Author: Fiona Craig

Bellway p.l.c. (LSE:BWY) reported a steady first-half performance for the period ended 31 January 2026, with housing completions rising 2.7% to 4,702 homes. Average selling prices increased to around £322,000, pushing housing revenue to more than £1.5bn. While demand was softer during the autumn and the forward order book by value was marginally lower, private reservation rates excluding bulk sales improved, and the group continues to plan new outlet openings while keeping sales incentives broadly unchanged.

Land investment remained disciplined, with 4,721 plots secured during the period and further progress made in expanding the strategic land bank. This included the acquisition of a significant site in Dunfermline to support longer-term growth in Scotland. Bellway’s balance sheet strength was maintained, with modest net debt and low adjusted gearing, enabling the company to uphold its dividend policy and continue its £150m share buyback programme. Management also pointed to early indications of improved spring trading and reiterated calls for increased government support for first-time buyers to help address national housing supply objectives.

The outlook is supported by solid underlying financial performance and constructive commentary from management, highlighting disciplined capital allocation and operational resilience. However, share price technicals indicate some near-term downside momentum, while valuation metrics suggest limited upside. The group’s ability to manage cash generation and navigate a slower sales environment will remain key factors in sustaining performance.

More about Bellway p.l.c.

Bellway p.l.c. is a UK residential housebuilder focused on the development of private and affordable homes across a number of regional operating divisions. The company operates a broad network of sales outlets supported by a substantial and well-diversified land bank, with a strategic emphasis on mid-priced housing. Bellway maintains a capital-efficient balance sheet aimed at delivering sustainable growth and long-term shareholder returns.

Aptitude Software Group plc (LSE:APTD) said it expects full-year profit for the period ended 31 December 2025 to be in line with market forecasts, alongside an improvement in operating margins, despite revenue easing to around £65m from £70m a year earlier. The outcome reflects a deliberate repositioning of the business away from lower-margin, directly delivered professional services and toward partner-led implementations, tighter cost discipline and a greater emphasis on predictable, recurring income. Recurring revenue now represents approximately 83% of total group sales.

Group annual recurring revenue declined modestly to £49.8m, largely due to anticipated churn in legacy products. This was partially offset by continued growth in the company’s AI-driven Autonomous Finance offering, where ARR increased by around 7% to £17.9m, supported by significant contract expansions with clients in the telecoms and insurance sectors. The sales pipeline expanded by roughly 65% during the year, with opportunities increasingly weighted toward Fynapse-led deals and partner channels. Aptitude also maintained a strong net cash position and returned £5.1m to shareholders through share buybacks, reinforcing management’s confidence in the group’s strategic direction heading into 2026.

From an investment standpoint, the group benefits from solid financial resilience and disciplined capital management, with buybacks a notable positive. However, technical indicators point to a broadly neutral to slightly cautious share price outlook, while the elevated P/E multiple suggests valuation sensitivity. Limited forward guidance detail further constrains visibility beyond current expectations.

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Aptitude Software Group plc is a provider of finance transformation software focused on enabling fully autonomous finance functions for large enterprises. Its flagship platform, Fynapse, is an intelligent finance data and accounting solution that integrates and consolidates complex finance and operational datasets, automates accounting processes and improves productivity and cost efficiency.

The company serves organisations seeking to modernise finance operations, offering technology that delivers a unified view of data, high performance and faster insight generation. Aptitude typically works alongside a growing ecosystem of implementation and go-to-market partners, positioning itself within broader digital transformation and finance modernisation initiatives.

Switch Metals plc (LSE:SWT) has outlined a further 7 km² of tantalum-bearing alluvial drainage areas at its Issia project in central Côte d’Ivoire, following completion of a focused alluvial exploration programme. The newly identified targets comprise shallow, free-dig material overlying priority drainage systems that exceed a technical cut-off grade of 1.5 g/m³ tantalum. These areas sit outside the scope of the current maiden mineral resource estimate, which is concentrated on eluvial and colluvial mineralisation.

The anomalous drainage basins coincide with the interpreted 16 km-long Issia pegmatite corridor and encompass zones surrounding the Kabore spodumene discovery. This consistency supports the company’s geological interpretation and further highlights the district-scale tantalum potential of the project area. Management plans to undertake a structured programme of pitting, bulk sampling and pilot-scale wash-plant testing across 28 priority basins, with the aim of defining additional near-surface resources.

The work is intended to underpin a potential low-capital, early cash-flow development pathway at Issia, leveraging the shallow nature of the alluvial targets while continuing to advance the broader resource base across the project.

More about Switch Metals plc

Switch Metals plc is a critical metals exploration company focused on tantalum and lithium in Côte d’Ivoire. The group controls a 1,015 km² district-scale land position within a highly prospective pegmatite belt. Its flagship Issia project, which includes the 112 km² Badinikro licence, is being progressed toward a maiden mineral resource estimate targeting near-surface tantalum mineralisation and associated lithium–caesium–tantalum pegmatite systems.

Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals Plc (LSE:HEMO) has raised £2.5m through a direct subscription by a group of private investors, issuing 313,333 new ordinary shares at £7.50 per share alongside three-year warrants exercisable at £9. Proceeds will be used primarily to continue and escalate dosing in the ongoing Phase I clinical trial of HG-CT-1, the company’s CAR-T therapy for adults with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia, as well as to initiate an FDA-cleared Phase I study in paediatric patients aged 12 to 18.

As part of efforts to manage cash burn, Hemogenyx has outsourced production of HG-CT-1 to specialist manufacturer Made Scientific and is completing the associated technology transfer to support supply for both adult and paediatric trial cohorts. At the same time, the company continues to advance elements of its CDX and CBR pipelines where funding allows. Following admission of the new shares to the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market, Hemogenyx’s enlarged issued share capital will comprise 6,354,588 ordinary shares, extending its operational runway as it executes on its clinical development strategy.

The investment outlook remains constrained by the group’s early-stage financial profile, characterised by a lack of revenue, ongoing losses and continued cash consumption, alongside higher balance-sheet risk from dilution and leverage. This is partially offset by positive recent share price momentum, although technical indicators suggest near-term overheating, and valuation support is limited in the absence of earnings or dividend yield.

More about Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals Plc

Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals Plc is a London-headquartered, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for blood and autoimmune diseases. Listed on the LSE, the group operates primarily through subsidiaries in New York and is advancing a portfolio of complementary therapeutic candidates and platform technologies aimed at addressing significant unmet medical needs.

BATM Advanced Communications (LSE:BVC) has completed the sale of its Romanian subsidiary, Laborator A.M.S 2000 SRL, which provides third-party analytical testing services. The asset has been acquired by a German-based laboratory group focused on agricultural, environmental, water, food and feed analysis, with the transaction delivering $1m in cash proceeds to BATM. The disposal forms part of the group’s broader strategy to exit activities considered non-core to its long-term technology focus.

This sale follows the divestment of the related AMS 2000 business at the end of 2025 and represents BATM’s fifth non-core exit within the past year. Management believes that removing these ancillary laboratory operations will meaningfully reduce operating costs and ongoing obligations, allowing greater management attention and capital to be directed toward its core businesses in networking, cybersecurity and diagnostics, where it sees stronger structural growth opportunities.

From an investment perspective, the outlook continues to be shaped by financial headwinds, including ongoing losses, which weigh on valuation. However, supportive technical trends and a series of recent strategic actions have helped improve sentiment, leaving the shares supported by positive momentum despite underlying earnings challenges.

More about BATM Advanced Communications

BATM Advanced Communications is an international technology group specialising in advanced networking infrastructure, cybersecurity solutions and diagnostic technologies. Listed in London and Tel Aviv under the ticker BVC, the company serves customers across communications and healthcare markets. In recent periods, BATM has been actively reshaping its portfolio, prioritising higher-growth core technology activities while divesting peripheral businesses.

Gaming Realms plc (LSE:GMR) delivered another best-ever performance in 2025, with revenue expected to rise 10% to approximately £31.4m and adjusted EBITDA increasing 15% to £15m, despite unfavourable currency effects. The group’s asset-light content development and brand licensing strategy continued to scale well, with particularly strong momentum in the U.S., where revenue across six regulated iGaming states increased 19%. As a result, the U.S. accounted for 61% of total group revenue for the year.

International expansion also accelerated, with the Slingo portfolio launched through 40 additional partners and new market entries completed in South Africa and Switzerland. This extended Gaming Realms’ footprint to 30 regulated jurisdictions globally. In the U.K., revenue declined 10% following the introduction of new staking limits in April 2025, although management noted that sales had recovered to previous levels by the end of the year. Early trading in 2026 has been described as encouraging, and the group plans to step up investment in game development while progressing further geographic expansion, including potential launches in Alberta and Maine.

Financially, the business remains well positioned, supported by a strong balance sheet and disciplined cash flow management. The ongoing share buyback programme has added to shareholder returns, reinforcing capital efficiency. That said, market technicals point to some near-term caution due to weaker momentum, and the absence of a dividend may limit appeal for income-focused investors.

More about Gaming Realms plc

Gaming Realms plc is a developer and licensor of mobile-first gaming content, best known for its Slingo-branded games alongside bingo and slot titles. The group operates across the U.K., U.S., Canada and Malta, with a strategic focus on regulated iGaming markets. It leverages proprietary technology, data analytics and distinctive intellectual property to create and distribute engaging gaming experiences for a global audience.

Goldplat plc (LSE:GDP) reported a marked improvement in trading for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, with combined operating profit from its two recovery operations increasing to £2.70m. Profit before tax, excluding listing and central overhead costs, rose to £2.31m. Performance was led by the South African operation, which benefited from higher throughput, one-off processing batches and elevated gold prices. The Ghana business remained profitable, although results were tempered by foreign exchange movements and isolated assay-related impacts.

Reflecting the stronger performance, the board declared an interim dividend of 0.14638 pence per share and indicated that future shareholder returns will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. Group cash stood at £4.7m, providing headroom for working capital, capital expenditure and potential distributions. Alongside this, management continues to progress a number of strategic initiatives, including a £700,000 upgrade to the Ghana processing plant, completion of a new recovery facility in Brazil, and renewed efforts to realise value from the South African tailings storage facility by increasing control over permitting and technical development ahead of potential processing.

In South Africa, the group is capitalising on strong gold prices while working to enhance longer-term feedstock security. This includes growing its exposure to by-product material streams and evaluating opportunities to diversify into other precious metals and resource types. Management reports good visibility over low-grade material, with more than a year’s worth of feedstock already on site and additional volumes secured under contract, supporting ongoing production levels and margin stability.

Ghana operations are being adjusted to align with local beneficiation requirements and evolving environmental regulations. A licence renewal is due in May 2026, with further investment planned to improve metallurgical recoveries and environmental performance. At the same time, Goldplat is expanding sourcing activity in South America, with new supply agreements in place and material directed to both Ghana and South Africa, broadening the group’s supply base and reinforcing its specialist position in the gold recovery sector.

Overall, the outlook is supported by a solid balance sheet and strong cash generation, although this is partly offset by softer revenue trends and pressure on margins. Share price momentum remains positive, but technical indicators suggest the stock may be stretched in the near term, while valuation appears broadly fair given recent operational and financial dynamics.

More about Goldplat plc

Goldplat plc is an AIM-listed mining services company specialising in gold recovery operations in South Africa and Ghana. The group processes gold and other precious metals from mining by-products and tailings, serving clients across Africa and South America. In addition to expanding its sourcing footprint in South America, Goldplat is exploring opportunities to diversify into additional precious metals to strengthen its long-term growth profile.

MedPal AI Plc (LSE:MPAL) has brought online a fully functioning, vertically integrated healthcare platform in the UK, combining its AI-enabled triage and wellbeing application with clinician-approved prescribing and automated pharmacy fulfilment. By controlling the patient journey from initial assessment through to medication delivery, the group aims to monetise each user across several touchpoints, including app subscriptions, NHS dispensing reimbursements, private prescription income and clinical consultation fees, with scale efficiencies improving as volumes increase.

Early operating metrics suggest growing traction. In January 2026, the platform dispensed 36,951 prescription items and recorded 7,791 app downloads, all attributable to paying customers or users acquired via the Epassi channel, rather than a free-access model. Management points to a broad mix of acquisition routes—ranging from NHS and digital service provider agreements to direct-to-consumer marketing and exposure to Epassi’s network of over 11 million employees—which together are intended to drive a self-reinforcing cross-sell strategy that increases lifetime value per patient and supports long-term growth in digital health and pharmacy services.

More about MedPal AI Plc

MedPal AI plc is a UK-based digital health business integrating AI-led wellness tools with regulated pharmacy and clinical operations. Its flagship app connects with more than 100 wearable devices and health data platforms to provide personalised, non-clinical lifestyle insights. Through its MedPal Limited subsidiary, the company operates a round-the-clock automated pharmacy distribution hub, delivering both NHS and private prescriptions nationwide. The group utilises robotic dispensing linked to AI triage systems and is targeting expansion through partnerships with Epassi and Independent Gyms, alongside planned B2B licensing opportunities for healthcare providers, employers and insurers.