Headline
Chancellor Healey pledges to strip back planning and regulatory delays to unlock growth, as UK corporate tone stays broadly resilient with M&A activity dominating.
What UK Plc said today
No profit warnings landed. The strongest positive signals came from consumer and tech: WRKS raised FY27 pre-IFRS 16 adjusted EBITDA guidance to at least £16.0m (from £15.0m) on 10.4% LFL growth across all four categories in the first 18 weeks; CNC raised full-year guidance with revenue "materially ahead" of expectations on record £46.9m order intake (+110% YoY) and £129m of design-win lifetime value; MPAL flagged an August New Health run-rate implying c.£28m annualised after revenue rose 100-fold in two months. IQE reaffirmed >30% revenue growth guidance with H1 revenue +43% YoY and signalled a Main Market move for H1 2027. In financials, SDLF (Standard Life) delivered +25% adjusted operating income and reaffirmed all 2026 targets, while ASHM posted +13% AuM growth to US$54bn with 77% one-year outperformance and net cash of £364.7m.
The weaker readings were sector-specific rather than macro. CHH held guidance but flagged Middle East geopolitics, US tariff uncertainty and ongoing restaurant-sector contraction as headwinds. TIG saw revenue down 32% YoY on the Search segment collapse (-63%), though it returned to a first-half operating profit for the first time in two years. XPF reaffirmed guidance but Boom LFL fell -8.0%. GAMA delivered "robust" H1 numbers but is now under Epiris bid — dividend and buyback suspended.
Statistical releases
No scheduled ONS releases today.
Policy / monetary
Six HMT items dominated, led by Chancellor John Healey's Growth Speech pledging to "take an axe to delays holding back growth" — the framing signals planning, permitting and regulatory friction as the target. Alex Depledge MBE was appointed the Treasury's first-ever Entrepreneurship Advisor to tackle barriers for high-growth businesses. A joint Chancellor / First Secretary / Attorney General letter on "Simplification and Agency of Government" reinforces the deregulatory push. Technical customs notices under the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 also landed. Nothing from [BoE].
Themes
M&A is the loudest signal. Sixteen Tier C capital actions filed, with SPI the standout: a 250p cash recommended offer from Tulip UK Bidco (Toscafund / Three Hills / Ares) valuing equity at £1.03bn, EV £2.31bn — explicitly citing under-appreciated freehold value in public markets. GAMA is under recommended Epiris bid; BEZ confirmed Zurich as counterparty under Rule 2.9; SRC is buying Dolomitas for €110m. Buybacks add to the take-private thread: REL (£125m), NCC (up to £15m), STB (second £5m tranche). Public-market discounts are being arbitraged in both directions.
Guidance dispersion is narrow but tone diverges. Four issuers raised or beat (WRKS, CNC, GETB, MPAL); the rest reaffirmed. No profit warnings. But management language on external risk is hardening — CHH and XPF both explicitly flagged Middle East / geopolitical / tariff pressures as new emphasis, and KRPZ restructured its Elandsfontein operations citing Middle East conflict impact on fertilizer supply.
Emerging markets and specialist assets working. ASHM AuM +13% with net inflows of US$2.7bn and a Japan Post Insurance US$1bn commitment; IQE's MACOM-led £80.8m fundraise closed at premium terms. Capital is finding differentiated platforms even where headline UK sentiment is cautious.
Watch
- BAG interim results — 29 September 2026
- ICFG interim results — 15 September 2026
- ORIT interim results — 22 September 2026
- SKL investor presentation — 2 October 2026
- MILA placing admission — 11 September 2026
- SPI scheme document — within 28 days of 5 September 2026
- OMG Stefan Lampa joins as CEO — early December 2026
- HILS Sue Clark joins board 2 October 2026; SID role from 1 January 2027