In this article, Bernice will once again examine recent and upcoming listings on the London Stock Exchange. The three investment opportunities reviewed are:
- Aurrigo Group plc
- First Class Metals plc
- Haleon plc
Aurrigo Group plc
- Opening Date: Mid-September 2022
- Issue Price: 0.2p
- Market Cap: TBC
- Ticker: AURR
- At the helm: David Martin Keene
Aurrigo’s CEO and co-owner, David Keene holds numerous qualifications – BSc in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, MIET, CEng and FRSA. He founded the Group with Graham Keene in 1993. He has also been teaching as visiting professor in Professional Practice for Autonomous Vehicles at Coventry University since 2016.
What they do
Headquartered in Coventry, Aurrigo Group was previously RDM Group Limited. Aurrigo is a provider of transport technology, providing design, engineering and manufacturing of OEM products, autonomous and electrical vehicles.
The company has numerous divisions – aviation, autonomous and automotive. The automotive division is the original business of the firm, while aviation and autonomous were only added in 2019 and 2016 respectively to jump on opportunities surrounding automation. Apart from engineering and manufacturing, Aurrigo also offers other services, such as software development, consulting, logistics and operation support.
Although the aviation division was only established in 2019, it has already won recognition in the U.K. The Group’s baggage movement vehicle was trialled at Heathrow Airport by British Airways in 2019 and was thereby, awarded Heathrow’s Best Innovation the same year. While its oldest business in the automotive division benefits from long relationships with carmakers like Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin Lagonda.
First Class Metals plc
- Opening Date: 29 Jul 2022
- Issue Price: 10p
- Market Cap: £6.32m
- Ticker: FCM
- At the helm: Marc Sale
For over 25 years, Marc Sale’s career has centred around natural resources, particularly base and precious metals. His professional background spans across Africa, Australasia, the Americas and Europe. Additionally, Marc has been the technical director for numerous resource management companies, both listed and private.
What they do
First Class Metals is a mineral exploration company. In an increasingly ESG-focused market environment, the company sets out to be transparent, science-driven, and environmentally conscious in its exploration of gold, base/ battery metals, and to drive such changes in the industry.
Since incorporating in January 2021, the firm has already put together a portfolio of 857 mining claims, wholly owning 7 claim blocks of over 180 km2. The acquisitions of First Class Metals are based in Canada.
In terms of the gold market, about 75% of demand is met by mined gold and the rest by recycled ones. Demand for gold can be broken down into a few categories, namely, jewellery (highest demand), investment, central bank and technology. It is clear that gold as an asset offers both cultural and financial value for various groups of consumers.
Haleon plc
- Opening Date: 18 Jul 2022
- Issue Price: 330p
- Market Cap: £24,024m
- Ticker: HLNH
- At the helm: Brian McNamara
Brian McNamara joined GSK in 2015 after spending ten years at the Swiss-American pharmaceutical company Novartis. He first began his career at multinational consumer goods corporation P&G. At GSK, he held numerous roles, with his most recent stint being the CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare, a joint venture between GSK and Pfizer.
What they do
Haleon is a health and wellbeing company, a spin-off from British drugmaker GSK, which now focuses on prescriptions and vaccines. With a market valuation of £28.5bn on the first day, this marked the largest European listing of the decade. Not to mention that Haleon is one of the largest providers of specialist oral health in the world. Sensodyne is also one of Haleon’s brands. Other focus areas of Haleon include respiratory, pain relief, vitamins, minerals and supplements, and digestive health. The company currently aims to help 50 million people improve their health a year by 2025.
Haleon’s portfolio owns many household names in the healthcare industry. Some of its multinational brands include Advil, Caltrate, Panadol and Voltaren. Its operations also stretch across many jurisdictions globally, covering the Americas, APAC and EMEA. Haleon has more than 1,400 scientists for product development and research.
Bernice Ng
