The Times: Government borrowing fell in the latest financial year – despite the fiscal year ending on a negative note with larger-than-expected government borrowing in March. The government borrowed £12.7 billion last month, according to data released this morning by the Office for National Statistics. City economists had forecast borrowing of £10.4 billion.
Comment: It remains an exciting battle on the borrowing front, as the government continues to pay for Labour votes through benefits, but does not want to completely crash the economy at the same time. It is not a tightrope than many would envy standing on.
Powerhouse (PHE) announced a retail offer via BookBuild at an issue price of 0.2 pence, designed to raise up to £250,000. The Company has separately announced a conditional placing to raise £400,000 through the issue of 200 million shares. The net proceeds of the Placing and Retail Offer will be primarily used as follows: Ballymena – Progress planning and permitting activities, develop FEED package to allow tenders for EPCm and work towards FID. Research and Development – Continue work on development of alternative outputs from DMG, i.e. investigate alternative fuels etc., as well as adding additional equipment to the FTU process to prove at scale. Working Capital to include additional projects, sales and marketing, strengthening C-Suite.
Comment: It seems fair that PHE is coming to market for a fundraise now, as we are at an exciting time for the space and hence the company itself. In the scheme of things a few hundred grand to back its new initiatives appears relatively modest.
Connecting Excellence Group Plc (AQSE: XCE), the international executive recruitment group with a long-term, ambitious and disciplined Bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy, is pleased to announce that it has secured commitment from its strategic investor, Adam Back, to subscribe for 33,457,143 new ordinary shares at 1.75 pence per Subscription Share, equal to the closing mid-price of 1.75p per Ordinary Share on 22 April 2026. The Subscription will raise gross proceeds of £585,500 and will be used to support the expansion of the Group’s Bitcoin treasury.
Comment: Apparently Mr Back is one of the OGs of the cryptocurrency space, and thankfully unlike most of the alleged OGs actually has a decent chunk of cash to prove it. In this case it is a decent thumbs up for XCE, a company still new to the market.
Hydrogen Utopia International PLC (HUI), a pioneering company transforming non-recyclable waste plastic into hydrogen, clean fuels and advanced materials, and which holds exclusive rights to the InEnTec PEM melter system in the MENA region, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Hydrogen Utopia International KSA LLC, has signed a non-binding MoU with RECYCLEE, a Saudi Arabia-based company operating a technology-enabled waste management and recycling platform, to establish a long-term strategic collaboration for the supply of waste feedstock in the Kingdom. Under the terms of the MoU, RECYCLEE will take out and aggregate unrecyclable plastics and end-of-life tyres from across its operational network in Saudi Arabia, creating a structured and reliable feedstock stream for conversion into clean energy and low-carbon fuels.
Comment: HUI maintains progress in KSA, something which has still not been factored in by the market in terms of its valuation, with the most glaring valuation omission being its exposure to the sustainable aviation fuels market, at a time being Lufthansa has announced the cancellation of 20,000 flights.
Foxtons Group plc (FOXT) delivered a quarter of operational progress, including growing Lettings revenues, completing two acquisitions, and repositioning the Sales business to reflect market conditions. The Group is trading in line with previous expectations and full year guidance remains unchanged. FOXT said “Our strategic focus on recurring revenues has ensured that Foxtons has delivered a resilient performance despite recent market headwinds. In the quarter, we acquired Lettings businesses in the high-growth, complementary markets of Birmingham and Milton Keynes. This, combined with organic growth and increasing take up of our property management services, meant that Lettings revenues increased 5% in the period. The implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act on 1 May 2026 is expected to create growth opportunities for Foxtons. Higher regulatory requirements further underline the importance of working with a trusted, professional agent, and Foxtons’ scale, expertise and compliance capabilities position the business to protect landlords’ investments and capture market share.”
Comment: FOXT’s gung ho RNS, especially with regard to the Marxist inspired Renters’ Right Act is an interesting spin on something which adds insult to injury to landlords. In addition, today we can grapple with the latest Telegraph headline: “No men, no Zionists and no Tories: Britain’s unlawful rental market exposed.” What a time to be alive.
Roadside (ROAD), the UK energy forecourt real estate business, was notified on 20 April 2026 that Charles Dickson, Chief Executive Officer, purchased a total of 125,000 shares at a price of 61.76 pence per Ordinary Share. He now holds 23.55% and 6.08% via Tarncourt Capital Ltd.
Comment: As we all know it is important for a CEO to maintain a large stake in his company to keep the shareholder register tight, as well as to make sure they do not get kicked out after doing all the hard work. In the case of ROAD, we have seen its CEO deliver his land grab strategy on the forecourts flawlessly, and is clearly keen to top up / maintain his holding.
First Class Metals PLC (FCM) the UK listed company focused on the discovery of economic metal deposits across its exploration properties in Ontario, Canada, is pleased to report initial drill results for holes 1-4 and provisionals for holes 5 and 6 from the drilling at the Roy prospect on the Sunbeam Property. Bonanza-grade gold intersected in drill hole SUN-26-05, with visible gold observed, highlighting the presence of a high-grade mineralising system.
Comment: Few would deny that FCM has been through the mill. However, the recovery for explorer / developers / commodities prices, has arrived in a timely fashion, and a RNS containing the word “bonanza” is even more helpful. Perhaps we can finally dare to dream of a reasonable share price run.
Quantum Data Energy PLC (QDE) announced that the Company has made significant progress with securing capex funding for its existing portfolio of flexible generation power projects, to expedite QDE’s progress to its initial target of building a 300+ MW portfolio of flexgen assets. In particular, QDE is in advanced term sheet negotiations with an established UK-based institutional investor. The financing arrangement will be structured at project level and will enable QDE to get each relevant project into construction through to production and income generation with payment schedules linked to production milestones being achieved. QDE said “We are excited about the ongoing progress that we are making as we continue to build our portfolio of flexgen assets to our initial target of 300 MW and beyond. The Raise has been undertaken to support the expeditious completion of an immediate growth opportunity that will make a meaningful contribution to QDE’s portfolio of MWs in production. We are also working on a number of additional near term growth opportunities and look forward to updating the market with further updates in due course.”
Comment: Shares of QDE had tripled so far this month in the run up to today’s cold water announcement regarding funding. Clearly, someone became a little spooked that things were appearing rather rosier for QDE than they really are. That said, flexible power generation still remains the new rock and roll in the space.
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) announced its Q1 2026 Trading Update. Record performance: strong trading volumes, good momentum in subscription businesses, high pace of new product innovation; full-year revenue growth expected to be in the upper half of 6.5-7.5% guidance range. LSEG said “We have had a great start to 2026 across the board: our leading, multi-asset class trading venues have been critical sources of liquidity, price discovery and risk management for customers, while engagement with our trusted data to inform decision-making has been at record levels. We have continued to execute on our LSEG Everywhere strategy for the distribution of AI-ready data. Over 150 customers have connected or are onboarding to our MCP server, and our new AI tools within Workspace are generating very positive feedback. Our focus through 2026 will be on roll-out and adoption of these services.”
Comment: What a pity that the usually ultra smug LSEG got itself into a tangle regarding AI / data. While the jury is still out on this we have actually seen the share price recovery, despite the stock market falls since the end of February. It is still a shame that the LSE has not been hived off so that proper investment and initiatives can be delivered for the ailing London stock market.
Afentra plc (AET), an upstream oil and gas company focused on acquiring production and development assets in Africa, provided an operational and financial trading update for the three months ended 31 March 2026. “Afentra has made a strong operational and financial start to 2026. During the quarter we generated revenues of ~$34 million from the sale of 517k barrels and commenced the first drilling campaign for over a decade on Block 3/05, with the prospect of a transformational increase in our production and resource base. Looking forward, we remain on track for our second cargo lift of 2026 later this month, increasing our working interest in Blocks 3/05 and 3/05A and seeing the results of the fully carried drilling campaign in the second half of 2026. Our team remains focused on delivering our organic growth projects while continuing to assess all options to accelerate the growth and development of our high-quality Angolan portfolio. Our performance to date, combined with our well-advanced debt refinancing and the ongoing strategic review, firmly underpins our strategic commitment to maximising shareholder value.”
Comment: Shares of AET have risen nearly 100% so far this year, something which although not surprising for an oil and gas company in the current environment, was not necessarily something that had to happen. Getting that debt under control should boost the rally yet further.
EnSilica plc (ENSI), a leading fabless, micro chipmaker with a growing portfolio of reusable IP, serving the Space & Comms, Industrial, Automotive and Healthcare markets, announced that it has entered into two landmark development contracts with a leading European satellite operator to develop two chips for its next-generation satellite network.
Comment: So on Friday shares of ENSI rocketed on no news, and today they have jumped again on what are transformational contracts for the company. Clearly someone is either very good at telling the future, or it was expected that ENSI would be serving up some very good news. Above our first technical target hit at 70p, the next level up by the end of next month could be as high as 93p.
Domino’s Pizza Group (DOM) announced its Q1 Trading Statement. Q1 2026 represented an encouraging start to the year, with positive total system sales, like‑for‑like sales and order growth compared with Q1 2025. Total system sales increased by 5.8%, including like‑for‑like growth of 4.5%, while total orders rose by 2.3%, with like‑for‑like orders up 0.9%. The Group also successfully launched CHICK ‘N’ DIP, with initial trading performance meeting expectations with positive feedback and advocacy from our customers.
Comment: Despite the contribution of CHICK “N” DIP shares of DOM are still down over half from their 2023 peak. While this may be the effect of the cost of living crisis, it might just be that weight loss jabs are also taking their toll on the junk food market – or at least that is the perception.
Bluebird Mining Ventures Ltd (BMV), the gold streaming and treasury company, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Digital Carpenters, the data centre services and solutions provider, to invest in a 4.8MW bitcoin mining project located in Texas, USA. BMV said “The agreement with Digital Carpenters is a landmark moment for BMV as we transition into a revenue generating business. It demonstrates both the strength of our pipeline and our ability to rapidly deploy capital into structured, near-term cash yielding opportunities. We believe this strategy positions BMV to deliver scalable and repeatable returns for shareholders.”
Comment: In the latest interview here with the CEO of BMV he was upbeat about delivering for shareholders, and today’s announcement backs such an ambition. Being a scalable, revenue generating business will be hard for even the more crackpot commentators to throw stones at.
AJ Bell plc (AJB), one of the UK’s largest investment platforms, today issued a trading update in respect of the three months ended 31 March 2026. Record growth in customer numbers, increasing by 50,000 in the quarter to close at 723,000, up 22% in the last year and 7% in the quarter. AJB said “I am delighted to report an excellent quarter of growth for our dual‑channel platform, as we delivered a record 50,000 net new customers and £2.7 billion of net inflows. This performance reflects the early benefits of our previously announced increased investment in our brand and propositions.”
Comment: Who needs Hargreaves Lansdowne when you can have AJB? In fact, what is the difference? Both a reassuringly expensive, and both seem to do very well for themselves. What is interesting is how customers still have so much cash swilling around even though taxes are at their highest since WWII.
Active Energy Group plc (AEG), the renewable energy and digital infrastructure platform, is pleased to announce that it has entered into non-binding Heads of Terms in relation to the proposed acquisition of a 2.5 MVA grid connection located at Taweela, UAE. The proposed acquisition relates solely to grid connection capacity. Completion of the transaction is conditional upon the satisfactory completion of confirmatory due diligence and the execution of legally binding documentation. Total consideration for the Acquisition is £1.25 million, based on a price of £500,000 per MVA.
Comment: The current environment in the Middle East is perfect for AEG, and is likely to remain so whatever happens with the disastrous Iranian conflict. We have seen AEG shares bounce 130% this year for a £7.8m, still very modest for a scalable, strongly revenue generating business.
Diales Group Plc (DIAL), the leading global professional services consultancy to the construction and engineering industries, providing multi-disciplinary consultancy services including expert witness, claims and dispute resolution services, announces the following trading update for the six-month period ended 31 March 2026. The Group expects to report revenue from continuing operations of £23.7 million (H1 FY25: £21.6 million) and deliver a 43% increase in underlying operating profit from continuing operations in the region of £1.0 million (H1 FY25: £0.7 million). On the basis of current trading, the Group expects to deliver FY26 results at least in-line with market expectations.
Comment: Given the way that we have been treated to a solid update, and a share price breakout today, perhaps the only thing that is wrong with DIAL is that no one has heard of the company and does not know what it does. But presumably after today’s mention here everyone will. On a charting basis 40p by the end of June or sooner seems perfectly possible.
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.
