8th Jul 2026 07:58
(Alliance News) - IG Group proposes a new Jersey holding company while retaining its London listing, Vistry backs full-year profit guidance despite a first-half loss and the departure of its chief financial officer, and Jet2 launches a GBP250 million share buyback after reporting record annual revenue despite lower pretax profit.
Plus, water utility Severn Trent avoids a fine after UK regulator Ofwat concludes its wastewater investigation despite finding serious failings.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.4% at 10,622.58
GBP: lower at USD1.3362 (USD1.3376 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage's attempt to stage a "people versus the establishment" by-election in Clacton risks falling flat after the UK's Labour Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Restore Britain all said they would not stand candidates. Farage resigned as an MP to trigger the vote, arguing Clacton voters should judge his actions amid mounting scrutiny over his finances. He is under investigation by Parliament's standards commissioner over a GBP5 million donation from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne and has also confirmed he faces a separate probe relating to support provided by convicted fraudster George Cottrell. The parliamentary investigation has been suspended following his resignation but will resume if he is returned to Parliament, with a suspension of more than 10 sitting days potentially triggering a recall petition and fresh by-election. Farage denies any wrongdoing and says the investigations are politically motivated.
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Oil prices climbed after the US launched strikes on Iranian military sites in response to attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Iran to retaliate with attacks on US bases in the Gulf and raising fresh doubts over a fragile ceasefire. Brent crude rose to USD76.58 a barrel early Wednesday from USD73.88 late Tuesday, its highest level in around two weeks, as renewed tensions stoked fears of disruption to global oil supplies.
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BROKER RATINGS
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UBS cuts Man Group to 'neutral' (buy) - price target 320 (290) pence
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JPMorgan cuts Dauch Corp to 'neutral' (overweight)
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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IG Group proposes establishing a new Jersey-incorporated holding company, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, as part of its strategic review aimed at giving the online trading platform greater financial and strategic flexibility while better reflecting its increasingly international business. The company says its London Stock Exchange listing, UK tax residency, effective tax rate and London operations will remain unchanged. IG also announces plans to simplify its organisational structure by combining its UK & Ireland, Europe and Asia-Pacific & Middle East commercial divisions into a single consumer business. Separately, the group expects first-half total revenue of around GBP643 million, up 18% on-year, or around GBP624 million on an organic basis, with first trades rising 107% and active customers up 66% on a reported basis. It reiterates upgraded full-year guidance issued in May, saying results are expected to be in line with market expectations and that the wider strategic review continues to assess options including acquisitions, listing venues and potential combinations with industry peers. Its outcomes will be set out at a strategy update in autumn.
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Severn Trent says Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales, has concluded its wastewater investigation without imposing a financial penalty, despite finding the company committed "serious failings" in its duties to deal effectively with wastewater and sewage. Ofwat found Severn Trent breached its statutory obligations to provide effective drainage and manage sewage, and had "historically" failed to maintain adequate systems and processes, but said the company had proactively identified the issues before the regulator opened its enforcement case in July 2024. Ofwat noted shareholders had already invested GBP98 million to address the problems and accepted a legally enforceable package of undertakings to ensure future compliance. Severn Trent says it accepts the breaches identified and notes Ofwat recognised its proactive investment in wastewater assets, board oversight and operational controls. The company says it committed in 2023 to invest GBP450 million by 2030 through its Spills Reduction Programme to upgrade storm overflows and storage capacity, targeting fewer than 14 average spills per overflow annually by the end of the decade. It adds that average storm overflow spills fell 41% in 2025 and says it remains committed to further investment to improve environmental performance.
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Aviva completes its GBP350 million share buyback programme announced in March, repurchasing 56.7 million shares at an average price of 617.05 pence each. The insurer says it has 3.00 billion ordinary shares in issue as of Tuesday's close, with 203,460 shares pending cancellation and no shares held in treasury.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Vistry expects to report a first-half pretax loss of around GBP30 million, before any further impact from Chief Executive Adam Daniels's strategic review, after taking around GBP50 million of one-off charges linked to impairments and cash generation measures aimed at reducing debt. The housebuilder completed around 6,100 homes in the half, down from 6,889 a year earlier, while its sales rate edged up to 1.03 homes per outlet per week from 1.01 despite average private sales discounting rising sharply to 7.1% from 1.4%. Vistry said it is treating 2026 as a "transition year" focused on lowering leverage and strengthening profitability, while remaining committed to its partnerships strategy. It continues to forecast a net cash position of more than GBP100 million by year-end, has a GBP3.9 billion forward order book and is around 80% forward sold for 2026. The group also reiterated guidance for full-year adjusted pretax profit in line with market expectations, despite saying UK open market conditions deteriorated in the second quarter after a positive start to the year. Separately, Chief Financial Officer Tim Lawlor will leave the company after the publication of interim results and completion of the CEO review in October.
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Galliford Try has secured places on both major lots of the GBP1.5 billion YORbuild Major Works 2 framework for an initial four-year term. The construction company was appointed to the GBP600 million lot covering projects worth GBP10 million to GBP30 million and the GBP900 million lot for schemes above GBP30 million. The framework covers public sector building works across Yorkshire and the Humber, the North East, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and parts of Leicestershire
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Senior raises its full-year expectations after reporting continued positive trading momentum in the first half of 2026. The Hertfordshire, England-based maker of components and systems for aerospace and defence, land vehicle, and power and energy customers says both its Aerospace and Flexonics divisions contribute to the stronger performance, with full-year trading now expected to be ahead of the board's expectations set out in its April trading update. Senior publishes its half-year results on August 3.
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Zigup reports higher annual revenue and pretax profit, raises its total dividend and reiterates confidence in its outlook, backed by "healthy" demand across its rental markets. The Darlington, England-based vehicle rental and management firm says revenue in the year to April 30 rises 2.6% to GBP1.86 billion from GBP1.81 billion, while pretax profit edges up 0.5% to GBP102.0 million from GBP101.5 million. Earnings per share fall 5.3% to 33.7 pence from 35.6p. Zigup proposes a final dividend of 18.2p per share, up from 17.6p, taking the total payout to 27.0p from 26.4p. The company says UK & Ireland simplification is "well underway" and remains on track to deliver more than GBP200 million of steady-state cash by financial 2028. It reaffirms confidence in financial 2027, expects results in line with current market consensus for adjusted pretax profit of GBP162.9 million to GBP170.0 million, and cites healthy demand, a strong pipeline in its FMG business and vehicle-on-hire growth in both the UK and Spain.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Jet2 reports record annual revenue as passenger numbers reach a new high, while launching a new share buyback programme of up to GBP250 million and raising its final dividend. The Leeds-based tour operator and airline says revenue in the year to March 31 rises 4.3% to GBP7.48 billion from GBP7.17 billion, while pretax profit falls 7.1% to GBP551.0 million from GBP593.2 million and operating profit declines 1.5% to GBP439.6 million from GBP446.5 million, in line with expectations. It proposes a final dividend of 12.4 pence per share, up 2.5% from 12.1p, and announces a GBP250 million share buyback, with the first GBP125 million tranche starting immediately. Jet2 says summer 2026 capacity is 7.7% above the prior year and that reduced geopolitical uncertainty has driven strong booking momentum in recent weeks. The company says it remains confident in its medium-term outlook, citing resilient demand, its expanding London Gatwick operation and a differentiated customer proposition. Chief Executive Officer Steve Heapy says: "We have been encouraged by performance for Summer 2026 to date, despite the Middle East conflict leading customers to book closer to departure, a trend that is continuing across the peak summer period. The combined booked average load factor for the first four months of the year is currently 1.2ppts ahead of the prior year, reflecting our continued investment in load factor supported by attractive pricing, to take advantage of the strong late booking momentum. Our London Gatwick operation is performing ahead of our initial expectations...given this encouraging start, we now expect to operate seven aircraft at Gatwick in Summer 2027."
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Virgin Media has been fined a record GBP28 million after regulator Ofcom found the firm stopped or delayed millions of customers from switching to different providers by "widespread" and often deliberate mishandling of calls. The telecoms regulator said it had levied its largest-ever consumer protection fine against the telecoms firm after Virgin Media had, over a near three-year period from January 2022 to September 2024, caused customers on millions of calls "unreasonable effort, hassle or undue difficulty" when trying to cancel. This included attempts to pressure customers to stay, unnecessary call transfers to other departments, keeping callers on hold, deliberately dropping calls and failing to process cancellations on the system. It said Virgin Media – which was previously fined in 2018 for breaching the same rule – also repeatedly failed to comply with Ofcom's information-gathering process in the investigation.
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ChatGPT maker OpenAI said its latest powerful artificial intelligence model series will be released to the public on Thursday, as the US government reportedly approved a broader launch. The company's new GPT-5.6 offerings and other cutting-edge AI models, including Anthropic's Mythos series, have drawn concern over their supposedly unprecedented ability to identify weaknesses in code that hackers can exploit. That has raised national security fears, and OpenAI said in late June it had shared preview access to GPT-5.6 with a limited group of trusted US-based partners at Washington's request. Large language models are the technology that underpins chatbots and many other AI tools, with their capacity to crunch through colossal amounts of digital data. The GPT-5.6 series has three tiers: Sol, the company's new flagship model; Terra, a mid-range version for everyday work; and Luna, a fast, low-cost option.
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By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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Related Shares:
IGAvivaZigup PlcSevern TrentDauch CorpManVistry GrpGalliford TrySeniorJet2