Headline
New PM cuts tax on household electricity bills as UK labour market data and public finances land alongside a £3.1bn recommended cash bid for Mitie MTO.
What UK Plc said today
No profit warnings today. The dominant signal is a wave of upgrades and reaffirmed guidance, headlined by facilities manager Mitie MTO, which reported Q1 FY27 revenue of £1,406m (+10% YoY, ahead of a 2-3% UK FM market) and hours later announced a recommended cash offer from OCS at up to 221.6p per share, valuing the company at ~£3.1bn and creating a combined ~£8.5bn revenue group; the £100m buyback has been suspended pending scheme completion in Q1 2027.
Upgrades came from four names: IQE IQE now guides FY26 revenue growth "in excess of 30%" citing InP demand for data centre and AI optical photonics; Kier KIE expects FY26 revenue and profit at the top end of expectations; RentGuarantor RGG said H1 revenue rose 250% (June alone +618%) on Renters' Rights Act tailwinds, with FY revenue and profit now "materially above" and "materially ahead" of market expectations respectively; and Compass CPG held its Q3 line with 96% client retention and reiterated confidence in "another year of strong earnings growth and continued margin progression."
Reaffirmed but softer: Marston's MARS flagged YTD LFL sales -1.6% on weak off-peak trading but reiterated EBITDA margin and leverage targets ahead of a 2027 buyback restart; Wickes WIX delivered Q2 revenue +2.3% on volume; SThree STEM held FY26 PBT guidance at ~£10m despite H1 revenue -8% and EPS collapsing from 5.6p to 2.1p; and Midwich MIDW reported H1 revenue +3% with UK&I +10% offsetting EMEA -5%.
The clearest weak spot is Revolution Beauty REVB: FY26 revenue -28% to £102.1m, statutory operating loss of £23.0m, and a going-concern material uncertainty disclosed — though H2 returned to £4.3m EBITDA and management points to an "encouraging start" to FY27. Gateley GTLY cut its final dividend to 2.0p (from 6.2p), rebasing payout to ~45% of adjusted profit, alongside a CEO health-related exit; net debt rose to £25.3m from £6.6m.
Statistical releases
- ONS UK Labour Market, July 2026 — headline print alongside regional labour market and time-series updates.
- ONS PAYE RTI Earnings and Employment, July 2026 — real-time wage and payrolled employee data.
- ONS Labour Force Survey quality update, July 2026 — methodology commentary that continues to condition how the LFS numbers are read.
- ONS Public sector finances, UK: June 2026 (bulletin + time series) — monthly borrowing print, published jointly with HMT.
Policy / monetary
No BoE items. HMT published the June public sector finances bulletin alongside ONS. The politically material item is HMT's announcement that the new Prime Minister has cut tax on household electricity bills, framed as immediate cost-of-living relief for the coming winter. HMT also opened a Customs Modernisation consultation on digitalising the UK customs regime.
Themes
- AI/data-centre pull-through into UK industrials: IQE's IQE InP-driven upgrade is the cleanest read — customer demand for optical photonics is now large enough to raise FY guidance mid-year.
- Consolidation in UK services: the OCS bid for Mitie MTO pairs a strong Q1 print with a transformative take-private, illustrating that above-market operators are being valued off-market rather than re-rated on-market.
- Regulation as revenue catalyst: RentGuarantor's RGG 618% June revenue jump ties directly to the Renters' Rights Act — a reminder that UK legislative implementation is producing sharp demand step-changes.
- Fiscal-and-cost-of-living pivot: the new PM's electricity tax cut HMT lands the same morning as the June borrowing print [ONS/HMT], setting up an immediate tension between household relief and fiscal headroom.
Watch
- SPI SPI interim results — 9 September 2026.
- JSE JSE H1 2026 trading statement — 29 July 2026.
- Mitie MTO Scheme Document within 28 days; Court and General Meetings expected September 2026; scheme effective Q1 2027.
- PAIM PAIM offer for subscription closes 21 August 2026; allotment 26 August 2026.
- Board effective dates: BRGE BRGE Stephen Russell 2 November 2026; QLT QLT Atwal/Kotecha 1 September 2026, Kilcoyne stepping down 31 December 2026; ARBB ARBB Almond stepping down 1 September 2026; GTLY GTLY CEO transition 1 August 2026.