Small cap round-up

Work Group updated the market on its progress in finding a suitable acquisition to fulfil its stated investment strategy on Friday. The AIM-traded firm’s chairman said it entered into a memorandum of understanding on an opportunity for the potential acquisition of a group of companies in the business services sector, and that extensive due diligence had been on-going for some time.

Angus Energy announced on Friday that it signed a sale agreement with Terrain Energy to acquire a 10% interest in the Brockham oil field, increasing its interest in the licence from 55% to 65%. The AIM-traded firm said consideration for the deal included a cash payment of £0.1m, relinquishment of Terrain's existing debt to Angus Energy's wholly owned subsidiary Angus Energy Weald Basin No.3 at completion and the carry of Terrain's remaining 10% interest share of the upcoming well costs at Brockham.

Exploration and development company Ortac Resources announced its unaudited financial results for the six months to 30 September on Friday - a period in which it recorded nil revenue, but did narrow its loss before tax to £0.25m from £0.34m. The AIM-traded firm was kept busy, however, as it increased its initial stake in Casa Mining to 21.25% as Casa looked to potentially double the 1.2Moz resource at their Misisi Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Thalassa Holdings, which provides services to the oil and gas industry, expects operational revenues to rise next year for its subsidiary WGP Group. The AIM-listed company expects operational revenue to increase about 29% to $15m in 2017, compared to the estimated operational revenue for 2016 of $11.6m, before taking into account $2.3m in data sales.

East Africa-focused gold producer Shanta Gold announced on Friday that on 15 December, its underground development at the New Luika Gold Mine intersected first mineralisation at the Bauhinia Creek deposit. The AIM-traded firm said the intersect occurred just after the nose fault, as predicted in the geological model.

Payments company SafeCharge International Group has made a minority investment in Israeli firm Nayax, a provider of cashless payments for unattended machines, for an undisclosed amount. The AIM-listed company's cards and payments platform has been integrated with Nayax’s technology to deliver a “robust and scalable solution” for unattended payments.