It's still a mess at green energy producer Renewable Power & Light (RPL), with new management working hard to sort out a "Buggers Muddle!" that caused the business to collapse with losses of $90m.

More than $3.5m has been spent on litigation against the company's former chief executive, which resulted in an out of court settlement. The net asset value as at 31 May 2010 was $3.51m (£2.39m) or 2.7p a share.

"The board believe that a consequence of the turbulent history of the company is that it is unlikely that any new investors would be able to satisfy their due diligence requirements and therefore the company's future use as a 'cash shell' may be restricted," it said Friday.

"The board is formulating a number of strategies for the company and intends to submit proposals to shareholders shortly. A further announcement will be made in due course."

Industrial services group Brammer is stronger Friday after it reported an improving sequential trend throughout the first half, meeting expectations of double digit sales growth in both May and June.

"The macro data has continued to improve through Q2, particularly in Germany, which accounts for almost 25% of Brammer revenues," says KBC Peel Hunt.

It keeps the shares as a 'buy; with 170p target price.

Irish recruitment group CPL Resources remained profitable throughout 2010 to date and expects profit for the year to 30 June 2010 to be broadly in line with market expectations.

But despite signs of improvement in its markets, employment in Ireland is still declining and sequential employment growth is not expected to resume until the second quarter of next year.

"The immediate future therefore remains uncertain, but we are cautiously optimistic that a slow recovery has begun in the markets relevant to our business," it said.

Talks with Smith Electric Vehicles US (SEVUS) over the sale of Tanfield's Smith Electric Vehicle division are dragging on, so Tanfield has agreed to extend the four month exclusivity period by 60 days.

SEVUS made the initial approach in March. It made a non-binding indicative offer of £37m, equivalent to 50p per Tanfield share, for the assets of the division, plus an additional £33.3n, contingent to the benefit of Tanfield in the event of any SEVUS flotation prior to September 2015.

Related share prices
Brammer (BRAM) share price
Tanfield Group (TAN) share price
CPL Resources (CPS) share price
Renewable Power & Light (RPL) share price