Morning Note – 5 April 2024

Emphasising precision fermentation and portfolio progress

Portfolio visit: Clean Food Group for sustainable palm oil

Agronomics - 2023 in review

With the publication of Agronomics’ FY23 (to June 2023) financial results, we provide an overview of the results and a review of calendar year 2023, detailing the investments and progress made during the year. Agronomics invested £19.5m (FY22A: £42.0m) through the fiscal year (FY23), leading four funding rounds into All G Foods, Clean Food Group, Liberation Labs and HydGene Renewables. We also note the regulatory developments in the US that saw two companies, UPSIDE Foods and Eat Just, achieve t

Continued successful portfolio deals

Cenkos: Agronomics Ltd -- US approval and updates

Agronomics has noted the approval of cultivated meat for sale in the US, which clearly represents a significant milestone for sector as a whole. Two companies, UPSIDE Foods and Eat Just have achieved the three regulatory milestones from the USDA and FDA to allow the sale of their cell-cultivated chicken to consumers in the US. We also note Agronomics' portfolio company, Good Dog Food's partnership with Pets at Home in the UK, aimed at providing cultivated meat-based dog food and a separate portf

Cenkos: Agronomics Ltd -- NAV update and GDF financing

Agronomics has provided a NAV update as of 31 March 2023 and announced a further investment in its portfolio company, Good Dog Food. The company's NAV per share at the end of March 23 stood at 16.14p, broadly in-line with the December 23 level of 16.37p and we note the new investment ($0.5m) in Wild Microbes, held at cost on the balance sheet, announced during the quarter. On 4 May 23, Agronomics announced the follow-on investment of £1m into Good Dog Food's (GDF) Seed financing round, which tri

Cenkos: Agronomics Ltd -- Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub

We note the UK government's recent investment in the cellular agriculture field. As announced earlier in April and funded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), £12m of investment will be made into a new research centre, the Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA). The new centre will run for seven years and be led by Professor Marianne Ellis, at the University of Bath. We believe this investment, by the UK government, demonstrates an increasing interest i

Agronomics - A unique offering in a rapidly developing sector

Agronomics (ANIC) invests in cellular agriculture companies. Since mid-2022 it has placed increasing emphasis on companies using precision fermentation technology or providing contract precision fermentation services, as these appear to have greater near-term commercial potential than cultivated meat and seafood. Agronomics’ NAV has risen almost 100% since the inception of the current strategy in April 2019, and looks set to increase further as the company’s portfolio holdings receive regulatory

Cenkos: Agronomics Ltd -- Precision fermenters

Agronomics has announced its $0.5m investment in Wild Microbes' $3.3m pre-seed financing round, invested in the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (“SAFE”). Wild Microbes is developing a catalogue of ‘next-generation' microbes for use in precision fermentation, with an initial focus on protein manufacturing. The company believes the current microbes used by the fermentation industry can be improved by identifying and genetically engineering new microbes, improving production efficiency

Cenkos: Agronomics Ltd -- Interim results

Agronomics has published its results for the six months to December 2022. During the period the company led two investment rounds into new businesses, both focused on fermentation technology. Additionally, the company co-led the seed investment of Liberation Labs, a precision fermentation contract manufacturer. During the period the company recognised £19.4m of unrealised gains on investments, driven strongly by the uplift in the valuation of Agronomics' founder stake in Liberation Labs. Agronom

Stable 4Q22

LIBERUM: Plus500: Strategic progress pays dividends

Tatton Asset Management (TAM LN) - Record net inflows

Tatton, the leading on-platform discretionary fund manager (DFM) and IFA support services Group has released a trading update ahead of its results to 31 March 2024, due on 18 June 2024.

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

Ondo InsurTech FY24 Trading Update

Ondo InsurTech has released a brief post-YE update revealing its good progress continued through 2H24 and consequently FY24 will be in line with market expectations.

BlackRock World Mining

BRWM’s managers: we see all the classic signs of high commodity prices...

NextEnergy Solar Fund - Attractive Refinancing

The refinancing of a £135m revolving credit facility and the extension of a similar £70m facility gives NESF firepower as development opportunities for new solar are especially attractive thanks to lower module prices in Europe. They give the fund key financial flexibility at a critical time as it pursues its capital recycling programme.

Morning Note – 18 April 2024

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

Foxtons Group (FOXT LN) - 1Q24 IMS shows real momentum

Foxtons Group plc first quarter revenue rose 9% to £35.7m (1Q23: £32.9m) with growth delivered across all business segments. Trading is in line with management's expectations.

Initial Equity Trading Comments - 19 February 2024

M Winkworth+ (WINK, House Stock at 163p) - Solid FY23A results, well placed to grow

Foxtons Group - FY24 underpinned by market share gains

Foxtons Group’s Q1 revenue grew by 9%, supported by growth in all three divisions as the strategic initiatives continue to gain significant momentum, driven by investment in staff, best-in-class bespoke IT and data platforms. This implies that Foxtons’ medium-term targets are now coming into focus. Market share is being gained in all divisions, which puts Foxtons in a good position as the sales market stabilises. We maintain our valuation of 132p/share and believe that if interest rates stabilis

Resilient FY24, confident long-term outlook

Vp’s full year update highlights sector-leading results, once again benefiting from the diversity of its end markets and the quality of its specialist businesses. With results expected to be broadly in line with expectations, we trim our FY24 PBT forecast by c.5% to £39.0m, a shade below the FY23 outturn (£40.2m). We consider this an impressively resilient performance set against a mixed market backdrop. Under new leadership, a strategic refresh is underway and management is confident in long

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 16/04/2024

16th 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

AUM up 30% in FY24, record flows, forecasts raised

AUM jumped £3.8bn or +30% in FY24, reaching £16.6bn on 31 Mar 24, 12% above our previous forecast of £14.7bn. Including 50%-owned 8AM Global, Assets Under Influence hit £17.6bn. Investment performance provided a tailwind, adding £1.5bn to AUM. But our key takeaway from Tatton’s hugely impressive last few years, is that it has designed and implemented a superior offering in platform-MPS with net flows consistently far higher than peers. That leadership looks even more pronounced in H2-24 with net