28th Sep 2026 07:59
(Alliance News) - Land Securities agrees to sell a London office for GBP211 million, while Entain maintains its annual guidance despite an online betting ban in Brazil. HICL Infrastructure invests around GBP68 million in Scandinavian rail freight operator Hector Rail.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up 0.3% at 10,723.25
GBP: higher at USD1.3240 (USD1.3238 at previous London equities close)
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BROKER RATINGS
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UBS raises Halma price target to 5,000 (4,775) pence - 'buy'
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Jefferies raises Victrex price target to 760 (595) pence - 'hold'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Land Securities Group exchanges contracts to sell its 123 Victoria Street office in London to SevenCitiesLdn, on behalf of Seven Capital, for GBP211 million. The property comprises 245,000 square feet of office space, with an estimated foregone net rental income yield of 6.0% over the next five years. Landsec will receive GBP181 million on expected completion next month, with the remaining GBP30 million payable within 36 months and attracting 6.0% annual interest. The sale takes office disposals since early 2025 to more than GBP550 million, as Landsec targets GBP2 billion of office disposals by 2030. The transaction reduces net tangible assets per share by 0.3%, while the initial proceeds would reduce its March 2026 loan-to-value ratio by 0.9 percentage points from 38.7%. Landsec Chief Executive Mark Allan said: "Our primary financial objective is to deliver sustainable growth in income and EPS and the sale of 123 Victoria Street is firmly supportive of that. In total, we have now achieved asset sales of GBP1.0 billion since we announced our updated strategy in early 2025."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Entain maintains its full-year 2026 underlying Ebitda guidance despite Brazil introducing an immediate provisional ban on online sports betting and gaming. The gambling operator continues to expect underlying Ebitda of GBP910 million to GBP960 million and an online underlying Ebitda margin of 21% to 22%, although it now expects both to be towards the lower end of their respective ranges. Entain says Brazil was expected to account for around 5% of group online net gaming revenue in 2026, but make only a modest Ebitda contribution. Assuming the ban remains in place for the rest of the year, Entain now expects online NGR growth of 4% to 6% at constant currency, while excluding Brazil it expects growth at the top end of its 5% to 7% guidance. Entain says it is "disappointed" by the sudden measure, which was introduced without consultation with industry stakeholders and requires congressional approval within 120 days to remain valid.
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CVC Advisers says it does not intend to make an offer for Macclesfield, England-based thermal processing firm Bodycote, clearing the way for the heat treatment specialist's agreed GBP1.65 billion takeover by Veritas Capital Fund Management. Bodycote agreed to Veritas's 940 pence-per-share offer earlier in September, comprising 932.8p in cash and a 7.2p interim dividend. CVC had previously been considering its position after earlier proposing a potential offer worth up to 915p per share.
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HICL Infrastructure agrees to invest around GBP68 million for a 42% stake in Hector Rail, the largest private rail freight operator in Scandinavia. HICL is investing alongside other funds managed by InfraRed Capital Partners, which together will acquire 100% of Hector Rail from infrastructure investment manager Ancala. The investment will be funded from available cash and is expected to complete by December 31, subject to customary consents. It marks HICL's first 'Enhancer' investment under its revised strategy and is expected to represent around 2.3% of its portfolio by value. HICL says the acquisition supports its target of total annual returns of more than 10% over the medium term.
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Keller Group is awarded a further USD650 million contract variation order for the reconstruction of the I-40 highway in the US. Including the latest award, Keller has now secured around USD1 billion of work on the project, of which around 10% has been completed. The latest work is expected to extend over the next three to four years and increases Keller's order book to around GBP2.4 billion. The geotechnical contractor says there is no change to its full-year 2026 expectations due to the multi-year nature of the contract. Chief Executive Officer James Wroath says: "We are delighted to have secured this significant additional work package on this major US infrastructure project. It is an exceptional project for Keller – the largest in our history – and one we are successfully delivering due to the strength of our technical capabilities, our ability to work at scale and the excellent collaboration across our US business units."
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Burford Capital notes a USD5.7 billion jury award to Taction Technology in its patent infringement case against Apple, in which Burford has a financial entitlement. A federal jury in San Diego found that Apple infringed claims from two Taction patents relating to haptics technology used in products including the iPhone and Apple Watch. Taction filed the lawsuit in 2021, while Apple has said it will appeal the verdict. If the award were paid in full, Burford's entitlement would be USD1.4 billion, split roughly equally between its balance sheet and investment funds. However, Burford cautions that the award is not a final judgment and remains subject to significant post-trial, appellate and collection risks. It notes that very few large patent verdicts survive the post-verdict process intact and says its ultimate recovery could be substantially lower or, in some circumstances, result in a total loss.
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Hutchmed China initiates the phase Ia portion of a global clinical trial of HMPL-A830 in patients with unresectable, advanced or metastatic solid tumours, with the first patient dosed in China on September 24. The first-in-human study will assess the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of the treatment. HMPL-A830 is an antibody-targeted therapy conjugate designed to deliver a KRAS inhibitor directly to EGFR-expressing tumours while also blocking EGFR and KRAS signalling. Earlier in September, Hutchmed granted GSK exclusive rights to develop and commercialise HMPL-A830 outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, with Hutchmed responsible for the global phase I programme.
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1947 Oil & Gas begins trading on AIM after issuing 500 million shares at 10 pence each, including a placing of 297.5 million shares with new investors. The US-focused oil and gas producer has a market capitalisation of around GBP65.1 million on admission. he company also completes its first acquisition, buying Houston-based Renaissance Offshore, which has interests in 11 producing fields in the shallow-water Gulf of Mexico. The acquisition has headline consideration of USD65 million and provides 1947 with an immediate production base. The company plans to introduce a progressive dividend policy, starting with an interim dividend following its interim 2027 results.
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Serica Energy formally announces plans to move its listing from AIM to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The UK-focused oil and gas producer expects the admission to take place before the end of October, subject to approval of its prospectus by the Financial Conduct Authority and other admission conditions. Serica will not raise funds or issue new shares as part of the move, which will involve the admission of its existing shares.
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By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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Related Shares:
HICL InfrastructureLand SecuritiesEntainBodycoteKellerSerica EnergyBurford CapitalHutchmedGlaxosmithkline1947 Oil & GasVictrexHalma