St James House shares resume trading on AIM following publication of interim report

Shares in IT services management company St James House resumed trading on AIM on Wednesday after the group said that for the six months ended 31 July 2020, it had seen an improvement in its overall performance, resulting in interim pre-tax losses narrowing from £1.31m to £567,000.

However, St James said as a result of the disposal of Market Access Ops on 28 February 2020, it had actually made a profit of £192,000 for the period, including discontinued operations.

While St James acknowledged that Covid-19 had affected many businesses, Prize Provision Services, the group's lottery management business, saw stability in the number of weekly entries into the lotteries it administered and despite ongoing coronavirus-related restrictions, the overall number of lines played during June 2020 was on a par with June 2019.

Following the publication of the company's audited financial statements for the year to 31 January yesterday, along with today's half-yearly statement, St James requested that trading in its ordinary shares of 1.0p each be allowed to resume on AIM.

St James added it was in advanced discussions with an external investor to provide a working capital facility for the company and stated it expects to complete arrangements shortly.

Chief executive Graeme Paton said: "We are delighted that trading in our ordinary shares is being restored today. This has been a difficult year for the company, but we can now see positive signs on both the operational and financial fronts."

As of 0930 GMT, St James House shares had skyrocketed 75% to 70.0p.