Infrastructure groups Balfour Beatty (LON:BBY) and Hill & Smith (LON:HILS) both raised their FY guidance after reporting strong H1 trading. Balfour Beatty said it had started H2 ‘with real momentum’. Balfour Beatty H1 profit rises 40% For the six months to June, Balfour Beatty posted revenue of £5.56 billion boosted by rising demand in US Buildings and UK Power Transmission. Underlying operating profit from earnings-based businesses jumped more than 40% to £153 million. US Construction contributed £22 million of operating profit against an £11 million loss last year. The firm said it had seen strong growth in Buildings and reduced…

After it sold Argos at the end of July, the market is wondering what the next step is for supermarket chain J. Sainsbury (LON:SBRY). Will it launch a bid for a rival, or will it try to grow market share under its own steam? Adios to Argos On 31 July, Sainsbury’s revealed it had sold Argos to Swift Partners for cash proceeds of at least £120 million. The consideration includes £70 million up front, and deferred payments plus cash from the sale of Argos’s distribution centre. Swift is a new company established by Richard Pennycook, Trevor Strain and Matt Truman,…

Shares in engineering group Spirax (LON:SPX) were down in early trading despite H1 results beating forecasts. Seemingly, investors decided to book profits after the stock’s strong run over the past month. H1 results beat forecasts For the six months to June, Spirax reported revenue of £864 million, beating the consensus forecast of £849 million. Growth of 5% was well ahead of the 1.5% increase in global industrial production ex-China. Electric Thermal Solutions registered growth of 11%, while Watson Marlow Fuild Technology Solutions registered growth of 7%. Within Fluid Technology, the pharmaceutical and biotech industries saw orders grow ahead of sales.…

Shares in housebuilder Vistry (LON:VTY) fell after reports a major credit insurer was set to adjust limits for its suppliers. There are fears the move, by Germany’s Allianz, could worsen the squeeze on the company’s cash flow. H1 cash flow ‘significantly impacted’ According to the Financial Times, credit insurer Allianz Trade is reducing the cover it offers to Vistry’s suppliers. The insurer has reportedly warned firms it could reduce new cover by up to 70% depending on Vistry’s financial performance. Last year, Vistry paid its suppliers within an average of 41 days. In its latest trading update, the firm said…

Trading platform Plus500 (LON:PLUS) raised shareholder returns by $182.5 million following a record H1 performance. Since IPO, the firm has returned over $3 billion to investors, while its market cap has risen from $200 million to $3.5 billion. Record H1 revenue For the six months to June, the company posted record revenue of $463 million, up 12% on H1 2025. Customer income increased 24%, marking a five-year high for any six-month period. Trading income, the group’s primary revenue driver, increased 15% to $442 million. The OTC (over-the-counter) business expanded its geographic reach with new operations in Canada and Latin America,…

Oil producer Genel Energy (LON:GENL) has rejected a £202 million takeover offer from Norwegian energy giant DNO. The Scandinavian firm revealed it had approached the Genel board in late July with a cash offer which was turned down. £202 million opening offer According to the DNO press release, it approached Genel on 28 July with a possible cash offer of 69p per share. The price represented a 35% premium to Genel’s closing price on the day and values the firm at £202 million. Genel owns and operates production assets in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and exploration assets in Oman…

The IPO of Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ:SPCX) provided a lift to H1 returns at RIT Capital Partners (LON:RCP). The capital preservation trust said ‘landmark realisations’ including the IPO and ‘meaningful valuation uplifts’ in its direct investments contributed to H1 gains. SpaceX provides H1 lift For the six months to June, RCP reported a 9% increase in NAV total return per share, with NAV hitting its highest ever level. All three investment strategies – private investments, quoted equities, and uncorrelated strategies – generated positive returns. Private investments delivered a 9.1% return and contributed 3.3% to the NAV uplift. The SpaceX IPO…

Shares in WPP (LON:WPP) soared 25% after the global media firm reported improving momentum in Q2. The company also said it expected ‘an improving growth trajectory in H2’ and a higher operating margin. Improving momentum For the six months to June, WPP reported revenue of £6.37 billion, down 4.4% on a headline basis and 3.2% LFL. However, momentum improved from a 6.7% drop in LFL revenue in Q1 to just a 2.8% drop in Q2, beating expectations. The improvement was mostly driven by WPP Media, where LFL revenue declined 2.8% in Q2 against 8.3% in Q1. Momentum also improved in…

Peel Holdings, the largest shareholder in Harworth Group (LON:HWG), has made an offer for the whole of the share capital. The cash offer, pitched at 172.5p per share, represents a 20% premium to the closing price on Wednesday 5 August. ‘Capital intensive strategy’ criticised Peel Holdings is the ultimate owner of 29.96% of Harworth Group via its wholly-owned subsidiary Goodweather Holdings. The offer values the entire share capital of Harworth at just under £583 million. Harworth owns a portfolio of strategic land, industrial and logistics assets mainly in the MIdlands and the North of England. Peel Group argues the firm’s…

Shares in S4Capital (LON:SFOR) soared 20% after the ‘digital-first’ media agency raised its FY26 profit margin guidance. Thanks to lower costs and a lower debt pile, core operating profit is expected to increase more than expected. FY profit guidance raised In a trading update, S4 said H1 reported revenue dipped 6.2% or 4.7% on a LFL basis to £308 million. However, operational EBITDA jumped 83% or 127% on a LFL basis to a record £38 million. The firm’s operating margin of 12.3% was double the previous year and more than double on a LFL basis. Net debt of £66.3 million…