Investors can look forward to another busy next week in terms of consumer companies reporting, especially in the UK. Names in the frame include Associated British Foods (LON:ABF), Cake Box (LON:CBOX), Curry’s (LON:CURY) and Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY). It’s a similar story in the US, although the intensity of reporting is considerably reduced compared with previous weeks. Investors will be watching Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), General Mills (NYSE:GIS) and Nike (NYSE:NKE) in particular. Why Moonpig is flying high today Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) Unloved conglomerate Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) will remain friendless unless its Q3 update (1 July) shows improved trading trends across…

Tim Lewis explains how JPMorgan European Growth & Income (JEGI) generates consistent market-beating returns by investing in continental European equities. The manager outlines the team’s approach in building a balanced portfolio which outperforms through economic and investment cycles. Lewis goes on to explain how the trust applies top-down macro tailwinds with bottom-up stock catalysts which support the fundamentals. Using these factors, combined with active management, the team is able to identify diversified sources of outperformance. Key questions the team ask are is it a good business, is it attractively valued and is the outlook improving. Finally, Lewis reveals how these…

Low-cost airline easyJet (LON:EZJ) said it rejected the latest offer from US firm Castlelake, pitched at 650p per share. However, the firm left the door open to a higher offer and extended the PUSU (put up or shut up) deadline to 5 July. Close but no cigar To recap, specialist aviation investor Castlelake has made four offers so far. Its latest 650p per share gambit values easyJet’s equity at £4.9 billion against a current market cap of around £4 billion. The US investor clarified again easyJet would be owned by a holding company 51% owned by EU nationals to comply…

The takeover saga at Advanced Medical Solutions (LON:AMS) appears to be finally drawing to a close. The AIM-listed surgical products maker has agreed a £660 million takeover by US peer HB Fuller (NYSE:FUL). Fuller follows through Having revealed its interest on 21 May, HB Fuller announced today it had reached agreement on a 285p cash offer. The price represents a 35% premium to the close on 20 May and a 19% premium on last night’s close. AMS had previously been in buyout tallks with private equity firm TA Associates. On 18 May, AMS shares tumbled 19% to 201p after TA…

Shares in UK asset manager Liontrust (LON:LIO) leapt on news the outflow of funds had slowed in the latest quarter. The company said it would release a fuller trading update for the three months to 30 June on 22 July. Shift in flows From the start of April 2026 to date, Liontrust registered total net outflows of £276 million. While not ideal, that marked a slowdown from the £836 million of outflows it suffered in the previous quarter. Moreover, gross institutional inflows this quarter have topped £500 million. CEO John Ions put the improvement down to the expansion of the…

Shares in real estate investment trust SEGRO (LON:SGRO) leapt after it was revealed the board had rejected a £12.6 takeover bid. The approach came from US company Prologis (NYSE:PLD), which published the full terms of its proposal through the London Stock Exchange. All-share offer Prologis, the world’s largest industrial REIT with a market cap of $140 billion, proposed an all-share offer for SEGRO. Based on a share price of $145.30 and an exchange rate of $1.32, the offer valued SEGRO at £12.6 billion or 925p per share. The valuation represents a near-25% premium to SEGRO’s last price and is equal…

Science and technology investment firm IP Group (LON: IPO) revealed it had rejected a bid of roughly 69p per share. The bid came from Railpen, acting for the Railways Pension Trustee Company, and was the fourth proposal in recent months. Scale-up solution The company’s board has engaged ‘extensively’ with Railpen in the last few months regarding the large discount to NAV. In its last update in March, the firm said NAV per share had risen 13% to 110p by December 2025. Both parties agree on a need to leverage IP Group’s position to build ‘a scaled, third-party ventue and scale-up…

Shares in Utility Warehouse owner Telecom Plus (LON:TEP) tumbled to a 10-year low after the group unveiled a new strategic plan. The firm aims to double multi-service subscriber numbers by FY31, but heavy investment means earnings will fall sharply this year. Major investment required Telecom Plus unveiled an ambitious plan to double its multi-service subscribers to one million by March 2031. The firm aims to increase adjusted pre-tax profit to £175 million with EPS growing faster than sales as margins expand. Return on capital employed is targeted at more than 30% by the end of the period. Meanwhile, the firm…

Investment trust JPMorgan European Growth & Income (LON:JEGI) has extended its winning streak with market-beating FY26 results. The fund has now outpaced its benchmark and its peers by a substantial margin over one, three and five years. Winning ways For the year to March 2026, JEGI increased its NAV (net asset value) per share by 20.1% and its share price return by 21.2%. That meant it outperformed the MSCI Europe ex-UK total return index by 5.3% in NAV terms and 6.4% in share price terms. It also meant JEGI extended its record of beating the market to five years, with…

Shares in defence and nuclear contractor Babcock International (LON:BAB) sank 7% despite the firm reiterating its medium-term outlook and announcing a share buyback. Today’s drop takes the year-to-date decline to over 20% compared with a 9% gain for the UK Aerospace & Defence index. Good underlying growth Babcock presented its outlook for FY27 and the medium term with its results for FY26. For the 12 months to March, the company posted 8% underlying growth in revenue to £5.2 billion. That revenue figure included a £95.5 million reversal as part of a charge for the Royal Navy Type 31 frigate contract.…