forecasts, RBGP trades on a 13.1x PER FY21E (9.4x EV/EBITDA). We leave forecasts unchanged and will look to revisit them once FY20 results are published on April 20th 2021.
Given the strength of the H2 trading commentary and ensuing earnings upgrades, it is not surprising that NFC shares have been very strong performers year to date (+52% versus FTSE All Share +9%). The references made at the final results to current trading remaining ahead of expectations has laid the ground for what is likely to be a very strong 2021. The group’s evolving mix of digital marketing and direct demand generation, coupled with the persistent strength of the core North American tech client base has seen the group exit the pandemic in rude health. Clearly, tail risks remain but NFC has more than demonstrated its ability to trade through. With the group now operating from a leaner physical footprint, the risks to earnings clearly lie on the upside. The shares are now trading at all time highs in absolute terms and currently stand at a FY22E PE multiple of 18.3x. This PE multiple still represents a discount to the immediate Media peer group but does represent a break-out from the historic 10x – 15x PE range that NFC has typically traded within. The key issue for investors will be the sustainability of current momentum and the implication for margins. In our view, NFC has always been a structural growth story independent of the macro cycle. We also see margins being driven by a combination of revenue mix and cost savings and see no reason why a low 20% EBIT margin cannot be achieved and maintained.
Companies: Next Fifteen Communications Group plc
The specialist drug development Company delivering targeted small molecule therapeutics to improve the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases today reported half yearly results for the six months to December 2020. Against a backdrop of modest losses, the period was one of significant progress for Sareum’s two selective TYK2/JAK1 programmes, namely SDC1801, targeting autoimmune diseases, and SDC-1802, targeting cancer. Today’s release reveals that for SDC-1801 pre-clinical studies have enabled Sareum to establish the doses to take it forward into the pivotal toxicology studies required for a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) submission. An Exploratory Clinical Trial Application is expected to be filed mid-year 2021 subject to successful completion of final toxicity and safety studies. Further Sareum has reported that initial results from the UKRI grant-backed project to investigate the therapeutic potential of SDC-1801 in severe phase Covid-19, have been encouraging and demonstrate that SDC-1801 reduces the levels of cytokines associated with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in human lung cells infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Companies: Sareum Holdings plc
Demand for digital content including apps, games and streaming media is rapidly expanding. Bango provides two key products - online payments and data monetisation - which benefit from this rising consumer spend on digital content, and from merchants wanting to increase their share of this spend through targeted advertising. The value of online payments Bango processes has been doubling every year. Data monetisation revenues are surging, and are expected to be the biggest driver of future growth. After 70% revenue growth and c.800% EBITDA growth in 2020, we expect continued strong growth in future years as well. We initiate with a BUY and a 260p Target Price.
Companies: Bango plc
Mattioli Woods (“MW”) has announced another strategic acquisition, hot on the heels of the Pole Arnold deal (13/4). Caledonia AM is an Edinburgh-based WM and the deal will strengthen the Groups’ existing WM offering in an underserved market. Caledonia AM has c.£55m AuA from c.150 clients, with FY20 revs of £0.45m and PBT of £0.18m. Consideration is £0.96m up front (£0.86m net) and £0.64m contingent. Accounting for profitability targets against the contingent; paying c.8x EV/EBITDA and expected to be accretive in the first full year post deal. MW’s 14.4x FY22e PER remains attractive, given quality and visibility.
Companies: Mattioli Woods plc
Biome Technologies (Biome), a leading bioplastics and radio frequency technology business has provided a trading update for the first quarter ended March 2021. The chief takeaways are, a year-on-year (yoy) increase in Bioplastics revenues of 18% and unchanged revenues within the cyclically weak RF Technologies division. Importantly, Biome’s revenues were in line with management expectations and in the Board’s view the Group’s performance remains in line with current market expectations. Our forecasts for FY2021 and 2022 remain unchanged as does our fair value target for the shares of 750p.
Companies: Biome Technologies PLC
Catena Group (CTNA.L) to complete reverse takeover and be renamed Insig AI and is acquiring the remaining shares of Insight Capital Partners. Insight, which is based in the UK, is a data science and machine learning solutions company that provides bespoke web-based applications, advanced analytical tools and modern technology infrastructure to make machine learning accessible to investment professionals. Insight has developed five products specifically aimed at accelerating an asset manager's data science and machine learning strategy. Capital to be raised on Admission approximately £6.1m. Mkt cap c. £66.4m. Due 10 May. Semper Fortis Esports* recently announced its intention to IPO onto the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. Semper is a multi-operational Esports organisation focusing on gaming technology solutions, brand enhancement and high growth team infrastructures. The company plans to raise £2.5m to develop their three core areas of establishing an esports team, forming partnerships with brands for sponsorship and B2B consultancy services. The Board are highly experienced in sports and corporate deal making (Keith Harris, former Chairman of The Football League), technology and electronic gaming (Nolan Bushnell, founder of the pioneering company, Atari), esports and game tech (Kevin Soltani and Jassem Osseiran) and as FD Max Deeley. Target Admission Date of 26 April. Emmerson EML.L moving from the Standard List to AIM, The Company's current market capitalisation is approximately £46m, based upon its share price at close of business on 24 March 2021 of 6 pence per Ordinary Share. Raising £5.5m on admission. Emmerson is a potash development company focused on the development of the Khemisset Potash Project located in Northern Morocco, approximately 90km from the capital city, Rabat, and the planned bulk port of Kenitra Atlantique and 175km from the port of Mohammedia. The Project has a JORC Resource Estimate (2019) of 537Mt @ 9.24% K2O and exploration potential with a development pathway targeting a low capital expenditure and high margin potash mine. Due 27 April. Dispersion Holdings PLC, an investor in the high growth FinTech sector within the UK, the USA and Canada, has announced its intention to IPO on the Access Segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. The Board intends to deploy the majority of the Company’s cash resources in the acquisition of minority interests in a number of different, yet to be identified, companies in the broad FinTech sector, and to apply expertise to the business operations and strategic plans of these companies. Target Admission Date of 30 April. Darktrace plc. Intends to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (premium). Darktrace was founded in 2013 with a mission to fundamentally transform the ability of organisations to defend their most critical assets in the face of rising cyber threats. Darktrace is a world-leading provider of AI for the enterprise, with the first at-scale in-the-enterprise deployment of AI in cyber security. Due early May. Wickes to demerge from Travis Perkins and list on the Main Market. Expected 28 April. Thor Explorations (TSXV:THX) seeking a secondary listing on AIM. The Company is targeting Admission during Q2 21. Segun Lawson, President & CEO, stated: “Thor Explorations has advanced significantly, in both project development and capitalisation since the acquisition of Segilola in 2016. This year, the Company is well positioned to achieve two major milestones with the commencement of gold production at Segilola in Nigeria and a maiden resource at Douta in Senegal, as well as continuing to progress our highly prospective Nigerian exploration portfolio on the Ilesha Schist belt.” Imperial X (AQSE:IMPP) to join the Main Market (standard). It is also proposed that on Admission to the Official List, the Company will change its name to Cloudbreak Discovery Plc. With effect from Admission, Imperial X will hold equity positions and royalties in a variety of projects in the natural resources sector across multiple jurisdictions, primarily in the Americas and Africa. The Company is proposing to raise up to £1.5m by way of placing of new Ordinary Shares to support further prospect acquisitions. Current Mkt cap £4.7m. Expected April.
Companies: SWG LOGP G4M SDG MTL GTC KWS ARK ANCR EME
In our Jan 21 initiation note ‘Time to be rerated’ we suggested that Time’s results for H1 to 30 Nov 20 showed that a recovery from a Covid-induced slump in good quality lending demand and spike in bad debt provisions was well underway. In a corporate update released today Time has confirmed ongoing momentum of that recovery. Forbearance levels have reduced from the Jun 20 pandemic peak of £25m to under £2.5m on 31 Mar 21, with total arrears now below the 28 Feb 20 pre-Covid level. This has contributed to net tangible assets rising to £28.5m on 31 Mar 21 (31 May 20: £26.5m; 30 Nov 20: £27.8m) and cash and equivalents rising to £6m (31 May 20: £1.5m; 30 Nov 20: £3m). The numbers are clearly moving in the right direction.
Companies: Time Finance plc
