Resource financing and operational updates dominated the small-cap tape, with Predator Oil & Gas forced into a heavily discounted placing to keep its Trinidad and Morocco programmes moving. Elsewhere, Seascape Energy Asia expanded its Malaysian gas licence, Smarter Web Company kept adding to its Bitcoin treasury, and a thick run of trading updates, from THG's upgraded guidance to Kenmare's trimmed output targets, rounded out a busy session across oil and gas, mining, and consumer names.
Predator Oil & Gas raises £2.5m to fund Trinidad expansion
Predator Oil & Gas Holdings (LSE:PRD) has conditionally placed 166.67m new shares at 1.5p to raise £2.5m before expenses, a fundraise priced well below May's placing at 3.5p for £3m covering the same broad Trinidad and Morocco work programme. The stock fell sharply to 1.407p, down 40.13% on the day, reflecting the scale of the dilution and the discount needed to get the deal away. Each placing share comes with a warrant exercisable at 2.5p over 24 months, alongside 11.67m broker warrants struck at the placing price and running 36 months.
Proceeds will go first toward Trinidad production growth: expanding Snowcap-3's facilities for higher initial throughput, hot-stacking the drilling rig to keep it development-ready, and funding testing on up to two Goudron infield wells to be drilled by NABI Construction under the existing services agreement. The company wants to retain the bulk of the upside from those Goudron wells to help finance a prospective gas-to-power option serving data centres off stranded gas. In Morocco, Predator pointed to large domestic players moving into the gas sector to fund appraisal and development work, framing this as a strategic opening it is positioned to exploit once MOU-6 test results land, the well reached its primary TGB-6 Submarine Fan target with a gross upper interval of 21.2 metres, with perforating and testing under way and results expected within two weeks. Funds are also earmarked for long-lead planning to deepen MOU-5 by at least 640 metres to test for helium and evaluate gas storage potential in the anticipated salt section.
The fundraise underlines how stretched Predator's balance sheet has become relative to its ambitions. Having to price a placing at under half of May's level, barely five months later, signals that investor appetite for funding the Morocco and Trinidad work at previous valuations has thinned considerably, even as the operational narrative, Snowcap-3 expansion, Goudron infill drilling, a gas-to-power angle, and a helium test at MOU-5, remains as broad as ever.
What matters now is whether the imminent MOU-6 results can arrest the slide in sentiment. A strong flow test would validate the Morocco thesis the company has been building toward for years and could justify the dilution just absorbed; a disappointing result would leave shareholders doubly punished, first by the discount and then by a stalled catalyst, at a moment when the company has already signalled it needs partners to carry forward both the gas-to-power option and the Morocco appraisal campaign.
Seascape Energy lands acreage extension in Malaysia
Seascape Energy Asia (AIM:SEA) has received a Letter of Agreement from PETRONAS, via Malaysia Petroleum Management, granting a substantial areal extension to its Temaris Cluster Small Field Asset production sharing contract, in which it holds a 100% interest. Shares in the London-listed explorer rose 4.08% to 102.0p on the news.
The Temaris Area Extension adds 547 square kilometres to the licence, lifting the total PSC area to roughly 1,770 square kilometres, a 45% increase on the acreage originally awarded in June 2025. Seascape has commissioned Sproule ERCE to update the competent person's report, which previously identified 950bn cubic feet of gross mean Prospective Resources, with the revised figure due in the fourth quarter and the potential, the company said, to double the current 1 trillion cubic feet of net mean Prospective Resources on the licence.
"This acreage expansion enhances the value of our Temaris asset, capturing more of the play and adding breadth and depth to our prospect inventory," said Pierre Eliet, chair of Seascape. The extension materially broadens the resource base underpinning the company's flagship asset ahead of the updated CPR, giving it a larger inventory to work with as it moves toward appraisal and development decisions in Malaysia.
Smarter Web Company adds 83 Bitcoin to treasury
The Smarter Web Company (LSE:SWC) has bought a further 83 Bitcoin for £5.2m, at an average price of £62,676 per coin, lifting total holdings to 2,830 BTC. Shares ticked up 1.11% to 51.97p as the web design and digital services group continued executing its so-called "10 Year Plan."
The net average purchase price across the whole treasury stands at £81,979 per coin, with gross Bitcoin purchases to date reaching £240.75m against gross sales of £8.75m, leaving net purchases of £232m. The company reported a quarter-to-date BTC Yield of 1.98%, the metric it uses to track whether its buying is accretive on a per-share basis.
The steady drip of treasury purchases keeps Smarter Web firmly in the camp of UK-listed Bitcoin accumulators, with the BTC Yield figure serving as the market's main gauge of capital discipline. The latest average purchase price, well below the treasury's overall cost base, suggests the company is buying into current weakness rather than chasing the market, a detail likely to matter more to shareholders than the headline coin count itself.
EnergyPathways fast-tracks Barrow hydrogen and graphite plant
EnergyPathways (AIM:EPP) is fast-tracking its low-carbon hydrogen and graphite production facility at Barrow-in-Furness, targeting revenue generation by 2029, with an earlier start possible depending on design optimisation and supply chain management. Shares slipped 5.49% to 7.75p despite the announcement.
Crucially, the company said commercialisation of this strand, known as Hydrogen Industries, does not depend on government commercial support and involves minimal regulatory process, a contrast with the other two pillars of its wider Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH) development, the long-duration compressed air storage project and the East Irish Sea gas and hydrogen storage scheme, both already designated nationally significant infrastructure. The Barrow plant will use methane splitting technology supplied through the company's partners.
"We have a real opportunity to accelerate this project and become revenue generative by 2029 if not earlier, underpinning the Company with strong cash flows at attractive EBITDA margins," said Ben Clube, chief executive of EnergyPathways. By isolating the piece of MESH that doesn't need state backing or lengthy consenting, the company is giving itself a nearer-term cash flow story that doesn't hinge on the slower-moving infrastructure designations elsewhere in the portfolio, a potentially important de-risking move even if the market's initial reaction was muted.
Fusion Antibodies revenue slumps as margins pinch
Fusion Antibodies (AIM:FAB) shares rose 7.14% to 12.0p even as the Belfast-based biologics specialist reported a revenue slump and margin pressure in its latest update.
The move suggests investors are looking past the near-term weakness, potentially pricing in a recovery narrative or relief that the numbers weren't worse than feared, though the underlying trading detail points to continued challenges in converting contract wins into profitable throughput.
THG upgrades full-year profit guidance as whey costs ease
THG (LSE:THG) shares jumped 16.72% to 32.12p after the Manchester-based e-commerce group upgraded its full-year profit guidance, with easing whey costs helping margins across its nutrition and beauty operations.
The scale of the move reflects how sensitive THG's earnings base is to input cost swings in its Myprotein-led nutrition business, and the upgrade will be read as early evidence that the cost relief management has been signalling is now showing through in the numbers rather than remaining aspirational.
ProCook says trading remains on track for full year
ProCook Group (LSE:PROC) shares fell 4.87% to 40.62p despite the kitchenware retailer confirming trading remains on track to meet full-year expectations.
The decline despite an in-line update suggests the market had positioned for upside, or is wary of consumer spending trends into the key trading period ahead, leaving ProCook to prove its guidance through the coming months rather than on sentiment alone.
Seraphim Space sees portfolio value up amid ICEYE surge
Seraphim Space Investment Trust (LSE:SSIT) shares fell 3.27% to 192.487p even as the space-focused investment trust highlighted a rise in portfolio value, driven in part by a surge in the valuation of satellite imagery holding ICEYE.
The disconnect between improving underlying asset values and a falling share price points to a persistent discount-to-NAV dynamic that has dogged listed investment trusts in the space sector, with the market seemingly discounting portfolio gains until they are realised through exits or further funding rounds.
Sulnox posts record quarter as revenue climbs 45%
Sulnox Group (AQSE:SNOX) reported a record quarter, with revenue climbing 45% as the fuel emulsion technology company continued to scale commercial sales.
The growth rate marks a significant acceleration for a company whose commercialisation path has historically been slow, giving the group fresh evidence to point to as it looks to convert technology interest into recurring contracts.
Syncona's OMass stake rises after $310m Series C round
OMass Therapeutics, a portfolio holding of Syncona (LSE:SYNC), has completed a $310m Series C funding round, lifting the valuation attributed to Syncona's stake. Syncona shares edged up 0.15% to 124.1808p.
The raise is a notable vote of confidence in OMass's drug discovery platform and gives Syncona, led by Edward Hodgkin, a tangible marker for one of its key life sciences investments at a time when the broader trust has been working to demonstrate that its underlying portfolio companies can still attract substantial late-stage private capital.
Truetide's Paraytec clears second-phase hurdle in lung cancer breath test
Truetide (AIM:TRUE) said its Paraytec business has cleared a second-phase development hurdle in a breath-based lung cancer diagnostic test, though shares dipped 3.23% to 3.0p.
The milestone keeps Paraytec's diagnostics ambitions on track and adds a clinical validation data point to a technology platform that, if successful, could open a meaningfully larger addressable market than Truetide's existing analytical instruments business.
BSF Enterprise splits in two, separating IP and commercial operations
BSF Enterprise (LSE:BSFA), led by Che Connon, is splitting its structure in two, separating its intellectual property holdings from its commercial operating businesses. Shares were little changed, down 1.09% to 1.088p.
The restructuring is designed to give investors cleaner visibility into the value of the group's underlying IP versus its trading operations, a move that could make the company easier to value, or to sell in parts, further down the line.
Capital posts record nine-month revenue as MSALABS hits new high
Capital (LSE:CAPD), the drilling and mining services group led by Jamie Boyton and Tim Donnelly, reported record nine-month revenue with its MSALABS laboratory services division hitting a new high. Shares rose 1.23% to 123.5p.
The MSALABS strength underscores the diversification strategy Capital has pursued beyond its core drilling business, giving the group a growing, higher-margin revenue stream that is less exposed to the cyclicality of exploration budgets than contract drilling alone.
Norcros holds full-year guidance as first-half profit grows
Norcros (LSE:NXR) held its full-year guidance steady after reporting growth in first-half profit, with shares little changed at 290.1p, down 0.65%.
The bathroom and kitchen products group's ability to grow profit while keeping full-year expectations unchanged suggests management is being deliberately conservative about the demand outlook for the balance of the year, even as current trading holds up.
Rank Group posts first-quarter revenue growth across venues and digital
Rank Group (LSE:RNK) reported first-quarter revenue growth across both its venues and digital gaming operations, with shares roughly flat at 73.85p, down 0.07%.
The balanced growth across physical and online channels will reassure investors that Rank's diversification away from reliance on retail footfall continues to bear fruit, even as the shares themselves showed little reaction.
TPXimpact lifts FY27 guidance on record first-half trading
TPXimpact Holdings (AIM:TPX) lifted its FY27 guidance after reporting record first-half trading, sending shares up 3.06% to 102.0p.
The upgrade points to strong momentum in the digital transformation consultancy's public sector-focused work, giving the market an early signal that contract wins are translating into a durable step-change in the group's earnings trajectory.
Thruvision wins three orders across UK and Asian markets
Thruvision Group (AIM:THRU) announced three new orders spanning UK and Asian markets for its concealed-threat detection technology, with shares down slightly at 2.44p, off 2.08%.
The geographic spread of the wins reinforces Thruvision's push to diversify its customer base beyond its traditional security and retail loss-prevention markets into a broader international footprint.
Pulsar Helium secures council backing for Minnesota rare gas hub site
Pulsar Helium (AIM:PLSR) secured county council backing for its planned rare gas hub site in Minnesota, with shares at 1.42p.
Local approval removes a key planning hurdle for the project, clearing the way for Pulsar to progress infrastructure development at a site central to its US helium production ambitions.
Kenmare cuts 2026 ilmenite and shipment guidance on WCP A delays
Kenmare Resources (LSE:KMR) cut its 2026 ilmenite production and shipment guidance, citing delays to its WCP A wet concentrator plant, with shares little changed at 226.2164p, up 0.1%.
The guidance cut highlights operational execution risk at the Mozambique-based titanium minerals producer, with the WCP A delay pushing back the timeline for the production ramp investors had been expecting to underpin next year's volumes.
Journeo renews London bus framework worth £6m
Journeo (AIM:JNEO) renewed its London bus technology framework agreement, worth £6m, with shares at 542.0p.
The renewal secures a recurring revenue line for the transport technology specialist and reflects the stickiness of its relationships with transit operators once its systems are embedded in fleet infrastructure.
Smiths News secures exclusive national Telegraph distribution deal
Smiths News (LSE:SNWS) secured an exclusive national distribution deal for the Telegraph, with shares broadly flat at 74.408p, up 0.28%.
The exclusive arrangement strengthens Smiths News's position in print distribution at a time when the newspaper wholesale market continues to consolidate around fewer, larger distribution relationships.
Tharisa signs Valterra deal for half of Tharisa Mine's PGM output
Tharisa (LSE:THS) signed a deal with Valterra covering half of the platinum group metals output from the Tharisa Mine, with shares little changed at 122.0p, down 0.41%.
The offtake arrangement gives Tharisa a committed buyer for a substantial portion of its PGM production, providing greater revenue visibility as the group continues to navigate volatile PGM pricing.
Mantle's Recyclus lands largest-ever contract with global car maker
Recyclus Group, a Mantle portfolio company, secured its largest-ever contract with a global car maker for battery recycling services.
The deal marks a significant scale-up for Recyclus's lithium-ion battery recycling operations, positioning the company to capture growing volumes of end-of-life EV battery material as automakers look to secure sustainable recycling partners.
Anglo Asian Mining lifts copper output again as Demirli nears full production
Anglo Asian Mining (AIM:AAZ) reported a further increase in copper output as its Demirli project approaches full production, with shares down 1.32% to 412.5p.
The continued ramp-up at Demirli is central to Anglo Asian's growth story, and the steady output increases suggest the project is tracking toward the production levels management has guided the market to expect.
4basebio launches £15m raise to fund commercial expansion
4basebio (AIM:4BB) launched a £15m fundraise to fund commercial expansion, with shares down 3.41% to 543.3p.
The raise gives the synthetic DNA technology company additional capital to scale manufacturing and commercial capacity, though the share price reaction suggests some dilution concern among existing holders.
MedPal's New Health rockets into top 30 UK Mounjaro suppliers
MedPal AI's New Health business has rocketed into the top 30 UK suppliers of Mounjaro, the weight-loss drug, with MedPal shares at 5.4p.
The rapid rise up the supplier rankings reflects surging demand for GLP-1 weight-loss medications in the UK, giving New Health a fast-growing revenue channel within the broader MedPal group.
Sunrise Resources turns to AI to sharpen Reese Ridge drill targets
Sunrise Resources (AIM:SRES) is using artificial intelligence to refine drill targeting at its Reese Ridge project, with shares at 0.0145p.
The AI-driven targeting approach aims to improve drilling success rates and capital efficiency as the exploration company works to define the resource potential at Reese Ridge.
Anglesey Mining sets two-year target for Parys Mountain planning consent
Anglesey Mining (AIM:AYM) set a two-year target to secure planning consent for its Parys Mountain project, with shares at 7.0p.
The timeline gives investors a concrete milestone to track as the company works through the regulatory process required before development of the Welsh polymetallic deposit can proceed.
GEO Exploration wins government grants for Gorge and Juno drilling
GEO Exploration (AIM:GEO) secured government grants to fund drilling at its Gorge and Juno projects, with shares at 0.0585p.
The grant funding reduces the company's reliance on equity markets to finance near-term drilling activity, extending its runway as it advances both targets.
Quantum Helium targets November for Sagebrush stimulation programme
Quantum Helium (AIM:QHE) set November as the target month for a stimulation programme at its Sagebrush project, with shares down 1.56% to 1.575p.
The programme is designed to enhance flow rates at Sagebrush, a key step in determining whether the helium project can be developed commercially.
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