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.…

Private equity firm Castlelake confirmed it had proposed a £4.7 billion or 625p per share offer for easyJet (LON:EZJ). However, despite the implied premium, shares in the low-cost carrier failed to take off, gaining just a few percent. Substantial premium Castlelake, backed by US investor Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM), has now made three offers for the airline. As with its previous proposals, pitched at 560p and 600p, the board rejected the latest approach without engaging further. The 625p offer represents a 59% premium to the close on 28 April, the day before Castlelake’s interest became public. It also represents the…

After the England football team got off to a good start, investors might already be dreaming of a place in the final. With that in mind, and hope in our hearts, we’ve made a ‘squad’ of potential World Cup stock market winners. Starting with the obvious, pubs, bars and drinks companies should benefit. The longer England (and Scotland) stay in, obviously, the better for business. As drinking on an empty stomach isn’t advisable, grocery sellers and wholesalers should also see an uplift. For those watching at home, take-away meals and food delivery might be part of the World Cup experience.…

Investors face another busy 22-26 June week of corporate updates, with results from AI chipmaker Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), UK housebuilder Berkeley (LON:BKG) and cars/bikes retailer Halfords (LON:HFD) among the highlights. Micron’s quarterly earnings on Wednesday are expected to be the week’s most closely watched event after recent optimism surrounding artificial intelligence infrastructure spending. Investors will be looking for evidence that demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), DRAM and NAND remains strong, alongside guidance that could influence sentiment across the global semiconductor sector. How crazy could the memory chip shortage become – and what does it mean for UK investors? Back in…

Shares in PPHE Hotel Group (LON:PPH) dropped 10% after the company revealed bidder Fattal had withdrawn its indicative offer. Fattal had proposed an all-cash offer at £22 per share, a 36% premium, which the PPHE board considered ‘fair value’. Farewell Fattal In November 2025, PPHE announced it was beginning a strategic review ‘to maximise value for all shareholders’. The move was prompted by the group’s two biggest investors looking to monetise their combined 44% stake. Following the Fattal offer last month, an independent committee consulted with shareholders representing 83% of PPHE’s capital. Euro Plaza Holdings, which owns 33% of the…

Hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread (LON:WTB) confirmed its FY outlook after what it called a ‘strong’ Q1 performance. The group also stuck to its new five-year ambition to reduce overheads and increase free cash flow. Positive trading For the 13 weeks to end-May, Whitbread posted a 2% increase in group sales. The firm said trading was positive in Premier Inn UK and Germany, while restaurant sales declined as expected. UK accomodation sales rose 3%, while RevPAR (revenue per available room) rose 2%, outperforming the midscale and economy market. London accomodation sales and RevPAR were up 7% and 4% respectively. Food…