SMALL CAP MOVERS: Markets ‘ping-ponged’ by central bank action

This week we saw small cap companies in cybersecurity. brand shield announce its delisting from the London Stock Exchange.

It’s not a surprise, given that AIM’s elimination rate shows no signs of slowing as the fourth quarter rears its head.

The downside to Brandshield’s decision, however, was the simultaneous subscription of £2.68m worth of shares to a handful of investors, one of whom was none other than former Tesco boss Sir Terence Leahy.

Leahy, who has been invested in Brandshield for at least 12 months, spent £403,000 on the subscription. She evidently fully trusts management to secure the company’s finances in the private sphere.

“The directors believe that delisting will help to further improve margins and allow the executive to focus on operational excellence without the additional legal and regulatory burdens imposed by our current listing status,” Brandshield’s mission statement read. .

There was also an open offer of £2.2 million at 5.68 p pop, although retail investors are unlikely to bite. Shares fell 28 per cent to 2.88p following news of the delisting.

Markets were shaken left, right and center this week, hit by the Federal Reserve’s interest call on Wednesday and the Bank of England’s call on Thursday.

Both central banks put a moratorium on increases (to the surprise of some when it comes to the Bank of England).

However, both announcements could also be summarized as aggressive pauses, in the sense that neither went so far as to completely rule out future increases.

The AIM All-Share Index had given up almost a percentage point until the Fed’s pause energized the market, only to fall to weekly lows on Thursday.

In total, the junior market closed the week down 0.8 percent at 739.65.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was equally volatile, although it ultimately fared better, closing flat at 7,717.

Steed generated a lot of interest this week. Extraction srl, an investment group majority owned by Corcel chairman Antoine Karam, provided the Angola-focused mining group with a £10m convertible loan at an 80 per cent premium to the market.

Shares have been on a roll since late last week and are currently 75 percent higher from last Wednesday’s closing price.

Orcadian energy led the charge in the energy sector, with shares rising a stellar 300 percent after the company announced a preliminary deal with an unnamed potential operator of its key North Sea asset.

The deal, if finalized, would focus on the development of the Pilot field, one of the largest untapped areas in the Central North Sea.

Carriage He was also one of the main promoters of the energy sector. The Africa-focused transitional energy group added 32 percent following its interim results announcement on Tuesday.

Stakeholders have been enthralled with Chariot’s progress on the Anchois gas development project in Morocco, where partnership negotiations are in the final stages, according to management.

Other bullish stocks in heavy industries included Arkle Resourceswhich increased by 38.5 percent, ECR Mineralswhich jumped 28 per cent after raising £580,000 in a direct subscription, and Premium African Mineralswhich added 24 percent after an upgrade to its Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project.

Shifting gears, metaphorically and literally, bus transportation company rotate it rocketed to the top of the promoter list after announcing it had received an offer from a management-led team that would value the company at around £19.4m.

As a result, Rotala shares rose 40 per cent to 59p.

In the biotechnology space, Scancell Holdings had a great week after increasing its share price more than 63 percent.

Scancell caught the attention of city officials, particularly Stifel, after publishing initial results that shattered expectations from the Phase II SCOPE trial in advanced melanoma.

Discussing vaccine trial results, which were released on Tuesday, analysts at Stifel backed the AIM-listed biopharmaceutical company with a buy rating.

Lastly, the restaurant operator Comptoir GroupFriday’s 20 percent share price drop underscored the headwinds facing the hospitality sector right now.

“Trade continues to be affected by significant events outside our direct control,” non-executive chairwoman Beatrice Lafon said in the group’s interim, “such as the ongoing industrial strike in public transport now entering its second year… We’ve also had a relatively bad summer fall in terms of weather on the terrace.’

Lafon also pointed to macroeconomic pressures, including high inflation and the end of government support with business rates and the value added tax.

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