Shares in Intertek (ITRK) rose 7 per cent this morning after the FTSE 100 testing specialist鈥檚 board said it would shelve its planned strategic review to back Swedish private equity giant EQT鈥檚 (SE:EQT) 拢10.6bn takeover.
After EQT submitted its fourth and 鈥渇inal鈥� 拢60-a-share bid on Tuesday ahead of Thursday鈥檚 put-up-or-shut-up deadline, the directors confirmed they were 鈥渕inded to recommend鈥� the proposal.
Shares in Gamma Communications (GAMA) rose 4 per cent in early trading after the telecoms software company confirmed it was in discussions with US private equity firm Providence Equity Partners regarding a takeover.
The board had previously disclosed on 7 April that it was in talks with a 鈥渘umber of interested counterparties鈥�. The company, which moved from Aim to the main market last year, also reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
Management expects adjusted Ebitda to be in line with analysts鈥� consensus forecasts of 拢138mn to 拢143mn, with fully diluted earnings per share expected to come in between 90.9p and 94.4p. Half-year results are due on 7 September.
Shares in Marshalls (MSLH) rose 3 per cent in early trading after the building materials provider said it was on track to meet expectations in 2026 despite the uncertain macroeconomic outlook.
Key to this has been an improvement in Marshalls鈥� troubled landscaping business, which accounts for 40 per cent of revenues, and which has regained market share without hitting margins.
Group revenues for the four months ended April fell 1 per cent versus the prior year to 拢205mn. The company said it was using 鈥渢argeted commercial actions鈥� and 鈥渨orking closely with customers to recover cost where possible鈥�. Essentially, it is driving a hard bargain.
Shares have still fallen more than 50 per cent over the past year as the company has repeatedly lowered profit expectations and undergone significant restructuring. Chief executive Rob Bourne said the company was 鈥渕aking clear progress in the areas within our control鈥�.
Babcock International (BAB) said revenue for the year just closed came in at about 拢5.3bn and underlying operating profit before one-off charges at 拢433mn 鈥� both of which were ahead of brokers鈥� forecasts.
However, it incurred a further 拢140mn in charges related to its troublesome Type 31 contract, where it had to rework ships due to 鈥渃hanges to the design and the long-term impact of out-of-sequence build activity earlier in the programme鈥�.
It expects to recognise 拢100mn of the 拢140mn charge as a revenue reversal this year but for the cash costs to be spread through the rest of the build programme. Babcock signed a contract to build five Type 31 frigates for the Ministry of Defence in 2019 at a production cost of 拢250mn per ship but the work has been lossmaking and Babcock has incurred other charges earlier in the programme. The first and second ships are now largely complete and since ships three and four are at an earlier build phase Babcock does not expect the same problems to reoccur.
After generating 拢262mn of free cash flow in the year just closed the company launched a fresh 拢200mn share buyback. Babcock鈥檚 shares rose by 2 per cent.
Vertu Motors (VTU) blamed a weak market for new cars for its 18 per cent decline in pre-tax profit.
The company manages a network of 190 franchised car dealerships across the UK, and said the government鈥檚 zero-emission vehicle initiative, which requires manufacturers to sell an increasing proportion of zero-emission cars, put pressure on profit margins and offset the benefit of a 1.5 per cent uplift in sales, which rose to 拢4.83bn for FY26.
Chief executive Robert Forrester said the group was focused on 鈥渃ontrolling the controllables鈥�, after Vertu revealed it had spent 拢5.1mn on dealership closures and restructuring to streamline its cost base over the year.
Even so, management kept the final dividend at 2.05p a share. The shares were down 3 per cent in early trading.
TP 果冻传媒AP (TCAP) reported record first-quarter revenues of 拢689mn, up 13 per cent year-on-year, as geopolitical turbulence lifted trading volumes across its inter-dealer broking desks.
The global broking and energy & commodities business led with gains of 15 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively. The result puts the group on course to meet FactSet consensus revenue expectations of 拢2.41bn for the full year. Management said the board remains 鈥渃omfortable with the outlook for the remainder of the year at current forex rates鈥�.
Analysts at Peel Hunt said the company had already enjoyed a good start to the year prior to the volatility caused by the crisis in the Middle East. 鈥淲e believe there are signs of market share gains, too,鈥� the broker added.
Shares in troubled housebuilder Vistry Group (VTY) fell as much as 12 per cent in early trading after the troubled housebuilder warned of slowing sales rates and rising costs in its 2026 AGM trading statement.
Vistry appears to be delivering on its strategy of selling homes at a discount to raise cash. Its year-to-date sales rate rose nearly 30 per cent versus the prior year. However, the housebuilder warned that it had experienced 鈥渟ome moderation in recent weeks鈥�.
It has also observed 鈥渟ome upward pressure on material and, to a lesser extent, labour prices,鈥� which it expects to continue into the second half of 2026.
As a result it expects 2026 profit before tax to be at the midpoint of the consensus range. But because this range is so broad (拢168mn to 拢283mn), this implies downgrades of 10 per cent to Visible Alpha鈥檚 average consensus of 拢250mn.
There was no concrete update on when Vistry would start receiving the grants for social and affordable housing on which its cash flows are so dependent, but it has guided for daily average net debt to fall in the second half of 2026.
To support its cash flows, the company has paused its ongoing share buyback with 拢29mn outstanding.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 update contains good and bad news: progress is being made, but market conditions are providing little if any help and execution risks remain high,鈥� said Anthony Codling, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
Angola-focused oil company Afentra (AET) has ended a strategic review with a new financing package after considering a sale of the business in March. The company said potential offers 鈥渄id not recognise the significant upside value鈥� while other buyers had pulled out of the process due to the volatile oil market.
Afentra is expanding production in Angola through new wells and improvements to existing infrastructure, but paying for the whole lot has been a question mark for investors. The company said a new $125mn (拢92mn) loan from trading house Gunvor would cover its immediate investment options and replace existing debt.
鈥淭he board has decided Afentra should remain an independent company, to ensure all of our stakeholders benefit from the delivery of the significant upside in our Angolan asset portfolio,鈥� said chief executive Paul McDade.
The company sold 480,000 barrels of oil in April at an average price of $119, compared with a previous sale of 517,000 barrels at $65.40 each in January.
Afentra鈥檚 shares are back where they started when the review was announced at 73p, after dropping in the past month. They remain up 75 per cent year-to-date.
