SMALL CAP MOVERS: AIM rocked by three additional departures

Chaarat Gold, Destiny Pharma, and Sondrel led AIM’s losers list this week after announcing their exit from the junior market.

They are joining an exodus of smaller companies, largely in the tech and biotech sectors, frustrated by the funding drought and the declining popularity of growth stocks.

For anti-infectives specialist Destiny (down 49 per cent), chaired by City grandee Sir Nigel Rudd, the choice was stark: the company quit AIM to avoid a financial implosion.

Rudd told investors: ‘Without taking this route, we believe that liquidation of the company is the most likely alternative.’

Chipmaker Sondrel (down 38 per cent), which flagged its potential exit in May, confirmed earlier this week that the ‘complexities of being quoted on AIM do not benefit any stakeholders at this stage of the group’s transition.’

Departures: Chaarat Gold, Destiny Pharma, and Sondrel led AIM’s losers list this week after announcing their exit from the junior market

A rescue financing that will leave current investors with just a 4 per cent stake in Chaarat Gold (down 73 per cent) will likely lead to the mine developer’s delisting too.

Under the terms of the plan, the Kyrgyz Republic-focused group will reduce its existing liabilities by more than 50 per cent to under $20million and receive a new working capital facility of up to $5million.

Turning to the wider market, it was a rather lacklustre week for the UK’s small-caps with the AIM All-Share moribund at 783.80 (down 2.31 points). Still, it outperformed the Footsie, which ended the week 1.2 per cent lower.

Alba Mineral Resources (down 36 per cent) was left counting the punitive costs of raising new funds in such an inclement market.

The placing and subscription were priced at 0.035p per share, while the close on Wednesday was 0.047p. The proceeds will be used to continue work at the Clogau-St David’s Gold Mine in Wales.

Now to matters more upbeat, and a novelty for AIM: a growth company with plans to hand back cash to investors. Yes, you read that correctly.

Intelligent Ultrasound (up 48 per cent) is planning a ‘material return of capital’ after agreeing to sell its clinical AI operations to healthcare giant GE for £40.5million.

As part of the transaction, IUG gets to hold on to its NeedleTrainer and NeedleTrainer Plus products.

It was also a big week for investors in genedrive (up 53 per cent) after it received Breakthrough Device Designation from the US Food & Drug Administration for its Genedrive MT-RNR1 ID kit.

This diagnostic is the first rapid point-of-care test to screen infants for a genetic variant that can cause lifelong hearing loss if certain antibiotics are administered.

Down 45 per cent year-to-date, Versarien this week managed to arrest the slide, though the reason for the renaissance was a little long and convoluted. Long story short, the advanced materials group settled a loan with a subsidiary that now gives it 90% control of said business, called Gnanomat.

This allows Gnanomat to now go out and potentially secure grant funding from the Madrid region, where it is presumably based. The net effect? A 40 per cent jump in the Versarien share price.

Shares in Hornby chugged 30 per cent higher after the Airfix owner and model train group CEO Oliver Raeburn dipped into the market to acquire just under 40,000 shares with his own cash. Director purchases of this kind are often viewed as positive signals by the wider market.

Finally, keep your eyes peeled in the next couple of weeks for Georgina Energy, which is bucking the recent trend to join UK stock market. It is doing so via a £5million reverse takeover transaction involving a shell company called Mining, Minerals and Metals.

Georgina is one of a growing cohort of helium companies listed here in the UK. No doubt the team, led by Anthony Hamilton, would be happy to emulate the success of Helix Exploration, which is up 260 per cent since its IPO in April.

Georgina has two potentially enormous Australian assets, prospective not just for helium, but also hydrogen and natural gas. It is expected to make its market debut on July 30 and will join the LSE’s Standard List.

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