Report
Brian Moretta ...
  • Dorothea Hill
  • Jason Streets
  • Keith Hiscock
  • Mark Thomas
  • Martin Hall
  • Mike Foster
  • Milan Radia
  • Paul Mylchreest
  • Paul Singer
  • Stephen Clapham
  • Tony Williams
  • Yingheng Chen

Hardman & Co Monthly: May 2019

Politicians and business leaders often refer to small and mid-size quoted companies (SMQCs) as being pivotal to the future of the British economy. But the definition of “small and mid-size” can cover a huge range of companies, and the difference between the UK’s largest companies and the rest is stark, as we present in this paper.
In particular, we examine the companies quoted on the UK’s public equity markets to highlight the difference in size between the largest 100 companies and the rest.
We also present data that show the massive contribution that SMQC make to our society and to the stock market.
Underlyings
600 Group PLC

600 Group is an engineering group. Co. operates these businesses from locations in North America, Europe and Australia selling into more than 180 countries worldwide. Co. has two segments: Machine Tools and Precision Engineered Components, which designs and develops metal processing machine tools sold under the brand names Colchester, Harrison and Clausing and designs and manufactures precision engineering components under the brand names Pratt Burnerd and Gamet; and Industrial Laser Systems, which operates under the combined TYKMA Electrox brand that provides laser solutions across a number of industrial laser applications including marking, engraving and micro-material processing.

Advanced Oncotherapy

Advanced Oncotherapy is focused on providing radiotherapy systems for cancer treatment through the use of a proton therapy technology. Co. operates in two business segments: proton therapy and healthcare related properties. The healthcare related property U.K. segment relates to Co.'s property in Folkestone, which is being marketed for sale.

Aisino Corp. Class A

AISINO CORPORATION is a China-based company, principally engaged in golden tax and business market business, financial technology and service business and Internet of Things technology and application business. The Company's main products are VAT (value-added tax) anti-forgery tax control systems and related equipment and integrated circuit (IC) cards, among others. The Company is also engaged in network, software and system integration, channel distribution and financial payment businesses.

Allergy Therapeutics PLC

Allergy Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical group focused on allergy vaccination. Co. mainly sell its products in European countries and its pipeline of products in clinical development includes vaccines for grass, tree and house dust mite, as well as a peanut allergy vaccine in preclinical development. Co. sells a range of aluminium-free allergy vaccines and diagnostics. Co. sells both injectable and sublingual (oral) formats. The commonly prescribed are those for the treatment of pollen related allergies, particularly for allergies to grasses, weeds and trees. Co.'s vaccines trade under various brand names depending on the market, e.g. Pollinex Quattro, Polligoid and TA Graser Top.

Arbuthnot Banking Group

Arbuthnot Banking Group is primarily involved in banking and financial services. Co. is organized into three main operating segments: Retail banking (associate), which incorporates household cash management, personal lending and banking and insurance services; U.K. Private banking, which incorporates private banking, commercial banking and wealth management; and Group Centre, which is comprised in Co.'s Group Centre management. As of Dec 31 2016, Co.'s total assets were £1.27 billion.

Chamberlin

Chamberlin is engaged in the production and sale of iron castings. Co. operates in two segments, Foundries and Engineering. The Foundries segment is engaged in supplying iron castings, in raw or machined form, to a variety of industrial customers who incorporate the castings into their own products or carry out further machining or assembly operations on the castings before selling them on to their customers. The Engineering segment is engaged in manufacturing and imported products to distributors and end-users operating in the safety and security markets. The products fall into the categories of door hardware, hazardous area lighting and control gear.

City Of London Investment Group

City of London Investment Group is the holding company for a number of subsidiaries. The principal operating subsidiary is City of London Investment Management Company Limited, which acts as an investment manager on 38 accounts with a total of £3.58 billion under management as at June 30 2017. Co. is an asset management group with an institutional client focus specializing in Emerging Market closed-end fund investments. Co.'s range also include Developed, Frontier and Global Tactical Asset Allocation closed-end fund strategies.

Genedrive

Genedrive is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, Co. is a molecular diagnostics business developing and commercializing a point of care diagnostics platform for the diagnosis of infectious diseases and for use in patient stratification (genotyping), pathogen detection and other indications. Co.'s Genedrive® is a patented small polymerase chain reaction platform which enables rapid nucleic acid amplification and detection from various sample types, including plasma, sputum and buccal swabs. Co. also provides contract research services to drug development companies under the Epistem brand name.

Haydale Graphene Industries

Haydale Graphene Industrials uses materials, including graphene and silicon carbide (SiC), to enhance the quality and performance of its customers' products. In the U.S., Co. manufactures proprietary silicon carbide fibres and whiskers that strengthen ceramics and enable scratch and wear resistant coatings. Applications for SiC include scratch resistant cookware, corrosion barriers for oil and gas pipelines and cutting tools, for example, jet engine turbine blades from solid billets. Co. has developed proprietary graphene-based inks and coatings for the print and biomedical sensor markets, as well as enhanced resins for the pre-preg carbon fibre market.

Koovs

Koovs is an online western fashion destination in India. Co. is engaged in supplying fashion garments and accessories for distribution through the KOOVS.COM website including international fashion brands, British high street brands and Co. own-label product designed by a team based in London.

Morses Club

Morses Club is a United Kingdom consumer finance business in the Home Collected Credit market. Co.'s customers are served by self-employed agents, as well as employees based across 98 branches. Co. operates through a series of local branches based all over the UK. Co.'s field management team operate from these branches, working with its network of self-employed agents.

Murgitroyd Group PLC

Murgitroyd Group provides a range of Intellectual Property advisory services through its trading subsidiaries Murgitroyd & Company Limited, Murgitroyd SARL and Murgitroyd LLC, European Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys.

Oxford BioMedica PLC

Oxford BioMedica is a producer of gene and cell therapy in lentiviral vector and cell therapy research, development and production. Gene and cell therapy is the treatment of disease by the delivery of therapeutic deoxyribonucleic acid into a patient's cells. This can be achieved either in vivo (referred to as gene therapy) or ex vivo (referred to as cell therapy), the latter being where patients' cells are genetically modified cells outside the body before being re-infused. Co.'s products include: OXB-102, which targets Parkinson's disease; OXB-202, which targets corneal graft rejection; and OXB-302 (CAR-T 5T4), which targets targets a range of cancers.

Primary Health Properties PLC

Primary Health Properties is a holding company and a real estate investment trust. The principal activity of Co. is investment in primary healthcare property in the U.K. and Ireland. Co.'s properties are leased principally to general practitioners, government healthcare organizations and other associated healthcare users.

R.E.A. Holdings PLC

R.E.A. Holdings is principally engaged in the cultivation of oil palms in the province of East Kalimantan in Indonesia and in the production and sale of crude palm oil and crude palm kernel oil. Ancillary to these activities, Co. generates renewable energy from its methane capture plants to provide power for its own operations and also for sale to local villages via the Indonesian state electricity company. As of Dec 31 2016, Co. held interests in respect of two stone deposits and two coal mining concessions, all of which were located in East Kalimantan in Indonesia.

Tissue Regenix Group

Tissue Regenix Group is a medical technology company. Co. is engaged in the development of regenerative products to create replacement native tissue using biological (human and animal) materials. With its platform technology dCELL®, Co. is focusing on the treatment of patients with wound care, orthopaedic and cardiac applications. The dCELL® technology allows Co. to process both human and animal tissues, removing DNA and cellular material but leaving intact an acellular matrix within which the patient's own cells can repopulate and regenerate, creating like for like tissue.

Titon Holdings PLC

Titon Holdings is engaged in the design, manufacture, marketing and sales, plus its associate's activity in real estate development: trickle vents and hardware products for the window and door fabricator markets in the U.K., Europe and the U.S.; mechanical ventilation products for the new build residential markets in the U.K. and Europe; and natural ventilation products for the new build residential market in South Korea. The first two activities are carried out by Co.'s subsidiaries, Titon Hardware Limited and Titon Inc. (in the U.S.). The third activity is carried out by Co.'s subsidiary, Titon Korea Co. Ltd. and Browntech Sales Co. Limited, Co.'s associate company.

Volta Finance (GBP)

Volta Finance is a closed-ended investment company with the objective of investing, among other asset types, in the following main asset classes: Collateralized Loan Obligation, Synthetic Corporate Credit, Cash Corporate Credit and ABS. Co. has appointed AXA Investment Managers Paris S.A., as its Alternative Investment Fund Manager to manage the investments of Co.

Warpaint London

Warpaint London is focused on color cosmetics, which it separates into four categories: Face make-up: foundation, blushers, illuminators, and powders and loose and pressed powders; Eye make-up: eye shadows, eyeliners, eyebrow pencils and mascara; Lip make-up: lipstick and glosses, lip pencils, lip plumpers and palettes; and Nail make-up: nail varnishes, polishes, hardeners and strengtheners, base and top coat. Co. consists of two separate divisions, own-brand, which its W7 brand sells to street retailers, beauty shops, and online sales channel; and close-out, which representing its business, buys and sells close-out and excess stock of branded cosmetics and fragrances from around the world.

Provider
Hardman & Co
Hardman & Co

We are a rapidly growing, innovative corporate research & consultancy business, based in London, serving the needs of both public and private companies.

Our expert team of sector analysts and market professionals collectively have over 400 years of experience.  This depth of knowledge and a reputation for integrity have built trust with investors. With effective communication and precision distribution, we help companies disseminate their investment message to interested investors, as well as advise them on strategy.

Our smaller, boutique structure allows us to provide first-class customer service and to deliver a wide range of ad-hoc services for multiple clients with different needs.

Analysts
Brian Moretta

Dorothea Hill

Jason Streets

Keith Hiscock

Mark Thomas

Martin Hall

Mike Foster

Milan Radia

Paul Mylchreest

Paul Singer

Stephen Clapham

Tony Williams

Yingheng Chen

Other Reports on these Companies
Other Reports from Hardman & Co

ResearchPool Subscriptions

Get the most out of your insights

Get in touch