The Telegraph: And so it is, with an overwhelming sense of inevitability, that JLR has announced plans for hundreds of job cuts just two months after Starmer’s preposterous speech in the West Midlands.
Comment: Excellent news for Labour. Hundreds of job cuts means hundreds of new potential Labour voters dependent on the state. This adds to the gerrymandering of the vote with 16 and 17 year olds being given the vote – who do not know one end of a ballot box from the other.
Gunsynd (GUN) announced that it has raised gross proceeds of £450,000 at 0.12 pence and a subscription raising gross proceeds of £50,000. The net proceeds of the Placing and Subscription will be used to provide the Company with additional funding for general working capital, progress its activities and make investments in line with its stated investing policy in particular with respect to its recent Canadian acquisitions comprising the Bear Twit, Falcon Greylark and Barb projects.
Comment: We now know and appreciate GUN taking advantage of the recent share price and volume bump in its stock to get a fundraise away. There is certainly plenty to do as far as driving its recent acquisitions forward with the new cash.
The Smarter Web Company (AQUIS: SWC) announced the successful completion of an Accelerated Bookbuild to institutional investors through Tennyson Securities and Peterhouse Capital Limited. With a high level of demand the Bookbuild has raised £17,543,942 (before expenses), at £2.95. The Offer Price was at the closing bid price on 17 July 2025.
Comment: Raise, raise, raise, is the mantra from SWC and the rest of the BTC stocks, to get that mNAV down, and gear up as much as possible to the still rising BTC price. Indeed, with the cryptocurrency up nearly 20% since the craze started a couple of months ago, it is surprising that the market has not resumed the June rally as strongly this month.
Vault Ventures plc (AQSE:VULT), a London based technology developer focused on blockchain and fintech innovation, is pleased to announce that it has purchased additional Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana as part of the Company’s digital asset treasury strategy whose primary purpose is to support the operations of the Company. As of 17 July 2025, the Company’s market capitalisation at the time of this announcement is approximately £4.50 million, resulting in a market-to-net-asset-value (mNAV) ratio of 1.82.
Comment: VULT now apparently has one of the lowest mNAV’s around, something which in addition to the diversification into ETH and SOL, could appear to the more discerning investor.
Hamak Gold (HAMA) announced the formation of an Advisory Board. The purpose of this Advisory Board is to play a significant consultative role, offering strategic guidance and sector expertise to the Board of Directors as the Company expands into emerging sectors, including data security, decentralised technologies, and digital assets. The founding member of the Advisory Board is Dr. Arthur B. Laffer, an internationally renowned American economist, best known as the creator of the “Laffer Curve”. HAMA said “Dr. Laffer brings extensive insight into macroeconomic strategy and the growing adoption of digital assets. A strong advocate for Bitcoin and decentralised monetary systems, his appointment reflects Hamak Gold’s commitment to engaging with forward-thinking economic and policy frameworks that promote innovation and value creation.”
Comment: On first glancing at the RNS it has to be admitted that I was hoping that the Laffer mentioned would be the one famous for his curve. On this basis alone the appointment of the great man is a coup for HAMA.
CAP‑XX Limited (CPX), a global leader in supercapacitor technology, provided a further update regarding the cooperation agreement with SCHURTER AG. The current total project pipeline under the Agreement is estimated to be approaching USD 2 million of potential revenue to CAP-XX, which underscores the commercial viability of the joint Agreement.
Comment: It would appear that the market has finally started to appreciate the merits of CPX from May, with a decent stock price turnaround since then. Today’s update is a decent reminder of the happy place CPX is now in, especially on the revenue front.
Metals One Plc (MET1), a minerals exploration and development company, announced that it has completed the acquisition of an initial 10% interest in NovaCore Exploration Inc., a private U.S.-based company advancing the large-scale Red Basin Uranium Project in Catron County, New Mexico. The Company has also been granted warrants to increase its ownership to 30%.
Comment: After the big fundraise at the start of the year, we see MET1 continuing to finesse / consolidate its position by going for as significant an asset grab as possible. The main focus continues to be on uranium.
Crystal Amber (CRS) provided an update on the Fund, its investments and its strategy. The Fund has now received the cash proceeds from the takeover of De La Rue (a final payment of c.£18 million (including the Fund’s trading in DLAR securities, a total of £40.67 million has been received since DLAR entered an offer period). The Fund’s primary focus beyond DLAR is to achieve the regulatory approvals for MMI’s RESET® device to enable sales to commence. The Board continues to seek to maximise the opportunity to realise value from the Fund’s other investments, Sigma Broking Limited, Allied Minds and Sutton Harbour Plc.
Comment: DLAR was certainly a massive coup for CRS, with the intention clearly for the company to look for a successor to this big win. With a market cap now north of £100m the shares look to be above the clouds as far as risk is concerned.
Electric Guitar (ELEG) announced that it has signed non-binding heads of terms to acquire Dunbar Energy Inc., a U.S. company incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada, through a reverse takeover transaction (“RTO”). Dunbar has recently been established in the U.S. to power the next generation of digital infrastructure, including AI and crypto. With datacentre demand surging and supportive U.S. energy policies, Dunbar aims to convert coal mine methane and stranded gas in oil and gas wells into power for modular ‘compute’ sites for datacentres.
Comment: ELEG looks to have shaken off its previous incarnation, which to be fair, the market really did not understand, with a new and more serious sounding plan of action. The fossil fuel to datacentre power angle looks to be right on the zeitgeist.
Kavango Resources (KAV), the Southern Africa focused metals exploration and gold production company, announced a second high-grade gold intercept at the Bill’s Luck Gold Mine on the Hillside Project, Zimbabwe. Hole BLDDUG006 intersected a gold-bearing structure at a vertical depth below surface of 111.50m, with confirmed repeat assay grades of 13.60 grams a tonne over 10.40 metres from 64.00m to 74.40m (including 48.50g/t over 2.81m and 1.10g/t over 3.10m).
Comment: Decent discoveries such as the one announced today, should allow the share price of KAV, which has been recovering since the spring, to get back to the dizzy heights above 1.5p last seen a year ago.
Gold exploration and development company Panthera Resources (PAT), with gold assets in West Africa and India, announced that the Company has commenced a drilling programme at the Bido Project in Burkina Faso. PAT said “The Bido Project is an exciting gold prospect for the Company that is maturing as the gold price pushes well above US$3000 per ounce. The Company has been actively exploring the licence for several years culminating in a focused drilling campaign.
Comment: PAT continues to feed the market with decent operational news such as that announced today, while making sure that developments regarding the big India claim are never far from the awareness of investors.
SEED Innovations (SEED), the AIM-quoted investment company noted that its portfolio company, Little Green Pharma Ltd (“LGP”), has published its quarterly activities report and Appendix 4C for the period ending 30 June 2025 on the ASX. SEED said “LGP has delivered another compelling quarter, achieving record cash receipts of A$12.0 million and a turnaround to a positive net operating cash inflow of A$0.5 million.”
Comment: SEED gains from the latest LGP performance, even though the investee company is only a small part of the portfolio. Nevertheless, if it can keep up having such big winners, the market may finally gain the confidence to mark the SEED share price over NAV. The last estimated number was 6p versus a 2p share price.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:
The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.
