Economic and Market News for 2 December 2019

Medical device company Creo Medical said it had raised £43.0m to fund a continued to commercialise its technology for powering electrosurgical devices. New shares in the company were offered at...

Inland Homes said planning permission granted at its Wilton Park development in Beaconsfield, west of London, had progressed through a judicial review period and was now free from any legal...

Cyber security group Corero Network Security said it had secured new orders worth a combined $1.1m. The company said the wins comprised two new customers as well as an expansion order from an...

Gunsynd noted that Malachite Resources had agreed to acquire a stake in Sunshine Resources, of which it held a 18.2% interest. Should Malachite acquire the 15% of Sunshine as agreed, Gunsynd's...

IT services group Adept4 said it had had changed its name to CloudCo as planned, following successful registration in the UK on Friday. Trading in the company's shares under the new name and new...

Health and safety consultancy PHSC posted a fall in first-half profit, as weakness in the retail sector hurt sales at its security division and it closed its asbestos management business. Pre-tax...

Waste gasification to energy technology company Eqtec said it had raised £958,500 from a share issue to develop its near-term pipeline and provide working capital. New shares in the company were...

Specialist media platform Future said it had set new audience and e-commerce records on Black Friday. The company said it saw a 44% rise in e-commerce-related actions, such as buy button clicks,...

Altus Strategies said it had entered into a joint venture agreement with Glomin Services on the company's Lakanfla and Tabakorole gold projects located in western and southern Mali respectively....

Greatland Gold hailed high-grade results from Newcrest's drilling campaign at its Havieron licence in the Paterson region of Western Australia. 'These outstanding results significantly extend...

Kazera Global said its maiden mineral resources estimate at its White City mine had met pre-exploration programme expectations. The maiden inferred tantalite resource at White City deposit of...

Wound care specialist company Advanced Medical Solutions said it had acquired French company Biomatlante for at least €8m in a bid to boost its surgical portfolio. Biomatlante was an international...

Defence training group SimiGon said it had won a $1.8m contract from an international defence electronics company. The contract was for the design, development and implementation a C-130 virtual...

Social video company Brave Bison said it had completed the appointment of three new senior personnel made in recent months. Ben Sinden had been appointed as managing director of publishing,...

The UK manufacturing final purchasing managers' index fell to 48.9 in November, down from 49.6 in October but above the earlier flash estimate of 48.3, according to IHS Markit. The market had...

Richland Resources said the longstop date for its proposed transaction with Fura Gems had again been extended. The option was for a sale to Fura Gems of the Capricorn sapphire mine in Australia's...

Gifting and engagement group Appreciate said it had launched a digital multi-brand gift card with add-to-wallet capabilities. Appreciate launched the technology in partnership with payments...

Freight management services group Xpediator said it had paid a further deferred consideration of £350k related to its acquisition of Regional Express. Part of the payment would be settled by the...

Getlink said it had appointed Sandrine Prieur as corporate social responsibility director, with effect on 2 December. Prieur was most recently deputy director of environmental and sustainable...

Zegona Communications said it would more regularly update shareholders on the value of its key holding, while acknowledging a relative weakness in the price of its shares. The company's main asset...

JPMorgan Claverhouse Investment Trust said it would cut its management fees next year. With effect from 1st January, 2020 the annual management fee, currently 0.60% per annum on net assets up to...

UK Oil & Gas said it had raised £2m from a share placing to help bring wells at its Horse Hill project south of London into production. New shares in the company were issued at 0.85p each,...

Red Emperor Resources said it had signed a binding letter of intent to secure an option over an interest in a large offshore block, in shallow waters off the coast of Western Australia state. The...

Capital & Counties said had positioned itself as a central London property investment business following the sale of its stake in Earls Court for £425m and would convert to UK REIT status...

Specialist media platform Future confirmed it had completed the acquisition of Barcroft Studios. 'The addition of Barcroft Studios brings an excellent opportunity for Future to further innovate...

Mining company Fresnillo narrowed its full-year guidance for production in 2019 to the bottom end of its previous range, and touted improved silver but lowered gold output over the next three...

Russia-focused Trans-Siberian Gold said it had signed a new relationship agreement with major shareholder UFG Asset Management The total shareholding of UFG, its connected entities and individuals...

Reabold Resources said it had fully exercised an option to further invest in Danube Petroleum, taking its ownership in that company to about 51%. The shares were acquired for £1.20 each, for a...

Ergomed said it had appointed Lewis Cameron as chief operating officer, effective from January 20. Cameron had been head of global clinical development at Covance, the CRO division of Laboratory...

Support group for the promotional products industry The Pebble Group said it had priced its initial public offering at 105p per share. The IPO would raise gross proceeds of about £135m, with the...

Oil and gas company Echo Energy said an integration of the recently acquired Santa Cruz Sur assets in Argentina was progressing positively. Talks with the operator to map out a near-term work...

Fintech company TechFinancials said it had decided to close loss-making business-to-business subsidiary DragonFinancials and delist from the AIM exchange in London. The delisting would mean the...

Fuel cell developer Proton Power Systems said it had agreed to provide its technology to shipbuilding group Fincantieri. The company would supply a 38 kW fourth-generation fuel cell, to validate...

Safety-focused company investor Marlowe said it had acquired FSE Fire Safety Systems for an initial £2.4m. The acquisition price also included a contingent cash earn out of up to £0.2m....

Saint-Gobain said it had completed the sale of Distribution de Materiaux pour les Travaux Publics to Frans Bonhomme for €70m. This transaction was part of a portfolio optimization strategy to...

Digital imaging technology company SDI said it had acquired Chell Instruments for an initial £4.3m. The acquisition sum also included an additional cash payment for net assets at completion....

Instrumentation and controls company Spectris said it had completed the sale of its BTG business to Voith. The deal was first announced on 19 September. Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

Online retailer Ocado launched a £500m convertible bond offering to fund the developments in its technology business, Ocado Solutions, and for general corporate purposes. The bonds, due in 2025,...

Premier Oil said first gas had started flowing from its operated Bison, Iguana and Gajah Puteri project in the Natuna Sea offshore Indonesia. The two-year project was delivered on schedule and...

Housing regeneration specialist MJ Gleeson said it had appointed James Thomson as its new chief executive. Thomson had been serving as CEO on an interim basis since previous head Jolyon Harrison...

Logistics and transport sector technology group Touchstar said it had agreed to sell non-core business On-board Retail to Jon Hall, a current director of the company. The asset had been sold for...

Book publisher Bloomsbury Publishing said it had entered the domestic Chinese market by forming a joint venture with state-owned group China Youth Publishing. The joint venture would be based in...

Hospitality real estate company PPHE Hotel said it had acquired the freehold interest in a site in London for £12m, with a view to developing it into a hotel. The site, in London's SE1 postcode...

NewRiver REIT said it had completed the acquisition of Sprucefield retail park in Lisburn, Northern Ireland from Intu Properties for £40m. The sale price represented a net initial yield of 8.7%....

St. Modwen Properties said it had completed on the sale of its interests in a student accommodation building at Swansea University for £38m. The 411-bedroom accommodation was sold to academic...

Pharmaceutical company Diurnal said it had submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration for a drug to treat adrenal insufficiency in infants. The submission followed a positive...

Sirius Real Estate said it had acquired an office complex in Hallbergmoos, near Munich Airport, for €20.2m from local investment company KCM Invest. The property was constructed in 1993 and...