Pires Investments (AIM:PIRI) is in demand after an upbeat valuation statement.
The investment company, which focuses on next-generation technology, said its net asset value at the half year jumped by 20% in the first six months to £8.7mln or 5.23p a share.
Profits for the period however fell from £1.53mln to £992,000.
Since the year end, it has raised £500,000 in a placing.
Pires director Nicholas Lee said: "The company has made strong progress during this period, with a significant uplift in the valuation of its portfolio, driven by the increasing valuation of Getvisibility, in which it has both direct and indirect interests.
"Given the growth in net asset value, the company is now trading at a 41% discount to its NAV. ...
"Going forward, the company has a clear and proven strategy of investing in next-generation technology and realising returns from its investments which it will continue to implement. Our portfolio of investments remains well-poised to achieve significant growth, delivering value to Pires and its shareholders."
Its shares are 8.07% better at 3.35p.
3.01pm: Crestchic climbs after upping forecasts again
Crestchic PLC is climbing after a positive update from the power reliability company.
It said half year revenues rose 35% to £21.3mln and operating profit more than doubled from £1.8mln to a record £4.2mln.
With new factory capacity at Burton on Trent and a record level of orders, the company has raised its expectations for both 2022 and 2023.
Chairman Peter Harris said: "To date, 2022 has been a record year for Crestchic. The strength of our pipeline makes us confident that Crestchic will continue to grow strongly into 2023. This buoyant performance across all sectors around the world has led the Board to raise expectations for the fourth time this year.
"Productivity gains, coupled with the additional factory capacity at Burton, which came on line in June 2022 on schedule and on budget, are proving invaluable as we continue to grow the business."
Its shares are up 4.29% at 273.25p.
2.25pm: Mitchells & Butlers slides after warning on energy costs
Investors in Mitchells & Butlers PLC (LSE:MAB) had little to cheer about after its shares dropped following its latest update.
The pubs group behind Toby Carvery and All Bar One said sales for the year were down 1.3% year on year and warned that energy costs would nearly double in the current year with further increases seen in 2023.
Phil Urban, chief executive, said: “The trading environment for the hospitality sector remains very challenging, with cost inflation putting increasing pressure on margins."
But he added: “Our diverse portfolio of well-known brands and strong estate locations, put us in a stronger competitive position to face the challenges ahead."
Shares though have fallen 10.3% to 121.1p.
12.26pm: Light Science Technologies shines after contract with Rentokil and agriculture trials
Shares in Light Science Technologies Holdings PLC (AIM:LST) are brighter after positive contract news.
The company's contract electronics manufacturing division hasreceived an additional £500,000 in forward orders from Rentokil Initial, which are expected to be fulfilled between November 2022 and March 2023.
The two businesses have been in partnership for more than ten years, and these new orders are in addition to historical forward order profiles.
Meanwhile its controlled environment agriculture technology busines has signed two trial contracts for its recently launched sensorGROW product, which allows farmers to monitor key growing factors in real time
If successful, these trials could roll into subscriptions and be worth up to £940,000 in recurring revenues over a three year period. The group is in talks regarding a number of other trials.
Chief executive and founder Simon Deacon said : "We are delighted that Rentokil has chosen to increase its forward orders with us, as it shows our commitment to quality and high levels of service. This contract demonstrates the continued demand for UK manufacture, as we see customers focus on maintaining mid-term supply chain as well as controlling costs.
"I am also pleased to see confirmation of several sensorGROW trial contracts and expect more to be forthcoming. This demonstrates how growers see the importance of combining intelligence and increasing productivity to maximise yields within their indoor growing environments in a time when energy efficiency is crucial."
The company's shares have climbed 9.63% or 0.65p to 7.4p.
11.26am: Pathfinder Minerals (AIM:PFP) surges after deal to help push ahead with Mozambique claim
Pathfinder Minerals (AIM:PFP) is heading in the right direction after it unveiled disposal plans and a new loan arrangement.
It has granted an exclusive option to Acumen Advisory Group, a Delaware based asset recovery specialist, to acquire its IM Minerals subsidiary and the rights to bring a claim against the government of Mozambique for the expropriation of a mining concession in the country.
Acumen has until the end of December to enter into a binding agreement, which involves paying Pathfinder £2mln in cash and a commitment to pursue the claim within three months of completion of the deal.
It also has to confirm it has secured at least US$15mln and will use its best endeavours to pursue the claim to a satisfactory conclusion within five years.
If successful, it would pay Pathfinder US$24mln or 20% of net recoveries (whichever is greater) from any award or settlement of the claim.
The sale needs to be agreed by shareholders, and if it goes ahead, could leave Pathfinder as a cash shell under Aim rules.
Chief executive Peter Taylor said: "This transaction, if completed, will ensure that the full force of a timely and well-funded claim is brought against the government of Mozambique and that Pathfinder could participate very considerably in any financial upside which has been independently evaluated to be worth in a range of US$110mln to US$1.5bn.
"A great deal of work has gone into preparing to bring a claim and this now paves the way for Acumen to apply its financial firepower to launch it and see it through to conclusion. The biggest hurdle has never been the strength of the claim - which is assessed by Counsel to be in Pathfinder's favour - but having the funding to bring it. A successful transaction with Acumen would remove that hurdle.
"In the meantime, the £2mln proceeds from the disposal of IMM, if completed, would enable Pathfinder to pursue from a robust financial position other opportunities for value creation within the minerals sector, a number of which are under review."
Meanwhile the company has also announced that an FCA authorised financial institution has arranged an unsecured loan facility of up to £120,000 for working capital purposes.
Pathfinder shares are up 52.38% at 0.8p.
11.10am: Avon Protection climbs after US army order
Avon Protection PLC (LSE:AVON) has moved sharply higher after it announced the first order for its Next Generation Integrated Head Protection System.
Its shares are up 7.19% or 73.35p at 1093.35p on news that contract, with the US army, was worth US$42.1mln with initial deliveries expected to start in the first half of 2023.
Chief executive Paul McDonald said: "The receipt of this first delivery order is an important milestone for the [system], and a critical step in getting our advanced life-saving technology rolled out to US military personnel with this first order.”
“This programme cements our position as a global leader in head protection technology, and specifically as a centre of excellence in high-specification ballistic helmets."
10.20am: Synthomer (LSE:SYNT) loses a third of its value as profits set to miss forecasts
Synthomer (LSE:SYNT) has slumped after the chemical maker said its full year earnings would be 10% to 15% below its previous expectations.
It said the destocking of medical gloves due to high inventory levels which had reduced nitrile butadiene rubber production volumes in the first half had continued into the third quarter.
It added: "The board now anticipates modest profitability in Performance Elastomers for the second half of the year. Whilst underlying end-customer demand for medical gloves remains similar to pre-COVID-19 levels, the destocking impact is not expected to abate before the end of 2023."
On top of that, it said that macroeconomic conditions had continued to deteriorate, leading to reduced demand in construction and coatings end markets.
"As a result of these factors, the board now expects full year EBITDA to be 10% to 15% below its previous expectations," it said, and plans to cut costs, capital expenditure and working capital.
Its shares are down 33.8% at 91.35p.
8.55am: Attraqt proves attractive to US bidder
Attraqt Group PLC (LSE:ATQT), the supplier of software for ecommerce, has proved attractive.
Its shares have jumped 68.57% to 29.5p after it recommended a cash offer from Aegean Bidco, a newly formed subsidiary of US group Crownpeak.
The deal values Attraqt at 30p a share or £63.2mln in total.
The bidder already has acceptances worth 42.12% of its target.
Crownpeak said the deal was an excellent fit and would give it greater scale in the UK and European markets, while to reach its potential, Attraqt would "be better suited to a private company environment, where initiatives to improve the performance of the business can be implemented effectively... free from the requirement to meet the public equity market's shorter-term reporting requirements and expectations."
Tom Crawford, chairman of Attraqt, said: "Whilst we remain excited about the prospects for the business on a standalone basis, we have been in discussions with Crownpeak and received a proposal that we believe is compelling for all of our stakeholders.. As a result of the acquisition, we believe Attraqt will be both nimbler in executing its strategy and able to build a business capable of sustainable longer-term growth, with stronger operating leverage and profitability."
Elsewhere cyber security specialist Falanx Group Ltd (AIM:FLX) is up 14.29% to 0.6p after cutting its losses and giving an upbeat outlook statement.
The company said full year revenues rose 14% to £3.54mln while adjusted earnings improved from a £1.35mln to £1.27mln.
Chief executive Mike Read said: "Demand for our cyber security services continues to grow. In addition to the recent high profile cyber security concerns, we are seeing even more attacks on Small to Medium size Enterprises. These SMEs often receive initial support via their trusted IT providers (who are not Cyber Security specialists) and hence these are the channel for our cyber services. Therefore, we have added some key new partners to our existing base to expand our reach into these IT providers..
"The Falanx team is very focused on growth in a buoyant market and, whilst the first half of 2023 revenues are expected to be similar to the same period in 2022, orders for our core services are already up by over 18% and we are expecting further growth in orders for the second half of 2023, and with ongoing significant growth thereafter."