The board of specialist credit provider International Personal Finance (IPF) has finally given in to BasePoint Capital’s takeover offer of 235p per share in cash plus a final dividend of 9p per share. The deal represents a small premium to the 220p closing price but a 31% premium to the price in late July when BasePoint made its initial approach. Price: 233pP/E: 7.5xMarket Cap: £510mYield: 5.4% It was always a case of when not if the board would agree a deal, and despite arguing in favour of a standalone strategy the option for shareholders to monetise their investment at a…

AIM-listed premium cinema group Everyman Media (EMAN) has announced chief executive Alex Scrimgeour will step down with immediate effect. Current NED Farah Golant will take over the CEO role on an interim basis while the firm looks for a permanent replacement. Price: 27pP/E: n/aMarlet Cap: £24.6mYield: n/a Scrimgeour has been chief executive since 2017, steering the business through Covid and lockdowns and the subsequent rebound, more than doubling revenue. However, EMAN has been in a downtrend ever since the pandemic and currently sits at 27p, down almost 50% on the year and more than 80% from its old high. Earlier…

Pet care group Pets At Home (PETS) has announced the appointment of James Bailey as CEO starting from 30 March 2026. Bailey was previously MD of Waitrose for over five years, during which he oversaw the launch of its online business after the brand moved off the Ocado (OCDO) platform, and before that he was at Sainsburys (SBRY) for 20 years in a variety of roles including grocery buying director. Price: 203p +1.8%P/E: 14.1xMarket Cap: £893mYield: 6.5% Bailey’s experience in the FMCG business will undoubtedly be useful in managing PETS, especially as he’s overseen both bricks and mortar and online…

Today marks the admission of Sintana Energy (SEI) to the AIM market and the first day of trading with an initial market cap of £128 million. Following the acquisition of Challenger Energy, the group manages a portfolio of ‘Atlantic margin’ (African and Uruguyan) offshore and onshore assets. Price: £25.5pP/E: n/aMarket Cap: £128mYield: n/a We don’t follow small-cap energy or mining stocks that closely because they tend to be fairly binary bets, but it’s good to see more companies coming to list in the UK and good luck to those who subscribed. Read the press release here: https://sintanaenergy.com/investor-centre/

AIM-listed business advisory firm Christie Group (CTG) group has announced that following stronger than expected trading, particularly in the final three months of the year, 2025 earnings will top its previous forecast. Professional & Financial Services saw ‘particularly strong’ invoicing in the final quarter, while renewals at the insurance unit were also better than expected. Price: 125p +4%P/E: 23.5xMarket Cap: £31.5mYield: 2.3% Better operating income and a cash inflow from the sale of the loss-making software business, announced previously, are both good news for investors. Unfortunately, due to the leakiness of the UK small-cap market, today’s news looks like it’s…

Smart thinking from the Essex-based, AIM-listed producer of electronic components means it can move ahead with its expansion plan earlier and at a lower cost than originally planned. Production to double Due to a planning hold-up with its initial choice of site, the firm has agreed a 10-year lease on 14,800 sq ft of office space right next to its existing facility in Colchester. That frees up space within the current 19,000 sq ft building allowing it to be reconfigured for additional manufacturing capacity and a more efficient layout. The firm expects the increase in space to allow it to…

Smithson Investment Trust (SSON) Price: £15.76NAV/share: £16.20Market Cap: £1.7bnDiscount to NAV: -2.8%Current Yield: 1.3%OCF: 0.9% Source: Smithson. Data correct as of 18 December 2025 The board of Smithson investment trust has proposed changing from a closed-end to an open-ended structure. We explain the rationale, the process and why investors should back the board’s proposal. Fund Strategy Smithson invests in shares issued by small- and mid-sized listed companies globally with a market capitalisation at the time of initial investment within the range of the constituents of the MSCI World SMID Index. The fund is a long-term investor in its chosen stocks…

Defence Holdings (ALRT) – Defence Price: 1.28p +16.7%P/E: n/aMarket Cap: £29.3mYield: n/a The defence technology group has released a few details on its operational progress since raising roughly £3.5 million from shareholders. Project Ixian, the UK’s first sovereign AI system, which is being developed with Whitespace and Google Cloud, has begun ‘formalising’ commercial activity and is in the final stages of contract negotiations with its first customer. Given Ixian is the first in a pipeline of sovereign AI products designed to counter modern information warfare and improve national security by ensuring information integrity against disinformation, deepfakes and cyber threats, the…

GSK (GSK) – Pharmaceuticals Price: £18.09 -0.6%P/E: 13.2xMarket Cap: £73.1bnYield: 3.6% GSK has signed a deal to lower the price of prescription dugs in the US, including medicines in its broad respiratory portfolio which are used to treat more than 40 million Americans suffering from conditions like asthma and COPD. The agreement delivers on all four actions requested by President Trump in his 31 July, meaning GSK will lower the price of some medicines in Medicaid and will launch new products ‘with a more balanced pricing approach which recognises the value of innovation across developed nations’. Our View GSK isn’t…

RANK GROUP (RNK) – Leisure Price: 96.2p – 8.7%P/E: 11.4Market Cap: £457mYield: 3.1% Unfortunate news for investors in Rank Group, who Spanish businesses Enracha and Yo have been the victim of payment fraud to the tune of €7.1 million. The firm has brought in an external law firm to investigate and is cooperating with the authorities. Meanwhile the loss will go down as an exceptional item in the FY26 results. Read the press release here: https://www.rank.com/investors/