AIM Micro

Switching markets

When it was launched in 1995 Aim was seen as a feeder market for the main market of the London Stock Exchange. There have been 117 companies that have made that move, although more than two dozen of these have found their way back to Aim. There have been many more companies moving the other way.

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Tags: switching markets, safeland, james cropper

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Time to consider the annual report

It is time for many companies to think about their annual report. The majority of companies have a December year end so they will be sending out their annual reports in March and April. This is an important opportunity to inform shareholders and other interested people about the business. However, many companies don’t take full advantage of it. More

Tags: annual report

Micro takeovers in 2007

Last year was a record for takeovers of Aim companies both in terms of numbers and value. The 75 companies taken over were valued at more than £10bn - four times the value of takeovers in 2006. Of course, a few large companies made up the majority of that value but there were also 26 Aim micro companies taken over. They were worth at total of just over £333m. More

Tags: takeovers

PSG Solutions

Until recently PSG Solutions was effectively a conglomerate but it has decided to focus on its property search business. It has had a number of different names - the previous one was London & Boston and prior to that it was Cybertec Holdings. When it was Cybertec it planned to combine investment in technology businesses with separate property investments. It then changed its name to London & Boston and became a diversified holding company. One of the acquisitions made during that period was Property Search Group and this forms the core of the current group. More

Tags: psg solutions

Libra Natural Resources

Libra Natural Resources started out as a shell company which was going to invest in businesses in the natural resources sector and it subsequently evolved the strategy to investing in waste to energy businesses. It joined Aim on 11 March 2005 just before the London Stock Exchange tightened up the rules for small shells. It raised £1.26m at 3p a share. Initial investments included coal supplier King Coal, which was acquired by Aim-quoted Coal International, Prometheus Energy, a producer of natural gas from coal mines and landfill sites which subsequently joined Aim, and the Westwood Fibre Products business that has ended up forming the core wood pellet-to-energy business in North America. The other assets are being spun off to enable Libra to concentrate on the wood pellets business. More

Tags: libra natural resources

Industrial
Leisure
Media
Resources
Cleantech

Global Marine Energy bid stalls

Oil services equipment manufacturer Global Marine Energy won’t become part of Hong Kong-listed EMER just yet. More

Potential Global reversal

Oil drilling rigs manufacturer IDM is in talks to reverse into oil services equipment supplier Global Marine Energy. More

Betbrokers moves ahead

Retail and wholesale betting brokerage Betbrokers is growing but it is still taking a long time to build up its revenues to a point where it will be making a profit. More

Betbrokers downgrade

Retail and wholesale betting brokerage Betbrokers is increasing customer numbers but it will take a much more to cover costs. More

Betbrokers

Betbrokers offers regular gamblers or bookies confidentiality when they take or lay bets in any size. By holding money in a central account gamblers can access money and place bets with any bookie. More

Works Media

London-based Media Corporation owns web portals and internet advertising operations. The web portals cover niche markets such as finance (CreditCardExpert.co.uk), TV listings (OnTheBox.com), travel (FlightComparison. co.uk), sports statistics (sport.co.uk) and gaming (Gambling.com). They generate revenues through advertising. The Eyeconomy advertising network operation represents 750 websites with more than 30m users each month. It has offices in London and Manchester and is opening another in New York. It offers ordinary internet adverts as well as newer formats such as video subsites. More

i-design signs up banks

Cash machine advertising company i-design has signed software licences with banks and building societies that operate nearly half of the cash machines operated by financial institutions in the UK. More

Ormonde Mining

Ireland-based Ormonde Mining has two mining projects in pre-development in Spain. La Zarza is a copper, gold, zinc and silver project in the Iberian pyrite belt in Andalucia. The other is a tungsten project at Barruecopardo in Salamanca. It also has other gold exploration projects. More

Goldplat

South Africa-based Goldplat’s main business is recovering gold and precious metals from processing mine waste, such as woodchips and grease. The South African business has been trading since 1979 and the current management took control in 2000. A similar operation has been started in Ghana. Management wants to use that base to expand into gold mining. They will be projects where gold has already been identified. The first potential project is in Kenya. Goldplat has formed a 74%-owned joint venture to acquire mining assets in South Africa. More

Ethanol Investments

Cash shell Ethanol Investments is buying a portfolio of cleantech stakes from Libra, Ben Goldsmith and Maitland Investments, an Asia-based international private investment company. More

Editor's note: March 2008

Patience required by Aim micro companies

Aim micro companies are going through a tough time under the current market conditions. Release bad news and a company’s shares will collapse. Release good news and the shares will still probably fall - just not as far. This is frustrating for a company’s management but it is something that happens with stock markets. More

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