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Hollywood Bowl Group (LSE:BOWL) delivered a solid first-half performance, with revenue increasing 9.5% year-on-year to £141.5 million. Growth was supported by both its UK and Canadian operations, alongside a 1.9% rise in like-for-like revenue. The business continued to benefit from steady demand for affordable, family-oriented leisure activities, while maintaining strong gross margins and disciplined cost control, including long-term hedging of electricity costs.

The company also pushed ahead with its expansion plans, opening a new site in Edmonton and bringing its total estate to 77 centres in the UK and 16 in Canada. A further three openings are planned for the second half, with a well-developed pipeline extending into 2027 and beyond. Backed by a strong balance sheet, £8.6 million in capital expenditure, and a net cash position of £26 million—along with access to an undrawn £25 million facility—management remains confident in delivering continued profitable growth into FY2026 and the longer term.

From an investment perspective, the outlook is supported by robust financial performance and a relatively attractive valuation. While technical indicators point to some near-term softness, these are offset by solid fundamentals and a compelling dividend yield.

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Hollywood Bowl Group plc operates the largest ten-pin bowling brands across the UK and Canada, offering accessible, family-focused leisure experiences through a growing network of centres. The group also runs a Canadian-based equipment supply and maintenance business, giving it an integrated position within the bowling and wider family entertainment market.

Hunting PLC (LSE:HTG) reported a steady start to 2026, delivering first-quarter EBITDA of $23.2 million with a margin of 10%, and maintaining its full-year EBITDA guidance in the range of $145 million to $155 million. The group expects earnings to be more heavily weighted toward the second half. Performance was led by stronger-than-expected results in North American perforating systems, while seasonal working capital movements and ongoing share buybacks reduced net cash to $8.3 million.

The company’s order book has expanded to approximately $428.8 million, driven by robust OCTG tender activity and significant subsea contract wins. These include $63.5 million in titanium stress joint orders tied to a project in Guyana. Hunting is also continuing to diversify, growing its advanced manufacturing offering for industrial and aerospace customers. Alongside this, management is pushing ahead with a $15 million cost reduction programme, which includes closing the Fordoun facility and consolidating its EMEA and Asia Pacific operations into a unified International division from 2027. The group is also exploring bolt-on acquisitions in subsea to enhance its long-term growth profile, despite geopolitical uncertainties in regions such as the Middle East.

From an investment perspective, the outlook is supported by stronger operating performance, a resilient balance sheet, and reaffirmed FY26 guidance, alongside a healthy pipeline of tenders and ongoing shareholder returns through buybacks and dividends. However, these positives are balanced by cash flow volatility—particularly the decline seen in 2025—limited near-term visibility beyond the current order book, and only moderate valuation appeal for a business exposed to cyclical end markets.

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Hunting PLC is a global engineering group specialising in precision manufacturing and services for the energy and industrial sectors. Headquartered in the UK and listed in London, with a corporate base in Houston, the company operates across North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and subsea markets. Its customer base spans oil and gas, power generation, aerospace, and defence industries.

Bluebird Mining Ventures Ltd (LSE:BMV) has secured £750,000 before expenses through a placing of 750,000,000 new ordinary shares at 0.1 pence each with CMC Markets UK, operating as CMC CapX. The shares are expected to be admitted to trading around 17 April 2026, bringing the company’s total issued share capital to 2,857,000,804 shares and altering shareholder voting dynamics.

The funds will be directed entirely toward asset-backed investment opportunities, including gold streaming, bitcoin infrastructure, and powered land assets. This marks a shift in focus from building infrastructure to deploying capital more actively. Management indicated that the raise reflects investor backing for its treasury strategy, with the aim of increasing net asset value through short-duration, higher-return investments within its growing portfolio.

Despite this strategic progress, the company’s outlook remains constrained by weak financial fundamentals, including the absence of revenue, ongoing operating losses, and negative cash flow. While balance sheet leverage offers some limited support, technical indicators point to continued weakness, with the share price trending below key moving averages and showing negative momentum. Valuation is also challenged by the lack of profitability and absence of dividend yield.

More about Bluebird Merchant Ventures

Bluebird Mining Ventures Ltd is focused on gold streaming, mining, and treasury management, aiming to build a gold-backed treasury through streaming agreements. The company seeks exposure to producing assets across the value chain—from ore concentrate to bullion—while avoiding direct mining capital expenditure and operational risks, with a strategy centred on disciplined capital allocation and long-term value creation.

Robert Walters (LSE:RWA) reported first-quarter 2026 trading in line with expectations, with group net fees declining 2% on a constant currency basis but showing a clear improvement compared with 2025. Momentum strengthened במהלך the quarter, with a return to year-on-year growth in March. Regional performance varied, with Japan, the U.K., Spain and New Zealand delivering gains, while northern Europe and parts of the Rest of World segment remained weaker. However, the closure of underperforming operations has helped improve the underlying like-for-like trend.

The group’s recruitment outsourcing division recorded its first growth since late 2022, supported by steady client demand, a new high-volume hiring contract, and continued traction in public sector consultancy work. Management has also focused on cost discipline, reallocating resources toward revenue-generating roles, which has boosted net fee income per consultant and overall productivity. The company maintained a stable net cash position and indicated it is better positioned to benefit from any recovery in hiring activity, despite ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.

From an investment perspective, the outlook remains pressured by weaker financial performance, including declining revenue, margin compression, and losses. Technical indicators reinforce a cautious view, with the share price trading below key moving averages and showing negative momentum. While positive operating and free cash flow, along with a high dividend yield, offer some support, a sharp drop in free cash generation and continued losses keep the overall risk profile elevated.

More about Robert Walters

Robert Walters plc is a global specialist recruitment and outsourcing firm, operating across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the U.K., and other international markets. The company provides permanent and contract recruitment, talent advisory services, and outsourced hiring solutions, serving both private and public sector clients with a diversified, international platform.

Oracle Power PLC (LSE:ORCP) has announced fresh drilling results from 31 holes at its Northern Zone gold project near Kalgoorlie, revealing some of the highest grades and widest intercepts recorded so far. Highlights include 15 metres at 5.62 g/t gold and 8 metres at 9.90 g/t, with drilling successfully extending shallow mineralisation—particularly across the saddle area linking the central and eastern zones. The findings support the existing geological model and point to an expanding footprint of near-surface oxide gold.

Progress on development readiness is also advancing, with the conversion of the Northern Zone licence into a mining lease described as well progressed. Heritage clearance surveys have now been completed, removing a key permitting barrier. Under a Right to Mine and Co-Operation Agreement, MEGA Resources will fully fund development and mining activities, with profits split evenly. This arrangement enables Oracle and its partners to accelerate toward potential production, subject to continued resource growth.

Despite these operational positives, the company’s broader outlook remains constrained by its early-stage financial profile, including no revenue generation, ongoing losses, and negative cash flow, which implies continued dependence on external funding. From a market perspective, technical indicators show a strong upward trend, though elevated RSI levels and volatility suggest the potential for near-term pullbacks. Valuation remains limited by the absence of earnings and dividend support.

More about Oracle Power PLC

Oracle Power PLC is a resource development company with a focus on international natural resource projects. Its key asset is the Northern Zone Intrusive Hosted Gold Project in Western Australia, located near Kalgoorlie. The company is advancing this project in partnership with Riversgold Limited and MEGA Resources, targeting shallow oxide gold deposits that could support near-term mining opportunities.

Made Tech Group (LSE:MTEC) has been awarded a three-year contract worth £19 million to serve as Strategic IT and Security Delivery Partner to the Government Digital Service (GDS), part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The project will focus on delivering next-generation technology for GDS personnel, enhancing collaboration and productivity while improving security and mitigating cyber risks within a key pillar of the UK’s digital infrastructure.

This latest contract builds on Made Tech’s relationship with GDS, which dates back to 2018, and further cements its role in central government technology delivery. Including this award and other recent deals, the company’s year-to-date sales bookings have reached £54 million, with around £41 million secured in the second half. This provides greater confidence in management’s outlook for FY26 and enhances revenue visibility heading into FY27.

The company’s investment case is supported by improving financial performance, including a return to profitability, stronger cash generation, and a low level of debt. Positive technical momentum also underpins the shares. However, these strengths are balanced against a relatively high valuation multiple and a track record of earnings and cash flow volatility. Recent contract wins and updates add further support to the overall outlook.

More about Made Tech Group PLC

Made Tech Group plc is a UK-based provider of digital, data, and technology services focused on the public sector. The company works closely with government departments and agencies, delivering IT strategy, cybersecurity solutions, and modern digital platforms designed to enhance operational efficiency and drive public sector transformation.

Metals One (LSE:MET1), which owns a 30% stake in Lions Bay Resources with the option to increase its holding to 49.9%, said Lions Bay has submitted revised bids for selected Vantage Goldfields assets in South Africa. The proposal includes Barbrook Mines—home to a historical resource of 2.1 million ounces of gold—valued at ZAR 279 million, as well as MIMCO, the owner of the Lily Mine, which holds an estimated 2.3 million ounces of historical gold resources and is set to be acquired for a nominal ZAR 1.

Under the revised terms, Lions Bay has committed to settling outstanding salary claims owed to former employees of both Barbrook and MIMCO. To support this, US$10 million has already been placed in escrow to cover staff payments and a portion of creditor obligations, with the remaining funds to be paid following the transfer of mining rights. While the deal has backing from the appointed business rescue practitioner and the principal creditor, it remains conditional on broader creditor approval and the securing of at least US$7 million in additional funding, leaving the final outcome uncertain. Nevertheless, the move reflects Metals One’s strategy to expand its exposure to South African gold assets.

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Metals One Plc is listed on London’s AIM market and the U.S. OTCQB exchange, focusing on the development and investment in both critical and precious metals projects. The company is building a diversified portfolio spanning early-stage exploration through to a vertically integrated gold strategy in South Africa, with ambitions to incorporate power generation, mining, and processing capabilities within its overall value chain.