Wednesday, 29 April
Opening View
A broadly constructive session for small caps, with deal-making and operational milestones dominating the headlines. MedPal AI (LSE:MPAL)'s pharmacy acquisition, Shearwater's telecom contract win, and Ecora's striking Q1 royalty surge reflect three very different routes to value creation, while Solvonis and ZOO Digital each offer reassurance that their respective strategies remain on track. Galantas, meanwhile, executed a complex but consequential restructuring that fundamentally reshapes its asset base. The throughline today: small caps doing the unglamorous but necessary work of building foundations.
Solvonis Therapeutics | SVNS | 0.2855p (+6.13%)
Solvonis Therapeutics closed FY2025 with £1.720 million in cash and a sharpened identity as a focused CNS biopharmaceutical company. The priority now is completing Phase 3 of SVN-001, its lead asset targeting Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). The stock's 6%-plus gain suggests the market is encouraged by the clarity of direction, even as the cash runway will remain a watchpoint as Phase 3 progresses.
Galantas Gold | GAL | 33.8p (-4.79%)
A year of heavy transformation at Galantas, and the numbers reflect the cost of it. The company posted a net loss of US$8.49 million for 2025, while executing two significant structural moves: Ocean Partners converted approximately US$14 million of loans into an 80% stake in the Omagh subsidiaries, effectively deconsolidating that asset from the group, and Galantas simultaneously issued shares to acquire RDL on 31 December. The portfolio looks materially different heading into 2026, the market's near-5% markdown reflects the scale of the loss and the complexity of digesting these changes.
Shuka Minerals | SKA | 3.2p (-3.03%)
Shuka Minerals has contracted Ox Drilling to execute a circa 2,000-metre Phase 1 diamond drilling campaign at its Kabwe zinc project in Zambia, with boots on the ground expected from mid-May. GeoQuest will provide on-site technical support. It's a concrete operational step forward for an early-stage miner, though the stock slipped modestly, typical of the market's impatience between announcement and results.
Shearwater Group | SWG | 37.7p (+0.53%)
Shearwater's Brookcourt Solutions subsidiary has landed a circa £1.8 million contract with a major UK telecom operator to design, supply, and implement a resilient hardware platform, alongside ongoing service engineering for critical network monitoring. Delivery is scheduled across 2026. A solid, tangible revenue addition for a cybersecurity and technology services group that continues to build its contract base quietly and steadily.
ZOO Digital Group | ZOO | 11.96p (+1.79%)
ZOO Digital's FY26 trading update lands in line with market consensus, revenue of $42.3 million for the year to 31 March, with Adjusted EBITDA of at least $3.8 million. After a difficult period navigating Hollywood production disruptions, the in-line delivery is a meaningful signal of stabilisation. The stock ticked up nearly 2%, reflecting relief as much as enthusiasm. The EBITDA floor of $3.8 million will be the number analysts scrutinise when full results arrive.
Ecora Royalties | ECOR | 132.8p (-3.07%)
Ecora delivered a standout Q1, with portfolio contribution surging 105% year-on-year to $12.3 million, the base metals book alone jumped 152%. Despite the impressive quarterly print, the company held its full-year attributable cobalt guidance steady at 500-560 tonnes, suggesting management is not yet ready to extrapolate the Q1 momentum into a full-year upgrade. The stock's 3% dip may reflect that conservatism, or broader profit-taking after a strong run.
MedPal AI | MPAL | 2.615p (+4.6%)
MedPal AI has acquired the Remedi pharmacy in Runcorn for £310,000 in cash, a modest outlay that brings with it a patient book that dispensed one million NHS items in 2024. The company has mapped a clear path to EBITDA breakeven at 80,000 dispensed items per month, giving investors a tangible operational milestone to track. The stock gained 4.6%, reflecting appetite for the company's strategy of combining AI-driven healthcare tools with real-world pharmacy infrastructure.
Naked Wines | WINE | 73.5p (+2.08%)
Naked Wines rounded off FY26 with results in line with prior guidance, revenue of approximately £200 million and adjusted EBITDA toward the top of the guided range, underpinned by £25 million of delivered cost savings. It's a creditable outcome for a business that has been through significant strategic restructuring. The stock gained just over 2%, a measured but positive response to management delivering on its promises.
Also Noted
Trifast Flagged FY26 underlying EBIT of circa £16 million, in line with market expectations, despite revenue declining approximately 7% to circa £207 million. The margin improvement story is doing the heavy lifting here.
Watkin Jones Guided for HY 2026 operating profit broadly in line with the prior year period, even as lower transactional activity weighs on revenue. In-build margins holding to guidance provides the floor.
Small Caps Today is a digest of market and company announcements. Nothing herein constitutes investment advice.
