SHARE PUNT OF THE WEEK

WHO IS IT? Headquartered in Gibraltar, Nektan develops, licenses and operates mobile games. It is particularly focused on the casino and bingo markets.

WHAT’S THE LATEST? This week it reported gaming revenue jumped 63pc to £3.7m in the three months to March 31 compared to the previous year, while total bets grew by an impressive 235pc to 132.3m. At the end of March, the firm signed a partnership with casino games developer High 5 Games, which operates more than 70 games.

WHO BACKS IT? Nadigadda Sandeep Reddy, non-executive director and co-founder of Indian private equity firm Peepul Capital, has the largest stake in the firm at 19.6pc. Executive director Gary Shaw, who founded Nektan in 2011, holds a 16.2pc stake. Shaw is a proven entrepreneur who left publisher Johnson Press in 1994 to launch online app pioneer Hughes Rae before a long career in the online gaming market.

WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST After a long period of decline last year and the first couple of months of 2017, the company has begun a turnaround. Shares have soared in recent weeks on the back of stellar results and high level appointments. The company’s US subsidiary Respin Games secured its first major US contract last month, granting it access to the country’s huge casino market.

. . .AND WHY YOU SHOULDN’T Tech firms can be cash-hungry and it can take a long time for profits to materialise. Online gaming is also a fiercely competitive area with hundreds of rival apps and very fickle consumers. Some investors may be uncomfortable with investing in gambling.