Friday Takeaway

2nd October 2026

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Friday Takeaway—delving a little deeper into UK small caps

This will delve a little deeper on individual companies and focus on non-house stocks under £200m market capitalisation to raise awareness

*Alphabetically arranged
**Share prices and market capitalisations taken from Alpha Terminal from the current price on the day of publication.
***Top three shareholders are taken from the websites of the companies that we are writing about, unless there is a more up to date TR-1 notification RNS announcement.

Bezant Resources 0.14p £31.40m** (BZT.L)

Financial Calendar:

Year End 31 December, Finals reported 30 June, Interims to 30 June, reported 30 September

Three Largest Shareholders & any Director Holdings above 3%: ***

Vidacos Nominees Limited 9.92%, Hargreaves Lansdown (Nominees) Limited 7.72%, Interactive Investor Services Nominees Limited 6.90%, and Director Colin Bird (Chairman & CEO) 5.10%

Key Investment Points:

Copper production is imminent, funding is in place, good scope to extend resource base

Alongside the release of interim results on 30 September, Bezant revealed that the development of its 90% owned Hope and Gorob copper-gold project in Namibia continued to progress at pace. This was underlined in an update released this morning, with the Chairman & CEO, Colin Bird, emphasising that over 40,000 tonnes (t) of material have been mined since mid-August and production has now commenced at the Company’s newly inaugurated Tsoaxaub Metals Processing Plant. Transport of concentrate to Namibia’s main deep water export port of Walvis Bay is expected towards the end of the month and, subject to shipping and logistical arrangements, the first shipment of copper concentrates should be made in early November.

This project is located approximately 215km Southwest of the capital, Windhoek, and less than 100km from Walvis Bay. Environmental approvals are in place, and a mining licence was issued on 1 April 2025 for a period of 15 years. Across the Hope deposit, and other deposits with the same permit area (Gorob, Vendome, and Anomaly respectively), Bezant has an estimated total mineral resource of 15m tonnes (mt) gross at 1.2% copper (Cu) for 180,000 tonnes (kt) of Cu.

At Hope, external consultants (Sound Mining) have signed off on just over 3mt of resource (1.1mt measured, 0.5mt indicated, and 1.4mt inferred), but at the current copper price of just over US$14,200 a tonne, the 36kt of contained copper still represents an in-the-ground resource worth $511m. On a 90% attributable basis, Bezant’s share of the resource at Hope equates to contained Cu of 32kt, contained gold (Au) of just over 18koz, and some silver (Ag). The defined resource at Hope does not include: material outside of the currently modelled open pit shell (which could be convertible to resources through additional drilling); the underground resource (estimated to be around 0.9mt at 2.04% Cu and 0.48g/t Au); drill-ready targets elsewhere over a 17km strike length within the current mining licence; resources at Gorob/Vendome; or any future discoveries in the exploration licences that extend across more than 80km of host rock. This means that further exploration drilling is likely as soon as the operation becomes cash positive (especially as the management team believes they can secure a 30+ year mine life for the project).

The concentrator benefits from established grid connections and reliable power infrastructure. It was a lead/zinc plant at the time of purchase but has been converted to copper processing by Metals X Limited (MLX.AX) at a cost of $2.8m. It was built in 2018 for North River Resources but faced operational issues and never reached full capacity. These issues, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, led to the plant being placed on care and maintenance in 2020. The plant has primary and secondary crushers. Conversion work involved an upgrading to the flotation circuits, improving milling and dewatering systems, and the implementation of modern automated controls. This morning’s update from Bezant stressed that the plant is running as required. The volume of processed material will build from initial levels, but nameplate capacity should be achieved within the next eight weeks.

The concentrator is approximately 190km from the mining site, but only 60km from the port at Walvis Bay. It is linked via tarmacked roads. To reduce transport costs to the concentrator, Bezant will upgrade run of mine material via ore sorting. Fines (a mining term for material with a small particle size) will be directly to the concentrator. The remaining material will be processed at the mine site through the multi-sensor ore sorter (colour camera and induction sensor used to separate out sulphide material from oxide) before it is sent off to the concentrator by truck. The assumed production rate into the ore sorter is 0.4mtpa. At the plant, oxide material will be identified during grade control and separated out. This is to preserve metallurgical recoveries on the sulphide material. In time, stockpiled oxide ore could be processed via an acid leach circuit. Design recovery on the sulphide material is 90% Cu.

Commissioning activities at the processing plant has been financed via a US$7m secured prepayment facility with a commodity trader called Hartree Metals (owned by partners and Oaktree, the well-known US investment house). This deal was announced on 11 June, and it also has facilitated establishment of the necessary infrastructure at the mine site (offices, accommodation, upgraded road). Crucially, Hartree has also agreed to an offtake agreement. This will see it purchase 100% of Cu concentrates produced over the life of the operation on market terms. The loan provided by Hartree is for four years. There is a 12-month principal and interest repayment grace period, before a straight-line repayment structure. Hartree has the option to elect for all/part of the facility amount to be settled by the issue of Bezant shares at a conversion price of 0.16p per share (which was a premium of 28% to the closing share price on 10th June 2026). Hartree Metals was also issued with a 4-year warrant with a subscription value of US$1.75m and a warrant exercise price of 0.11p per share.

On 11 March, Bezant announced an exclusive mining and logistics services agreement with a group called Unitrans. This covers drilling, blasting and secondary breaking of ore and waste, loading and hauling, road maintenance, short-term mine planning for the Hope and Gorob mine site, haulage of material by 50t trucks, material handling at the processing plant, and production of a concentrate for sale. There is a Tailings Storage Facility at the processing plant that has a total capacity of 1.52mt. It was built by Epoch Resources, a qualified tailings deposition engineering company based in South Africa, and Sound Mining stated in the feasibility report on the Hope project that 100kt of material was deposited prior to the related lead/zinc mine being placed under care and maintenance. The remaining capacity should cover Bezant’s needs until 2034, however, as annual deposition rates from Hope should be around 160ktpa (180ktpa plant feed less concentrate extracted).

Hybridan Comment: Bezant’s management team should be applauded for delivering on their targeted Q3 ’26 start to production from the concentrator, but they have not rested on their laurels, as they have already begun to focus on the possibility of a phase two development via the development of a new flotation plant located closer to Walvis Bay. This is intended to be a “tandem” processing plant with the capacity to increase throughput by up to 40% using material from the existing resource at the Hope and Gorob mine site.

Bezant’s longer-term goal is annual production of 25kt of Cu. This would depend, quite clearly, on further exploration success, but the ambition is worth noting. The current deposit locates within the Matchless Amphibolite Belt (MAB), a linear geological unit which extends Northwest-Southeast across Namibia for approximately 350km. Sound Mining believes that the MAB was formed during the collision between the Congo and Kalahari Cratons, and Bezant is firmly of the view that the currently identified strike of 17km or so will yield additional discoveries to supplement what they already have at Hope and Gorob.

Source: Bezant Resources plc

However, the main point to note right now is that year one production should be around 4050t of Cu. At an assumed (and hopefully conservative) copper price of $13,500, and with payables of 85%****, this translates to year one Cu revenues of almost $46.5m. This should be supplemented by almost $9.8m of Au revenue and $2.3m or so of Ag-related revenue. In year two, revenue should rise as there will be less oxide material (the team will have pushed beyond the surface cap by then) and a commensurately higher proportion of higher-grade sulphide material. This is reflected in the year two production target of 5,000t of Cu (450kt at 1.24% Cu) and our own assessment that year two revenues could be north of $70m.

As per the October 2025 feasibility study, we have assumed an operating cost of $55 per tonne for run of mine material from Hope. This includes Unitrans related fees, site overhead costs, general and administrative costs, and plant processing costs. In the context of year one assumed copper production of 4.05kt (which we see rising to 5kt in year 2), this translates to year one costs of $21.3m, and EBIT of almost $37.3m. Year 2 EBIT could be closer to $50m.

****For those unfamiliar with the term, payables account for treatment charges and metal lost during processing. Page 82 of the October 2025 feasibility study assumes a Cu payable of 85%, an Au payable of 90%, and an Ag payable of 100%. (https://www.bezantresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025-10-26-Hope-and-Gorob-Feasibility-Study-Report-Summary-signed-Sound-WEF-1-Oct-2025.pdf)

Braemar 235.0p £77.70m (BMS.L)

Financial Calendar:

Year End 28 February, Finals reported 21 May, Interims to 31 August, 5 November 2025 (due mid-November)

Three Largest Shareholders & any Director Holdings above 3%:

Chase Nominees Limited 9.2%, Wealth Nominees Limited 5.9%, Interactive Brokers LLC 4.2%

Key Investment Points:

Well-managed, with clear growth ambitions and a strong balance sheet

Braemar operates a diversified global platform across chartering, investment advisory and risk management. It serves the shipping and energy markets through nineteen offices in fourteen countries, and as a trading update released earlier this week on 29 September revealed, it has been profiting from the recent strength in charter rates. For the six months to 31 August 2026 (H1 ’27), revenue was up +16% year-on-year to £74.3m, and net debt fell to zero vs. £5.6m as of H1 ’26. Underlying operating profit was only up +7% YoY to £6m, but this was after £1.4m of “strategic investments to drive future growth”. This is a reference to several senior hires and the establishment of a “power desk” (which is energy-related, and builds on their shipbroking experience with LNG vessels, oil tankers, jack-up rigs, drill ships). If both elements of the strategic investment are added back to what was reported in the trading update, Braemar’s H1 ‘27 underlying operating profit margin would have been just under 10%.

The Board has stressed that it remains confident in Braemar’s ability to deliver full year results in line with market expectations. Increased volatility across shipping and energy markets has lifted average rates in the chartering business, but this has also resulted in strong demand for their advisory and risk management services. The outlook for rates will continue to be uncertain, but charter rates/Braemar’s fees are underpinned to some extent by the increasing age profile of the global shipping fleet, the need to retire older vessels, and the relative constraints imposed by yard capacity on the construction of newer vessels. It is worth noting that Braemar has also instigated an AI-driven integration programme to improve productivity, workflow automation and decision support, so ceteris paribus, there should also be an organic dimension to future margin gains.

Source: Braemar PLC (from FY 2026 results presentation)

Across all the different facets of the business, Braemar provides its services to owners and financiers, as well as plethora of different user groups. The new power desk, which will be based in Dubai, extends Braemar's derivatives offering into electricity markets and it adds to their risk advisory capacity in Coal and Natural Gas. It looks likely that other new desks will be established to fill in geographic gaps in important markets such as the US (where they only have a presence in Houston, Florida, and Connecticut currently).

Hybridan Comment: Circa 80% of the world’s goods are moved by shipping and that adds up to over 11bn tonnes of goods that need to be transported from one region to another. Rail links have improved in a lot of regions, but the physical reality of maritime trade is not going away. Braemar has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1997, and over the five years from February 2021 to February 2026, its shareholders have benefitted from a +62% increase in turnover to £135.6m, and a +71% increase in underlying operating profit.

The former CEO, James Gundy, was instrumental in this profit increase, with contributory factors including a pivot away from formerly pursued lower-margin activities (e.g. logistics and technical), and greater emphasis on revenue from Risk Advisory. Chartering now accounts for 55% of total revenue. Investment Advisory represents a further 24%, and Risk Advisory 21% (vs. just 4% of turnover in 2021).

Acquisitions could play a part in Braemar’s growth from here as it is unencumbered by net debt, and very much of the view that it is operating in a fragmented global market. It is also inherently ‘capital-light,’ so its cash generation is good (cash from operations amounted to £12.1m in the year to 28 February 2026). The new CEO is Grant Foley, who served as CFO from August 2023 to July 2026. His longer-term objective for the business is £200m of revenue by FY ’30, with an underlying operating margin of at least 15%.

Made Tech Group 48.00p £71.70m (MTEC.L)

Last Reported in Friday Takeaway, 28 November 2025, price then 27.75p

Financial Calendar:

Year End 31 May, Finals reported 29 September, Interims to 30 November, reported 26 February

Three Largest Shareholders & any Director Holdings above 3%:

RMAC Family Capital (a vehicle associated with Rory MacDonald, the founder and CEO) 28.53%, Chris Blackburn 14.50%, Stonehage Fleming Family & Partners 8.52%.

Key Investment Points:

Good growth, bright prospects, net cash and no debt

Made Tech is a provider of digital data and technology services to the UK public sector and other regulated industries, and it delivers services to these clients to modernise technology and accelerate the digital delivery of services and efficiency benefits. In practical terms, this can mean the deployment of engineers to build cloud-based offerings, and digital workstreams, but it can also mean data-driven insights to deliver better services and running/supporting the related digital infrastructure.

Revenue and profit forecasts have been upgraded several times over the last few years, and the progress made by the business since 2021 can be seen quite clearly in the chart below.

Source: Made Tech plc & Hybridan LLP

Results for the full year to 31 May 2026 were released this week on 29 September and shareholders would have been pleased by the +26.8% year-on-year (YoY) improvement in turnover to £58.9m, and the revelation that adjusted EBITDA had jumped by +69% YoY to just under £5.9m. The profit/margin improvement was aided by operational efficiencies and a tight control on costs. The revenue increase was attributed to market share gains in public sector-related contracts, and large new contracts. These included a £19m appointment as the strategic IT and secure deliver partner for the UK Government’s digital service. After the end of the period, it is worth noting that Made Tech also won a "significant new four-year contract with a UK government department." The contract win came via a consortium deal, but it is worth a record £40m to Made Tech across a four-year span. Revenue from the award is expected to commence in FY ’27, with a more significant contribution expected in FY ’28.

Hybridan Comment: The market’s reaction to Made Tech’s FY ’26 results was relatively muted on the day of release. This might reflect observations in the results that future growth is unlikely to be “linear,” and the fact that their year-end (31 May 2026) contracted backlog was down -10.6% YoY to £86m. However, thanks to the good contract wins secured of late, the contracted backlog as of 31 July 2026 was a far healthier £115m, and there was no suggestion that the CEO was looking to row back on the recent upgrading of FY ’27 expectations (which were for revenue of between £63m and £66m, and Adjusted EBITDA of between £6.3m and £6.6m).

Made Tech’s management team believe that they are building a business capable of generating £100m in turnover, and as they look out to FY ’30, they stress that they expect to see stronger margins, greater revenue visibility, more recurring revenue, and a growing contribution from software, intellectual property solutions, and managed services. Selective acquisitions may accelerate the strategy where they add strong public-sector relationships, complementary capabilities and/or recurring revenue. The accompanying message was one of discipline, with the CEO emphasising that any bolt-on purchases must be high quality, strategically aligned, and appropriately valued.

Made Tech ended FY ’26 with no debt, lease liabilities of just £829,000, and a lease-adjusted net cash holding of £13.67m. With the market capitalisation now standing at £70.5m, the EV is £56.83m, and this means, in turn, Made Tech is trading on a prospective May ’27 EV/adjusted EBITDA multiple of between 8.6x and 9x.

2nd October 2026
*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP or retained by Hybridan LLP for certain services
** Alphabetically arranged

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