果冻传媒

NHS landlord Primary Health Properties (PHP) has reported reasonable progress on the integration of its acquisition of peer Assura in a trading statement this morning.

Specifically, the Reit has delivered on 60 per cent of the 拢9mn cost synergies it identified in the deal announcement. It has also made progress on the joint ventures that can help reduce the loan-to-value ratio of its portfolio to within its 40-50 per cent target range.

鈥淲e have made good progress on delivering against the above [integration] objectives and we expect to report further progress with the Group鈥檚 full-year results,鈥� said chief executive Mark Davies.

Annualised rent roll now stands at 拢342mn, after PHP generated an additional 拢8.3mn of rent through rent reviews in 2025.

The company has also announced a first quarter dividend of 1.825p, or 7.3p on an annualised basis, a 3 per cent increase versus the 2024 quarterly dividend.

Shares were flat in early trading.

With the domestic labour market on its knees, the ongoing job cuts in PageGroup鈥檚 (PAGE) fourth-quarter update comes as no surprise.

The recruitment firm said gross profit fell 4.6 per cent during the quarter on a constant currency basis. Fees were down 10 per cent in the UK and 5 per cent in Europe, but Asia and the Americas proved a bright spot, as gross profit rose 2.4 and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

With no immediate recovery in sight, management once again reaffirmed its focus on 鈥渃ost optimisation鈥� through headcount reduction and a company restructuring.

Its 鈥榝ee earner鈥� headcount fell 1.5 per cent over the quarter, but analysts at Citi estimate the group has cut staff by 22 per cent in continental Europe and 24 per cent in the UK over the past two years, with the average team size having shrunk from 4 to 3.

PageGroup said that these efforts reduced costs by 拢5mn in 2025, and put it on track to deliver annualised savings of 拢15mn from 2026. Management also said it expected 2025 Ebitda to come in at 拢21.1mn.

The shares are down more than a quarter over the past 12 months.

The board of Picton Property Income (PCTN) has announced a strategic review and formal sale process for the Reit.

In doing so, the board aims to 鈥渕aximise value for shareholders鈥�, according to chair Francis Salway.

Picton is a diversified Reit with a 拢700mn property portfolio, of which 55 per cent is multi-let industrial parks.

The company has delivered upper quartile property returns since its launch in 2005, according to Salway. However, it lacks scale and trades at a 20 per cent discount to its net asset value per share.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 announcement comes as no surprise,鈥� said Peel Hunt analyst Matthew Saperia. 鈥淭here is likely to be interest from a range of parties, including private equity and Reits.鈥�

Shares rose 7 per cent in early trading.

IntegraFin (IHP) hit record funds under direction (FUD) in its first quarter, as flows at the Transact investment platform operator normalised after heightened volatility around the Budget when investors sold off pension assets.

For the three months to 31 December, year-on-year FUD was up 17 per cent to 拢77.2bn. Gross inflows rose by more than a fifth to 拢2.9bn, helped by market share gains, but this was partly offset by higher outflows as net inflows ticked up 13 per cent to 拢1.04bn. The overall result benefited from rising financial markets, as positive market movements added more than 拢2bn to closing FUD.

Growing funds came as customer numbers continued to improve. Platform user numbers were up by almost 4,000 from the previous quarter to around 250,000.

Management also reiterated its latest cost guidance. It expects underlying admin expenses growth to fall to around 3 per cent in this year and next as it implements a cost efficiency programme.

THG (THG) reported its strongest sales quarter in the last three months of the year, with revenue from continuing operations up 7 per cent, boosted by improved sales from its nutrition business.

This brought second-half revenue growth to 6.7 per cent, which was ahead of its guided range of 3.9 per cent to 5.9 per cent. Chief executive Matthew Moulding said the group was entering the new year 鈥渨ith strong trading momentum鈥� after four quarters of revenue growth. The shares rose by 6 per cent.

Adjusted cash profit expectations remain unchanged, though, with the consensus forecast standing at 拢74.7mn, or a margin of 4.4 per cent.

Panmure Liberum analyst Anubhav Malhotra argued that this 鈥渞aised questions on the level of investments required to deliver the growth鈥�.

鈥淲e continue to feel that the group has much to prove around its ability to deliver sustainable profitable growth and generate cash鈥�, given that it continues to carry net debt of about 拢200mn, Malhotra added.

Oilfield equipment specialist Hunting (HTG) has reported a cash profit of $135mn (拢100mn) for 2025, at the low end of guidance but 7 per cent ahead of 2024. The company had flagged this result in its Q3 trading update and the shares were flat in morning trading.

The oil industry has continued to invest in major offshore projects, driving demand for Hunting鈥檚 subsea products. The company said it had a $300mn subsea pipeline, even as the group鈥檚 order book shrunk from $450mn at the midpoint of last year to $350mn as of 31 December.

Trustpilot (TRST) said revenue increased by a fifth at constant currency rates last year, with new bookings up 18 per cent, which was ahead of consensus forecasts. Adjusted cash profit is also set to be ahead of expectations.

Management at the reviews portal added that they would extend the current buyback programme by $13mn (拢10mn), after finishing the year with $48mn of cash despite completing $72mn of share repurchases last year.

The shares climbed by 9 per cent but are down by about a quarter over the past year. They dived last month after short seller Grizzly Research issued a report accusing the company of running 鈥渕afia-style鈥� campaigns that pressured businesses into buying subscriptions to improve their ratings, citing lots of fake reviews for paying customers.

Trustpilot called Grizzly鈥檚 accusations 鈥渃ategorically false鈥�, arguing that it had 200 people working on 鈥渢rust and integrity鈥� who had removed 6.7mn fake reviews (involving both paying and free customers) from its site. The company said in its trading update that it is also 鈥渋mplementing new AI-enabled fraud detection technology鈥� to remove fake reviews.

Whitbread (WTB) shareholders were offered a light reprieve this morning, after trading and the cost outlook at the Premier Inn owner improved.

The FTSE 100 hospitality group said it expected the cost of the changes to business rates announced in November鈥檚 Budget to be lower than first thought, estimated at 拢35mn for FY27; 拢5mn-拢15mn lower than initial forecasts.

The company also returned to modest UK like-for-like sales growth in the third quarter, with Germany on track to break even in FY26. The news nudged the shares up by 4 per cent.

Despite this, chief executive Dominic Paul still rallied against the Budget tax rise. 鈥淲e continue to believe the proposed changes to business rates are damaging for the overall sector and will 鈥� continue to press the UK Government for changes鈥�, he added.

Whitbread鈥檚 share price has fallen by almost a fifth over the past three months, after the Budget weakened sentiment.

After coming under fire from US activist investor Corvex Management last month, the hotel chain also said it will provide an update on its five-year 拢3.5bn investment plan at its full-year results in April. The group completed the sale and leaseback for another nine hotels, worth 拢89m, over the quarter.

鈥淲e are exploring a variety of options to further drive profits, margins and returns,鈥� Paul added.

Persimmon (PSN) appears to have defied pre-Budget uncertainty and reported a strong performance for the final few months of 2025.

The housebuilder completed 11,905 new homes last year, at an average selling price of 拢278,000, a 12 per cent and 4 per cent increase versus the prior year respectively. Its net private sales per outlet per week, a key measure of activity, was flat on 2024 levels at 0.7.

Persimmon has upgraded its 2025 guidance; it now expects profit before tax to be at the upper end, around 拢415mn-拢440mn, albeit with an operating margin at the lower end of its 14.2-14.5 per cent guidance.

It also said it was on track to meet market expectations for 2026 for 12,000 home completions and profit before tax of 拢461mn-拢487mn.

Shares were flat in early trading.