Yesterday, Stephen Wicks and Nishith Malde, the duo behind successful land developer Country & Metropolitan, brought their latest project to AIM in the form of Inland (INL), which specialises in buying ‘brownfield’ sites and enhancing value by obtaining planning permission for residential and mixed-use development. The pair attracted a scaled-back £50 million of City cash at 50p – £80 million was on the table – and have a further £50 million facility arranged with their bank.

Inland has picked up more than 700 potential building plots since inception in 2005 and Wicks intends to use the money to ‘build a large land bank company that will be taken over by one of the house-builders in due course’. The shares have put on 11 per cent to 55.5p so far.

Cancer-focused biotechnology concern EpiStem (EHP) also enjoyed its first day on the market, rising 25 per cent above its 124p issue price to 155p this morning. The Manchester-based company, which develops therapeutics and provides contract research services to drug development companies, raised £2.6 million net of expenses from investors such as Yorkshire Fund Managers, Rensburg and New Star to pursue licensing partnerships and develop new cancer treatments.

Tomorrow, another Manchester-based company, eXpansys, is expected to make its debut, having raised £10 million with the assistance of Cenkos Securities. The retailer of “smartphones” and handheld devices operates some 50 websites and had sales of more than £54 million in 2006. A placing price of approximately 58p should value the company at just under £24 million.

Charteris focused on new lines

Business and IT consultant Charteris (CAE) lost £305,000 for the half to January, as turnover fell by £1.8 million to £8.9 million, due to a decline in the company’s established markets. Nevertheless, chief executive David Pickering said trading was in line with expectations and the results reflected management’s decision to invest in specialised business lines for heavyweight clients such as Macquarie Bank and Tesco. The shares, which have sunk from just shy of £1 in 2000, were unmoved at 21.5p today, valuing the business at just £9.25 million.

On Monday, solar panel developer PowerFilm (PFLM) pleased investors with news that it sees a ‘positive outlook’ ahead, having lifted 2006 pre-tax profits from £47,000 to £750,000. The Iowa-based venture, which floated on AIM last May at 120p, increased turnover 125 per cent to £3.1 million last year from its thin and flexible solar panels, benefiting from increased demand from markets ranging from roofing materials to the military. The group has lately won a £750,000 contract from the US Pentagon for solar power products for individual soldiers’ equipment, and the share price has warmed up by 10p to 235p over the course of this week.

EBT calling tomorrow

Tomorrow, annual results are due from the People’s Republic’s fastest-growing mobile phone retailer, EBT Mobile China (EBT), from which has emanated a healthy stream of recent news, including a possible move into fixed-line phones and a deal with handset manufacturer Motorola. EBT fattened its coffers with a £7.4 million placing at 22p in January and the recent acquisition of a smaller rival has taken its store count up to 221. Despite upbeat developments, analysts will be looking for losses of £850,000 from £32 million for the calendar year when the figures are announced.