Good morning,

Bombshell for investors in drinks brand firm Distil (LON:DIS) this morning. The company had budgeted for US sales but doesn't know when it will be able to make any:
http://www.investegate.co.uk/distil-plc--dis-/rns/trading-update/201409150700136104R/

subject to approval from the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)... Regrettably, we have no control over the speed of this application process and to date have not received approval, nor a clear indication of when it may be forthcoming...notwithstanding we are only nearly half way through the financial year, the full year results will be significantly below current market expectations.

so it looks like a loss for the year then. It is probably vital that shareholders start studying the balance sheet and see how much longer Distil (LON:DIS) can survive without US sales.

There is a silver lining:

Outside of the US, where the majority of our trading takes place, sales volumes have continued to grow, Blackwoods Gin by 22% year to year and RedLeg Rum by 48%, and Blackwoods Vodka newly launched.

Some serious research here could be rewarded. AIM Prospector covered the company back when it was called Blavod in the May edition here:
http://issuu.com/aimprospector/docs/201405_issuu_aimprospector/c/sl02bzb

Charles-Henri Sabet's plans to transform spread-betting firm London Capital Hldg (LON:LCG) continue apace. Since June, it has been proposed that a company that is 50% owned by Mr Sabet and his wife will provide software services to London Capital Hldg (LON:LCG). Today, some meat has been added to that agreement:
http://www.investegate.co.uk/london-capital-group--lcg-/rns/entry-into-software-as-a-service-agreement/201409150700136110R/

The Independent Directors believe that, in line with the Company's strategy, the Agreement offers access to international wholesale FX markets and presents an opportunity for the Company to significantly expand and diversify its customer base...

ยท the Licence will provide LCG with direct access to liquidity providers with aggregation and smart order routing features, enabling LCG to offer better pricing, tighter spreads and a greater depth for execution;

It is a related party transaction and is going to require a general meeting of the company to decide. Given that Mr Sabet has already sunk a lot of cash into