Investors breathed a sigh of relief after housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) confirmed its targets for profits and completions this year. However, the firm did point to rising inflation in its supply chain, led by higher energy costs, which it said could affect H2 earnings. No material impact, yet Persimmon said the volume of net private sales per outlet per week had increased by 3% in the first four months of 2026. By value, private forward sales so far this year were up 7% from £1.68 billion to £1.8 billion thanks to higher selling prices. CEO Dean Finch said the Middle East…

Shares in hospitality group Whitbread (WTB) fell to a five-year low after its business review failed to resonate with the market. The firm aims to ‘refocus’ its capital spend and ‘recycle’ more of its freehold estate to raise margins and cash. More focused approach In light of significant cost increases, including business rates and NI, the board has come up with a five-year plan. The aim is to increase profits and reduce capex, raising its return on capital employed and generating £2 billion of free cash flow. First, it will focus capex on the highest-return opportunities to increase pre-tax profit…

Aero engine and defence group Rolls-Royce (RR.) issued a positive AGM statement confirming its FY26 financial targets. The firm assured investors it would ‘fully mitigate’ the current financial impact of the Middle East disruption on its business. Strong start to FY26 Rolls-Royce said it had a ‘strong start to the year across all three divisions’. In Civil Aerospace, widebody demand remains strong and it has a young fleet which is growing faster than the market. Large EFH (engine flying hours) grew 5% to 115% of 2019 levels in Q1, and for FY26 should remain at 115%-120% of 2019 levels. The…

Shares in ingredients group Treatt (TET) soared 45% after the board recommended a takeover offer from German rival Döhler. The offer, at 305p per share, values Treatt at £183 million and represents a 48% premium to yesterday’s closing price. Stronger together Treatt specialises in producing high-quality flavours and fragrances for the beverage industry using natural fruit extracts and synthetic sources. Well known for its expertise with citrus flavours, the firm has moved into areas such as sugar reduction and tea. Döhler’s offer represents a premium of 17% to Natara’s initial offer last September and 5% to its final offer last…

Shares in Lloyds (LLOY) drifted lower in early trade despite the banking group posting better-than-expected Q1 profits. Lloyds also lifted its FY26 net interest income guidance while confirming its capital generation and solvency targets. Small beat across the board Net interest income for Q1 was £3.6 billion, up 8% on Q1 2025 and marginally above the consensus of £3.55 billion. For the full year, LLoyds now sees net interest income surpassing £14.9 billion. Operating costs of £2.5 billion were down 2% on last year and marginally below analysts’ forecasts of £2.55 billion. Also, underlying impairment charges were £295 million against…

FTSE 250 builders’ merchant Travis Perkins (TPK) issued a disappointing Q1 trading update, missing market expectations. Shares in the Northampton-based group dropped 5% to a new 12-month low of 518p. Volumes remain weak For the three months to March, the group posted a 3.1% drop in revenue with organic revenue down 1.7%. The balance of the decline was due to changes in the number of stores over the last 12 months. Breaking down the like-for-like figure, volumes were down 2.8% while the firm managed to raise prices by 1.1%. Toolstation UK, which accounts for around 15% of sales, was the…

Shares in Taylor Wimpey (TW.) hit their lowest level in over a decade after the firm’s latest trading update. The stock dropped 5% to 79p, taking year-to-date losses to 26% and marking its lowest level since 2013. Margin squeeze In a statement ahead of its AGM, the company revealed its order book at 26 April was down on FY25. It also warned selling prices were falling while input costs were rising. Overall pricing in the order book is 1% lower than last year, with prices most impacted in Southern England. This where affordability is most stretched, and where the firm…

High street lender Barclays (BARC) posted disappointing earnings for Q1 due to a rise in bad loan charges. The shares slumped 5p or 4.5% to 109p in early trading, taking losses to 14% year-to-date. Impairments to blame For the three months to March, the bank reported net interest income of £3.74 billion, slightly above the £3.41 billion consensus. Similarly, Q1 net fee income of £4.43 billion was slightly ahead of the £4.28 billion forecast. However, group operating costs of £4.55 billion were above the £4.46 billion forecast partly due to higher motor finance claims. Also, credit impairment charges of £823 million were…

Energy giant Shell (SHEL) has accelerated its push in the gas market with the $13.6 billion purchase of ARC Resources (ARX). The deal provides the UK firm with an extra 4% annual production through to 2030 against its 2025 base. High quality, low cost ARC is focused on the Montney shale basin in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. The deal increases Shell’s exposure to long-duration, low-cost, top-quartile shale gas and liquids, ‘delivering value for decades’ the firm said. The acquisition combines Shell’s 440,000 net acres of reserves in the Montney formation with ARC’s over 1.5 million acres. Therefore it adds around…

Land regeneration and development firm Harworth Group (HWG) moved a step closer to building a data centre campus for tech giant Microsoft (MSFT). The site, at Skelton Grange in West Yorkshire, comprises around 500,000 quare feet in total. Work in progress Harworth announced that the Leeds local planning committee had passed a resultion to approve the scheme at Skelton Grange. The application asks for full planning permission for a data centre campus and associated infrastructure, and outline planning permission for a warehouse. The site will house three data centre ‘halls’ and auxiliary buildings on two plots. It will also feature…