SMALL CAP MOVERS: In The Style shares take one final tumble

Online fashion store In The Style The stormy two-year period in the stock market ends with a final stab in the tail for investors, who have seen the stock price crumble by about 99 percent in that time.

A period of operational and financial problems came to an end when the board decided this week to divest the rest of the company.

Valued at £105m when it hit the market in March 2021, the retailer is being offloaded for just £1.2m.

Focus on the inevitable final collapse of the stock, which has lost 80 percent of its value in the past five trading days.

Part of buyer Baaj Capital’s proposal was that founder Adam Frisby stay on as CEO.

He and a group of shareholders who sold £49 million worth of shares in the IPO are among the few beneficiaries of this brief flirtation with the public markets.

Looking at the broader sector, small cap stocks fell in the market. The AIM All-Shares Index fell 3.34 percent over the week to 836.98, slightly worse than the FTSE 100 index, which lost 2.58 percent to 7,742.36.

WANDisco Stocks have been suspended at the end of a bizarre week in the spotlight for the data company.

The group was rumored to be considering a dual listing in the US following a request to halt trading of its shares on AIM as it investigates “significant, sophisticated and potentially fraudulent” irregularities in its results.

Elsewhere, stockbroker CenkosShares fell 15 percent to 42 pence following the company’s annual earnings calls.

Chief executive Julien Morse noted that the AIM experienced its “lowest level of activity in nearly two decades” as profits fell 95 per cent to £200,000, almost breaking even.

Atlantic lithium a bounce back on Thursday wasn’t enough to completely revive the stock, which fell 28 percent to 26 pence over the week.

The exploration and development company responded to a “false and misleading report” about its partner Piedmont Lithium, which resulted in Atlantic’s shares being aggressively short-sold on Wednesday.

telecom group Calnex warned order delays will lead to a fall in results before the end of March 2024 as shares fell 33 percent to 113 pence.

Financial service provider Jarvis Effects cut its dividend after a 20 percent drop in pre-tax earnings, leading to a 16 percent fall in its share price to 140 pence.

Sabien technology was one of AIM’s bright spots this week after its M2G company, Sabien Technology Ltd, landed a major order from a UK government agency for its carbon mitigation devices. Shares shot up 9 percent to 10.1 pence over the past five days in London.

Leaving Russia still has a strong impact on London stocks, as a pharmaceutical company Ovoca Bio rose 20 per cent to 6.5 pence after selling Russian assets for just under £1 million.

Tech investors were impressed by the geo-energy group’s appointment of Dr Graham Cooley as chairman of the H2 Green Project, with the share price 5 percent higher than this time last week at 15 pence.

Cooley had led ‘successfully’ ITG power as chief executive from 2009 to 2022, where the share price peaked at 666 pence in 2021 from about 10 pence when he took over.

Plexus was another of AIM’s holdings to move up, gaining 2.4 percent to 3.5p.

The group has secured a £5 million order for its proprietary POS-GRIP source equipment and sealing technology for a specialist project application, to be deployed over the next 12 months.

Distributor of fuels, food and feed NWF group continued its good momentum from the first half to the second as it announced full year results will be “significantly above market expectations.” Investors enjoyed this and shares gained 7 percent to 274 pence.

With a host of companies reportedly considering an exit from the UK to the US, including oil giant Shell, two new listings were announced this week for investors to look forward to.

Fadel Partners, the brand compliance and rights and royalty management software company, will list on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market later this month, alongside Guernsey investment fund Onward Opportunities.