In the three months ending 30 September 2010, there was an increase in activity on PLUS’s primary market, the UK’s venue of choice for genuine small and mid-cap companies.
New PLUS companies – PLUS admitted two companies and received applications from a further three in Q3:
- Cretan Group – (market cap £110m) – is both an investor in and a developer of real estate on the island of Crete
- Ford Eagle Group – (market cap £1.76m) – is a specialist financial services company, based in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in China
Fundraising – there were 18 rounds of fundraising on the exchange with PLUS companies using their quotations to raise almost £5 million. Included in this was a fundraising of £1.9 million by Keycom and one of £1.4 million by SureTrack Monitoring.
New PLUS advisor – Beavis Morgan joined PLUS as a corporate adviser member in August.
Acquisitions – in August, Webb Capital, a specialist financial services company which is quoted on PLUS, completed the acquisition of Chatsford, a corporate and investment advisory firm focusing on the quoted and unquoted SME sector. Chatsford is also a PLUS Corporate Advisor.
Edison Research – to continue to build the visibility of PLUS companies, the latest issue of the PLUS review was published in September. The review profiles the top 50 companies on PLUS and provides investors with a snapshot of each company’s activities, strategy and trends within the industries in which they operate. A copy of the review can be found at: www.plusmarketsgroup.com/pdf//PLUSreview310810.pdf
RSM Tenon – Released their bi-annual Review of the PLUS-quoted market, showing the performance of the market in H1 2010.
Events – to deliver stories of successful PLUS companies directly to private investors and retail brokers, the autumn programme of PLUS Investor Roadshows kicked-off in September with events in Leeds and Bristol. On 14 October senior management from PLUS companies including Quercus, Mechan Controls, One Media Publishing and Zeta Compliance will be meeting investors and brokers in London at The May Fair Hotel.
As part of this ongoing campaign designed to further raise the profile of the companies on the exchange, PLUS was a partner to – and presented at – the 2010 Growth Company Investor show held at the Barbican Exhibition Halls in the City of London. PLUS companies exhibiting included Quercus, Bioventix, US Oil and Gas, Keycom, Eden Research and Sutherland Health.
Paul Haddock, Head of Capital Markets at PLUS Markets, said: “The last quarter was busy for PLUS. Activity on the market was high with new companies joining and a significant number enquiring about admission. Add to this other transactions, such as the acquisition of Chatsford by Webb Capital, and we are provided with a certain amount of optimism regarding likely activity on the market for the remainder of the year.
“However, we cannot be complacent, which is why we are putting so much effort into marketing the PLUS story directly to companies, investors and their advisors. Initiatives like the investor roadshows and independent company research will further increase interest in PLUS and our companies to help drive liquidity.”