(Alliance News) - Ahead of its upcoming IPO on AIM, Peel Hunt said it has raised GBP112 million in a placing of 49.1 million shares at 228 pence each.
Founded in 1989, Peel Hunt provides corporate broking and advisory research, sales and trading in London's small- and mid-cap stocks. It counts JD Sports as a corporate client.
Peel Hunt said that, based on the placing price, its market capitalisation upon admission will be GBP280 million. The IPO placing attracted strong support from "high quality" institutional investors and retail investors and was comfortably over-subscribed, it noted.
Peel Hunt said the IPO raised GBP40 million for company and GBP72 million for selling shareholders. The company will use its new funds to establish a European presence, while also investing in technology.
"We have been delighted with the positive reception to our IPO, with strong support from institutional investors, as well as retail investors who were able to participate through intermediaries using our REX technology platform," commented Chief Executive Officer Steven Fine. "This is testament to the high-quality business we have built over the past decade, which puts us in prime position to take advantage of numerous opportunities ahead and continue our strong growth momentum."
The broker will have 122.8 million shares in issue and a free float of 40%. Shares are expected to start trading next Wednesday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.2% at 7,066.34
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Hang Seng: down 1.0% at 24,271.47
Nikkei 225: closed up 2.1% at 30,248.81
DJIA: closed up 506.50 points, 1.5%, at 34,764.82
S&P 500: closed up 1.2% at 4,448.98
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 1.0% at 15,052.24
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EUR: firm at USD1.1740 (USD1.1735)
GBP: soft at USD1.3728 (USD1.3736)
USD: up at JPY110.50 (JPY110.18)
Gold: up at USD1,755.80 per ounce (USD1,748.28)
Oil (Brent): up at USD77.50 a barrel (USD75.94)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
1000 CEST Germany Ifo business climate index
1100 BST Ireland labour force survey
1000 EDT US new residential sales
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Seeking to dispel fears of financial turmoil, some Chinese banks are disclosing what they are owed by a property developer that is struggling under USD310 billion in debt, saying they can cope with a potential default. The announcements came as Evergrande promised to talk with some individual investors who bought its debt while creditors waited to see whether Beijing will intervene to oversee a restructuring to prevent financial disruptions. While ratings agencies say a default appears likely, economists say Beijing can prevent a credit crunch in China but wants to avoid bailing out Evergrande while it tries to force companies to reduce debt levels. One of Evergrande's biggest lenders, Zheshang Bank Co said it is owed CNY3.8 billion, about USD588 million, and has "sufficient collateral".
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Japan's private sector saw business activity decline in September, au Jibun Bank reported. The flash Japanese composite output index rose to 47.7 points in September from 45.5 points in August but remained below the 50.0 no-change mark to signal contraction. The flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index slipped into negative territory of 48.1 points in September, the first time in 2021, from a final reading of 51.0 points in August. au Jibun Bank highlighted that manufacturers reported increased upward pressure on producer prices, which rose at the highest rate in 13 years. Companies are suffering from supply shortages, raw material costs, transportation costs, and labour costs. The flash services business activity index rose to 47.4 points in September from a final reading of 42.9 points in August. Japanese private sector is still showing a "remarkable" decrease, au Jibun Bank said, as the number of new orders is "limited".
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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PEEL HUNT RAISES PHOENIX GROUP TO 'HOLD' ('REDUCE') - TARGET 690 PENCE
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CITIGROUP RAISES ULTRA ELECTRONICS PRICE TARGET TO 3,500 (2,200) PENCE - 'NEUTRAL'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Royal Dutch Shell said its subsidiaries have completed the sale of upstream assets in Egypt's Western Desert to subsidiaries of Cheiron Petroleum and Cairn Energy. Capricorn Egypt, a wholly owned subsidiary of FTSE 250-listed Cairn, acquired 50% of the assets from Shell Egypt and Shell Austria, with the remaining 50% acquired by Cheiron subsidiaries. The transaction was agreed for a base consideration of USD646 million and additional payments of up to USD280 million between 2021 and 2024, contingent on the oil price and the results of further exploration. With this transaction, Shell said it is refocusing its business in Egypt on its existing infrastructure position in the West Delta Deep Marine, the Harmattan Deep project and exploration acreage in the new seven blocks in the Nile Delta, Midstream and Downstream. Meanwhile, Cairn said the gas-weighted portfolio, in a region with strong demand growth, offers low cost production, near-term development, owned infrastructure and significant exploration potential.
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AstraZeneca said that the PROpel phase three trial for Lynparza has achieved its primary endpoint of radiographic progression-free survival in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, compared to standard-of-care abiraterone. PROpel is a randomised, double-blind, multi-centre phase three trial testing the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of Lynparza against placebo when given in addition to abiraterone in men with mCRPC. Interim analysis by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee concluded that the trial met the primary endpoint in men who had not received treatment in the first-line setting including new hormonal agents or chemotherapy. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker also noted that the trial showed a trend towards improved overall survival; however as the data is still immature, the trial will continue to assess the factor as a key secondary endpoint.
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Oxford Nanopore Technologies is targeting a valuation of GBP3.8 billion in its initial public offering in London next month, Bloomberg reported. The company plans to raise GBP350 million from new shares in the IPO, the report said, citing terms seen by Bloomberg. That's up from the GBP300 million the company said it would raise in its intention to float published on Thursday last week. In addition, existing investors will sell up to GBP126 million of shares. The shares will be marketed at 375 pence to 450p each until Thursday next week, and start trading on the Friday, Bloomberg said. The GBP3.8 billion valuation would be about 53% higher than the GBP2.48 billion Oxford Nanopore achieved in a funding round in May.
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Tortilla Mexican Grill said it is targeting an IPO on AIM on or around October 8 with Liberum acting as a nominated advisor. Tortilla says it is the "largest and most successful" fast-casual Mexican restaurant in the UK and its brand is "synonymous with an energetic, vibrant culture". Tortilla specialises in the sale of freshly made Californian-inspired Mexican cuisine. It has 62 sites across the world, with 50 sites in the UK - two of which are franchised to FTSE 250-listed SSP Group. CEO Richard Morris said: "Since its launch in 2007, Tortilla has established a long-term track record of strong financial performance driven by considered expansion of the property portfolio and like-for-like growth. "The business has shown itself to be extraordinarily well positioned throughout the pandemic, as the Tortilla product proposition is well-suited to the growing delivery market and we have proved the brand's flexibility to operate across a range of locations and formats, including smaller sites and cloud kitchens."
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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Shanghai-based online travel booking platform Trip.com said business has seen recovery in the China domestic market in the first half of 2021. Total net revenue grew to CNY10.00 billion - about USD1.55 billion - in the six months to June 30, up 27% from CNY7.89 billion reported for the first half of 2020. Trip.com said it swung to pretax income before expense and equity in income of affiliates of CNY1.26 billion from the CNY4.05 billion loss posted in the first half of 2020. Total net revenue for the second quarter of 2021 increased by 86% year-on-year to CNY5.89 billion from CNY3.16 billion, driven by the strong recovery momentum of the China domestic market. Quarter-on-quarter, revenue rose by 43% in the three months to June 30. Trip.com said both domestic hotel and air-ticket gross merchandise value more than doubled in the second quarter from a year before. Also, when compared with the same pre-Covid period in 2019, both domestic hotel and air ticketing reservations achieved double-digit growth in the second quarter.
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Friday's Shareholder Meetings
Accrol Group Holdings PLC - AGM
BH Macro Ltd - AGM
Eden Research PLC - GM
Fusion Antibodies PLC - AGM
In The Style Group PLC - AGM
MiLOC Group Ltd - AGM
SME Credit Realisation Fund Ltd - AGM
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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