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Shares in finance house Close Brothers (CBG) edged up two per cent in early trading after the specialist lender reported a steady start to its 2026 financial year, despite a fall in its loan book and the ongoing fall out from the motor finance scandal.  

The overall loan book fell by one per cent to £9.4bn in the first quarter. Growth in asset and motor finance was offset by weaker demand in its property and invoice segments. The banking division held a robust net interest margin of 7.1 per cent, though this is expected to dip below the seven per cent threshold for the full year. 

Away from the operational side of the business, the motor finance scandal continues to leave its  mark. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consultation paper in October on a proposed industry-wide redress scheme meant Close Brothers had to increase its provisions. This resulted in an increase of £135mn, which has been recognised in the first quarter, to give a total provision of £300mn.

PZ Cussons (PZC) shares leapt 9 per cent this morning, after the maker of Carex soap raised profit guidance following serious African sales growth.

The company expects first-half like-for-like revenues to increase by 9 per cent, driven by a 25 per cent increase from Africa. Like-for-like revenue growth excluding the region is expected to be a more modest 2 per cent. 

As part of a wider review of its business in the region, the group has placed renewed focus on its African pricing strategy in recent months. It is also selling its 50 per cent stake in PZ Wilmar, a palm oil refinery in Nigeria, for $70mn. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year.

Elsewhere, market share gains powered higher sales volumes. As a result, the board boosted the full-year adjusted operating profit guidance range to £50-55mn, up from £48-53mn previously. 

PZ Cussons will report interim results for the 2026 financial year on 11 February.

LondonMetric’s (LMP) half-year results for the six months ended September offered continued evidence of its ability to grow income and dividends. 

The real estate investment trust, which focuses on long-duration leases where the tenant undertakes all the costs, posted a 15 per cent increase in net rental income to £221mn, and a 10 per cent increase in adjusted earnings to £149mn. Its interim dividend increased 7 per cent to 6.1p.

“Our business model is pretty predictable� chief executive Andrew Jones told Investors’ Chronicle. Jones also warned of “increasing polarisation between real estate sectors�. “Getting organic rental growth in some sectors is tricky in some sectors,� he added.

Separately, the company recently increased its stake in Schroder Reit (SREI) to 11 per cent. Shares fell 2 per cent in early trading.

Residential landlord Grainger (GRI) delivered few surprises in its full-year results this morning, with performance in line with its most recent trading statement.

Rental income rose 12 per cent to £123mn year on year, or up 3.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis. Headline profit before tax more than doubled to £103mn, helped in part by a recent conversion to real estate investment trust status, which means it no longer pays corporation tax.

The company has reiterated guidance for rental income growth of between 3 to 3.5 per cent in the 2026 financial year, and for pre-tax adjusted earnings to rise 12 per cent to £60mn. Grainger raised its dividend by 10 per cent to 8.31p. Shares fell 2 per cent in early trading.

“This is a very strong set of results,� chief executive Helen Gordon told Investors’ Chronicle. “The [rental] market is holding up very well.�

Mitie (MTO) posted another period of record contract awards, alongside an all-time high in both its order book and pipeline of bidding opportunities.

The outsourcer won, extended or renewed contracts worth up to £3.8bn during the six months to 30 September. The order book rose 7 per cent to £16.5bn, with a book-to-bill ratio of 141 per cent and an improvement in the renewals rate to 86 per cent.

The value of its bidding pipeline jumped 39 per cent to £33bn, with more than 70 per cent of bids to be awarded within the next 18 months. Group revenue increased 10.4 per cent to £2.7bn, with 6.4 per cent organic growth driven by net contract wins, project work and pricing.

Operating profit before other items rose 8 per cent to £109mn, although the margin dipped slightly to 4.1 per cent as cost savings were offset by strategic investments, inflation and higher national insurance costs.

Mitie’s acquisition of Marlowe earlier this year pushed average net debt up by £113mn to £332mn, while closing net debt rose to £471mn from £199mn at year-end. Even so, the group lifted its interim dividend by 8 per cent to 1.4p, alongside its ongoing £100mn buyback programme. As a result, the shares fell 3 per cent in early trading.

Engineering group Senior (SNR) expects group performance for 2025 to be “comfortably ahead� of expectations, after increasing revenue by 5.9 per cent in the first ten months of the year.

However, the bulk of this growth came from the aerostructures business, which is in the process of being sold for up to £200mn to private equity firm Sullivan Street Partners. The remaining Flexonics business grew by just 1.5 per cent, with the market for trucks softening in the second half and expected to remain weak in 2026.

The aerostructures sale is structured as an initial payment of £150mn, plus up to £50mn contingent on its profitability over the remainder of this year. Management warned that while progress was being made on “delivering the maximum possible value�, supply chain disruption has hit deliveries.

“We are diligently working with suppliers and customers to mitigate the impact and position the business to optimise the earnout outcome,� Senior said in a statement.

The sale is expected to complete by the end of this year, despite delays to regulatory approvals caused by the recent US government shutdown.

Senior’s shares fell by 7 per cent.

Halma (HLMA) shares rallied as its interim results were comfortably ahead of analysts’ forecasts, and it upgraded full-year guidance for the second time this year.

Organic revenue grew 15 per cent to £1.24bn and adjusted operating profit rose 27 per cent to £282mn, which analysts at Jefferies said was 11 per cent ahead of consensus forecasts.

The company now expects a “mid-teens percentage� growth in organic revenue, and an adjusted operating margin of around 22 per cent. The shares rose by 11 per cent.

A combination of a solid set of first-half results, a boost to the dividend and a 10 per cent increase in the full year outlook generated a big market response for CMC Markets (CMCX). Shares in the investment platform rose by 27 per cent in early trading.

The results deserved the response. Half-year net operating income was up 5 per cent to £186mn. The group also lifted its interim dividend by 77 per cent to 5.5p, supported by strong Australian stockbroking revenues and growing business-to-business partnerships.

Management now expects full-year net operating income to come in about 10 per cent ahead of forecasts. Based on current consensus figures, this implies that full year net operating revenues will come in at around £389mn for 2026.

±·±¹¾±»å¾±²¹â€™s monster earnings report has soothed concerns about an AI bubble and lifted global stock markets, with the market lynchpin rallying 5 per cent after-hours as it beat expectations and raised guidance. The positivity has ignited a broad relief rally, and S&P 500 futures are now trading 1 per cent higher.

Asian shares rallied overnight, led by tech, with Nvidia suppliers SKY Hynix and Samsung lifting the Kospi in South Korea by 2 per cent, while the Nikkei was up 2.7 per cent. Meanwhile, European stock markets opened in the green amid a generally more constructive outlook, with the FTSE 100 up 0.65 per cent in early trading, with similar gains seen in Paris and Frankfurt. Bumper updates from Games Workshop and Halma in London have lifted both by double digits.

Carry on reading

Shares in Games Workshop (GAW) jumped 12 per cent this morning after the fantasy model maker signalled sales and profits for the first half would come in ahead of last year.

In its typically brief trading update style, the Warhammer creator said core revenue for the six months to 30 November will be at least £310mn, around 15 per cent higher year on year.

Pre-tax profit is expected to rise by around 6 per cent to £135mn, slower than last year’s 30 per cent surge. Licensing income, meanwhile, is set to drop sharply to £16mn from a record level in 2024. That period was boosted by the release of a major video game.

Games Workshop will publish its first-half results on 13 January.

UK equity income trust Murray Income (MUT) has appointed Artemis as its new manager, replacing incumbent Aberdeen (ABDN).

The £1bn trust started a strategic review in July, noting that performance has been “below the board’s expectations� for some time, which contributed to a persistent discount to net asset value (NAV).

The trust will now be managed by Artemis’ Andy Marsh, Nick Shenton and Adrian Frost, with the same objective and investment policy, targeting a high and growing income combined with capital growth. The change is expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2026.

JD Sports’ (JD) chief executive blamed “recent weak macro and consumer indicators� for his company’s soft third quarter. The sports and fashion retailer’s like-for-like sales declined 2 per cent, with the UK the key laggard, where revenue declined 3.3 per cent.

JD’s core UK customer sits in the middle-to-lower income demographic, and typically within the younger age group. As disposable income has shrunk and unemployment risen for this cohort, JD’s sales have fallen victim.

North America and Europe added to the drag, posting lower like-for-likes year-on-year, however Asia Pacific proved a bright spot, contributing a 4 per cent increase.

Broker Peel Hunt remains bullish on the company. “There is nothing wrong with JD that a dose of economic confidence and a few strong product releases would not resolve�, said analyst Jonathan Pritchard.

The shares fell 3 per cent in early trading.

Read our JD Sports Deep Dive here