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Thereā€™s a technique used by life coaches and their ilk called ā€˜manifestingā€™ where writing down goals can help them be achieved. Victorian Plumbing (VIC) has gone for this approach with a new bonus plan that would pay out massively in the event its shares triple from the current level of 67p.

It covers chief executive , who started in the job today, chief financial officer Daniel Barton and six other senior managers. They would share between Ā£4mn and Ā£20.5mn on top of existing salary and bonuses if the share price traded between 250 and 300p. Victorian Plumbing floated at 262p in 2021 but has only rarely made it into triple figures since. The new goal can be hit in the next four financial years.

ā€œThe board believes the [value creation plan] provides a clear, disciplined and transparent framework to incentivise longā€‘term value creation and reinforce alignment between senior leadership and shareholders,ā€ the company said.

Company founder Mark Radcliffe, who was CEO until yesterday, wonā€™t be part of the additional bonus plan because as a 47 per cent shareholder he already has enough incentive to get the shares higher, the company said. The shares moved up 4 per cent on Wednesday, but remain down a quarter from a 2026 high of 88p in early February.

One of the three private equity groups bidding for engineering group Senior (SNR) has withdrawn from the contest.

Arcline Investment Management ruled itself out of the running this morning. Senior has secured extensions from the Takeover Panel to continue talks with the other two bidders ā€“ Advent International and a consortium between Blackstone and Tinicum.

Senior first announced it had appointed advisors to talk to buyers on 27 February after rejecting an initial bid from Advent that valued the company at around Ā£1.1bn, or 272p a share. The shares currently trade at 291p.

In January, the company announced it had completed the disposal of its aerostructures business to Sullivan Street Partners for Ā£117mn.

A class action lawsuit seeking Ā£1.5bn in damages from Rightmove (RMV) for allegedly overcharging estate agents has been filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the BBC has reported.

The claim, launched by accountant and former Competition and Markets Authority panel member Jeremy Newman on behalf of hundreds of estate agents, alleges the website has ā€œabused a dominant positionā€ in the online property portal market, charging thousands of estate agents excessive and unfair subscription fees.

In November, the Financial Times reported that Innsworth Advisors, the litigation funding arm of US hedge fund Elliott Management, was financing the ā€œimminentā€ legal action against Rightmove, demanding Ā£1bn in damages.

In a statement this morning, the company said it was ā€œconfident in the value we provide to our partners and consumersā€, adding that the claim was ā€œwithout merit, and we will defend it vigorouslyā€. The shares fell 7 per cent to 398p in early trading.

Babcock International (BAB) has signed a six-month bridging agreement with the Ministry of Defence ā€œto maintain continuity of our naval base and nuclear submarine fleet servicesā€.

A five-year deal to support the Royal Navyā€™s fleet expired yesterday and the bridging agreement has been put in place ahead of the signing of a new, long-term deal ā€œwhich is in the latter stages of negotiationā€ with the MoD, the company said.

Chief executive David Lockwood said the new deal ā€œwill see even more investment in skills, communities and infrastructureā€.

Defence companies have complained of delays to new contracts until the government announces its new Defence Investment Plan, which was initially meant to be published last autumn in the wake of the strategic defence review.

The Ministry of Defenceā€™s top civil servant, Jeremy Pocklington, told a House of Commons committee last week that the plan needed to be agreed across the government.

ā€œI really do understand the interest in this issue. We are working flat out to get it right, and it is our highest priority,ā€ he said.

Babcockā€™s shares rose by 5 per cent.