MARKET REPORT: British pharma shares climb as firms lead the virus war


Britain’s science and pharmaceuticals expertise was out in full force as a clutch of junior market-listed firms made strides in fighting coronavirus. 

Novacyt and Yourgene surged after inking a manufacturing deal that will help Novacyt step up production of tests for the disease. 

Yourgene’s state-of-the-art facility in Manchester will initially make critical components – but could switch to making final versions of the tests if they need to ramp up production further. 

UK pharma minnows Novacyt and Yourgene surged after inking a manufacturing deal that will help Novacyt step up production of tests for Covid-19

Novacyt is based in France but it has a division in Southampton, called Primerdesign, that was an early mover in the race to design and manufacture a Covid-19 test. 

Novacyt said last week it had received orders worth £8.7million for its US Food and Drug Administration-approved tests, one of which is for research-use only and one of which can diagnose patients within hours. 

Shares in Novacyt, which also signed a distribution agreement with a firm called Bruker, jumped 7.3 per cent, or 11.5p, to 169p, while Yourgene’s stock soared 31.3 per cent, or 3.75p, to 15.75p. Novacyt is up 1200 per cent so far this year. 

Fellow AIM-listed firm Intelligent Ultrasound was rewarded by investors for rolling out a module for its simulators that will train frontline clinical staff to recognise what lungs infected by Covid-19 could look like in an ultrasound. 

Stock Watch – Bahamas Petroleum 

Oil and gas tiddler Bahamas Petroleum warned investors the cost of drilling operations at its Perseverance well could be £4.2million more than expected. 

The AIM-listed group had previously estimated it would cost £25million. 

It has pushed back the drilling to October, instead of May and June, because of the coronavirus outbreak. 

Shares sank 15.5 per cent, or 0.24p, to 1.31p, despite boss Simon Potter’s reassurance that ‘the same rocks will still be there’ when they do start.  

Intelligent Ultrasound, whose shares rose 3 per cent, or 0.25p, to 8.5p, has made the module free for existing hospital customers.

And Ergomed – another AIM minnow – jumped 8.6 per cent, or 28p, to 355p after seeing high demand for its coronavirus research services. 

It is already assisting at a hospital in Bergamo, the epicentre of Italy’s outbreak. The group also reported revenue rose 26 per cent in 2019 to £68.3million. 

But pharmaceuticals firms weren’t the only companies rolling up their sleeves and helping. 

FTSE250-listed student accommodation provider Unite Group pledged to offer occupants to forego rent if they want to return home for the rest of the academic year – and students with nowhere to go over the summer will be offered free accommodation. 

The move will hit Unite – whose shares rose 2 per cent, or 15.5p, to 799p – by up to £125million. 

European vodka maker Stock Spirits (up 8.7 per cent, or 12.8p, to 160p) began manufacturing hand sanitiser at its Czech production facility, which it is donating to the government, and is in talks to do the same in Poland. 

Rentokil is training 2,500 disinfectant specialists, but its stock slumped 8.2 per cent, or 30.3p, to 340.1p after it withdrew its financial guidance for the year, scrapped its dividend and cut its top people’s pay. 

Several other firms said they were seeing increased demand for some of their services as a result of the pandemic. Recruiter Staffline (up 26.1 per cent, or 4.3p, to 20.8p) has seen demand surge for staff in the food supply chain, despite other sectors plunging. 

Trucking and logistics groups Wincanton (down 1.3 per cent, or 3p, to 227p) and Clipper Logistics (up 15.6 per cent, or 21p, to 156p) both reported a spike in demand as panic-buying Britons meant supermarkets were scrambling to keep their shelves stocked. 

Elsewhere, sofa seller DFS froze new recruitment, training and said it will cut marketing as the virus hit trading. 

Shareholders welcomed the move, with its stock soaring 23 per cent, or 26.2p, to 140p. 

The wider market also made gains, building on a roaring rally on Tuesday as traders waited for a £2 trillion stimulus package to pass in the US. 

The FTSE 100 rose 4.5 per cent, or 242.19 points, to 5688.2, while the FTSE250 closed 4.6 per cent higher, up 647.18 points, at 14819.91.

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