Empyrean Energy lit up the small-cap leaderboard this week, with shares rocketing 500 per cent after news of a game-changing gas sales deal in Indonesia.

The company owns an 8.5 per cent stake in the Mako gas field, long seen as full of potential but stuck in development limbo. 

The project now looks significantly more valuable following a binding agreement with PLN EPI, the supply arm of Indonesia’s state power company.

It’s a major milestone. All gas from Mako will be sold domestically at prices pegged to oil, a far cry from the less generous fixed-price deals often seen in the region.

Crucially, Empyrean and its partners won’t have to foot the bill for new pipeline infrastructure, as PLN is covering that too. Investors didn’t need a second invitation. After years of waiting, it seems Mako’s moment may finally be here

Turning to the wider market, the AIM All-Share ended the week flat at 771.41, as recent enthusiasm around small-caps appeared to lose steam. In contrast, the FTSE 100 eked out a 0.6 per cent gain to close at 8,990.92.

The Mako gas field now looks significantly more valuable following a binding agreement with PLN EPI, the supply arm of Indonesia’s state power company.

Among the risers, Oxford BioDynamics doubled in value at one point on Tuesday after Pfizer data confirmed the effectiveness of its EpiSwitch blood-based biomarkers in monitoring tumour status and treatment response in bladder cancer.

The stock eventually pulled back after a bout of profit-taking but still ended the week up a tidy 50 per cent.

Eco Animal Health climbed 30 per cent after reassuring the market that global trade tariffs had not materially impacted its operations. Annual revenue came in at £79.6 million for the year to March 2025, in line with forecasts, with particularly strong growth in North America, where sales rose 16 per cent.

MyHealthChecked added 25 per cent after signing a new supply deal with Boots. The home-testing healthcare firm will supply eight blood tests, one DNA test and four self-test kits under the Boots brand, launching in August. The contract runs for an initial 12 months.

Ilika gained 20 per cent after securing a £1.25 million government grant to help scale production of its Goliath solid-state batteries for electric vehicles. The award, part of the UK’s DRIVE35 programme, supports a year-long development project starting in August. The company also reported progress across its broader battery technology portfolio.

Metals One, up more than 200 per cent year to date, slumped 50 per cent this week, but the sell-off looked more technical than fundamental. The company announced a $300,000 investment for an initial 10 per cent stake in NovaCore, a private firm developing a uranium project in New Mexico.

Metals One has also been granted warrants that could see its holding rise to 30 per cent, requiring a further outlay of around $860,000. At the same time, it issued 15 million new shares, about 5 per cent of its equity, to its employee benefits trust, sparking dilution concerns.

For Corero Networks, the 41 per cent drop was more clear-cut. The cyber-defence group issued a profit warning, saying full-year revenue and earnings would fall short of expectations. It blamed weak partner performance, macroeconomic uncertainty and delayed customer decisions in the US. The company is now seeking an overdraft facility to manage working capital.

Ashtead Technology Holdings also disappointed, falling 29 per cent after reporting lower-than-expected first-half revenue. Despite this, the subsea services group stuck to its full-year profit guidance.

And finally, the rise of the Bitcoin treasuries

With Bitcoin hitting a record high this week, a wave of companies is jumping into the ‘crypto treasury’ game, repositioning themselves to hold and manage digital assets.

Among the early movers, Vaultz Capital appears to have hit the ground running, assembling a strong team and outlining ambitious plans. Also worth watching are Active Energy Group and CelAI, which are both aiming to make their mark in the space.

Sources have told Proactive that this trend is only just getting started. While activity may dip over the summer, a wave of announcements is expected in September and October, with as many as 30 companies set to unveil crypto-focused treasury strategies.

One firm already making headlines is Hamak Gold, whose shares jumped over 40 per cent on Friday after naming US economist Arthur Laffer as founding member of a new advisory board.

The board will support Hamak’s expansion into data security, decentralised technologies and digital assets. Laffer, a former adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, is best known for his work on US fiscal policy.

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