SMALL CAP MOVERS: ImmuPharma improved by groundbreaking research

A difficult period for AIM showed little sign of letting up as the first member of the new year, in the form of Alliance Pharmamade plans this week to head for the exit door.

Alliance said on Friday it had reached a nearly £350 million deal with its largest shareholder D BAY Advisors, which would be taken private.

Shares rose 37.9 per cent to 61.16p on news that Isle of Man-based DBay had submitted a bid of 62.5p, representing a 40.9 per cent premium at Thursday’s close.

For AIM, the move meant even more grim news after the number of listings on the junior market fell to 688 in 2024, the lowest since 2001, according to AJ Bell.

Only six of these were worth more than £1 billion at the end of the year, down from 30 at the end of 2021, with 2024 IPOs also at the second lowest level since AIM launched in 1995.

Alliance cited “operational challenges” that had hampered plans for acquisitions over the past year, in line with broader concerns about low valuations and access to capital at AIM.

“Access to private capital and DBAY’s support will enable the country to return to its buy-and-build strategy more quickly than if it remained in the public market,” Alliance added.

Alliance’s update capped a dismal week for AIM, with the All-Share index down 1.1 percent at 719 points on Friday morning.

The biggest voters in the junior market fared no better, with the AIM 100 meanwhile down 1.4 percent to 3,451. In contrast, London’s blue-chip index headed into the weekend on the front foot, benefiting from rising commodity and oil prices since Monday.

The FTSE 100 was up almost 1 percent to reach 8,302 points on Friday, making it a bright spot in London as the FTSE 250 also turned negative.

However, several companies have managed to avoid the New Year’s blues ImmuPharma which this week took the spot as AIM’s biggest gainer.

Shares soared 195 percent following Thursday’s news of groundbreaking findings from the company’s preclinical study of its leading P140 drug for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Through subsidiary ImmuPharma Biotech, ImmuPharma said research had proven improved diagnostic accuracy, better identification of patients likely to benefit from P140 therapy, and improved monitoring of treatment responses.

The results indicated progress toward personalized medicine for SLE and other autoimmune diseases, ImmuPharma told investors.

Mind flair also jumped on news of a $3 billion (£2.4 billion) fundraising campaign by indirect investor Infinity Reality.

Shares rose on news of a $3 billion (£2.4 billion) fundraising campaign by indirect investor Infinity Reality.

Mindflair said it had a stake in Infinity Reality, which the deal valued at $12.25 billion, following the latter’s acquisition of portfolio company Landvault last year.

As a result, Mindflair shares rose 52.3 percent last week, making it the second-biggest gainer on the junior market.

An update on the third quarter of Victoria saw it emerge as AIM’s third biggest gainer with a weekly increase of 44.4 percent.

Embattled flooring company Victoria was among the market’s losers in 2024, citing “a small improvement in demand” and saying trading would be stronger in the second half.

Elsewhere, N4 Pharma gained 22.8 percent after Avacta Group founder and former CEO Alastair Smith was introduced as an independent non-executive director on Wednesday.

Tower Resources graced investors with news of a pair of farm-out deals with Prime Global Energies, sending its shares up 21 percent on Friday and 12 percent this week.

The oil and gas explorer has struck a long-awaited and crucial deal in Cameroon, where a well will now be drilled later this year to potentially open up a substantial field.

At the same time, the new partner is also supporting a separate exploration venture in Nambia, removing a hurdle and boosting investor sentiment from frustration to hopeful optimism.

Team Internet also posted gains on Tuesday after news of two bids, each worth 125 cents in cash. Despite Team Internet rejecting the bids, shares remained up almost 12 percent this week.

Friday saw TowerBrook Capital Partners withdraw from the battle for the digital marketer, leaving the focus on rival potential bidder Verdane.

Enteq Technologies, meanwhile, led the week’s lower market declines, down 64.5 percent.

The specialist energy services company on Friday highlighted positive recent demonstrations of its Saber drilling technology, but also warned about future cash flow.

RBG Holdings followed with a 58.6 percent decline after saying on Wednesday it had terminated a contract with the founder of its law firms, Rosenblatt and Memery Crystal.

Ian Rosenblatt was in breach of a consultancy agreement and restrictive covenants, he said, after buying a law firm last year and changing its name to Rosenblatt Law Limited in December, while also hiring RBG’s ex-litigation head Tania MacLeod.