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(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:
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Finablr PLC - Abu Dhabi-based payments and foreign exchange provider - Notes FRP Advisory appointed special administrators of Xpress Money unit on February 11. This comes after Registrar of Companies, on January 11, gives company two months notice before it will be struck off the register and dissolved. Finablr said it is in process of resolving the queries raised by Companies House in relation to the striking notice.
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NetScientific PLC - London-based life sciences and sustainability, technology investment and commercialisation firm - Portfolio firm PDS Biotechnology Corp starts investigator-initiated trial, MC200710, for PDS0101. PDS Biotech Chief Medical Officer Lauren Wood says: "This upcoming trial not only broadens our addressable patient population of those affected by the increasing incidence of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, but also allows us to better understand the activity of PDS0101."
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Okyo Pharma Ltd - London-headquartered biotechnology company - Completes pre-investigational new drug meeting with the US Food & Drug Administration for the development plans for OK-101 to treat dry eye disease. "Both nonclinical and clinical development milestones were covered in the pre-IND meeting facilitated by Ora Inc, with the FDA providing guidance on the proposed phase 2 trial in DED patients. FDA concurred with Okyo's decision to designate co-primary efficacy endpoints covering both a sign and a symptom of dry disease in the clinical protocol of the trial," company says.
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Verici Dx PLC - Tennessee-based developer of clinical diagnostics for organ transplants - Completes analytical validation under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments requirements, for Clarava and Tuteva, which company says "meets comprehensive criteria for robust assay performance". Adds: "Analytical validation is an essential element of defining the performance characteristics and platform capabilities of in vitro diagnostic assays, including reproducibility, accuracy, limits of detection, and risk of interferences for any clinician wanting comprehensive data about the reliability of testing. Data collected during analytical validation is essential for the subsequent clinical interpretation of assay results."
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RBG Holdings PLC - London-based law firm - Subsidiary LionFish Litigation Finance Ltd agrees GBP20 million litigation investment arrangement with an unnamed "large alternative investment firm". "LionFish finances litigation matters being run by solicitors outside the group in return for a significant return on the outcome of those cases," company explains. As part of the deal, the unnamed partner will participate in all of LionFish's litigation investments, investing up to 75% in each of LionFish's investments across the portfolio over a two-year period. Company adds: "LionFish will be entitled to receive a significant share of the returns of the arrangement after a high single-digit return hurdle has been met, therefore providing significant additional potential returns to LionFish beyond its own investment."
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Heavitree Brewery PLC - tenanted and leased pub company based in Exeter, Devon - Pretax profit in year to October 31 rises to GBP1.1 million from GBP414,000 in same period year before. Annual revenue slips to GBP4.6 million from GBP5.0 million. Does not declare interim dividend but plans to review future dividend payments when trading does return to "some sort of normality". Company adds: "As in the previous year, the Board has remained determined to support and protect our tenants and leaseholders as best we can during the periods of lockdown and the periods of restricted trading by waiving and discounting rents as appropriate. Consequently, only three months of the year had rents collected at the full rate."
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Plaza Centers NV - property investor in India - Engages international law firm in London for advice over potential legal proceedings for Casa Radio project. Currently trying to sell Casa Radio project, in Romania, to AFI Europe NV.
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Light Science Technologies Holdings PLC - environment agriculture and technology and contract electronics manufacturing company - Confirms GBP503,000 grant from Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, as part of its Farming Initiative Pathway consortium for more sustainable and efficient plant growth in the UK agricultural sector, to develop the company's intelligent LED grow-lighting cloche product. Chief Executive Simon Deacon says: "We are delighted to have been selected for funding by Innovate UK, which is testament to the potential value of the cloche product in alleviating both these national issues and extending our routes to market. We look forward to keeping the market informed with developments as the company capitalises on its growing number of routes to market."
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Nexus Infrastructure PLC - Braintree, Essex-based gas, electricity, water, fibre networks and electrical vehicle charging infrastructure - Chair Richard Kilner says, at company's annual general meeting, that firm's "fundamental growth drivers for our business remain positive". Notes order book at GBP300 million and trading continues to be in line with the internal expectations. Kilner Adds: "We continue to drive significant growth from our multi-utilities and energy transition services delivered by TriConnex and eSmart Networks and the group's services remain in demand with order book growth across all three businesses. Although inflationary pressures persist with recent increases in labour, material and energy costs substantially above trend, we are managing them across our supply chain and customer base."
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Castillo Copper Ltd - Perth, Australia-based exploration company focused on copper across Australia and Zambia - Says shallow cobalt mineralisation zones identified at BHA project's East zone. Project is in New South Wales, Australia. Notes legacy assayed drill-hole data exceeds 70%, out of 6,182 drill-holes. "Pleasingly, this should enable work on potentially geologically modelling a JORC 2012 compliant mineral resource estimate focused on cobalt with the potential for base metal credits, to commence shortly," company says.
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Power Metal Resources PLC - London-based metal discoveries company with projects focused in Africa, Australia and North America - Expects Northern Territory government's Delegate for the Minister for Mining & Industry to "imminently" grant all Selta project mineral exploration licences EL 32737, EL 32738 and EL 32755. Selta is a rare earth element and uranium project located in the Northern Territory, Australia. Chief Executive Paul Johnson says: "Power Metal acquired the Selta Project to secure a strategic positioning in this highly prospective REE and uranium area in the Northern Territory of Australia. This acquisition looks very much to be in the right place and timely." Selta is held within URE Metals Ltd, an Australian private company and wholly owned subsidiary of First Development Resources Ltd which is planning to list in London in the second quarter of 2022. Power Metal currently holds a 96% interest in FDR.
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Caspian Sunrise PLC - Kazakhstan-focused oil & gas exploration and production company - Proposes debt conversion for its Oraziman family loan of about USD6.2 million. Will issue 139.7 million shares to convert the loan. Oraziman family stake in company increases to 48.4% from 45%. Chair Clive Carver says: "On completion of the debt conversion the group will be free of debt and therefore better placed to further develop the group's assets and to commence dividend payments."
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Bradda Head Lithium Ltd - North America-focused lithium development - Granted drilling permission to conduct geochemical testing of the brine at its Wilson Flat project in Nye County, Nevada. Notes Wilson Flat project consists of 13.6 square kilometres of federal mining claims. Granted permission by the US Bureau of Land Management to drill two holes, of 305 metres in depth each and about two kilometres apart. Chief Executive Charles FitzRoy "delighted" to have received the drill permits.
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Pantheon Resources PLC - London-based oil and gas company with a portfolio focused in Alaska - Confirms Theta West 1, in Alaska, well reaches total depth at 8,450 feet having drilled through both the upper basin floor fan, and the lower basin floor fan targets, which have encountered about 1,160 gross feet of hydrocarbon bearing reservoir across both horizons combined. "Data received so far indicates the reservoir quality is superior to Talitha A, with high quality light oil encountered across the entire section. The company is now preparing to set casing prior to flow testing within both horizons over the coming weeks," company says. Technical Director Bob Rosenthal says results "encouraging".
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Cornish Metals Inc - Vancouver-based mineral exploration company with projects focused in the UK and North America - Reaches agreement with Ferrers Vyvyan of Trelowarren in Cornwall to lease certain mineral rights owned by the Vyvyan family. The mineral lease covers an area of 222 hectares and is valid for 25 years. The lease will enable company to explore and mine within all the mineral right areas owned by the Vyvyan family inside the South Crofty underground permission area, and explore certain other mineral right areas adjacent to the South Crofty property.
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Starvest PLC - London-based early-stage mineral exploration investor - Net asset value per share ends September 30 at 24.4 pence versus 31.17p at same point year before. Trading portfolio value drops 21% year on year to GBP14.0 million from GBP17.8 million. "Greatland Gold PLC, which is by far our largest investment, remained one of our best-performing investments for a fourth consecutive year due to its outstanding Havieron gold-copper discovery in Australia," company says. Notes decline in portfolio value due to 7% drop in gold prices during period. Adds: "We believe that the long-term outlook for gold prices remains favourable and we remain committed to our strategy."
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Tullow Oil PLC - West Africa-focused oil and gas producer - Tribunal rules company has to pay HiTec Vision about USD76 million over arbitration of whether discoveries made in the PL-537 licence, offshore Norway, between 2013 and 2016 had triggered a further payment under the SPA between Tullow and HiTec regarding the purchase of Spring Energy in 2013. Tullow will pay the Award from its current cash balances.
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Mila Resources PLC - natural resources company - Starts drilling at the Kathleen Valley gold project in Western Australia. Notes initial drilling has confirmed "consistent, high-grade" mineralisation, including a 10 metre wide zone of mineralisation with multiple 10 grammes peer tonne gold and silver grades at the Coffey deposit, and company is now focussed on expanding this to define a sizeable gold-silver resource.
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Cobra Resources PLC - Wudinna gold project in South Australia - Plans share placing to raise up to GBP950,000, with a minimum of GBP800,000. Will issue up to 63.0 million shares at 1.5 pence each. Chair Greg Hancock says: "The funds being raised in the Placing will enable Cobra to activate a multi-pronged 2022 work programme that will focus on further expanding the rare earth element mineralisation footprint, as well as drilling priority gold and iron oxide copper gold targets. We have an exciting period ahead of us."
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Pure Gold Mining Inc - Vancouver, Canada-based gold miner - Raises CAD14.0 million, about USD8.1 million, from private placement of 26.4 million shares priced at CAD0.53. Proceeds will be used to complete the ramp up of operations to design capacity at its 100%-owned mine located in Red Lake, Ontario and for general corporate purposes.
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Altus Strategies PLC - Didcot, England-based mining royalty company - Intersects "significant" gold zone from reverse circulation drilling at the Lakanfla Central prospect on the Lakanfla licence. Notes Lakanfla forms part of its 100%-owned Diba & Lakanfla gold project in western Mali. Finds 1.23 grammes per tonne gold over 127 metres from 21 metres, which includes 2.53 grammes per tonne gold over 14 metres from 46 metres. Chief Executive Steven Poulton "delighted" with results.
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By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
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