Small cap round up
Smart plastics company Symphony Environmental Technologies announced its interim financial statements for the six months to 30 June on Wednesday, with revenues of £3.23m down slightly from £3.42m in the first half of 2015. The AIM-traded firm reported gross profits of £1.63m, also down marginally from £1.76m, with recurring expenses of £1.47m dropping from £1.81m.
Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), a UK-based mortgage broker, has reported a rise in both profits and market share in the first half despite uncertainty surrounding Britain deciding to leave the EU. Chief executive Peter Brodnicki said adviser productivity slowed in the lead up to the EU referendum after a strong start to the year, which was then followed by the usual quiet summer period.
Shares in UK Mail Group surged on Wednesday after Deutsche Post agreed to buy the integrated mail and parcel operator for 440p per share, valuing the company at £242.7m. The offer represents a premium of 43.1% over the closing price of UK Mail on Tuesday.
AIM-listed 'big data' software company WANdisco appointed industry veteran Erik Miller chief financial officer and a director of the board with immediate effect on Wednesday. Miller, who will be based in San Ramon, California, has over 20 years’ experience of shaping the finance functions of privately and publicly held technology companies.
Game Digital has agreed to sell its head office and distribution centre freehold for £13.5m in a sale-and-leaseback deal. The computer games and consoles retailer, which agreed 17-year lease and an annual rent of £1.06m with purchaser Portsmouth Estates Developments, will record a £6.2m exceptional gain in the next financial year as the properties are held on its balance sheet at £7m, with transaction costs of £0.3m expected.
Shares in graphite explorer StratMin Global Resources soared 20% on Wednesday morning when it announced it had arranged a $1.5m loan secured against shares in Bass Metals to fund a joint-venture.The AIM-listed company agreed to assign security and voting rights over 75m of its Bass Metal shares to a corporate investor, in return for a 12-month non-recourse loan starting on 27 October, which would be repaid in some or all of the Bass Metals shares.