UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: Access Intelligence Eyes Acquisitions

19th Jul 2010 12:30

Dow Jones smallcap news is now on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps ACCESS INTELLIGENCE PLC (ACC.LN), a software and computer services firm, Monday said it is looking at "two or three" potential acquisition opportunities that it could wrap up as early as in the current half. "We're looking at them quite carefully but we're not rushing in to anything," Chairman Michael Jackson told Dow Jones Newswires. He said any targets would be U.K.-based. At 1053 GMT, shares -0.63 pence or 15% at 4.88 pence. U.K. infrastructure investment company Gravis Capital Partners is set to close its fundraising Monday with over GBP40 million of funds to invest in subordinated debt with a focus on lending against private finance initiative, or PFI, projects in the U.K. Managing Partner Stephen Ellis said the company's new fund, GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd, will feed into its existing open-ended investment fund and give the fund access to more pools of capital thanks to its main market listing in London. The U.K. Financial Services Authority said it fined a father and son for trading on inside information about small cap oil explorer Tower Resources PLC (TRP.LN). Jeremy Burley was fined GBP144,200 and his father Jeffery was fined GBP35,000 for engaging in market abuse, the FSA said. The regulator said that on June 11, 2009, Jeremy Burley learned Tower Resources' first oil well in Uganda was unlikely to produce oil and a second well wasn't likely to be drilled at all. The FSA said Burley passed this information on to his father and instructed him to sell his entire holding of 790,000 shares in Tower Resources. By doing so, he avoided a loss of GBP21,700, the FSA said. The U.K. BioIndustry Association wants successful expatriate British entrepreneurs to lend their talents to biotech firms based in Britain as they await details of government funding plans for science, the biotech lobby group's chief executive told Dow Jones Newswires in a recent interview. Nigel Gaymond said he wants to get senior British executives currently working in the U.S. and elsewhere to bring their expertise to fledgling companies in the U.K., where scarce funds and drug failures have depressed investors' enthusiasm for the sector. UNIQ PLC (UNIQ.LN), a convenience food maker, said the U.K. Pensions Regulator has turned down its proposals to tackle its retirement fund's finances. Uniq, which makes sandwiches for customers including retailer Marks & Spencer Group PLC (MKS.LN), said the regulator said its proposals didn't meet all of its criteria for clearance. It didn't elaborate. At 1052 GMT, shares -4 pence or 26% at 11.5 pence. UK COAL PLC (UKC.LN), a coal producer, said it expects to report a wider pretax loss for the first six months of the year because of production problems and the costs of refinancing its debts. The company said first-half production was 2.7 million metric tons, down from 3.7 million tons a year earlier, due to delays to new coal seams coming into production and the declining yield of older seams. At 1052 GMT, shares -2.25 pence or 5.9% at 35.75 pence. BEACON HILL RESOURCES PLC (BHR.LN), a magnesite miner, said it has entered into an agreement with Consolidated Minerals Pte Ltd and Global Coke Ltd for a $55 million investment to rapidly advance development at its Minas Moatize coal mine in Mozambique. At 1052 GMT, shares +0.88 pence or 13% at 7.75 pence. STHREE PLC (STHR.LN), a recruitment company, said it is eyeing opening a raft of new offices outside the U.K. and Europe as it targets strong market opportunities overseas. The company said first-half pretax profit more than doubled after it reduced its staffing significantly on the year. The company said the recruitment market is improving but not yet fully recovered, and compared with the extremely distressed market last year, the first half of 2010 saw more benign conditions. At 1051 GMT, shares -16.9 pence or 5.8% at 276.1 pence. GEM DIAMONDS LTD. (GEMD.LN), a diamond producer, said full-year production may be behind target after strikes, rain and other problems hampered first-half production at its Letseng mine in Lesotho and Ellendale in Australia. At 1050 GMT, shares -8 pence or 3.6% at 213 pence. BAOBAB RESOURCES PLC (BAO.LN), an iron ore explorer, said it agreed an exploration deal for its Changara base metals and manganese project in Mozambique with Australia's Southern Iron Ltd. Under the terms of a preliminary joint venture agreement, Southern Iron will invest $1.5 million in exploring Changara over two years in exchange for 50% of the project, Baobab said. At 1050 GMT, shares flat at 8 pence. FENNER PLC (FENR.LN), an engineer, said it is confident about its short- and long-term outlook after third-quarter trading benefited from improving U.S. sales of seals and hydraulics. At 1050 GMT, shares +8.2 pence or 3.8% at 224 pence. E2V TECHNOLOGIES PLC (E2V.LN), a manufacturer of electronic components like sensors and semiconductors, said trading in the 2011 fiscal year has so far been "significantly ahead" of a year earlier and current demand levels indicate this year's trading has the potential to be near the upper end of its expectations. At 1049 GMT, shares +7.5 pence or 12% at 70 pence. SCIENTIFIC DIGITAL IMAGING PLC (SDI.LN), a manufacturer of digital imaging technology used in life science research, reported a higher fiscal-year profit due to rising sales of its cameras and instruments to university researchers and amateur stargazers overseas, but said any cuts to science budgets in the U.K. could hurt future earnings. SDI added it is also scouting for acquisitions to boost sales and profit. At 1049 GMT, shares +0.5 pence or 2.3% at 22 pence. TURBOTEC PRODUCTS PLC (TRBO.LN), a maker of heat exchangers, said its subsidiary has been named as a defendant in two actions filed in the U.S. by Wells Fargo Bank against Turbotec's major shareholder Thermodynetics Inc. (TDYT). Turbotec said that in filings made in the State of Connecticut Superior Court, it is alleged that Thermodynetics is in default on two loans secured on two properties in Windsor, Connecticut, which are leased to Turbotec Products, Inc. At 1049 GMT, shares flat at 31.5 pence. CARR'S MILLING INDUSTRIES PLC (CRM.LN), an agriculture products firm, said profitability in fiscal 2010 will be "well above" last year's underlying result due to a strong third quarter which was ahead of market expectations. At 1048 GMT, shares +27.5 pence or 5.6% at 517.5 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos -0.01% AIM -0.19% -By Rachael Gormley, Jason Douglas & Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 19, 2010 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)