HICL INFRASTRUCTURE (HICL)– Investment Trusts Price: 117.6p +3.9%NAV: Market Cap: £2.17bnYield: 6.5% The board of HICL has announced today the proposed £5.3 billion combination with THE RENEWABLES INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP (TRIG) will no longer go ahead due to opposition from major shareholders. Both boards remained convinced of the strategic rationale, but both now have to find an alternative way to deliver better value to investors. Our View Opposition to a deal began almost as soon as the deal was announced, led by CG Asset Management (manager of CAPITAL GEARING TRUST (CGT)), with M&G (MNG) the latest firm to throw its weight…

EASYJET (EZJ) – Travel & Leisure Price: 498.8p -0.1%P/E: 7.2xMarket Cap: £3.75bnYield: 2.7% Low-cost airlines EasyJet and WIZZ AIR (WIZZ) confirmed this morning they had both completed the required software updates on all their operational A320 aircraft over the weekend with no interruption to flights. EasyJet also confirmed its financial outlook remains in line with last month’s guidance. Read the press release here: https://corporate.easyjet.com/home/default.aspx

AB DYNAMICS (ABDP) – Technology Price: £13.11 -0.3%P/E: 26.9xMarket Cap: £302mYield: 0.8% More good news from AIM-listed, Somerset-based advanced automotive testing business AB Dynamics in the shape of a €9.7m contract to supply its advanced driver-in-the-loop simulation equipment to a major European OEM. Most of the revenue will be recognised in the second half of the current financial year (Feb to Aug 2026) and the first half of the following year, which means improved clarity for both the firm and investors. Our View AB Dynamics is one of the more interesting small-cap UK stocks from an earnings and valuation point…

After a ‘comprehensive’ review of the company’s strategic options in pursuit of delivering improved performance and returns for shareholders, while continuing to provide an attractive yield, the board of Murray Income Trust (MUT) has entered into an agreement to appoint Artemis as the new manager. Therefore, going forward the company will be managed by Artemis’ UK equity income team of Adrian Frost, Andy Marsh, Nick Shenton and Jamie Lindsay, which has delivered sustained top-quartile returns for over 20 years. Price: 910.3pNAV/share: 993.5pMarket Cap; £876mDiscount to NAV: -8.4%Courrent Yield: 4.4%OCF: 0.48% Source: Murray Income. Data at 22 December 2025 Background to…

JOHNSON MATTHEY (JMAT) – Materials Price: £19.92 -4.6%P/E: 14.5xMarket Cap: £3.35bnYield: 3.8% Sadly, Johnson Matthey’s results for the half-year to the end of September are a bit of a mess, as it tries to account for the ever-changing shape of the group, which has obscured good underlying progress. Reported operating profit is down 78%, due to profits on disposals a year ago, but underlying profit is up 38%, while the loss per share comes to 9.5p on a reported basis (against a profit of 247p last year) but earnings are up 40% on an underlying basis. Importantly, the firm has…

GAMES WORKSHOP (GAW) – Retail Price: £177.93 +10.6%P/E: 29.4xMarket Cap: £5.8bnYield: 1.8% The FTSE 100 fantasy miniatures firm has published its latest trading update for the six months to the end of November and has yet again raised its guidance. Half-year core sales will be no less than £310 million, up 15% on the same period in 2024, while pre-tax profit will be no less than £135 million, up 6.5% on last year. In addition, the firm has announced another dividend of 100p per share which takes the total to 325p for the current financial year against 185p in the…

HALMA (HLMA) – Industrials Price: £37.00 +11.7%P/E: 35.3xMarket Cap: £13.9bnYield: 0.8% We consider Halma to be one of the best-quality companies in the FTSE 100, a genuine global leader in its niche areas of technology and analytics. The firm’s 1H results show organic revenue growth of 16.7%, with roughly half of that coming from the photonics business, and EBIT growth of 26.7% as it continually improves its margins (now 22.8% against 20.7% previously). Management continues to make strategic investments to support future growth, both organic and inorganic (acquisitions), which is fully justified by the strong and rising return on invested…

Skin care specialist Beauty Tech Group (TBTG) raised its 2025 outlook after recent trading exceeded forecasts. The firm said performance through October into November had been ‘strong’ as its marketing began to gain traction. As a result, revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the year to December will be ahead of current market estimates. Specifically, the firm reckons sales will come in around £128 million versus a consensus of £117 million, while EBITDA will reach £32 million versus a consensus of around £30 million. Price: 237p +6.3%P/E: 38.4xMarket Cap: £247mYield: n/a Beauty technology is so not our market and the company…

Bootmaker Dr Martens (DOCS) disappointed investors with its latest trading update which showed it making slow progress. Having set out its new strategy last June, making headway appears to be more of an uphill struggle than the firm had predicted. Price: 78.4p -3.9%P/E: 19xMarket Cap: £789mYield: 3.0% GREEN SHOOTS Full-price D2C (direct to consumer) sales were up 6% in the six months to the end of September. CEO Ije Nwokorie insisted he was happy with the firm’s advances and saw green shoots across each of its four ‘Levers for Growth’. However, there remains the thorny issue of tariffs which will…

JET2 (JET2) – Travel & Leisure Price: £13.48 +3.5%P/E: 5.9xMarket Cap: £2.59bnYield: 1.47% A double helping of good news today from AIM-listed low-cost airline and holiday firm Jet2 with record interim earnings and a new share buyback. Revenue for the six months to the end of September was up 5% to £5.34 billion on the back of a record 14 million passengers, 750,000 more than a year ago and four million or 40% more than pre-pandemic levels. The outlook for the winter 2025/26 season also looks promising with on-sale seat capacity 7.7% higher than a year ago and the late…