1st Sep 2026 07:58
(Alliance News) - UK house price growth remains subdued in August despite a modest monthly recovery. Bunzl upgrades its full-year outlook and announces a GBP500 million share buyback, while Bodycote and Gamma Communications accept takeover offers.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called marginally lower at 10,822.86
GBP: lower at USD1.3547 (USD1.3560 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Nationwide Building Society says UK house price growth remains subdued in August as economic uncertainty and heightened geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on the housing market. Annual house price growth edges up to 1.6% from a downwardly revised 1.4% in July but falls short of the 2.0% FXStreet-cited consensus, while prices rise 0.2% on a monthly basis after a revised 0.1% decline in July. The average UK house price stands at GBP275,465. Chief Economist Robert Gardner says higher energy prices linked to the Middle East conflict continue to put upward pressure on market interest rates, although easing wage growth should give the Bank of England scope to assess whether further monetary tightening is needed. He adds that affordability is gradually improving as earnings outpace house price growth, and expects housing activity to recover if energy market pressures ease and interest rates fall.
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran will "immediately" take reciprocal action if the US returns to its commitments under a June memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict between the two countries. Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Pezeshkian says Iran is prepared to honour the agreement if Washington does the same.
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UK Chancellor John Healey has announced new actions to clamp down on Russia's evasion of economic sanctions as he called on international allies to help "disrupt the financial networks fuelling Russia's aggression". Healey used his first international meetings with counterparts at the G7 in North Carolina to build an international coalition to target covert Russian networks funding the war in Ukraine. The primary action announced by Healey targets the so-called "A7 network", which the Foreign Office said was being used by Russia to evade existing restrictions and channel funds to fuel the conflict. On Monday, the National Crime Agency and the government issued the first ever nationwide alert against A7 to support the private sector in bearing down on sanctions evasion. According to the government, the alert aims to disrupt Kremlin-backed networks who have sought to escape economic sanctions through a web of financial structures spanning multiple jurisdictions.
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BROKER RATINGS
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JPMorgan raises Reckitt Benckiser to 'overweight' (neutral) - price target 6,500 (5,800) pence
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Goldman Sachs raises Drax to 'buy' - price target 1,020 pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Bunzl reports higher first-half earnings, upgrades its 2026 outlook and announces a new GBP500 million share buyback programme. Revenue rises 3.0% to GBP5.93 billion in the six months to June 30 from GBP5.76 billion a year earlier, while adjusted operating profit increases 8.9% to GBP440.6 million from GBP404.5 million. Statutory pretax profit climbs 16% to GBP290.4 million from GBP250.1 million, and adjusted earnings per share rise 13% to 87.7p from 77.8p. The interim dividend increases 3.0% to 20.8p from 20.2p. Bunzl says underlying revenue grows 3.2%, marking a fifth consecutive quarter of positive underlying growth, driven by volume growth in North America and product cost inflation. The distributor now expects modest underlying revenue growth for 2026 and upgrades its margin outlook, forecasting operating margin to be broadly flat year-on-year rather than lower, supporting modest adjusted operating profit growth at constant exchange rates. It also announces a GBP500 million share buyback to be completed over the next 12 months, with the first GBP250 million tranche beginning immediately.
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GSK says it will advance its investigational mRNA seasonal influenza vaccine into a phase III trial this month after positive phase II results showed stronger immune responses than standard and high-dose flu vaccines in younger and older adults, respectively. The drugmaker says the vaccine candidate was generally well tolerated and is the first mRNA flu vaccine to enter phase III targeting both haemagglutinin and neuraminidase, two key influenza surface antigens. The phase II study enrolled 971 adults aged 18 and over. GSK notes the US Food & Drug Administration granted the candidate Fast Track designation in July for its targeted age indication.
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AstraZeneca completes its previously announced global licensing agreement with Dizal Pharmaceutical Co for Zegfrovy [sunvozertinib], securing worldwide rights to develop and commercialise the oral EGFR inhibitor for lung cancer. AstraZeneca pays USD600 million upfront, with up to USD900 million in development, regulatory and sales milestones, plus tiered royalties. The drug is approved in the US and China as a second-line treatment for certain non-small cell lung cancer patients, with a US launch planned in the fourth quarter. The company says the deal does not affect its 2026 financial guidance. Separately, AstraZeneca says its phase III Sanovo trial in China meets its primary endpoint, with Tagrisso plus Orpathys delivering a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival over Tagrisso alone as a first-line treatment for patients with EGFR-mutated, MET-overexpressing advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The combination also shows encouraging overall survival results, with no new safety concerns identified. AstraZeneca says the findings support Tagrisso as a backbone therapy in EGFR-mutated lung cancer and will be presented at a future medical meeting and submitted to regulators. Orpathys is being jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Hutchmed and commercialised by AstraZeneca. In addition, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's Enhertu plus pertuzumab wins European Union approval as the first new first-line treatment regimen in more than a decade for adults with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. The approval is based on the phase III Destiny-Breast09 trial, in which the combination reduces the risk of disease progression or death by 44% compared with THP and delivers median progression-free survival of more than three years.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Bodycote accepts a GBP1.65 billion cash takeover offer from Veritas Capital Fund Management, with shareholders set to receive 940 pence per share including Bodycote's 7.2p interim dividend. The offer values the heat treatment specialist at around GBP1.65 billion on a fully diluted equity basis and gives it an enterprise value of about GBP1.85 billion. The offer represents a 37.5% premium to Bodycote's three-month volume-weighted average share price before takeover speculation emerged in May. The Bodycote board unanimously recommends the deal, saying it offers shareholders immediate, certain cash value amid macroeconomic and end-market risks. The acquisition is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2027, subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.
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Gamma Communications PLC accepts a GBP1.02 billion cash takeover offer from private equity firm Epiris, with shareholders set to receive 1,120 pence per share. The offer values Gamma at about GBP1.02 billion on a fully diluted equity basis and implies an enterprise value of around GBP1.08 billion. The price represents a 53% premium to Gamma's 732p closing share price on April 7, before the offer period began. Gamma's directors intend to recommend the deal unanimously, saying it provides shareholders with attractive and certain value in cash. The acquisition is expected to become effective in the first half of 2027, subject to shareholder, court, antitrust and regulatory approvals.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Allianz is considering to acquire Basingstoke, England-based breakdown recovery group AA for GBP5 billion, Sky News reported Saturday. Allianz, a Munich-based financial services company, is one of a small number of parties which have been holding talks with advisers to the AA about a deal. Allianz had been in discussions about an offer over several months, banking sources said according to Sky, adding that the current status of negotiations and prospects of a transaction materialising were unclear. An alternative to a sale is a public listing on the London Stock Exchange, with a flotation remaining a viable option for the company in 2027.
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Central Asia Metals receives conditional approval to list its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker CAML, subject to customary conditions including completion of its proposed acquisition of Cygnus Metals. The listing will include new shares to be issued to Cygnus shareholders under the previously announced scheme of arrangement. Chief Executive Gavin Ferrar says the TSX listing supports the company's strategy for the Cygnus acquisition, broadens its North American investor base and complements its planned ownership of the Chibougamau project in Quebec.
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By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
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Related Shares:
BunzlGlaxosmithklineAstrazenecaHutchmedBodycoteGamma CommunicationsCentral Asia MetalsDraxReckitt