London, July 5, 2026, 19:04 BST
- Hercules finished the session at 29p on Friday, rising 5.45% during the day. That’s up 23.4% from the prior Friday close of 23.5p.
- The reported free float for the stock is at 18.45 million shares. CEO Brusk Korkmaz has disclosed beneficial ownership of 18.07 million shares, equal to 22.44% of the company.
- Friday’s director dealing notice showed an internal volume mismatch, leaving the CEO’s implied purchase somewhere between £39,396 and £42,210 at the average price of 28.14p.
- The London market stayed closed for the weekend, with the LSE market-data page listing a restart time of 0800 BST on Monday, July 6.
Hercules plc (LON:HERC) faces Monday’s AIM open after shares snapped back. The move followed a CEO stock buy, a new funding deal, and June’s numbers—sales rose, but first-half profit fell. The rebound also put the spotlight again on the company’s slim free float.
The infrastructure and construction services group finished the day up 1.5p at 29p, a gain of 5.45%. Volume hit 391,542 shares, about 69% above its 231,260 average. The shares are now 38.1% above the June 24 52-week low at 21p, but still down 50.8% from their Jan. 16 high of 59p.
| Friday measure | Hercules | FTSE AIM All-Share | FTSE 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | 29.00p | 776.09 | 10,679.03 |
| Day move | up 5.45% | down 0.17% | up 0.2% |
| Intraday range | traded 27.50p to 30.00p | moved between 775.17 and 780.14 | n/a |
| Market status | Closed | Closed | Closed |
The AIM All-Share ended down 0.17% Friday. The FTSE 100 gained 0.2% at 10,679.03 and managed to finish higher for the week, with financials and precious-metals stocks supporting gains. Hercules was an outlier on a day the broader AIM market dropped.
Liquidity is what matters for investors here. According to Investors Chronicle/LSEG, Hercules has 80.59 million shares out, a free float of 18.45 million, and a market cap at £23.37 million. After the latest buy, Korkmaz has a beneficial stake of 18.07 million shares, which is nearly the published free float.
| Liquidity marker | Shares | Share of issued capital | Value at 29p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shares outstanding | 80.59 mln | 100.0% | £23.37 mln |
| Published free float | 18.45 mln | 22.9% | £5.35 mln |
| Korkmaz beneficial holding | 18.07 mln | 22.44% | £5.24 mln |
| Last week’s volume | 1.50 mln | 1.9% of issued shares | £0.44 mln |
Korkmaz bought shares at an average price of 28.14p, according to the Friday RNS. But the notice wasn’t clear: the text said he picked up 140,000 shares, while the transaction table listed three trades—40,000, 20,000 and 90,000—making 150,000 shares in all. The trades were dated July 2 and July 3 on AIM, per the table.
| Source line in RNS | Volume | Average price | Implied value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main text | 140,000 | 28.14p | £39,396 |
| Transaction table | 150,000 | 28.14p | £42,210 |
This matters since even the higher number is just 0.8% of the stated free float, while last week’s turnover hit 8.1% of the float. For a small AIM stock, not just whether a director buys, but how much stock is out there to trade can move things.
Shares bounced after Hercules on June 26 said it boosted its invoice discounting facility to £20 million from £16 million. The company also added £5 million in term loans, with £4 million set aside for the last part of the Advantage NRG Ltd. earn-out. CEO Korkmaz called the package “financial flexibility and headroom”. Investegate
Hercules has new debt on the books after posting a mixed set of first-half numbers. Revenue grew 8% to £59.2 million in the six months to March 31, but underlying EBITDA slipped to £1.7 million from £2.6 million. Cash dropped to £2.7 million, compared to £9.8 million a year ago. Hercules isn’t paying an interim dividend.
| First-half metric | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £59.2 mln | £54.6 mln | up 8% |
| Gross profit | £8.9 mln | £8.1 mln | rose 10% |
| Underlying EBITDA | £1.7 mln | £2.6 mln | down 35% |
| Cash | £2.7 mln | £9.8 mln | fell 72% |
| Interim dividend | nil | 0.6p | removed |
Korkmaz said first-half performance was “typically weighted towards H2” and noted £14.0 million in Civil Projects contract wins since the beginning of fiscal 2026. At the AGM, Chairman Henry Pitman said businesses acquired were “performing as hoped,” but also flagged some project start delays. Investegate
Investors have a governance issue to watch too. In May, Hercules’ final results flagged a qualified audit opinion in the annual report, connected to past issues with a small group of training and consulting suppliers. Hercules said back then it expected AIM trading in its shares to restart on May 22 after releasing the annual report.
Looking at the week ahead, watch Friday’s close at 29p, the high at 30p, and the CEO’s average buy price of 28.14p. The June 24 low sits at 21p, while the quoted bid-offer on the Investors Chronicle/LSEG site shows 28p to 31p.
