The AIM All-Share barely moved week-on-week, closing at 761.15, as trading succumbed to the usual mid-August malaise. It was a similar story for the FTSE 100, the AIM’s benchmark, which edged up 0.8% but on wafer-thin volumes.
Risers
Active Energy Group (AIM: AEG) unveiled plans on Friday to enter the battery storage sector with a deal to develop a 150MW facility west of Cardiff. The project is expected to generate an estimated £300,000 annual income for 30 years.
The market welcomed the unexpected pivot, sending the shares up 50% on the day and leaving them 90% higher over the past week.
Fiinu PLC (AIM: BANK) surged 47% on its return from suspension after unveiling plans for a reverse takeover of forex trading platform Everfex, in a deal valued at up to £12 million.
Surface Transforms (AIM: SCE), the specialist brake manufacturer, jumped 47% this week and has nearly doubled in value since its recent trading statement signalled a turnaround.
The company reported that revenues have more than doubled year-on-year, reassuring investors that the business has gained traction after a challenging period.
Bezant Resources (AIM: BZT) is set to acquire the NLZM processing plant for its Hope and Gorob copper-gold project in Namibia, a move expected to accelerate production by at least two years while cutting capital costs.
The deal, valued at $2.5m plus royalties, gives Bezant a 90% stake in the plant-owning company. Investors welcomed the news, sending the shares up 37.3% to 0.0515p.
OptiBiotix Health (AIM: OPTI) said US weight-loss brand Hydroxycut is launching Hydroxycut Hunger Control, a supplement featuring its SlimBiome appetite-reducing ingredient.
An initial order of five metric tonnes has already been placed. Shares climbed 12.2% to 11.5p.
Strategic Minerals (AIM: SML) said drilling continues at its Redmoor tungsten-tin-copper project in Cornwall, with a second drill hole now underway. Early findings are consistent with the existing model, with the first assay results expected in September, feeding into a future mineral resource update.
The project currently carries an NPV8 of $128m, based on lower metal prices than today’s levels. Shares gained 10.5% to 0.315p.
Union Jack Oil (LON: UJO) has spudded the Sark well in Oklahoma, the first in a three-well programme in which it holds a 60% interest. The project is seen as having a good chance of success and could be brought onstream relatively quickly.
Broker Zeus assigns a risked value of 1p per share to Sark. Shares rose 4% to 26p on the news.
Fallers
Mobile Tornado (AIM: MBT) crashed 60% after confirming plans to cancel its AIM listing, citing prohibitive costs and low trading liquidity.
EnergyPathways (AIM: EPP) tumbled after UK authorities declined to grant a gas storage licence for the natural gas and hydrogen elements of its MESH energy storage project.
The company said a Section 35 planning application will be submitted for the project’s major elements, which, if accepted, would bring them under assessment by the 2008 Planning Act. Despite the potential pathway forward, market makers focused on the setback, sending the shares down 51.4% to 2.6p, leaving them more than 60% lower on the week.
GoldStone Resources (AIM:GRL) saw its value halve after its AGM, where shareholders voted a key director off the board and rejected a proposal to expand its share issuance authority.
Oracle Power (AIM:ORCP) has raised £500,000 at 0.014p per share to fund exploration in Australia and progress its Pakistan projects. The placing, priced at the market level, saw the stock fall 20% to 0.014p.
Touchstone Exploration (AIM: TXP) reported Q2 net production of 4,400 boe/d but lowered full-year guidance by around 20% to 5,300–5,900 boe/d. The company recently raised $12.5m via convertible debentures to support further drilling. Shares slipped 10.9% to 14.25p.
Wellnex Life (AIM: WNX) said joint chief executive George Karafotias has resigned and will be repaid his A$705,000 loan to the company. Zack Bozinovski will assume the role of sole CEO of the Australian consumer healthcare group. Shares eased 3.2% to 15p, well below the 31.75p placing price from March.
