Sunda Energy‘s Taranaki permit gain drove the AIM explorer’s shares up 42.9% to 2p on Wednesday, after New Zealand authorities awarded a 10-year petroleum mining permit to Matahio NZ Onshore, the company it is seeking to acquire.
The permit covers approximately 19 square kilometres of onshore Taranaki, including the Puka field and the Oru prospect, according to Matahio Energy NZ. The New Zealand government confirmed the grant in an official release.
Sunda Energy Taranaki Permit: What the Puka Field Covers
The Puka discovery holds estimated recoverable reserves of approximately 170,000 barrels of oil and 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas, with the adjacent Oru prospect carrying independently assessed prospective resources of approximately 1.8 million barrels of oil and 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas, Reuters reported.
New Zealand’s Resources Minister Shane Jones described the permit as ‘only the second petroleum mining permit to be granted in the past eight years but one of two granted in the last year or so,’ signalling a shift in the country’s energy policy stance.
The centre-right coalition government has reversed the previous Labour administration’s 2018 ban on new offshore permits and restrictions on onshore licences, with Jones stating that gas would remain critical to New Zealand’s energy mix in the decades ahead.
Sunda Energy agreed the Matahio acquisition on 8 April 2026. The consideration is expected to fall between US$8.0 million and US$27.0 million, with a mid-point of US$21 million, funded through a proposed fundraising of up to £6.7 million. That includes a £0.9 million firm subscription, £0.8 million in conditional subscriptions, and up to £0.75 million from a retail offer. The Sunda Energy Taranaki permit award is a condition precedent to completing the deal.
TPXimpact Lands £25m Ministry of Justice Contract
Digital transformation services group TPXimpact (LON: TPX) won a £25 million contract with the Ministry of Justice, running from 3 August 2026 to 2 August 2029, with an option to extend for a further 12 months to August 2030, according to MarketScreener. The contract covers Probation Digital Delivery for Manage People on Probation and Probation User Services.
The win takes business secured in the current financial year to £58m, helping to underpin a forecast pre-tax profit improvement from £6.9m to £10.7m. Separately, TPXimpact’s digital experience agency Manifesto secured a £5 million contract with the British Library for its Future Web Programme, covering a 30-month initial agreement, according to Think Digital Partners. Profit-taking pulled the TPX share price down 4.26% to 73p.
Other Movers on AIM
Marechale Capital (LON: MAC) rose 30% to 6.5p after launching a $118 million Coral Futures reef programme on Blubird’s Registry and Marketplace platform. Coral Futures holds Western Australian approvals to manage the underlying ecosystem.
Distil (LON: DIS) recovered one-fifth to 0.06p after receiving its first order for Blavod Black Vodka through a new US distribution partner, with the first shipment due in the quarter to December 2026.
Ethernity Networks (LON: ENET) added 16.7% to 0.0014p after saying a transaction to monetise its intellectual property could generate substantial upfront proceeds and longer-term income from AI infrastructure markets.
Aeorema Communications (LON: AEO) gained 10% to 66p after launching a share buyback of up to 5% of share capital, to be managed by Shard Capital.
Alien Metals (LON: UFO) edged up 5.88% to 0.09p after further assay results at its Elizabeth Hill project showed additional significant intersections. The company, which holds 30% of the project and 8.7% of West Coast Silver, said an updated JORC mineral resource estimate is expected in the fourth quarter.
Fallers and Ex-Dividends
Caledonian Holdings (LON: CHP) slipped 24.3% to 1.4p after raising £612,000 at 1.25p per share. Proceeds will fund the commercial rollout of Aspire’s multicurrency business current account and debit card, plus near-term trade finance opportunities. Caledonian acquired Aspire for £9.33m in June.
Light Science Technologies (LON: LST) fell 9.37% to 1.45p. Interim revenues rose 26% to £3.73m, but the loss widened from £160,000 to £800,000. Net cash stood at £1.38m at the end of May 2026. Building regulation delays weighed on fire protection income in the first half, though the company said it remains on course to break even this year.
Bezant Resources (LON: BZT) dipped 1.14% to 0.14p after starting blasting on the 90%-owned Hope and Gorob copper-gold project in Namibia.
Cake Box (LON: CBOX) went ex-dividend for its 7.2p final dividend, with the share price dipping 7.5p to 202.5p. Calnex Solutions (LON: CLX) went ex-dividend for its 0.68p final dividend, the share price easing 0.5p to 58.5p.
For Sunda Energy, the next trigger is shareholder approval of the Matahio acquisition fundraising, where the consideration range of US$8.0 million to US$27.0 million leaves meaningful uncertainty over the final deal cost.
