Edison Investment Research

John Laing Group (JLG); realisations and investment activity in line with three-year guidance

Mixed operational performance of certain renewable energy assets.

John Laing Group has issued a pre-close update for the six months ending 30 June 2019 ahead of the group’s interim results on 22 August 2019. The company received £131m in proceeds from realisations completed to date in 2019. Aggregate prices achieved were in line with portfolio valuation. Realisations remain on track to reach c. £1bn over 2019-2021.

Target Healthcare (THRL); acquires Acorn House for £7.6m

Target Healthcare (THRL); acquires Acorn House for £7.6m

Target Healthcare (THRL) has completed the acquisition of Acorn House, a care home in Nottingham, for about £7.6m, including transaction costs, through a sale and leaseback.

Raven Property Group (RAV); issues preference shares of 1p each

Dealing is expected to commence on 1 July 2019

Raven Property Group has approved the issue and allotment of 104,142 new preference shares of 1p each in the company. The new Preference Shares will rank pari passu with all existing Preference Shares.

Hutchison China MediTech (HCM); announces secondary offering

Hutchison China MediTech (“Chi-Med”) announced that Hutchison Healthcare Holdings, its largest shareholder and a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, has planned to offer 8,500,000 American depositary shares (ADSs), each representing five ordinary shares with a par value $0.10 each in Chi-Med.

Serco Group (SRP); provided H1 trading update

The company provided its scheduled closed period update on trading for the first half of 2019 (H1)

The Company expects underlying trading profit growth of greater than 20% for H1. Revenue growth is estimated to be around 6%, with 4% organic growth, driven by the Americas and Asia Pacific divisions.

Cohort (CHRT); posts financial performance for the year

Cohort will announce its final results for the year ended 30 April 2019 on 23 July 2019.

Cohort’s financial performance for the year ended 30 April 2019 was consistent with expectations. Order intake during the year totalled a record £189.9m.

Metals Exploration (MTL); reports improved performance in both mine and plant

In its AGM statement, released yesterday, Metals Exploration (MTL) reported improved performance at both mine and plant. After discovering several discrepancies in the historical operational data released to the market versus the mine’s actual performance in January, yesterday the company reported that the new team it has put in place has been able to sustain a 66% overall processing recovery in 2019, compared to 57% in 2018.

BCA Marketplace (BCA); receives recommended cash offer from BBD Bidco

The boards of BCA and BBD Bidco have reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer for the entire issued and to-be issued ordinary share capital of BCA to be made by Bidco, a special-purpose vehicle formed by investment funds managed by TDR Capital for the specific purpose of making the Offer. Under the terms of the Offer, BCA shareholders shall be entitled to receive 243p in cash for each BCA share.

Oxford Biomedica (OXB); enters into an R&D collaboration with Santen

Oxford Biomedica and Santen Pharmaceutical entered into an R&D collaboration and Option & Licence Agreement to research and develop gene therapy products for the treatment of an inherited retinal disease. The collaboration includes a licence to use OXB’s LentiVector® platform and access to its industrial-scale manufacturing capabilities.

WANdisco (WAND); announces $750k China contract

This contract is the second deal secured directly by the company in China this year

WANdisco secured a contract with one of the largest manufacturers of mobile handsets in the world, based in China. The agreement is valued at approximately $750k and is expected by the company to see the Client deploy the Wandisco’s patented Fusion platform.