(Alliance News) - The burst of new listings in London since the start of 2021 looks set to continue, as two new companies started trading on AIM on Monday, another is set to debut on Friday, and two larger London floats are reportedly being prepared.
Kitwave, which delivers frozen and chilled food, and digital advertising services firm Dianomi debut on AIM on Monday with market capitalisations of GBP105.0 million and GBP82.0 million, respectively. Meanwhile, medical devices developer Belluscura will have a GBP51 million equity value when it starts trading on AIM on Friday.
On Friday last week, commodities trading services provider Marex Spectron confirmed its own plans to list on the London Main Market in mid-June. It is expected to have a valuation of between GBP500 million and GBP700 million.
Also on Friday, Electra Private Equity unveiled plans to demerge and list restaurant chain TGI Fridays on the London Main Market this year. Then its remaining portfolio business, Hotter Shoes, will listed on AIM by way of the reclassification of Electra so that it becomes the listing vehicle for the footwear retailer.
Even bigger deals are coming, though.
Furniture retailer Made.com is set in the coming week to announce plans for an initial public offering in London, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. The IPO will involve the sale of both new and existing shares and could value the Made at up to GBP1 billion, the newspaper said, citing "people briefed on the process".
Made was co-founded by Brent Hoberman and Li Ning, the FT said, with Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd and Partech Partners also as shareholders.
Still bigger, Neptune Energy is considering a London listing in an initial public offering that would value the oil & gas production company at between GBP5.5 billion and GBP7.0 billion, the Sunday Times reported.
A market capitalisation of that size would qualify Neptune for inclusion in the FTSE 100 index, the newspaper noted, and make the IPO the biggest in London since Deliveroo's debut in March. Deliveroo started with a GBP7.6 billion market cap, but this has since tumbled to GBP4.5 billion.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.3% at 7,035.67
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Hang Seng: down 0.3% at 28,370.28
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.2% at 28,364.61
DJIA: closed up 123.69 points, or 0.4%, at 34,207.84
S&P 500: closed down 3.26 points, or 0.1%, at 4,155.86
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 64.75 points, or 0.5%, at 13,470.99
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EUR: up at USD1.2192 (USD1.2186)
GBP: down at USD1.4152 (USD1.4169)
USD: down at JPY108.74 (JPY108.94)
GOLD: up at USD1,882.83 per ounce (USD1,875.10)
OIL (Brent): up at USD67.08 a barrel (USD66.64)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
Germany Whit Monday holiday. Financial markets closed.
1530 BST UK BoE Governor Bailey appears before Treasury Committee.
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European nations were demanding answers after Belarusian authorities dispatched a fighter jet to force a Ryanair flight to divert to Minsk, where a dissident journalist who was on board was then arrested. Ryanair Holdings said its plane was flying from Greece to Lithuania on Sunday when it was notified of "a potential security threat on board" by air traffic controllers in Belarus and told to divert to Minsk for an emergency landing. The airline said the plane landed safely in Belarusian capital and "nothing untoward was found" after passengers were offloaded and an inspection took place. But authorities at the airport used the opportunity to arrest Roman Protasevich, a Belarusian journalist and opposition activist, who was a passenger, according to state media and the rights group Viasna. The US demanded Protasevich be immediately released. The 27 EU leaders will discuss Belarus during a previously scheduled summit in Brussels on Monday, including the possibility of imposing sanctions on Minsk, a spokesperson for EU Council President Charles Michel said.
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This year must be a "turning point" for the UK's economic policy, a leading business group is urging. The Confederation of British Industry warned that failure to make bold changes will result in a return to "business as usual", with persistently low productivity and heightened social division that followed the 2008 financial crisis. The CBI published a "landmark" economic plan aimed at establishing a "competitive, dynamic and future-focused UK" following the shocks of Brexit and Covid-19.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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RBC CUTS ANTOFAGASTA PRICE TARGET TO 1,050 (1,400) PENCE - 'UNDERPERFORM'
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JPMORGAN RESUMES TULLOW OIL WITH 'NEUTRAL' - TARGET 46 PENCE
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JPMORGAN RAISES ROYAL MAIL PRICE TARGET TO 801 (685) PENCE - 'OVERWEIGHT'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Polymetal International said it has agreed USD400 million worth of sustainability-linked loans. The financing includes a four-year USD200 million from Russian lender Raiffeisenbank and a USD200 million revolving credit facility with Milan-based UniCredit. "The two loans significantly contribute to the company's portfolio of sustainability-linked and green financing which now amounts to USD680 million and comprises approximately 40% of total debt," the gold miner said. The interest on the loans will be linked to Polymetal's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, the company explained.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Movie house chain Cineworld reported a "strong" opening weekend in the UK. "This weekend's performance went beyond our expectations as customers were eager to return to the movies and enjoy the full movie experience, including the traditional popcorn which led to strong concession income," the cinema operator said. While outdoor hospitality was able to re-open in England on April 12, indoor entertainment, such as cinemas and museums, were only able to resume business on Monday last week. In the US, 97% of cinemas have resumed operations, Cineworld said. In its Rest of World region, Poland and Israel will be opening at the end of the coming week, and the company anticipates that most if its cinemas will be open by the end of the month.
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IT services provider Kainos reported a sharp jump in full-year revenue and hiked its dividend. Revenue for the financial year ended March 31 rose 31% to GBP234.7 million from GBP178.8 million, Kainos said. Digital Services revenue grew 32% and Workday Practice revenue grew by 30%. "We have delivered a very strong business performance, reflecting strong sector demand, the ongoing trust and support of our customers and the dedication of our people," said Kainos. Bookings rose 6%, and Kainos reported contracted backlog growth of 15%. It had period-end net cash of GBP80.9 million, nearly double the GBP40.8 million a year ago. Pretax profit for the year more than doubled to GBP50.3 million from GBP23.2 million. Kainos hiked its total dividend to 28.2 pence from just 3.5p in the 2020 financial year.
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Hilton Food Group reported a good start to the year as it continues to explore growth opportunities. Trading since January 4 has been in line with internal expectations, the food packing business said, following a strong start to the year with momentum continuing in a number of markets. It has made "good progress" in Europe, where demand for the firm's products has increased due to virus restrictions in most countries and home consumption continuing as a result. In Scandinavia, turnover has grown, though Sweden has been held back by a lack of availability of Swedish meat. In Central Europe, growth has been driven by red meat and fresh food, while Australia has continued to see "strong growth".
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Sheffield-based housebuilder MJ Gleeson said it expects its results for the financial year ending June 30 to be ahead of market expectations. "The strong demand for new homes has led to higher selling prices, which has more than offset recent increases in certain material costs, whilst demand for high-quality consented land from large and medium-sized housebuilders has returned to pre-Covid levels," the company said. It will issue a trading update on July 9.
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Monday's Shareholder Meetings
4D Pharma PLC - AGM
Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust PLC - GM re new share issuance programme
Blackbird PLC - AGM
CloudCall Group PLC - AGM
Energean PLC - AGM
Hilton Food Group PLC - AGM
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Tullow Oil (TLW)
Antofagasta (ANTO)
MJGleeson (GLE)
Kitwave (KITW)
Dianomi (DNM)