Small cap round up

Solid State saw its topline shrink in the first half of its financial year, with management saying that the uncertainty following Brexit impacted on clients´ buying patterns."While the broader economy continues to encourage prudence in clients' buying patterns following the results of the EU referendum, we have maintained a strong order backlog of £14.8m as at 30 September 2016," the chairman, Tony Frere, said in a statement.

Shares in Lavendon Group soared nearly 40% on Tuesday as the AIM-listed rental company rejected a £348m offer from Belgian industrial equipment supplier TVH Group. The company said that the level of support amongst its shareholders for the take-over was “not forthcoming” and it was unable to proceed with the offer as there were “concerns over the significant execution risk and the potential disruption” to the company.

ULS Technology has upped its first-half pre-tax profit to £1.7m, from £1.5m, and issued an upbeat commentary on its growth prospects.The provider of online B2B platforms for the UK conveyancing and financial intermediary markets proposed an interim dividend of 1.1p a share, up 5% on a year ago. Revenue improved slightly to £9.78m, from £9.76m.

AIM-listed CityFibre, a builder and operator of fibre optic infrastructure, said it welcomes the Treasury's £1bn fund to fast-track the rollout of pure fibre and 5G infrastructure.The fund is part of the Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement budget, which includes a £400m investment in the digital infrastructure investment fund to boost commercial finance for start-up broadband providers

Europa Oil & Gas’ proposed sale of a stake in a North Lincolnshire licence for £600,000 to Union Jack Oil has been approved by the industry regulatory body.The Oil & Gas Authority has approved the sale on a 3.34% interest in the PEDL 180 and 180 licences, which cover the Wressle discovery and Broughton North prospect to Union Jack.

Sepura, a communications solutions company, recorded a pre-tax loss of €62.1m in the six months ended 30 September, down from a profit of €6.2m in the previous period.The group’s revenue fell to €43.3m from €92.9m earned in the six months ended 2 October 2015.