The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Wednesday.
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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS
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Oryx International Growth Fund Ltd, up 1.3% at 1,231.00 pence, 12-month range 1,020.00p-1,499.97p. The medium and small companies notes investee Eckoh PLC has agreed to a takeover. Eckoh, a London-based provider of secure payment and customer contact products, said the bid from certain funds managed by Bridgepoint Advisers II valued it at £169.3 million on a fully diluted basis and implies an enterprise value of approximately £161.8 million. ‘On completion the offer will result in an increase in the net asset value of the September valuation of approximately 10 pence per share,’ Oryx says. It will lift its cash balance by £8.1 million.
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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS
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Secure Trust Bank PLC, down 8.4% at 567.72p, 12-month range 532.00p-950.00p. Shares fall as investors continue to fret about motor finance regulatory scrutiny in the UK. The retail bank provides moto finance through the V12 Vehicle Finance and Moneyway brands. The stock tumbled 18% on Friday after an unfavourable UK court ruling. A motor finance case that saw the UK Court of Appeal side with consumers. On Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the appeals of three claimants, Johnson, Wrench and Hopcraft, against FirstRand Bank and Close Brothers Group PLC - the so-called Hopcraft case.
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CAB Payments Holdings PLC, down 1.5% at 118.60p, 12-month range 46.10p-166.20p. The payment processing and foreign exchange company sinks further below its initial public offering price as it reports weak trading. ‘Revenue performance was in line with management expectations for July and August, but marginally below those expectations by the end of September. Whilst the group continues to exhibit growth in volumes it has also experienced a dilution in overall take-rates. This has been a result of the mix of flows shifting towards lower-margin G10 currencies together with slower than usual economic trading activity in our core markets,’ CAB says. International Developmental Organisation clients had reduced budgets this year, but a pick-up in volumes had been expected for the fourth-quarter due to ‘usual seasonality’. ‘There is now reason to believe that this pick-up in volumes in Q4 is unlikely to materialise owing to changing global macro-economic and political factors. The group believes this will reduce expected IDO volumes significantly in 2024 with an element of this likely to be deferred into 2025,’ CAB warns. The firm listed in July of last year and its share price is around 65% off the 335p IPO price.
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