28th Nov 2025 07:57
(Alliance News) - Mitchells & Butlers earnings climb, essensys reports a possible takeover offer from its founder and Gore Street Energy Storage Fund names its next chair.
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 0.2% at 9,717.43
GBP: lower at USD1.3215 (USD1.3251 at previous London equities close)
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BROKER RATINGS
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Bernstein raises easyJet to 'outperform' (market-perform) - price target 560 (520) pence
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JPMorgan cuts Burberry to 'underweight' (neutral) - price target 950 (850) pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Mitchells & Butlers reports higher earnings as like-for-like sales climb 4.3%. Revenue climbs 3.9% to GBP2.71 billion for the 12 months to September 27 from GBP2.61 billion a year ago. Pretax profit jumps 20% to GBP238 million from GBP199 million, with basic earnings per share up to 29.7 pence from 25.0p. The Birmingham, England-based restaurant and pub operator says it has made a "solid start" to financial 2026 with like-for-like sales of 3.8% in the first eight weeks. "We are pleased to report another year of strong performance. Like-for-like sales continued to outperform the market across all segments, reinforcing the strength of our strategy and market positioning. Combined with disciplined operational execution, this delivered robust profit growth mitigating sector-wide cost headwinds," says Chief Executive Phil Urban. "As we look to the year ahead, we anticipate increased cost pressures across the sector. However, we remain confident in our ability to manage these challenges through our established Ignite improvement programme and disciplined capital investment strategy." The company says it expects GBP130 million of cost headwinds in financial 2026, representing slightly less than 6% of its cost base before mitigation. Mitchells says this is due to the annualisation of labour cost increases, plus further rises in statutory thresholds and higher food cost inflation. This includes the firm's preliminary assessment of the recent UK budget.
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Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Ltd says its net asset value per share falls 1.7% to 104.7 pence at the end of September from 106.5p in March. The environmental infrastructure investment fund says it delivers a positive NAV total return for the first half of the year of 2.0% after the payment of dividends. The firm says it is on track to deliver the full year dividend target of 7.96p. Foresight says it remains on track to maintain or improve operational performance over the remainder of the financial year. "FGEN has delivered another period of solid progress despite persistent sector headwinds. Our diversified portfolio continues to generate strong cash flows, providing a dependable foundation for dividend growth and long-term value creation," says Chair Ed Warner. "Looking ahead, we are confident in our portfolio's combined ability to deliver long-term predictable income for investors alongside attractive upside potential from our growth assets. We remain optimistic about the structural drivers underpinning the green economy."
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OTHER COMPANIES
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essensys receives a non-binding proposal for a possible all-cash offer from Mark Furness, founder and non-executive director of the company. The offer for the London-based software and cloud service provider would be for 20 pence per share. The stock closed at 15.50p on Thursday. essensys says its independent directors are in "preliminary discussions" with Furness in relation to the possible offer. It adds that the discussions are at an early stage, and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made. Furness has until December 26 to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or that he does not intend to make an offer. The firm also provides a trading update and reports revenue of GBP4.1 million for the first quarter of financial 2026, which it says is "broadly in line" with management expectations. "While customer interest in the group's new product, elumo, remains strong, the current macroeconomic environment has led to elongated sales cycles and slower than anticipated adoption rates, which is expected to impact [financial 2026] sales," the company says. It also expects that one of its customers will not be renewing its platform contract which represents total annual recurring revenue of GBP900,000. As a result, it expects financial 2026 results to be "materially below" management expectations. "However, the group restructure is expected to generate significant annualised cost savings and this, in addition to the cost savings already realised from the completion of the data centre decommissioning project, protects the group's cash position going forward," it adds. However, essensys says it is in active discussions to secure a debt facility. "This process is designed to optimise the group's capital structure and ensure that essensys has the capacity to pursue key growth opportunities," the company says. It notes that it is currently debt free.
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Gore Street Energy Storage Fund says Angus Gordon Lennox will be appointed as chair from January 19. Lennox joined the board in October. He currently serves as chair of Aberforth Geared Value & Income Trust and is a former chair of Mercantile Investment Trust. Current Chair Pat Cox will remain as a non-executive director until leaving the board on March 31, 2026. "I am taking on the role of chair at a pivotal time for the company. My immediate focus will be to oversee the delivery of the board and manager's previously outlined plans: completing sales and augmenting assets that offer attractive return profiles. These actions are designed to strengthen performance and deliver sustainable value for shareholders," Lennox says.
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By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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Related Shares:
easyJetBurberryMitchells & ButlersForesight EnvrEssensysGore Street En.Mercantile Investment Trust PLC