Author: Fiona Craig

MS International (LSE:MSI) has secured its first multi-year contract with the U.S. Navy through its defence subsidiary in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

The three-year contract was awarded on a sole-source basis by the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, NAVSEA, and covers the continued supply of MK88 MOD4 stabilised gun mounts and MK48 MOD2 electro-optical sights.

The systems are U.S. Navy variants of MS International’s naval gun mount and electro-optical equipment.

First-Year Orders Valued at $61.3 Million

The contract takes effect immediately, with the U.S. Navy committing to purchase 22 MK88 MOD4 gun mounts and 23 MK48 MOD2 electro-optical sights during the first year.

The initial orders have a combined value of $61.3 million.

MS International said the multi-year award supports management’s expectations for the medium- to long-term prospects of its Defence and Security Division.

MS International Expands U.S. Defence Activities

MS International operates in the defence and security market through businesses including MSI-Defence Systems US LLC.

The company designs and supplies naval gun mounts and electro-optical sighting systems for defence customers, with its U.S. subsidiary providing equipment to the U.S. Navy.

The latest agreement represents MS International’s first multi-year U.S. Navy contract.

Invinity Energy Systems (LSE:IES) said its 10 MWh vanadium flow battery at the Viejas Casino & Resort in California has delivered more than 1 GWh of energy since entering commercial operation in late 2025.

The battery system was supplied to Indian Energy and forms part of the Viejas Enterprise Microgrid, where it is integrated with a 15 MW solar array.

Invinity said the system has met or exceeded its contracted performance parameters and is providing near-continuous, on-demand electricity for operations at the resort.

Battery Integrated With 15 MW Solar Array

The Viejas Enterprise Microgrid is supported by the California Energy Commission and is described as California’s largest tribal microgrid.

Invinity’s 10 MWh system provides long-duration energy storage alongside the project’s solar generation, allowing electricity to be stored and supplied when required.

The company said reaching more than 1 GWh of cumulative energy delivery provides additional operating data from a commercial deployment of its vanadium flow battery technology.

Invinity Focuses on Long-Duration Energy Storage

Invinity Energy Systems manufactures vanadium flow batteries for utility, commercial and industrial energy storage applications.

The company operates from the UK and Canada and supplies customers internationally. Its Endurium vanadium flow battery technology is designed for long-duration, high-throughput applications and has an expected operating life of 30 years or more.

Peel Hunt (LSE:PEEL) expects to report revenue of approximately £62.5 million for the first half of its 2027 financial year, supported by activity across its investment banking, advisory and execution services businesses.

The investment bank said its performance during the period reflected activity across equity capital markets and continued institutional demand for equity fundraising transactions.

Peel Hunt also reported an increased share of equity capital markets activity, alongside a mix of mergers and acquisitions and ECM transactions during the first half.

Peel Hunt Reports Second-Half Deal Pipeline

The company enters the second half of the financial year with a pipeline of potential transactions across its businesses.

The timing and completion of individual transactions remain subject to the risks associated with capital markets and corporate deal activity.

Peel Hunt provides investment banking services to UK mid-cap and growth companies, with activities covering equity and private capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, debt advisory, investor relations and corporate broking.

Its operations are supported by research, distribution and execution services, with offices in London, New York, Copenhagen and Abu Dhabi.

Centrica (LSE:CNA) subsidiary Spirit Energy has completed the sale of its remaining interest in the Cygnus gas field and other producing assets in the Greater Markham Area and Southern North Sea to Serica Energy.

The transaction includes Spirit Energy’s remaining 15% interest in Cygnus and has a consideration of £33 million.

As part of the transaction, £44 million of decommissioning liabilities associated with the assets have also been transferred to Serica Energy.

Spirit Energy Focuses Portfolio on Morecambe Hub

Following the disposal, Spirit Energy will concentrate its portfolio around the Morecambe Hub, which becomes its principal producing asset.

The company intends to focus on its remaining Morecambe operations while progressing the Morecambe Net Zero carbon storage project and managing decommissioning activities across its portfolio.

Spirit Energy said its approach to decommissioning will continue to focus on safety and environmental considerations.

Centrica Energy Operations

Centrica is a UK-listed energy company with activities across gas and electricity markets, primarily in the UK and Europe.

Its operations include exploration and production activities through Spirit Energy, whose portfolio is now centred on the Morecambe Hub following the completion of the latest asset sale.

Pulsar Helium Inc. (LSE:PLSR) has signed and accepted a firm proposal with Chart Energy & Chemicals, a subsidiary of Baker Hughes, covering the staged supply of equipment for its proposed Rare Gas Hub in Minnesota.

The package is valued at US$85.5 million before additional costs and covers equipment for a commercial-scale helium purification and liquefaction plant alongside a carbon dioxide capture plant.

The proposed helium facility has a nameplate capacity of approximately 7.5 million litres of liquid helium per year, while the CO2 facility is designed to capture 300 tonnes of carbon dioxide per day.

Pulsar to Make Initial US$5.025 Million Payment

Pulsar plans to make an initial payment of US$5.025 million from its existing cash resources of US$25.2 million, subject to approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.

A second milestone payment of US$8.55 million is due by January 31, 2027. Payment of this amount would trigger procurement of long-lead equipment for the project.

The agreement includes a milestone-linked payment structure as well as provisions allowing for suspension or termination if financing or other required milestones are not achieved.

Rare Gas Hub Remains Subject to Financing and Approvals

Development of the Rare Gas Hub remains dependent on several conditions, including securing additional financing, completing engineering and engineering, procurement and construction work, and finalising a project site in Lake County, Minnesota.

Pulsar will also need to obtain the required permits and regulatory approvals before the proposed facility can proceed to operation.

The company is developing the Rare Gas Hub as processing infrastructure for its helium activities in the region.

Pulsar Helium Portfolio

Pulsar Helium is a primary helium exploration and development company with listings on AIM, the TSX Venture Exchange and the OTCQB.

Its portfolio includes the Topaz helium project in Minnesota, the Falcon project in Michigan and the Tunu project in Greenland. The company’s projects are focused on primary helium resources that are not associated with hydrocarbon production.

Halo Minerals (LSE:HALO) has said it is unaware of any operational, financial or corporate developments that would account for a recent decline in its share price.

The company said work at its Playa Verde copper and gold tailings reprocessing project in Chile continues in line with its plans and reiterated the project’s development schedule.

The update follows recent Class 3 engineering work and an update to the bankable feasibility study for Playa Verde.

Halo Outlines Work Ahead of Investment Decision

Halo said several workstreams are underway as it progresses Playa Verde towards a final investment decision.

These include preparation of an updated resource report, engineering optimisation, permitting activities, stakeholder engagement and work related to project financing.

The company is also continuing discussions with potential financiers, strategic partners and offtake counterparties as part of the project’s development process.

Halo has outlined an indicative implementation period of approximately 18 months and is targeting a potential start of operations in October 2028. The timetable remains subject to the project progressing through the required development stages.

Playa Verde Focused on Tailings Reprocessing

Halo Minerals is a London-listed copper development company focused on recovering minerals, primarily copper and gold, from legacy mining waste.

Its principal asset is the Playa Verde project in Chile, which is being developed to recover copper and gold from existing tailings.

Tap Global Group (LSE:TAP) has added Solana to its Digital Asset Income Strategy reserve, purchasing 500 SOL tokens at an average price of £91.66 each.

The acquisition follows the company’s earlier purchase of 3 BTC and takes the total acquisition cost of assets held within the reserve to £235,227.

Tap said the Digital Asset Income Strategy, or DAIS, reserve is maintained separately from assets used for the company’s operations and is deployed through its Tap Earn programme.

Solana Purchase Expands DAIS Holdings

The addition of Solana diversifies the reserve beyond Bitcoin. As a proof-of-stake cryptoasset, Solana can generate staking rewards when deployed through relevant protocols.

Tap said its DAIS strategy is designed to generate income from digital assets held on its balance sheet through activities including staking and lending.

The company’s Tap Earn programme, which provides customers with the ability to earn yield on various cryptoassets, has attracted more than US$8 million in customer assets.

Tap also acknowledged that deploying digital assets through staking and lending involves risks including cryptoasset price volatility and counterparty exposure.

Tap Global’s Crypto-Fintech Operations

Tap Global operates a crypto-fintech platform through the Tap app, which has more than 400,000 customers across over 25 countries.

The platform provides access to more than 70 cryptoassets and allows customers to trade digital assets, spend through Mastercard’s merchant network and access yield products through Tap Earn.

Tap operates under Gibraltar’s distributed ledger technology regulatory framework and intends to seek authorisation under the forthcoming UK cryptoasset regulatory regime.

Landsec (LSE:LAND) has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in the Metrocentre shopping complex in Gateshead for net cash consideration of £516 million, expanding the property group’s portfolio of UK retail destinations.

The acquisition price represents a 7.9% yield based on Metrocentre’s in-place net rental income of £41 million.

Metrocentre comprises 1.86 million square feet of retail and leisure space alongside an adjacent retail park. The complex attracts more than 16 million visitors annually and has a high occupancy rate.

Landsec intends to partly finance the acquisition through an equity issue.

Acquisition Expands Landsec Retail Portfolio

The transaction forms part of Landsec’s strategy to invest £1 billion in major retail assets.

Following completion, Landsec will own three of the UK’s top 10 shopping centres and eight of the top 30. Retail destinations are expected to account for approximately 46% of the group’s annualised rental income.

Completion of the Metrocentre acquisition is subject to bondholder approvals and the dissolution of a legacy Intu entity. Landsec is targeting completion by the end of October.

The company said leasing activity and disposals of lower-growth office properties support its expectations for like-for-like rental income growth and faster EPRA earnings per share growth through the end of the decade.

Landsec Portfolio

Land Securities Group, known as Landsec, owns a portfolio valued at approximately £10 billion across the UK.

The group’s assets include major retail destinations, office properties and a residential development pipeline.

Talon Resources plc (LSE:TAR) has completed its first diamond drilling programme at the Eagle Lake gold project in Ontario, Canada, with 12 holes drilled across four target areas.

The programme, which began in early September, totalled 1,169 metres of drilling at East Fornieri Bay, West Fornieri Bay, Cedar Trench and Moss Knoll.

Core recovered from the drilling is now being logged and cut ahead of assay work at ActLabs’ certified facility in Dryden, Ontario.

Assay Results to Feed Into Geological Model

Talon said the assay results will be incorporated into its geological model alongside information collected from previous fieldwork and analysis generated through MINML’s PRISM machine-learning technology.

The company expects the first drilling phase to provide additional information about the subsurface geology and mineralisation at Eagle Lake. Results from the programme are also expected to inform the design and targeting of subsequent drilling.

Chief executive Alex King said the programme was completed around three months after Talon began work at Eagle Lake and tested multiple targets within Ontario’s Wabigoon Subprovince.

The announcement was classified by the company as containing inside information under UK market abuse regulations.

Eagle Lake Remains Talon’s Primary Exploration Asset

Talon holds a 90% interest in the Eagle Lake project, which comprises a land package containing multiple gold exploration targets in the Wabigoon Subprovince.

The AIM-listed company is focused on gold exploration in North America and is using conventional field exploration alongside machine-learning-assisted prospectivity mapping through its collaboration with MINML.

Talon is also evaluating exploration opportunities beyond Eagle Lake as it seeks to develop a broader portfolio of North American gold projects.

Critical Mineral Resources (LSE:CMRS) has secured a US$2 million equity investment from Nebari Natural Resources AIV II to support work at its Agadir Melloul copper-silver project in Morocco and provide additional working capital.

The investment is being made at 2.0 pence per share and will result in Nebari holding approximately 15.2% of Critical Mineral Resources’ enlarged share capital.

Proceeds from the financing are expected to be used for resource definition, acquisitions, technical studies and development activities at Agadir Melloul, alongside general working capital requirements.

Nebari Receives Warrants and Financing Rights

Under the investment agreement, Nebari will receive pre-emption rights and a package of warrants. If the warrants are exercised in full, they could provide Critical Mineral Resources with approximately £2.8 million of additional funding.

Nebari has also been granted a right of first refusal in relation to construction financing for Agadir Melloul and future mine developments.

The agreement provides Nebari with a board observer position and representation on a technical committee, giving the mining financier involvement in discussions relating to project development and financing.

Critical Mineral Resources is also undertaking a concurrent share issue to Gilini Holdings as part of the changes to its capital structure.

Funding to Support Agadir Melloul Development

Critical Mineral Resources is progressing Agadir Melloul towards a maiden JORC resource. The copper-silver project is located in Morocco’s Western Anti-Atlas.

The company is focused on the exploration and development of critical mineral projects, with its activities primarily centred on copper and silver assets in Morocco.