Small caps news round-up

SpaceandPeople reported solid trading in its core and retail businesses on Friday, but flagged the closure of its S&P+ business after some seriously disappointing trading. The AIM-traded firm said UK and German retail operations are performing in line with expectations, with an increase in venues in the UK as well as a strong pipeline in varying stages of discussion.

Recruitment and outsourcing solutions provider Servoca announced its acquisition of Classic Education on Friday. The AIM-traded firm said the initial consideration is £1.2m, which will be funded from existing cash resources and debt facilities.

Enterprise cloud computing services and web solutions provider RapidCloud International announced a new multi-phase, 12 month contract win for its RapidAPI gateway solution on Friday, with Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby. The AIM-traded firm said the first phase integration between the IFCA Enterprise Resource Planning System and ReadSoft Process Director Business Automation tool is worth approximately MYR 0.2m to the company, with further phase roll outs expected throughout the next 12 months.

E-procurement software provider EU Supply announced on Friday that revenues from its Business Alert service in the year to date now exceed the total reported in the year to 31 December 2015. The AIM-traded company said that it has also been awarded contracts for integrations of its CTM platform from existing customers in the Nordic region.

Condor Gold updated the market on Friday, on its regional exploration activity at the La India project in Nicaragua. Among the work undertaken by the AIM-traded company in the first half of 2016 was follow-up field work on 33 exploration targets identified in a structural geology study and 13 exploration targets identified by the ongoing soil survey as at the end of 2015.

SolGold announced on Friday that its has executed a short-term unsecured loan agreement with DGR Global, to provide up to $7m in funding for the period through to 31 December. The AIM-traded company said the agreement covers recent advances made by DGR Global, and SolGold’s likely future short-term working capital requirements.

John Lewis of Hungerford updated the market on its current trading on Friday, confirming its third quarter sales to 31 May were 12.5% higher than the previous year at £1.86m. The AIM-traded company said the aggregate of despatched sales at the end of the third quarter and the forward order stand at £6.9m, a 9.5% increase over the comparative period last year.

Embedded computer products designer and manufacturer Concurrent Technology posted a trading update on Friday, over the recent severe weakening in sterling after the UK voted to leave the European Union. The AIM-traded company said that as a consequence of the recent changes, especially in sterling against the dollar, it has conducted an additional review of its financial risk and trading plans.

Eco City Vehicles announced on Friday that it has agreed to acquire Tax Computer Systems, a supplier of corporation tax software to the large corporate sector and the accounting profession in the UK and Ireland, for an enterprise value of £73m. The AIM-traded firm also revealed it has conditionally raised £45m by way of an oversubscribed placing of new ordinary shares.

Full year profits at animal pharmaceutical company ECO Animal Health jumped as the company benefitted from a weak pound caused by Brexit. Pre-tax profit increased by 51% to £7.7m and gross profit increased 21% to £21m for the year ending 31 March 2016.

Specialist lender Impact Holdings announced preliminary results for the year to 31 March on Friday, swinging to a loss of £0.23m, against last year’s £0.25m profit, amid a legal battle in which it has stopped recognising revenue. The AIM-traded firm said this equates to a loss per share of 8.6p, down from a profit of 10p per share in the year to 31 March 2015.