Israeli tailor Bagir was out of fashion this week after announcing it is taking legal action against Chinese giant Shandong Ruyi.
Once touted the ‘LMVH of China’, the fashion conglomerate is now drowning in billions’ worth of debt following an acquisition spree of European brands such as Sandro and TM Lewin.
Only last month the group was added to a cotton supply blacklist after it failed to pay compensation to a Bangladeshi company following an arbitration case.
Israeli tailor Bagir has announced it is taking legal action against Chinese giant Shandong Ruyi
In the case of Bagir, Shandong Ruyi was meant to buy a 53.7 per cent stake in the suit designer for $16.5million, but had to push back the completion date by nine months, with the new deadline set at 31 March.
As part of the transaction, Shandong Ruyi had committed to deliver $1.3million worth of equipment to Bagir’s Ethiopian factory by last September.
However, the goods still have not shown up, leaving Bagir to sue over breach of contract.
Investors will wonder whether the tailor will ever see any money. The shares ended the week down 14 per cent to 0.5p.
Model train maker Hornby was headed in the opposite direction as it chuffed 5 per cent higher to 38p after raising £15million to reinvigorate its iconic brands and fuel its digital marketing strategy.
The cash call was backed by the company’s two main investors, Phoenix Asset Management Partners and Artemis Investment Management, who between them own 90 per cent of the business.
Looking at the wider market, the AIM All-Share rose 1 per cent to 976, outperforming the FTSE 100 which was flat at 7,415.
In a week of tech risers, esports specialist Gfinity jumped 28 per cent to 1p on the back of its winner-stays-on gaming experience at the VidCon London 2020 festival happening this weekend.
Model train maker Hornby saw shares rise after raising £15million to reinvigorate its iconic brands and fuel its digital marketing strategy
Crimson Tide surged 13 per cent to 2p on a series of contract awards worth £600,000, as firms in the rail sector flocked to use mpro5, its app designed to help businesses manage their staff.
Seed investor Frontier IP advanced 20 per cent to 78p thanks to portfolio firm Cambridge Raman Imaging, which was awarded a €140,000 EU grant for the development of its scanning microscope.
Immunodiagnostics group Oncimmune soared 37 per cent to 60p on another award, as the UK Department for International Trade crowned it ‘Winning in Business in Spain’.
Moving onto the media sector, Ebiquity leaped 33 per cent to 36p as it said full-year trading that was ‘in line’ with its expectations after cutting down debt.
Natural resources player Oracle Power was jolted 28 per cent higher to 0.9p, thanks to a new consortium with China National Coal Development and Dubai billionaire to develop a lignite coal mine plus a power plant in Pakistan.
In the US, Tertiary Minerals rocketed 66 per cent to 0.3p as it starts drilling at its Pyramid gold project to confirm historic exploration results.
Some of its competitors had a lacklustre week, such as Conroy Gold and Natural Resources, down 9 per cent to 13p after raising £302,500 by selling shares at an 11 per cent discount.
Likewise, BlueRock Diamonds slipped 9 per cent to 87p after selling shares for £1.9million at a 13 per cent discount to speed up production at its Kareevlei mine in South Africa.
Elsewhere, lasers producer 600 Group tanked 22 per cent to 11p after warning on profits again as it suffers coronavirus disruption while trading in the US got worse.
Coronavirus fears hit oil services provider Tekmar Group too, which slumped 21 per cent to 119p, due to its close business ties with China.
Information technology provider CloudCoCo fell off its perch (and 10 per cent to 0.9p) after posting lower sales and profits as it focuses on existing clients rather than bringing in new business.
Back home, Cambridge Cognition tumbled 16 per cent to 23p, as the brain health specialist reported a weaker 2019 due to delays as well as a discounted fundraising.
The struggle was real for door handles and fans manufacturer Titon, down 16 per cent to 94p on a profit warning due to tough trading in the UK.
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