Weekly review
By Josh White
Date: Friday 26 Jun 2026
(Sharecast News) - The FTSE 100 ended the week up 144.44 points, or 1.39%, closing at 10,508.02 on Friday.
Equity view
Pensions and insurance consulting & administration business XPS Group said it had bought the trade and assets of Austin Professional Resourcing, a UK-based specialist actuarial consultancy for £3.3m in cash on completion with a further £10.0m payable in years 2 and 3, contingent on achieving certain stretching business performance criteria. "APR has an established team of over 70 client facing employees which, combined with the existing XPS insurance consulting team and access to wider XPS actuarial teams, will provide greater scale and enhanced capabilities to accelerate the Group's diversification into the insurance consulting market," XPS said on Friday.
Residential property developer Barratt Redrow announced on Friday that Dean Banks will take over as chief executive officer with effect from 21 September. Banks will succeed David Thomas, who will retire after 11 years as group CEO and 17 years with the firm.
Protective equipment manufacturer Avon Technologies confirmed on Friday that Team Wendy Ceradyne has received delivery orders totalling over $40m from the US Army and the Defense Logistics Agency. The FTSE 250-listed firm stated the orders were under the Next Generation Integrated Head Protection System helmet contract, which was previously awarded in September 2021.
Wise reported higher full-year revenue and customer activity on Friday, as cross-border volumes rose strongly and the money transfer group set out plans for a new share purchase programme of more than $500m. The company said active customers increased 21% to 19 million in the year ended 31 March, while cross-border volumes rose 31% to $243.5bn. Net revenue grew 19% to $2.5bn, although income before tax fell to $660.4m from $717.5m, reflecting a 26% margin.
Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty said it had won a two-year contract worth £325m from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to deliver the Netherton Hub in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Netherton Hub will strengthen the UK's national grid and enable renewable energy from northern Scotland to be transmitted efficiently to demand centres nationwide, the company said on Thursday.
EasyJet has rejected a fresh £4.9bn approach from US suitor Castlelake, the budget carrier confirmed on Thursday, but agreed to enter discussions. EasyJet said it had received a sweetened 650p per share indicative proposal, which includes a partial alternative for shareholders to elect for unlisted, non-transferrable, non-voting shares in a vehicle within Castlelake's proposed structure.
3i Group said on Thursday that like-for-like sales at Dutch discount retailer Action grew in the year to date, as it gave a brief update on the performance of its largest portfolio holding. As at 21 June, Action's LFL sales growth was 3.3% year to date, it said. In an update in May, 3i had said that Action's LFL sales rose 2.4% in the 19 weeks to 10 May.
Aerospace and defence firm Chemring has secured two new US defence contracts worth a combined $345m, enabling the restart of sustained manufacturing at its Alloy Surfaces Company decoy facility in Philadelphia. Chemring said on Thursday that it had signed a modification to an existing IDIQ contract under the Defense Production Act for the supply of pyrophoric airborne decoys. The award carries a maximum value of $300m over five years, with guaranteed minimum orders of $35m a year for the first three years. Deliveries were expected to begin in early FY28 and will support multiple US military branches and allied customers through Foreign Military Sales.
Primary Health Properties confirmed it was in advanced talks with an unnamed investor on the potential formation of a joint venture involving its private hospital portfolio. PHP said it had been exploring a range of options to enhance the long-term value of the portfolio, including potential joint venture arrangements with "highly credible" investors.
Variety store and garden centre operator B&M European Value Retail has appointed Atheeq Akbar as its next chief financial officer, with the former Asda executive set to join the group in February 2027. Akbar currently serves as vice‑president of commercial finance at Asda. Before that, he held senior finance roles at Morrisons, becoming a finance director in 2021, and previously worked at Tesco.
ProCook Group posted a sharp rise in earnings on Wednesday, after it strengthened its retail offering. The direct to consumer specialist kitchenware brand saw revenues rise 23% in the year to 29 March to £85.5m, with underlying sales up 11.8%. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation surged 39.6% to £12.5m.
Retailer THG said on Wednesday that first‑half revenues had grown around 6.5%, with earnings and cash flow improving, as the group reiterated full‑year guidance ahead of its annual general meeting. THG expects H1 adjusted underlying earnings of at least £40m, almost double the prior year once adjusted for its disposal of Claremont Ingredients, while free cash flow was set to be the strongest since 2021. Over the 12 months ended May 2026, adjusted EBITDA rose to about £94m, supported by cost control, stable margins and targeted category expansion.
British blue chip Bunzl boosted annual guidance on Tuesday, following a stronger-than-expected start to the year. Updating on trading, the packing and business supplies giant said group revenue grew by around 4% on a constant currency basis in the six months to 30 June, supported by a robust performance in North America, its biggest market. On an underlying basis, revenues grew by 3%.
Student accommodation provider Unite Group said on Tuesday that CPPIB Holdco has cut its stake in the company to 7%, triggering the departure of its nominated board representative, Thomas Jackson. Unite said Jackson had stepped down as a non‑executive director with immediate effect. He joined the board in 2019 following Unite's acquisition of Liberty Living from CPPIB, under a relationship agreement that allowed the Canadian investor to appoint a director while its shareholding remained above 10%.
JPMorgan European Growth & Income reported a 20.1% total return on net assets for the year ended 31 March, outperforming its benchmark by 5.3 percentage points and extending its sector-leading performance record. The FTSE 250 investment trust said its share price total return was 21.2%, while net assets rose to £570.9m from £498.6m.
Filtronic said on Tuesday that it expected adjusted EBITDA for the year ended 31 May to come in slightly ahead of market expectations, as it announced a further satellite-related contract win with a US customer. The AIM-traded RF technology specialist said the new contract was worth about $0.5m, or £0.4m, and covered the design of a high-frequency module for satellite payload use.
Pantheon Infrastructure said it was investing $55m (£41m) in US-based renewable energy platform Terra-Gen through a co-investment vehicle managed by Igneo Infrastructure Partners. Terra-Gen develops, builds and operates utility-scale solar, wind and battery storage infrastructure to support the electrification and decarbonisation of the US power grid, Pantheon said on Monday.
Babcock backed its FY27 expectations on Monday as it posted a rise in annual revenue but a dip in underlying operating profit as it took a hit from a charge on a contract. In the year to the end of March, revenue grew 8% to £5.18bn, with particularly strong growth in Nuclear and Aviation. Underlying operating profit fell to £293m from £363m a year earlier, however, due to a £140m charge on the Type 31 contract with the Royal Navy. Excluding the charge, operating profit increased 19%.
Property investment firm Great Portland Estates has fully pre‑let 30 Duke Street in St James's, SW1 after signing a final retail lease with Australian menswear brand MJ Bale. Great Portland Estates said on Monday that MJ Bale has taken 2,636 square feet on the Jermyn Street frontage for its first London store, completing the leasing of the entire building.
Synthomer said on Monday that trading in the first half remained strong, with the speciality chemicals group expecting revenue, EBITDA and margins to improve year-on-year despite ongoing geopolitical and end-market uncertainty. Ahead of its annual general meeting, the company said performance had strengthened through the opening months of 2026, driven by a recovery in its Coatings & Construction Solutions division, stable trading in Adhesive Solutions and continued benefits from cost-saving initiatives.
Economic news
Ofgem said on Friday that 16 long-duration electricity storage projects had been provisionally selected for support under its cap and floor scheme, marking the next stage in efforts to unlock investment in large-scale storage across Great Britain. The projects span pumped storage hydro, compressed air energy storage, lithium-ion batteries and vanadium redox flow batteries, and are spread across Scotland and England, with one proposed flow battery project in north Wales.
Retail sales fell sharply in June, an industry survey showed on Thursday, weighed down by weak sentiment and rising cost pressures. According to the latest distributive trades survey from the Confederation of British Industry, sales volumes for the time of year were judged to be poor, with a balance of -40. Down 5 points on May, the print was the lowest in more than two years.
British consumer sentiment improved in June, a survey showed on Thursday, on renewed hopes for a lasting peace deal in the Middle East. According to the British Retail Consortium's latest consumer sentiment monitor, respondents were more positive about both the economy and their own financial situation.
UK vehicle production rose 2.7% in May driven by overseas orders, which recovered from last year's US-tariff uncertainties, but pressure remains due to the war on Iran, according to official data published on Thursday. Production last month increased to 51,178 units, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Car output grew 3.2% to 49,249 units, reversing four months of decline, while commercial vehicle (CV) volumes fell 7.6% to 1,929 units.
The UK economy continued to falter in June, a closely-watched survey showed on Tuesday, weighed down by sustained weakness in the service sector. The latest flash UK PMI composite output index from S&P Global came in at 49.4, down on May's 49.7 and a 14-month low. It also missed consensus for a rise to 50.6.
UK manufacturing order books fell to a six-year low in June, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the Confederation of British Industry. The CBI's monthly order books balance declined to -45 this month from -41 in May , with order books reported as "below normal" to the greatest extent since September 2020.
Grocery sales shone in late May, industry data showed on Tuesday, boosted by warmer weather and the start of a summer of major sporting events. According to NielsenIQ, total till sales at UK supermarkets jumped 4.6% in the four weeks to 13 June, building on the previous four-week period's 4.2% uplift.
UK grocery inflation eased to 3.0% in June, helping to offset concerns that higher energy and commodity costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East could feed through more sharply to supermarket prices, according to data from Worldpanel by Numerator on Tuesday. The research group said like-for-like grocery inflation stood at 3.0% in the four weeks to 14 June, while take-home sales at the grocers rose 2.4% year on year.
Sentiment levels among UK consumers remained weak this month, according to the latest S&P Global survey, with confidence about big-ticket spending and job security both falling to levels not seen in around three years. The closely followed S&P Global UK consumer sentiment index was more or less unchanged from May, rising just 0.1 points to 42.2, but staying well below the neutral 50-point mark, which separates improvement from deterioration.
International events
US economic growth was revised higher in the first quarter, with real gross domestic product now estimated to have increased at an annualised 2.1% pace, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, following 0.5% growth in the final quarter of 2025. The upward revision of 0.5 percentage points from the second estimate primarily reflected a downward revision to imports, which subtract from GDP, partly offset by a softer reading on consumer spending. The BEA said first‑quarter growth was supported by investment, exports, government spending and consumer spending, while imports increased.
Oil prices fell to pre-Iran war levels on Thursday as the pace of ships exiting the Strait of Hormuz accelerated, easing concerns about short-term supply. Brent crude futures for August delivery fell 1.12% to $72.66 a barrel as of 0649 GMT, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 1% to $69.62 - both below levels on February 27 when the US and Israel began their war of choice on Iran and Lebanon.
Consumer sentiment in Germany has started to stabilise, a closely-read survey showed on Thursday, although it remains subdued. The latest consumer climate indicator from GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions ticked up to -29.2 heading into July, compared to June's revised -29.7 and May's -33.1. The improvement was not as strong as hoped, but GfK said there were signs sentiment was stabilising.
US new home sales fell in May, according to the Census Bureau, slipping to an annualised rate of 580,000. May's reading was 7.3% below April's 626,000 pace and 6.8% lower than a year earlier.
US mortgage applications edged up 1% in the week ended 21 June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, partially reversing the prior week's 3.8% decline. Applications to refinancing a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short‑term interest rate moves, rose 3% on the week, while applications to purchase a home slipped by less than 1%, continuing a subdued trend amid high borrowing costs and tight supply.
European defence stocks slid on Wednesday following reports that Germany plans to abandon a multibillion-euro project to build the biggest warship commissioned by the navy since the second world war. According to the Financial Times, citing two people familiar with the matter, defence minister Boris Pistorius and other senior officials on Tuesday informed industry figures and senior MPs of their intention to abandon plans to build six F126 frigates.
German business sentiment improved in June, a closely-watched survey showed on Wednesday, on hopes the geopolitical uncertainty that has dominated much of the year was starting to ease. The latest Business Climate Index from the Ifo Institute rose to 85.6 from 85.0 in May, in line with market forecasts. Within that, the current conditions index edged up to 87.0 from 86.1, while expectations improved modestly, ticking 0.2 points higher to 84.1.
US business activity picked up in June, with preliminary data from S&P Global data showing manufacturing, services and the overall US economy all growing at their fastest pace in several months. S&P Global's manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 55.7 from 55.1 in May, beating expectations and marking the strongest reading since May 2022. Output growth accelerated at the fastest pace since July 2021, supported by the biggest jump in new orders in more than two years and a sharp rise in input inventories.
The downturn in the eurozone private sector eased in June, according to a survey released on Tuesday. S&P Global's flash eurozone composite output index rose to a three-month high of 49.5 from 48.5 in May. A reading above 50.0 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals contraction.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN