Author: Fiona Craig

Safestore Holdings (LSE:SAFE) reported a solid set of interim results for the six months ended 30 April 2026, with growth across its key markets helping to drive a return to earnings expansion. Group revenue increased 5.6% at constant exchange rates to £120.6 million, while like-for-like revenue advanced across all operating regions. Underlying profit before tax rose 2.3%, enabling the board to increase the interim dividend by 1%.

Statutory profit declined compared with the prior year, largely reflecting the absence of the property valuation gains that benefited the previous reporting period. Despite this, the underlying trading performance remained resilient as the company continued to benefit from its store development programme and strong customer demand across its self-storage network.

During the period, Safestore increased its maximum lettable area by 4.4% to 9.5 million square feet through the opening of four new stores. The group also maintained a conservative financial position, with a loan-to-value ratio of 29.1% and net assets of approximately £2.3 billion.

Management reiterated its strategy of increasing revenue per available square foot while continuing to execute its development pipeline. The company expects recently opened stores to contribute between £30 million and £35 million of additional EBITDA over time. While full-year earnings are still expected to grow, management indicated results are likely to come in at the lower end of market expectations due to higher financing costs.

Safestore’s outlook is supported by a strong balance sheet and improving cash flow generation, although fluctuations in reported earnings and less consistent free cash flow performance remain areas of focus. Technical indicators remain favourable but suggest the shares may be approaching overbought territory, while valuation metrics appear reasonable and are supported by a reliable dividend.

More about Safestore Holdings

Safestore Holdings is the largest self-storage operator in the UK, with a network of 215 stores across the UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as joint venture interests in Germany and Italy. Established in 1998 and listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2007, the company serves approximately 107,000 personal and business customers and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index.

Rockfire Resources (LSE:ROCK) has announced that an engineering assessment of historic underground infrastructure at its Molaoi zinc-lead-silver project in Greece suggests the existing access portal and decline remain in sufficiently good condition for potential reuse. According to the review, consultants found no visible signs of significant deterioration or structural instability at the entrance to the underground workings.

The assessment indicates that the 700-metre decline, originally developed in 1991 to a depth of approximately 55 metres, appears to remain largely intact. While many of the orebody crosscuts have been backfilled, the main access route is believed to be substantially open, offering a potential opportunity to incorporate existing infrastructure into future mine development plans.

Rockfire said the next phase of work will include evaluating additional geotechnical studies, redesigning underground layouts to accommodate ventilation and emergency escape requirements, and advancing environmental impact assessments and permitting activities. These steps were recommended by the company’s mining consultants as part of the ongoing project evaluation process.

Should the existing underground workings prove suitable for rehabilitation, Rockfire believes it could eliminate the need to construct around 700 metres of new decline development. The company estimates this could reduce future capital expenditure by as much as €5 million, lowering development costs and potentially enhancing the overall economics of the Molaoi project.

Rockfire’s investment outlook continues to be affected by weak financial fundamentals, including the absence of revenue, ongoing losses and negative free cash flow. A debt-free balance sheet provides some support, while technical indicators have shown modest short-term improvement despite remaining weaker over longer periods. Valuation metrics are also constrained by the company’s loss-making position and the lack of dividend income.

More about Rockfire Resources PLC

Rockfire Resources is a London-listed exploration company focused on gold, base metals and critical minerals. Its principal asset is the high-grade Molaoi zinc, lead, silver and germanium deposit in Greece. The company also holds a portfolio of gold, copper and silver exploration projects in Queensland, Australia. Several of its Australian assets, including the Plateau and Marengo prospects, are covered by farm-in agreements with ASX-listed partners, helping to provide exploration funding and reduce development risk.

Halma (LSE:HLMA) has released its results for the 12 months ended 31 March 2026, with the company making detailed financial statements, annual reports and a webcast presentation available through its corporate website and the UK financial regulator’s document archive. The FTSE 100-listed group employs more than 9,000 people across over 20 countries and has been recognised as one of Britain’s Most Admired Companies for seven consecutive years.

The board has proposed a final dividend of 15.11p per share, representing a 7% increase on the previous year. This brings the total dividend for the financial year to 24.74p per share, compared with 23.12p a year earlier, reflecting management’s confidence in the company’s financial strength, cash generation and long-term growth prospects.

Subject to shareholder approval at the company’s annual general meeting in July, the final dividend is scheduled to be paid in mid-August 2026. Shareholders will also have the option to reinvest their dividend through Halma’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan, providing an additional opportunity to increase their holdings over time.

Halma’s outlook remains supported by strong financial performance, positive sentiment from management and ongoing strategic initiatives. These strengths are balanced by a relatively high valuation and a modest dividend yield, which slightly temper the overall investment case.

More about Halma plc

Halma plc is a global group of technology companies focused on products and services that help protect and improve lives. The company operates across the safety, environmental and healthcare sectors, with significant operations in the UK, Europe, the United States and Asia-Pacific. Its technologies are designed to enhance safety, protect critical resources, address environmental challenges such as climate change and pollution, and support growing healthcare needs driven by ageing and expanding populations.

PayPoint (LSE:PAY) reported record profitability for the year ended 31 March 2026, with underlying profit before tax rising to £69 million and revenue increasing 8.5% to £337 million. The performance was supported by resilient trading across the business and continued growth in digital payments and open banking services.

During the year, the group returned more than £90 million to shareholders through a combination of share buybacks and dividend payments. The board also increased the final dividend while accepting a higher level of net debt to fund strategic investments aimed at supporting future growth.

As part of its next phase of development, PayPoint is restructuring its operations into four business divisions: Network Services, Digital Payments and Open Banking, Love2shop, and Merchant Services. Management believes the new organisation will improve execution, reduce costs and direct capital towards areas offering stronger growth potential.

The company expects the revised structure to support annual net revenue growth of between 5% and 8%. Key initiatives include the rollout of PayPoint BankLocal, further expansion of its parcel network partnerships with Royal Mail and Amazon, and a refreshed strategy for Merchant Services. Together, these measures are intended to strengthen the group’s market position and underpin continued shareholder returns.

PayPoint’s outlook is tempered by pressures on profitability, a significant decline in free cash flow and higher leverage levels. While technical indicators remain supportive, the shares appear overbought and continue to trade below longer-term averages. These concerns are partly balanced by an attractive dividend yield and a generally positive management outlook, with emphasis placed on new product launches, targeted growth opportunities and substantial capital returns to shareholders.

More about PayPoint

PayPoint Plc operates within the payments and financial services sector, delivering digital payment solutions, open banking services, parcel collection and delivery networks, and retail technology solutions through a network of more than 30,000 convenience stores across the UK. Its products and services include card processing, bill payments, e-money services, merchant solutions and the Love2shop gifting platform. The company is increasingly focused on open banking, housing-sector payment services and out-of-home parcel delivery partnerships as key areas for future expansion.

Premier African Minerals (LSE:PREM) has raised approximately £800,000 through a direct subscription involving 4 billion new ordinary shares priced at 0.02 pence each. The fundraising was completed under the company’s existing share authorities and is intended to strengthen working capital while supporting the continued advancement of its Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project in Zimbabwe.

The company said the proceeds will be used primarily to fund activities at Zulu, including operational expenditure, creditor management and the ongoing optimisation of the project’s recently commissioned flotation plant. The funding comes shortly after the production of the first spodumene concentrate from the new processing circuit, a milestone that management believes validates the plant’s initial performance and operational stability.

According to the company, the additional capital will help accelerate efforts to optimise recovery rates, refine processing parameters and progress the project towards consistent commercial-scale production. Following the share issue, Premier African Minerals’ enlarged issued share capital will total approximately 43.3 billion shares. Admission of the new shares to trading on AIM is expected on 17 June 2026.

The company’s outlook remains challenged by weak financial fundamentals, including ongoing losses, negative gross profit and continued cash outflows. Technical indicators also remain unfavourable, with the share price trading below major moving averages and negative momentum signals reflected in the MACD indicator. Valuation support is limited due to the company’s loss-making position and the absence of a dividend.

More about Premier African Minerals

Premier African Minerals is a multi-commodity mining and natural resources development company focused on projects across Southern Africa. Its key assets include the RHA Tungsten Project and the Zulu Lithium Project in Zimbabwe. The company also maintains exposure to tungsten, rare earth elements, lithium and tantalum assets in Zimbabwe, alongside lithium and gold projects in Mozambique, providing a portfolio that ranges from near-term production opportunities to early-stage exploration assets.

Norcros (LSE:NXR) delivered a strong set of results for the 53 weeks ended 5 April 2026, with group revenue rising 10.6% to £393.4 million and underlying operating profit increasing 7.9% to £48 million. Growth was supported by the acquisition of Norwegian wall-panel manufacturer Fibo and continued market share gains across the company’s core European bathroom markets.

The group also reported a significant improvement in cash generation, with cash conversion reaching 116%. Diluted underlying earnings per share climbed 7.2% to 35.8p, while the board approved an 8.7% increase in the full-year dividend. Although group operating margin eased slightly to 12.2%, management attributed this largely to the initial margin dilution associated with the Fibo acquisition and weaker trading conditions in South Africa.

Strategically, Norcros continued its transition towards higher-margin, mid-premium bathroom products across Europe. During the year, the company completed the acquisition of Fibo, exited tile manufacturing through the closure of Johnson Tiles South Africa and began evaluating options for the disposal of its remaining South African operations. Management said strong brand positions, investments in inventory availability and regulatory trends favouring sustainable building products have helped the group outperform challenging market conditions.

Current trading is reported to be modestly ahead of expectations, while leverage remains at a manageable 1.2 times. The board expressed confidence in the company’s ability to continue delivering progress against its medium-term growth and returns objectives, despite ongoing uncertainty in residential new-build markets.

Norcros’s outlook is supported by positive corporate developments and constructive technical indicators, which continue to point towards a favourable market trend. However, concerns around profitability pressures and higher leverage levels temper the overall investment case.

More about Norcros

Norcros plc is a UK-based, London-listed group focused on investing in and growing design-led, capital-light bathroom product brands. The company holds leading positions in the mid-premium bathroom market across the UK and Ireland and is expanding its presence across Europe. Its portfolio includes brands such as Triton, Merlyn, Grant Westfield, Fibo, Vado, Croydex and Abode, alongside Tile Africa, TAL and House of Plumbing in South Africa.

The group operates a decentralised business model that allows management teams to maintain operational independence while benefiting from shared expertise in procurement, sustainability initiatives and business systems. Norcros pursues growth through a combination of organic expansion, selective acquisitions and operational improvements, supported by a strong focus on sustainability and science-based carbon reduction targets.

Amaroq Ltd. (LSE:AMRQ) has completed and commissioned a flotation recovery circuit at its Nalunaq gold mine processing facility, concluding Phase 2 of the project’s development and bringing the plant to its full planned operating specification. The upgraded processing facility now combines gravity and flotation recovery methods and has successfully produced its first gold concentrate in addition to its existing Dore bar production.

The introduction of the flotation circuit is expected to deliver a substantial improvement in recovery rates, increasing overall gold recovery from approximately 50–70% to around 90–95%. This enhancement should enable the company to generate significantly more gold from the same volume of ore while also creating an opportunity to reprocess previously stockpiled gold-bearing tailings.

Amaroq said the improved recovery profile strengthens confidence in the ongoing ramp-up of the Nalunaq operation and supports its production targets. The company has maintained its 2026 production guidance of 25,000–35,000 ounces of gold, alongside first-half 2026 output guidance of 7,000–10,000 ounces, reflecting expectations that the mine remains on track to meet its annual objectives.

More about Amaroq Ltd.

Amaroq Ltd. is an independent mining development company focused on the exploration, acquisition and advancement of gold and strategic metal assets in South Greenland. Its flagship asset is the wholly owned Nalunaq gold mine, supported by a broader portfolio of exploration projects that includes the Stendalen and Sava Copper Belt areas, where the company is targeting commodities such as copper, nickel, rare earth elements and other strategic minerals.

Poolbeg Pharma (LSE:POLB) has activated the first clinical trial site and started recruiting patients for its first-in-patient POLB 001 TOPICAL study. The single-arm, open-label trial will enrol approximately 30 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who are being treated with the bispecific antibody teclistamab. The study is being conducted by specialist blood cancer research organisation Accelerating Clinical Trials Ltd and will assess POLB 001 as a potential preventative treatment for Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS).

The company said the initiation of patient recruitment marks a significant operational milestone for its lead development programme. Due to the acute nature of Cytokine Release Syndrome, management expects a relatively rapid data readout from the study. Interest from investigators has been strong, reflecting the ongoing need for improved management of cancer immunotherapy-related CRS and the potential clinical value of a preventative treatment approach.

Should interim results prove positive, Poolbeg believes POLB 001 could strengthen its position within the cancer immunotherapy safety market, support future partnering opportunities and potentially expand access to advanced immunotherapies. By improving treatment tolerability, the therapy could help increase the number of patients eligible for these treatments and support wider adoption beyond specialist healthcare centres.

The company’s outlook continues to be influenced by weak financial fundamentals, including its pre-revenue status, ongoing losses, cash burn and shareholder equity erosion. However, progress towards clinical and regulatory execution, together with the prospect of interim data catalysts, provides a positive counterbalance. Technical indicators remain favourable, reflecting a strong upward trend in the shares, although overbought conditions may increase the risk of near-term volatility. Valuation metrics remain constrained by the absence of profitability and dividend payments.

More about Poolbeg Pharma Ltd.

Poolbeg Pharma plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on improving the safety and accessibility of cancer immunotherapies. Its lead candidate, POLB 001, is being developed to prevent Cytokine Release Syndrome, a potentially life-threatening side effect associated with certain cancer treatments. The company is also advancing an oral GLP-1 obesity therapy programme aimed at addressing a significant and rapidly expanding global market.

Wishbone Gold (LSE:WSBN) has launched the first stage of its 2026 drilling campaign at the Red Setter gold-copper project in Western Australia, completing 14 reverse circulation drill holes for a total of 2,182 metres and two diamond drill holes totalling 687 metres. The work forms part of a wider 9,000-metre exploration programme designed to expand understanding of the project’s mineral potential.

The current campaign is focused on testing extensions to known mineralised zones, assessing continuity along a four-kilometre diorite trend and improving the company’s understanding of the area’s geological structures. In addition, a heritage survey has now been completed, which is expected to facilitate the construction of a new access road and the relocation of the exploration camp. These developments could improve site logistics and support further drilling and exploration activities later in 2026.

Wishbone Gold’s investment outlook continues to be constrained by weak financial fundamentals, including its pre-revenue status, ongoing losses and negative free cash flow, despite signs of operational improvement. Technical indicators remain mixed, with momentum broadly neutral and no clear directional trend emerging in the shares. Valuation metrics are also limited by the company’s loss-making position and the absence of dividend income.

More about Wishbone Gold

Wishbone Gold is an exploration company listed on both AIM and Aquis, with a focus on gold and copper assets in Western Australia. Its flagship Red Setter project is situated within the highly prospective Paterson Province, close to Greatland Gold’s Telfer gold mine and Cyprium Metals’ Nifty copper mine, placing the company in one of Australia’s most active and prospective mining regions.

Aeorema Communications’ (LSE:AEO) brand experience agency, Cheerful Twentyfirst, has been awarded a significant three-year contract to deliver Climate Week NYC across 2026, 2027 and 2028. The agreement further enhances the agency’s reputation for managing large-scale international events and provides greater visibility over future revenues.

The contract also expands Aeorema’s long-standing relationship with Climate Group. Over the duration of the agreement, the company plans to focus on innovation, improving global accessibility and enhancing the creative reach of one of the world’s most prominent climate-focused conferences. Management believes the appointment reinforces the group’s position as a trusted partner for major global events while supporting growth opportunities in the years ahead.

Aeorema’s investment outlook remains mixed. While profitability has been relatively stable, the company continues to face challenges in delivering stronger revenue and cash flow growth. Positive corporate developments and a moderate valuation offer some support, while technical indicators point to cautious optimism. The lack of earnings call data, however, limits visibility into management’s longer-term guidance.

More about Aeorema Communications

Aeorema Communications plc is a London-based strategic communications group focused on corporate events, brand experiences and film production for clients around the world. Through its Cheerful Twentyfirst and Eventful Limited agencies, and with offices in New York and Amsterdam, the company delivers live, virtual and hybrid events for a wide range of global brands and organisations.