As the new week gets underway, the AIM All Share is a notable outlier with early confidence being eroded as we head into the latter part of the session. The reality is that Wednesday’s budget could be ruinous for the junior market – investors seem to be preparing for the worst. At 2pm, the index stood almost three points lower at 719.97.
- Good Energy +24%
- Distil +23%
- Corcel +14%
- Emmerson -47%
- Tlou Energy -39%
Good Energy LON:GOOD was topping the board at our earlier than usual copy time after the company revealed news of an unsolicited takeover offer from a firm in Dubai. There’s no detail over the scale of the deal but the news also landed at the same time as what looks like an astute acquisition of the company’s own, buying Empower Energy for up to £8m – a company which made £1.8m in pre-tax profit last year.
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Distil LON:DIS the high end spirits maker was in second place up 23%. The company has been struggling for funding but has a decent set of assets behind it. The spread is also significant and volumes are limited but has the company finally turned a corner?
Corcel LON:CRCL gets the notable mention, up 14%, following notification of stakebuilding by a UK based party. They previously had a 2% stake in the business but this has now jumped to more than 10%. Volumes are reported as significantly higher than normal, although the stock has retreated from mid-session highs.
Emmerson LON:EML was the biggest casualty, off 47% on the day. The company advised this morning that it is struggling to get regulatory approvals from authorities in Morocco. Delays here are also impacting the cash position so management of this means various value-add projects will now be suspended.
Tlou Energy [LON:TLOU] was in second to last place at 2pm, down 39%. That came after the company announced it planned to cancel its AIM listing, with shares remaining tradable on the ASX and the Botswana exchange. The company again highlights the high listing cost and regulatory burden on AIM as being behind the decision. Although existing shareholders are being offered the ability to trade via the ASX depositary, the sell-off arguably underlines the tax advantage AIM has carried, too.
