A resources-heavy session across the small-cap board saw fresh capital flow into Brazilian iron ore, a takeover swoop on a London advertising network, and a slew of disposal and drilling updates from junior miners. Corporate change was also in the air, with Debenhams refreshing its boardroom and Mothercare sounding a fresh solvency warning tied to its Gulf franchise partner.
Cadence Minerals raises £1.8m for Azteca restart
Cadence Minerals (AIM:KDNC) has raised £1.8m to accelerate infrastructure and optimisation work at its Azteca processing plant in Brazil, with the shares rising 7.8% to 5.39p. Cadence holds a 36.2% indirect interest in the Amapá Iron Ore Project, where Azteca, a refurbished magnetic and spiral separation plant, is being commissioned to produce roughly 380,000 tonnes a year of approximately 65% iron ore concentrate. A separate retail offer of up to £0.45m at 4.5p per share, matching the placing price, is expected to open shortly for eligible existing UK shareholders.
The company said Azteca's restart and initial working capital are already funded, but the new capital lets it bring forward repairs to the Pedra Branca do Amapari bridge, currently operating under temporary controls, with the goal of completing the works before first shipment. The funds will also support studies into higher mass recovery and throughput, alongside drilling to establish whether historic tailings can extend feed beyond the initial two to three years supported by stored Dyke 5 material.
"Raising now allows us to bring forward the bridge works, with the objective of completing them before first shipment and reducing a known logistics risk," said Kiran Morzaria, chief executive.
The raise is a small sum in absolute terms but a telling one strategically: Cadence is choosing to spend ahead of first shipment rather than after it, treating the bridge as a logistics risk worth buying down now. Preserving cash elsewhere also keeps the Definitive Feasibility Study, targeted to begin in 2027, and port and railway licensing on track for the larger Amapá redevelopment, which aims for 5.5m tonnes a year of 67.5% iron ore concentrate. The next test is hot commissioning at 25% to 50% of plant capacity, with commercial shipments still contingent on Azteca's Operating Licence being granted.
Taboola agrees recommended takeover of Dianomi
Taboola.com has agreed a recommended acquisition of Dianomi, the AIM-listed advertising network focused on finance, business and lifestyle publishers, through its subsidiary Taboola Europe Dianomi shareholders will receive 64p in cash per share plus a contingent consideration unit worth up to a further 24p, valuing the company at approximately £19m upfront and up to £27m if the maximum payout is achieved.
The 64p cash offer represents a 68% premium to Dianomi's 38.0p closing price on the last practicable date, and a striking 350% premium to its six-month volume-weighted average price of 14.2p. The contingent payment hinges on a subset of Dianomi's publishers adopting elements of Taboola's standard publisher terms within an agreed timeframe, subject to a minimum threshold and the net revenue those publishers generate, with no guarantee any additional consideration is ultimately paid.
The scale of the premium to the recent trading average underscores how far Dianomi's share price had drifted from what a strategic buyer was willing to pay, and the structure, most value upfront, the rest contingent on commercial integration, gives Taboola a way to fund the deal on delivered synergies rather than promises. For a company with Taboola's reach, over 600m daily active users on its Realize platform, absorbing a finance-and-lifestyle publisher network fills a specific vertical gap rather than adding scale for its own sake.
Nativo secures finance and equity deal for La Patona plant
Nativo Resources (AIM:NTVO), the precious metals company with gold mining and processing interests in Peru, has signed a conditional binding letter of intent with Chancery Royalty to fund completion of the Phase 1 La Patona gold ore processing plant, sending shares up 84.5% to 0.369p. The package comprises $3.5m of project finance, drawn in seven monthly instalments of $500,000 starting no later than 31 December, plus a £600,000 equity subscription split into two tranches of £300,000 each at 0.21p per share.
In exchange for the project finance, Nativo will grant Chancery a 6% gross revenue share on gold produced at La Patona until Chancery has received the equivalent of 3,034 troy ounces, falling to 1.5% for the remainder of the mine's life. Tranche A completes 60 days after the agreement, giving Chancery roughly 9.5% of the enlarged share capital; combined with Tranche B, due by the end of September, Chancery-related holders will control approximately 17.4%. "This agreement provides the funding to take it through to production," said Stephen Birrell, chief executive of Nativo.
The deal effectively hands Chancery a meaningful equity foothold and a revenue royalty in return for de-risking Nativo's path to production, a trade the market has rewarded sharply given the scale of the share move. "Chancery's investment alongside the project finance also provides strong alignment as we progress La Patona and consider its future expansion," said Jeremy Gray, chief executive officer of Chancery, signalling the royalty holder's interest extends beyond Phase 1 completion.
Oriole Resources sells Muratdere royalty
Oriole Resources (AIM:ORR), the gold exploration and development company focused on Central and West Africa, has sold its 1.2% net smelter return royalty in Turkey's Muratdere project to Ardent Metals LLC-FZ for total consideration of $1.2m, with shares up 6.67% to 0.32p. The payment arrives in three tranches of $400,000 each; Oriole has already received the first and transferred title to Ardent, while the remaining two instalments fall due by 19 March 2027 and 19 September 2027, with title reverting fully to Oriole if either payment is delayed.
Oriole operated Muratdere between 2005 and 2011, delivering a JORC-compliant inferred resource of 51m tonnes grading 0.36% copper, 0.12 g/t gold, 2.40 g/t silver, 0.0125% molybdenum and 0.34 parts per million rhenium. It sold a 51% stake to Lodos in 2012 for $1.7m, and further investment saw Lodos earn a 70% interest and complete a feasibility study in 2015 before Oriole's remaining equity converted into the 1.2% royalty in 2019.
"We are pleased to announce the disposal of our non-core Muratdere royalty as the sale provides significant cash proceeds which can be devoted to funding the Company's important activities in Cameroon," said Martin Rosser, chief executive officer of Oriole Resources. Cashing out a legacy Turkish royalty for guaranteed dollars, even in staged tranches, sharpens Oriole's focus and balance sheet roughly its core Cameroon exploration ambitions rather than a passive interest it no longer controls.
RC Fornax wins government contract but flags FY26 miss
RC Fornax (AIM:RCFX) has secured a new award under the Public Sector Resourcing framework, lifting its FY27 revenue visibility to £8.4m, with shares up 5.33% to 5.14p. The defence consultancy's win extends its public sector pipeline even as it prepares to report full-year results that will land marginally below market expectations.
The contrast between a stronger forward order book and a near-term earnings miss is a familiar pattern for growing consultancies scaling into government frameworks, and the market's positive reaction suggests investors are weighting the FY27 visibility more heavily than the FY26 shortfall.
Redcentric completes data centre disposal at higher price
Redcentric (AIM:RCN) has completed the sale of its data centres unit to Stellanor for £124.90m, above the £122.85m estimated in May, after a final balancing payment of £9.46m. Shares were flat at 96.01p.
The uplift on the original estimate, delivered via the balancing payment mechanism, gives Redcentric a cleaner and slightly richer exit than initially guided, freeing management to redeploy the proceeds toward its remaining managed services operations.
Huddled Group launches live commerce with £100k weekly sales
Huddled Group (AIM:HUD) has launched a live, presenter-led shopping operation integrated with its automated fulfilment network, reporting weekly sales of approximately £100,000 in early trading. Shares rose 7.32% to 0.5366p.
Pairing live commerce with an existing automated fulfilment backbone gives Huddled a way to test a new sales channel without building fresh logistics infrastructure, and the early revenue run-rate offers an initial, if preliminary, read on demand.
Galileo Resources clears way for $3m Kalahari copper sale
Galileo Resources (AIM:GLR) has satisfied all conditions on its sale of two Kalahari Copper Belt licences to a subsidiary of Sandfire Resources, with completion expected by 30 September. Shares jumped 28% to 0.8p.
Clearing the conditions removes the last hurdle to Galileo banking the proceeds from a non-core African copper asset, with the scale of the share move reflecting the deal's significance relative to the company's current market size.
Tertiary Minerals outlines higher-grade zone at Mushima North
Tertiary Minerals (AIM:TYM) has reported drill results from its Mushima North project in Zambia showing mineralisation extending beyond the current exploration target boundary, with a new copper discovery also identified at the Western Zone. Shares edged up 3.57% to 0.0725p.
The extension of mineralisation beyond the mapped target area, alongside a fresh discovery zone, points to a larger system than previously outlined and gives Tertiary grounds to expand its exploration footprint at Mushima North.
Debenhams reappoints McDonald as chair, adds two directors
Debenhams Group has reappointed Iain McDonald as Non-Executive Chair as Tim Morris steps down, with Michael Stewart and Stephen Rothwell joining the board as independent non-executives.
The boardroom refresh brings continuity through McDonald's return alongside two new independent voices, a signal of governance stability as the digital retail group continues to build out its senior leadership team.
Mothercare warns on solvency amid Gulf franchise review
Mothercare has warned over its longer-term financial viability after its leading Middle Eastern franchise partner confirmed plans to shut most of its stores in the territory during 2027.
The retreat of a key regional franchise partner strips out a significant slice of Mothercare's licensing income, and the explicit solvency warning marks a sharp escalation in tone for a brand that has relied heavily on overseas franchising since exiting UK retail.
