Galleon gains 23 per cent

One of the star turns on AIM today was Galleon Holdings (GON), which owns and develops intellectual property in the children’s entertainment sector. Shares in the company sailed 23 per cent north to 6.75p on a contract with a mystery ‘major global fast moving consumer goods company’ for the development of a kids’ toy.

Also higher on contract news was @UK (ATUK), a provider of an online network linking buying operations of public sector bodies with sellers. The shares clipped ahead by 0.5p to 62.5p on a £500,000 contract with the North West London Collaborative Hub (NWLCH) to build, manage and maintain an online database.

Sirdar slides on update

Heading south on gloomy trading news was AIM specialist yarns and floor coverings play Sirdar (SRDR), with the shares sliding 12.35 per cent to 35.5p. Sales have been less buoyant over recent weeks, the recent fashion led upturn in the market for hand knitting yarns might not be maintained over the next twelve months, and the board has lowered expectations for the year to June 2007 accordingly.

Results Round Up

Results highlights this week included news of a record year to March for online fashion retailer ASOS (ASC) despite its website closing over Christmas because of the Buncefield fuel depot explosion. Sales sprang up 39 per cent to £18.8 million, sending pre-tax profits 49 per cent north to £1.65 million. The 89p shares value the company at £63.2 million.

Acquisitive business insolvency play Begbies Traynor (BEG) is on course to deliver on the three-year plan set out by co-founder Ric Traynor at float – to double levels of insolvency work and add complementary sales to drive turnover to £50 million – by the middle of 2007. For a highly acquisitive year to April, profits of £7.3 million were wrought from a top line £33.2 million. The shares currently change hands at 164p, against the year’s peaks and troughs of 205p and 108.5p.

Another deal-hungry venture, AdEPT Telecom (ADT), unveiled impressive figures for the year to March, with turnover sparking up 33 per cent to more than £11.5 million, driven by acquisitions, and profits surging 99 per cent north to £469,000. Gross margins moved up to 40.4 per cent (34.7 per cent) despite pricing pressure. Acquisitions are also altering the customer profile for the better, with small business customers making up 67 per cent of revenues, up from 37 per cent a year earlier.

Citel dials up on debut

Citel (CITE), the designer of a range of innovative Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions that boasts North American telecommunications giant Sprint as a customer, dialled in gains of 20.5 per cent to 114.5p in debut dealings today. Citel joined AIM by way of a placing at 95p, pulling in £7.4 million for the company in line with targets, good going in the current IPO market. The company’s products allow businesses to migrate traditional phone systems to VoIP without replacing existing handsets or wiring, bringing all the associated benefits at a lower capital cost.