The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Friday.
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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS
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Fairview International PLC, up 20% at 12.00 pence. Shares in the schools operator rise in its first day of dealings. The firm raised £2.7 million in its initial public offering, at 10 pence each. It has a market capitalisation of £66.7 million, up from a valuation on admission of £55.6 million. ‘We are pleased to announce our successful fundraising and admission of our shares to the Main Market. We hope the conclusion of our IPO is the beginning of the next chapter in our expansion as we seek further opportunities to grow the Fairview network of schools in Asia and the UK,’ Chair Daniel Chian says.
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Saga PLC, up 9.4% at 136.76p, 12-month range 93.40p-161.44p. The company announces it is in exclusive talks with Brussels-based insurer Ageas SA for a 20-year partnership for motor and home insurance. In addition, another pact could see Ageas acquire Saga’s Insurance Underwriting business, Acromas Insurance Co Ltd. Saga, a provider of products for over 50s such as insurance and holidays, stands to receive as much as £140 million for the partnership with Ageas, £80 million upfront and £30 million worth of performance-based considerations in each of 2026 and 2032. In connection to the Acromas buy, Ageas will fork out £67.5 million in total. Separately, Saga says its pretax loss in the half-year to July 31 stretched to £104.0 million from £77.8 million. Its bottom line was hurt by a £138.3 million impairment in Insurance Broking goodwill. Revenue rises 13% on-year to £404.8 million from £358.1 million. Year-to-date, Saga’s stock is down 6.2%.
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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS
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Ceres Power Holdings PLC, down 3.1% at 276.20p, 12-month range 126.40p-312.00p. Shares in the clean energy technology developer fall after Goldman Sachs lowers the stock to ’neutral’ from ’buy’. Ceres rises to the FTSE 250 index from Monday, replacing Witan Investment Trust PLC which has combined with Alliance Trust PLC.
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CAB Payments Holdings PLC, down 2.5% at 119.92p, 12-month range 46.10p-225.50p. Shares in the payment processing and foreign exchange company return some of Thursday’s 7.0% gain. It had risen after it announced it was mulling a bid approach from StoneX Group Inc. The M&A tilt was at 145p per share and would have valued CAB at just under £370 million. Should an official bid be made and CAB accept, it would end a short stint on the London market for the firm. CAB listed in July 2023 but its shares are down almost two-thirds from a 335p IPO price. The StoneX approach is around 57% below the IPO price. StoneX owns spread betting, forex and contracts-for-difference trading platform City Index.
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