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Victrex (VCT), the high-performance polymers specialist, delivered a markedly improved reported performance in its full-year results. Profit before tax climbed 44 per cent to ÂŁ34mn on largely flat revenue of ÂŁ293mn. The shares jumped by 8 per cent as the market digested the news.

This was because exceptional costs fell sharply to £13mn from more than £35mn a year earlier as the group’s planned capital spending ramped down and its new plants edged closer to full production.

Underlying profits, however, slipped by 21 per cent to ÂŁ46mn, amid a weaker sales mix, forex headwinds and ongoing softness in the medical division.

Shares in Celebrus Technologies (CLBS) fell as much as 9 per cent this morning after the software company swung to an adjusted loss before tax and warned slower client decision-making and tighter budgets were slowing down deal closures. 

Total annual recurring revenue jumped 17 per cent to $21mn (ÂŁ16mn) in the first half, boosted by contract wins including a US fintech brokerage and European bank. But total revenue slumped 40 per cent to $10mn, with declines across both its software and hardware businesses. 

Lower-margin hardware revenues dropped far more, which helped push the gross profit margin up 18 percentage points to 84.9 per cent. Still, the company swung from a $1mn profit a year earlier to a $1.4mn loss before tax, or $2.3mn when including restructuring and share-based payment charges.

That resulted in a net cash outflow from operating activities of $1.7mn, down from $11mn a year earlier, as losses were partially offset by interest income and positive working capital movements. Still, the interim dividend was raised by 3.2 per cent to 0.98p per share.

Private equity giant Blackstone (BX) is mulling whether to abandon its bid for self-storage giant Big Yellow Group (BYG), according to a report by Sky News. 

Blackstone has been given until December 8 by the Takeover Panel to announce an offer or walk away. The company had initially acknowledged an interest in Big Yellow Group on 13 October, amid reports that Big Yellow’s founders were seeking an exit.

Shares in Big Yellow closed down 7 per cent yesterday after Sky first reported the story. They are down a further 2 per cent this morning.

UK house prices grew 1.8 per cent in the year to November, according to Nationwide’s house price index. While this was a slower annual growth rate than October’s 2.4 per cent, the average house price also increased 0.3 per cent from October levels, in a sign that pricing remained resilient despite uncertainty in the lead-up to last week’s Budget.

“The housing market has remained fairly stable in recent months, with house prices rising at a modest pace and the number of mortgages approved for house purchase maintained at similar levels to those prevailing before the pandemic,” said Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardiner.

In unwelcome news for renters, Gardiner also warned that the 2 per cent increase in income tax on property income announced in the Budget “may dampen the supply of new rental properties coming onto the market”.

Separately, mortgage approvals, a key indicator of housing market health, fell 5 per cent in October versus the prior year to 65,018, in a further indication of a pre-Budget slowdown of housing market activity.

Shares in On The Beach Group (OTB) leapt 12 per cent in early trading, after the package holiday operator’s numbers came in at the top end of its revised guidance.

OTB’s shares are down almost a third over the past three months, after the company warned in September that more customers were delaying their summer 2026 bookings, a shift that could weigh on profits.

The Manchester-based group delivered another year of record growth, with total transaction value up 11 per cent to £1.25bn. Adjusted profit before tax landed at £35mn, exactly in the middle of its lowered guidance range of £34.5-35.5mn – and up a fifth year on year.

Trading momentum has since recovered, with OTB noting an acceleration in winter bookings and management reiterating its 2026 guidance. The board raised the full-year dividend by a third to 4p per share and expressed confidence in its medium-term targets.

Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) and Baillie Gifford US Growth (USA) are looking to merge their assets into a single investment trust, in an effort to get activist investor Saba to ease off pressure on their boards.

The two Baillie Gifford-run trusts plan to offer all shareholders, including Saba, a 40 per cent cash exit, and argued that the merger will provide liquidity and scale advantages.

The two trusts do have similar approaches to an extent, with a focus on high-growth companies and a significant portion of unquoted holdings. However, while Edinburgh Worldwide does have a high exposure to the US, its remit is global, and it focuses more on smaller companies.

Saba, which last week said it intends to requisition a general meeting to oust Edinburgh Worldwide’s board, is opposing the merger. The activist has a circa 30 per cent stake in both trusts and without its support the proposal cannot go ahead.

Read more: Trusts still grappling with the Saba effect