Veterinary services firm CVS Group (LON:CVSG) announced it would buy back £50 million of its shares alongside its latest refinancing. The move comes after sustained pressure from Canadian actvisit Converium Capital, which owns a small stake in the group. In the clear CVS announced the buyback together with a refinancing of the group’s £350 million bank debt on improved terms. As part of the deal, leverage is capped at two times net debt to EBITDA except in the event of acquisitions ‘which provide a clear runway’ to return to under two times leverage. On the subject of acquisitions, CVS revealed…

FTSE 250 specialist engineering firm Bodycote (LON:BOY) confirmed it had received an approach from a private equity buyer. The proposal from US firm Apollo Management values the firm at just over $2 billion or £1.5 billion 29% premium The firm, which provides thermal processing services, said the Apollo offer comprises 885p per share in cash plus the 16.1p final dividend. The offer is the latest in a series of proposals from Apollo to the Bodycote board, apparently. Bodycote shares jumped 18% to 825p on confirmation of the approach. The offer represents a 29% premium to the undisturbed share price. The…

Building products supplier Genuit (LON:GEN) trimmed its FY26 profit guidance due to the impact of the Middle East conflict on its sales and margins. The firm now sees underlying operating profit towards the lower end of the range of analyst estimates. Double whammy Genuit makes pipes and other water management products for the housing market and the infrastructure market. It also makes HVAC (heating and ventilation) products for the housing market, with sales split 70% water and 30% HVAC. For the first four months of 2026, sales were down 8.7% on a LFL basis but flat on a reported basis…

Shares in infrastructure equipment firm Hill & Smith (HILS) reached an all-time high after it raised FY26 earnings guidance. Based on its strong start to the year, the company now sees operating profit at the top end of analysts’ forecasts. US driving upgrades In a four month trading update ahead of today’s AGM, the group said trading had been slightly ahead of expectations. Demand for infrastructure projects in the US, its largest market, drove a 10% increase in US organic growth and a 5% increase across the group. US Engineered Solutions, which builds critical infrastrutcure from electricity substations to road…

Food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS) delivered FY26 profit which topped market expectations. Equally important, it said it expects profits to grow again after the disruption caused by last year’s cyber incident. A tale of two halves For the 12 months to March, M&S posted total sales of £17.37 billion, up 25% on the previous year. Excluding Ocado Retail, which M&S owns 50/50 with Ocado Group (OCDO), sales rose 1.9% to £14.18 billion. Food sales increased 7% to £9.7 billion driven by like-for-like growth of 6.7% and a slight increase in prices. M&S UK food volumes grew 3.3%…

Global fund managers raised their equity allocation by the most on record in May, according to Bank of America. In the bank’s monthly poll, of the 170 global managers who responded, with over $460 billion in total assets, a net 50% are overweight stocks against 13% in April. This is the highest reading since the survey started in 2001, and comes as US major indices are nearing all-time highs. Meanwhile, average cash levels are down to 3.9% of assets confirming managers are ‘all in’ on the rally. Earnings enthusiasm After a strong Q1 earnings season, where EPS growth received a…

Food producer and processor Cranswick (CWK) beat expectations with its FY26 earnings and stuck to its FY27 forecasts. The firm is a leading producer of pork and poultry, servicing major UK grocery chains and the foodservice sector. It also has a pet food business, which is growing fast after its creation just four years ago. Tasty results For the year to March 2026, Cranswick posted a 9.5% increase in revenue to £2.98 billion, in line with the consensus. Adjusted operating profit rose 14.5% to £237 million, while pre-tax profit hit £220 million against the £160 million consensus. Organic sales contributed…

Specialist engineering and distribution group Diploma (DPLM) has raised its FY26 revenue and profit growth forecast. The FTSE 100 firm said organic growth was better than expected, while acquisitions over the past year had also boosted performance. A quality growth company For H1 to March 2026, Diploma reported revenue of £851 million, up 17% on the previous year. Adjusted operating profit jumped by a third to £209 million, lifting the operating margin from 21.5% to 24.5%. The firm said underlying revenue growth was 15% during the half, above the five-year average of 10%. Meanwhile, the group has made 15 acquisitions…

Investors will hope Joe Faraday’s appointment as manager of Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust (BGEU) marks a change for the better. Faraday, who took over on 1 April, inherited a fund which had underperformed since October 2024. For H1 to 31 March, BGEU generated an NAV total return of -9.2% and a share price return of -8.8%. That compares with a 4.4% return for the FTSE Europe ex-UK index, despite disruption from the Middle East conflict. During H1, the company bought back just under 29 million shares or 8.8% of the capital for around £30 million. However, the discount barely…

The US results season is almost over, but chip designer Nvidia (NVDA), the biggest stock in the world and the most hotly watched of them all, reports next week. What is says will dicate not just the AI mood, the wider tech sector optimism, but will take the temperature of investors everywhere, with markets running hot of late. In the UK, earnings season is still in full swing with dozens of companies due to report quarterly or annual results. We have highlighted two consumer names, bootmaker Dr Martens (DOCS) and food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS). While ‘Docs’…