WH Ireland Group PLC (AIM: WHI), a small-cap brokerage and wealth management firm, is scrambling to raise a critical £5mln to stay solvent.
Each share is offered at an alarming 87% discount compared to Thursday’s closing price, or 3p per share. The year has been turbulent for small-cap brokers, with notable companies such as finnCap and Cenkos, both significant players in London, deciding to merge to avoid becoming insignificant.
WH Ireland’s incredibly discounted offer comes from a sustained decrease in capital market transactions coupled with reduced assets under management. Insolvency has been suggested, causing WH Ireland’s shares to plummet 60% to 8.44p. However, it’s unclear if further reductions will match the discounted share offer.
Regarding the wider AIM All-Share Index, it remained relatively unchanged over the week. However, it peaked at 770 on Thursday afternoon, up by half a percentage point from Monday’s opening at 766.
This late-week increase coincided with the New York Stock Exchange’s robust performance following a press gathering with the Federal Open Market Committee. Despite another 25 basis point rate hike by the Fed, a narrative of a soft landing has gained traction, potentially curbing future increases. The AIM Index, however, lost these gains on Friday, closing at 766.
Among the top performers was B2B video streaming company Aferian PLC (AIM: AFRN), which successfully raised US$4mln (£3.1mln) by issuing new shares at around a 20% premium, causing its shares to soar by 60% to 16p each.
Brighton Pier Group, the proprietor of the famous seaside attraction, saw a slight recovery after a 33% drop to 28p early in the week due to a pessimistic trading update. The firm cited increasing economic pressure due to dwindling disposable incomes and consumer confidence, causing sales to lag behind the previous year. By Tuesday, shares rebounded to 48.5p.
In other news, RTC Group PLC (AIM: RTC), an engineering and technical recruitment company, saw its shares more than double to 36.5p on Wednesday after reporting a surge in profits and revenues for the first half of the year.
In the heavy industry sector, Upland Resources (LSE: UPL) gained over 40% during the week following news that the exploration firm is assessing an onshore rig for its Sarawak project in Malaysia. Mila Resources PLC (LSE:MILA) also saw a 50% increase in shares as investors celebrated its deal with Aussie miner Liontown to explore for lithium in Western Australia.
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Ltd’s (AIM: SAE, OTC: SMAYF) shares jumped 40% as the company’s restructuring initiatives began to yield results. The group significantly reduced its losses to £11.1mln, down from £74.1mln the previous year, as operating expenses decreased and the valuation of the Uskmouth sustainable energy park improved.
However, not all companies had a prosperous week. SDX Energy‘s shares dipped by 11% after announcing a convertible loan financing for working capital. Other underperformers included Safestyle UK PLC (AIM: SFE), whose shares fell by over 40% following a profit warning, Empresaria Group plc (AIM: EMR), which dropped 24% after an unfavourable trading update, and Vanquis Banking, which fell 32% after reporting losses in the last interim period.
