SMALL CAP MOVERS: AIM strings together a second winning week

Veterans of the small-cap sector will remember Sound Energy as the hot stock of 2017, when its shares soared above 900p and a new star appeared to be born in the exploration and production sector.

In hindsight the exuberance was irrational, given it now changes hands for 1.9p.

But the valuation at the time seemed fair enough, given Sound appeared to have landed a whale in the form of the giant Tendrara field, a major gas discovery in Morocco.

What has transpired since has been a sobering series of events revealing what happens when hope and expectation trump commonsense, and it should act as a cautionary tale for small-cap followers everywhere.

Quite simply, in the oil and gas industry, the gap between discovery and production, particularly in a remote desert region, is massive and the journey long and arduous.

Sound this week called time on Tendrara, selling its 20 per cent stake in the gas development for a headline $57 million.

When you look at the fine print, however, the company will walk away with just $11 million (£8.2 million) after paying off its debts.

That said, the cash sum is double the current market value of the business, which will now refocus on energy transition opportunities and upstream production outside Morocco.

The shares ended a turbulent week 60 per cent lower than they started.

AIM strings together a second winning week

The AIM All-Share had a second consecutive winning week, with the index up 3.2 per cent to 820.71, outperforming the FTSE 100, which was static.

Sticking with the natural resources sector, AIM’s second biggest loser was Union Jack Oil and Gas, where a shareholder battle over the reappointment of a former director appears to have unsettled sentiment, sending the shares down 23 per cent.

Sabien Technology dropped 21 per cent after executive chairman Richard Parris said he plans to sell his entire 26.65 per cent stake, which is rarely the signal markets want to see from the person who knows the business best.

A proposed £2 million convertible loan note financing, with warrants attached, added dilution concerns to the mix.

Tern up

Tern doubled over the week after the technology investor added to its position in Talking Medicines, an AI company helping healthcare advertising agencies analyse conversational data for pharmaceutical clients.

CellBx Health, up 79 per cent, continued its storming run, boosted by the signing of a master service agreement with drugs giant AstraZeneca.

GEO Exploration surged 62 per cent after the company said its 2026 work programme at the Gorge Project in Western Australia had begun ahead of schedule, with airborne surveys complete and field reconnaissance under way, validating historical results that include rock chip samples grading up to 134 grams per tonne gold.

Hardide jumped 47 per cent after the surface coatings specialist landed £2.4 million of new orders from a major North American energy customer, enough to cover their remaining requirements for the full year to September 2026, with most deliveries heading out of the group’s US facility.

Arc Minerals jumped 36 per cent after the copper explorer drew a line under all outstanding litigation in Zambia, settling eight separate sets of proceedings across multiple courts and tribunals in one go.

Bradda Head, baddaboom

Bradda Head Lithium jumped 27 per cent after securing a key drilling permit for its Whistlejacket lithium project in Arizona, covering rock sampling and up to 24 drill pads as part of its 2026 exploration campaign.

Combined with existing permits at its San Domingo project, the company is now set to drill around 14,000 feet across both sites, targeting maiden mineral resource estimates by the end of 2027.

Creo Medical jumped 25 per cent after the medical devices company launched a £5.5 million placing at 15p per share, a premium to the previous close, with directors putting their hands in their own pockets for £2.15 million of that total.

Combined with a separate £2 million convertible loan note, the fundraise is expected to carry the company to sustainable cash generation and profitability, backed by first-quarter revenue growth of around 60 per cent year on year.

Hydrogen headache at Clean Power

Finally, Clean Power Hydrogen asked for its shares to be suspended from trading on Friday after an incident during final testing of its 1MW electrolyser caused significant equipment damage, derailed a planned fundraise, and left the company with a constrained working capital position.

Not quite the Friday afternoon anyone had planned.

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