In what could be one of the biggest listings of the year, Cobalt Holdings – a company set up to buy and hold cobalt, as its name suggests – said it intended to float in London next month through a $230 million issue of new equity partly underwritten by mining giant Glencore (GLEN).

The company, which will seek admission to the commercial companies segment of the official list, claims it will be the only publicly-quoted pure-play cobalt stock on the market at a time when annual demand is expected to grow by 50% between 2024 and 2031 due to the ‘energy transition’.

Also confirming its intention to float is multi-asset CFD (contracts-for-difference) platform iFOREX, which also expects to join the market next month.

At the time of writing there are no details of the size of the placing, which will be made up of new shares and managed by Shore Capital, but management has confirmed there will be a 12-month lock-up period with regard to employee share holdings followed by a 12-month period where shares can be sold via an ‘orderly market’.

THE EXODUS CONTINUES

At the same time, there have been several takeover bids this month spanning the pawn shop industry, the power transmission market and the property service sector.

First, pawnbroker to jewellery retailer H&T (HAT:AIM) agreed an all-cash offer from US operator FirstCash (FCFS:NASDAQ).

The deal, pitched at 661p or a 44% premium to the undisturbed share price, values H&T at £297 million and, as the company’s board put it, ‘gives shareholders the opportunity to realise the value of their holdings’ at a higher level than the shares have ever traded on AIM.

Just over a year ago, Shares ran the rule over H&T and concluded the shares looked attractive on a valuation and dividend yield basis:

Also saying farewell to the market is specialist provider of safety, compliance and sustainability solutions to housing associations and local authorities Kinovo (KINO:AIM), which agreed to be acquired by deal-hungry Sureserve, once a listed company itself but now owned by private equity.

The deal, which was pitched at 87.5p per share or a 41% premium to the undisturbed price, valued the business at roughly £56 million and was recommended by the directors as a means of accelerating the firm’s growth.

Most recently, industrial chain, gear and coupling-maker Renold (RNO:AIM) revealed it had received two competing all-cash bids, one at 77p and one at 81p, the latter – pitched at a 48% premium to the undisturbed price – from a consortium of private equity firms.

Manchester-based Renold is a running Shares Great Idea based on its ability to grow faster than its markets and continually increase margins thanks to operational leverage.

Mention must also go to financial solutions firm Alpha Group (ALPH), which rebuffed an all-cash approach from US payments firm Corpay (CPAY:NYSE) sending its shares to an all-time high of £31.40 in the process.

DASH FOR CASH

It also looks as if it may be the end of the road as a public company for seaweed-based animal feed producer Ocean Harvest Technology (OHT:AIM), which revealed earlier this month that despite growing its sales by 65% in the first quarter was still making losses and rapidly running out of money.

As of the end of April the firm held stock of £1.2 million and had a cash balance of £0.4 million, enough to fund it till mid-June, but it warned its lack of capital could constitute a default event under the terms of the recently-issued loan notes which have kept it afloat this far.

Another firm which has been struggling with its funding situation is former market darling Revolution Beauty (REVB:AIM), which saw its market value tumble earlier this month to under £20 million from close to £500 million at its peak.

Shares in the cosmetics firm, which is 27% owned by online fashion retailer Boohoo (BOO:AIM), tumbled almost 40% in a single day after it warned 2025 results would miss estimates after revenue fell 26% in the year to the end of February due to softer US and digital demand.

The board had been considering tapping shareholders for cash, but revealed last week it had received an approach and has therefore begun the Formal Sales Process, which means interested parties don’t have to be disclosed to the market, unlike in a normal bid situation.

The news sparked a jump of almost 50% in the share price, bringing some relief to beleaguered shareholders.

NEW ORDERS

In contrast, there was good news for several smaller firms in the shape of growing order books including green energy company ITM Power (ITM:AIM) which celebrated the award of a new large-scale mandate in the Asia-Pacific region.

The firm announced this month it had signed an agreement to supply over 300MW of electrolysers to produce ‘green hydrogen’, for use in a power plant.

The news sent the shares sharply higher, arresting a four-year slide which has seen the stock price drop from almost 800p to just over 25p.

Antenna designer and manufacturer MTI Wireless Edge (MWE:AIM) received two large orders in the last month, both from existing customers.

The first, worth $0.8 million, is for a defence application, while the second, worth $1 million, is part of the renewal and expansion of a water irrigation system installed over decade ago, and the firm expects the contract to be extended as the upgrade enters the next phase.

Sheffield-based security and surveillance systems provider Synectics (SNX:AIM) picked up a new £1.1 million contract with bus operator Stagecoach, the UK transport business now owned by German investment fund DWS Infrastructure.

Synectics said the pilot scheme, which uses an on-board hub to improve efficiency and which is expected to be completed in a year, should lead to its technology being deployed more widely across the Stagecoach fleet.

Last, but by no means least, advanced materials-maker Velocity Composites (VEL:AIM) announced it extended its relationship with BAE Systems (BA.), the UK’s largest defence contractor, for another three years.

Velocity has been supplying BAE with process material kits for the F35 and Typhoon fighter programmes since 2010, and as with other recently-renewed contracts, the agreement allows for price increases due to increased labour, energy and finance costs, which will help support 2025 revenue expectations.

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