UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: SuperGroup Signs UAE Stores Franchise

14th Jun 2010 09:30

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 SUPERGROUP PLC (SGP.LN), a fashion retailer, Monday said it has signed a franchise deal to open 13 stores in the United Arab Emirates during the next three years. The firm, owner of the SuperDry fashion label, said it has signed the franchise deal with Dubai-based Al Khayyat Investments LLC. The first store will open in July in Dubai's Deira City Centre complex, with two more stores set to open before the end of the year in Mirdif City Centre shopping mall and the Mall of the Emirates, both also in Dubai. At 0745 GMT, shares flat at 670 pence. PHYTOPHARM PLC (PYM.LN) said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given it approval to begin the phase II clinical trial of its experimental Parkinson's disease treatment Cogane. Phytopharm said the study will investigate the efficacy and safety of Cogane when it is administered for 28 weeks to patients with early stage Parkinson's disease. At 0745 GMT, shares +0.75 pence, or 8.6%, at 9.5 pence. MAJESTIC WINE PLC (MJW.LN) posted a more than doubled full-year pretax profit, flattered by an impairment charge last year, but sales also rose and it has made a solid start to the current fiscal year. The U.K. wine warehouse chain said fiscal 2010 sales benefited from initiatives like increasing the minimum number of bottles customers can purchase to six. At 0745 GMT, shares +15.5 pence, or 5.7%, at 288 pence. DAIRY CREST GROUP PLC (DCG.LN), a U.K. dairy company, said it has reduced its stake in Wexford Creamery Ltd. to 30% from 80% as it looks to focus on its key brands, reduce its exposure to volatile commodity markets and pay down its debt. At 0745 GMT, shares +2 pence, or 0.5%, at 399 pence. KEWILL PLC (KWL.LN), a logistics software company, said it has acquired a Benelux-based software firm, Minihousel, for up to EUR20 million in cash. Kewill said the acquisition--its first since its GBP7.5 million fundraising in November--will give it the "most comprehensive global coverage of any software supplier," and help its European and global customers as Europe rolls out new customs legislation such as the Excise Movement Control System. At 0745 GMT, shares flat at 124.25 pence. RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION LTD. (WIND.LN) said it has bought a 4.96 megawatt wind farm from E.ON Climate and Renewables UK Operations Ltd. for up to GBP4 million in cash. The St. Breock wind farm in Cornwall, south-west England, has 11 turbines and generates enough energy a year to supply more than 2,500 homes. At 0747 GMT, shares flat at 52.5 pence. AKERS BIOSCIENCES INC. (AKR.LN), a diagnostic company, said it has signed a major distribution agreement with Fisher HealthCare to distribute its PIFA Heparin/PF4 Rapid Assay products. At 0748 GMT, shares +2.25 pence, or 21%, at 12.75 pence. STANELCO PLC (SEO.LN) said it got a 71.2% take-up to its open offer of shares in its bid to raise GBP3.5 million to develop its bioplastics business. Stanelco said it received valid acceptances under the open offer for 574,096,803 shares at 0.125 pence each. At 0749 GMT, shares flat 0.13 pence. CINEWORLD GROUP PLC (CINE.LN) said it is partnering with a digital cinema technology firm to roll out digital projection facilities across all its U.K. screens. The U.K. cinema company is joining forces with Arts Alliance Media, which provides digital cinema technology and distribution services, to buy, install and operate digital projectors across the remainder of its entire estate of 77 cinemas. At 0749 GMT, shares flat at 178.5 pence. NYOTA MINERALS LTD (NYO.LN), an Africa-focused gold and nickel explorer, said it has completed a GBP3.44 million placement of new shares to International Finance Corp. IFC is now a 10% shareholder in Nyota and the funds will be put toward its current drilling campaign at Nyota's flagship Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia. At 0749 GMT, shares flat at 16.25 pence. AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES PLC (AFCR.LN) said it has signed a memorandum of understanding to develop its Pickstone Peerless gold mine with a group of mining experts. The Zimbabwe-focused mining firm said that, subject to due diligence, it has signed the agreement with a group of individuals known as the SSSB Group to develop open pit mining operations at Pickstone Peerless. At 0750 GMT, shares +0.5 pence, or 5.3%, at 9.88 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos +0.1% AIM +0.2% -By Rachael Gormley, Jason Douglas & Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 14, 2010 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)