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http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210030700117910N

Philip Kirkham, chief executive officer of Hardide Coatings said: "Hardide has enjoyed success with a mix of the leading international oilfield service companies and smaller, innovative downhole tool developers but the recruitment of Martin will take us to the next level in an industry where Hardide can offer operators and service companies significant cost savings through reduced downtime and extended tool and valve life." Martin Wainwright added: "The Hardide coating provides customers with a significant competitive advantage on parts that are deployed in severe service conditions where failure can be enormously expensive. I am excited to be concentrating on the oil and gas sector which is experiencing high levels of activity and is always receptive to new technologies that enhance performance and return on investment."

OIL AND GAS SALES GROWTH FUELS HARDIDE APPOINTMENT Surface engineering technology company Hardide Coatings Ltd, part of Hardide plc (AIM:HDD), has grown its turnover in the oil and gas sector by 40% in the last 12 months. The company has recently added one of the largest global providers of oilfield services and products to its customer list and is developing several new applications for five blue chip oilfield services companies. New orders have been secured from two downhole drilling tool manufacturers and an oil and gas valve manufacturer. Also, tests are underway with several smaller drilling-related companies. To develop further sales in this sector, the company has appointed a dedicated business development manager. Martin Wainwright has joined to increase sales of Hardide's patented, nano-structured, tungsten carbide component coatings to new and existing oil and gas customers worldwide. Martin brings a wide range of sales and business development experience gained in the oil and gas and other engineering industries. An apprentice-trained mechanical engineer, he is experienced in highly-technical process of selling of industrial surface coatings for use in extremely challenging environments. Most recently Martin was with CTW (Hardfacing) Ltd / Celcoat Ltd where he built a successful track record in identifying and selling into new markets worldwide. Previously, he held sales and technical positions with Mayflower Engineering, Star Precision and Devol Engineering.

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David Wither, Chief Executive Officer, Sarantel said: "We are delighted to confirm this first design win with Leica Camera AG in a very important developing market for GPS. Digital camera makers around the world are facing challenges in providing consumers with reliable GPS performance for geotagging applications which will enhance the user experience. We are pleased that our technology has been selected by Leica for this fantastic new product."

Jesko von Oeynhausen, Product Manager of M-System, Leica Camera AG said: "The Sarantel antenna solution enabled Leica to integrate robust and reliable GPS functionality into our innovative Multifunctional Handgrip M ensuring geotagging data is consistently available to photographers as they sort and display their images based on location."

Design win with Leica Camera AG Sarantel Group PLC, (AIM: SLG, "Sarantel"), a leading manufacturer of high-performance, miniature filtering antennas for mobile and wireless devices, announces that its SL1204 active GPS antenna has been selected by Leica Camera AG for the Multifunctional Handgrip M accessory to support Leica's M-System digital camera range. The Multifunctional Handgrip M adds GPS capability to the M-System range of cameras and allows photographers to save exposure location information in the Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) data, which is used for geotagging images and to sort and display images according to location. Integrating accurate GPS functionality for digital cameras can be a real technical challenge for camera manufacturers. Leica has used the Sarantel SL1204 antenna within its Multifunctional Handgrip M to overcome this, providing a reliable GPS solution in even the most challenging environments.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210030700137621N

The two firms behind Robinsons Barley Water and Scotland’s Irn-Bru will today say the Takeover Panel has extended the deadline for them to hatch their £1.4bn merger, the Daily Mail can reveal Glasgow-based AG Barr and Britvic requested more time for their accountants to authenticate the savings the tie-up would generate, and also agree on a name for the newly-combined firm. The regulator had given them until 5pm today to clinch a deal but it is now understood to have extended this by three weeks. It appears that while the pair had already managed to agree the make-up of the new board ahead of confirming they were in merger talks, they have not found consensus on a name. The two options being considered are Barr Britvic and Britvic Barr however neither party is willing to give ground

The two firms behind Robinsons Barley Water and Scotland’s Irn-Bru will today say the Takeover Panel has extended the deadline for them to hatch their £1.4bn merger, the Daily Mail can reveal Glasgow-based AG Barr and Britvic requested more time for their accountants to authenticate the savings the tie-up would generate, and also agree on a name for the newly-combined firm. The regulator had given them until 5pm today to clinch a deal but it is now understood to have extended this by three weeks. It appears that while the pair had already managed to agree the make-up of the new board ahead of confirming they were in merger talks, they have not found consensus on a name. The two options being considered are Barr Britvic and Britvic Barr however neither party is willing to give ground.

Shareholders in Bumi, the mining venture brought to London by Nat Rothschild, have said they are not prepared to put more money into his venture unless it can achieve a total change in strategy. Nonetheless, they could be asked for more cash within months after Bumi Resources, the Jakarta-listed company in which Bumi plc owns a 29% stake, said that it was considering launching a rights issue to tackle its ballooning debt problems. Bumi Resources, which is at the centre of a corruption investigation launched by Bumi plc, said that it might need to tap shareholders if it could not raise enough by selling non-core assets. It needs to make a sizeable dent in a debt of more than $4bn that analysts say could bankrupt it. A source said that Bumi shareholders in London were “fed up” after losing 84% of their money since buying into Bumi’s float 14 months ago, The Times says.

AstraZeneca’s new chief executive, Pascal Soriot, replaced David Brennan, who departed during the shareholder spring. Mr Brennan’s strategy was to boost returns to shareholders via buy-backs and high dividends while the group’s scientists innovated to find the next blockbuster drug. However, we are still awaiting the next mega-treatment. The level of cash return under Mr Brennan’s tenure is unsustainable unless the pipeline can be replenished. There is no suggestion that the dividend is at risk, as the 6.1% yield really is the major attraction of the shares at the moment, so most analysts concur that the dividend looks safe. AstraZeneca shareholders should continue to hold the shares ahead of the group’s strategy update, which is expected alongside its full-year results at the end of January. New investors should await developments, despite the chunky yield. We need to see how Mr Soriot plans to halt the profit decline before taking a view. Trading on a current year earnings multiple of 7.8, which rises to 8 next year because of the expected profit decline, Questor says hold.

Another tip from Tempus is Workspace Group, which has closed its debut retail bond, raising £57.5m, over the £50m it was aiming for. It says, the company, which provides office space for small businesses in London, having diversified its sources of funding, is a decent punt on the strength of the London economy.

The Times Tempus column tips St Ives Group, which has moved from the low margin, commoditised world of printing glossy annual reports and magazines. Its print division now produces books and marketing material, such as point of sale displays and posters. This combines well with its second and growing business in marketing services, which helps clients to win and retain customers and analyse data. The marketing services division accounts for only 14% of revenue but that is up threefold on last year. Numis believes it will account for half its revenues in three years. On a PE of 5 it will reward investors who take the time to understand this business

Jean-Pierre Aubin, Executive Managing Director, Global Head of Listed Products and General Manager of Continental Europe at BGC Partners said: "As a leading global brokerage company, BGC Partners requires flexible multi-brokerage, multi-client, multi-exchange connectivity matched by fast and efficient execution. We believe FFastFill's cost efficient, low latency execution platform offers a compelling value proposition and we recognised clear advantages to extending our commercial relationship with FFastFill."

Hamish Purdey, Chief Executive, FFastFill said: "FFastFill is delighted to have achieved this contract to work with BGC Partners on a global basis. This deal is a validation of the quality of the FFastFill execution capabilities. Horizon provides unrivalled flexibility between institutions, brokers and their clients, enabling BGC's fast and cost-efficient business development and execution and the FFastFill team is looking forward to working with BGC to ensure swift global deployment."

FFastFill plc FFastFill offers its global deployment services to BGC Partners, Inc FFastFill plc (LSE: FFA), the leading provider of Software as a Service ("SaaS") to the global derivates community, is pleased to announce an extension of its contract with BGC Partners ("BGC") to include the global deployment of FFastFill's execution platform, which incorporates the Horizon Multi-Broker Network, across BGC's current international brokerage offices. The deal extends FFastFill's role within BGC Partners from an initial presence in selected locations to full worldwide market presence. Effective immediately, FFastFill Horizon will be integrated within BGC's platform, enabling multi-broker support to fulfil BGC's execution requirements. Horizon will provide BGC with a cost effective, low latency route to FFastFill's full range of more than 60 trading venues worldwide. Focusing on futures and options trading, Horizon also handles complex block trades and provides the ability for full real time pre and post risk management capabilities.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201210030701027671N

Sarah Gurr, PhD, Professor of Molecular Plant Pathology, at The University of Oxford,a specialist in crop disease, plant pathogenic fungi, and fungal biotechnology, who leads the ongoing research into the effectiveness of ActiVita Solution and is co-author of a recent article in the journal Nature on fungal threats,2 commented: "Major food crops around the world are challenged by fungi, the most devastating agents of plant disease, and are threatened by the emergence of new aggressive strains. Our research shows that ActiVita Solution is a potent broad spectrum anti-fungal that prevents spore germination and fungal development and that shows little phytotoxicity at such antifungal concentrations. This chemistry could revolutionise pre- and post-harvest protection of food from fungi." Earlier this year, PuriCore announced the award of £500,000 by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in a research grant to The University of Oxford to study PuriCore's ActiVita Agricultural Solution, a proprietary, environmentally safe fungicidal solution formulated for agricultural applications. The three-year grant will fund research focused on exploring the mode of action of the ActiVita solution on fungi that devastate major food crops.

Michael Ashton, Executive Chairman of PuriCore, said: "As the demand for crop yields rises in line with increasing global population, protecting our food crops from disease is a growing challenge. Research carried out with Oxford University shows that ActiVita is an effective anti-fungal and therefore has the potential significantly to improve plant productivity. ActiVita is an important part of PuriCore's strategy to address food safety throughout the entire supply chain, going far beyond the supermarket and now into seeds and crops."