19th Jan 2026 07:55
(Alliance News) - Marshalls says it expects to meet market expectations for profit in 2025, Workspace Group Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Hutchings leaves the firm immediately, while WH Smith hires former Balfour Beatty CEO Leo Quinn as executive 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 down 0.5% at 10,186.89
GBP: higher at USD1.3387 (USD1.3382 at previous London equities close)
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BROKER RATINGS
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Citigroup raises Vodafone price target to 100 (85) pence - 'neutral'
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Barclays raises Standard Chartered target to 1,900 (1,600) pence - 'equal weight'
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Barclays raises HSBC price target to 1,400 (1,230) pence - 'overweight'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Marshalls says it expects to report adjusted pretax profit in line with market expectations, as revenue edges up in 2025. In a trading update, the Yorkshire, England-based maker of hard landscaping products such as paving stones says revenue was up 2.1% to GBP632 million in 2025 from GBP619.2 million a year prior. It says this is in line with trends reported in its November trading update. It sees adjusted pretax profit in line with market expectations of GBP43.6 million, compared to GBP52.2 million in 2024. Marshalls says revenue in Landscaping Products is down to GBP266 million from GBP268 million, while Building Products' revenue rises to GBP172 million from GBP165 million. It says Roofing Products' revenue increases to GBP194 million from GBP186 million. Marhsalls says "encouraging progress" was made on the Landscaping Products improvement plan, resulting in volume and market share growth. The firm says it expects to meet market expectations despite "subdued end markets and the impact of prolonged pre-budget uncertainty during the second half". Marshalls notes that the outlook for 2026 "continues to be uncertain" and adds that it will focus on operation improvements. It says actions to reduce the cost base during 2025 give it confidence that it will deliver an improved financial performance in 2026, though it does not anticipate a significant improvement in market activity. Marshalls appoints Simon Bourne as its permanent chief executive officer, after he took on the position on an interim basis from November. "Marshalls delivered a resilient performance, evidenced by a return to revenue growth despite the challenging market backdrop, and delivering profits in-line with the market's expectations," says CEO Bourne.
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Workspace Group Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Hutchings leaves the flexible workspace provider immediately on Monday. Hutchings joined Workspace as CEO in November 2024. The firm hires Office Group co-founder Charlie Green as its new CEO, starting from February 2. As announced in December, Workspace notes Tom Edwards-Moss will join Workspace as CFO designate on February 23, while outgoing CFO Dave Benson will remain until the end of April "to ensure a smooth handover". Workspace says trading over the quarter has been in line with management expectations. It will provide a third quarter business update on Wednesday this week. Chair Duncan Owen says: "On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Lawrence for his contribution since joining Workspace and we wish him all the best for the future. He has led the team in defining and launching the fix, accelerate and scale strategy which is delivering positive results. The board remains committed to this strategy and is confident the right foundations have been laid to rebuild operational performance."
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WH Smith hires former Balfour Beatty CEO Leo Quinn to be executive chair from April 7. The Swindon, England-based travel retailer says Non-Executive Chair Annette Court will step down at the firm's annual general meeting on February 2. Senior Independent Director Simon Emeny will act as interim non-executive chair until Quinn's appointment. "The board strongly believes that Leo's record of leadership and significant experience of successfully delivering transformation for large international companies make him the right candidate to deliver the group's return to stability and long-term growth strategy," says Chair Court. Back in August, WH Smith said a financial review identified an overstatement of around GBP30 million of expected headline trading profit in North America. It tied this to the accelerated recognition of supplier income in its North America division. In December, the UK's financial watchdog launched an investigation into the company following the accounting error within its US business. The UK Financial Conduct Authority started this investigation following a review by Deloitte in November, which led to Chief Executive Carl Cowling's resignation. Deloitte's probe found that the accounting treatment for supplier income adopted by the US division was not consistent with the group's accounting policy and the requirements of the relevant accounting standards. Shares in WH Smith are down 46% over the last 12 months.
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NCC Group is in late-stage talks to sell a division, Escode, to TDR Capital, Sky News reports. Escode specialises in software escrow and verification services. Sky News says sources say a deal between private equity firm TDR and NCC could be struck in "the early part of this week". Sky News says TDR has seen competition from rival suitors for the division including Cap10, Platinum Equity and Montague Private Equity. If completed, the deal would leave NCC as a pure-play cybersecurity service company. NCC has said that if the sale of Escode goes ahead, it would consider a "significant return of capital to shareholders," beyond its initial share buyback programme.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Auction Technology says its board believes a GBP491 million indicative offer from FitzWalter Capital fundamentally undervalues the company. It says it has not received a "customary letter" from FitzWalter, after the private investment company says on Friday it is considering making a cash offer of 400 pence per ATG share. The London-based auction market operator says FitzWalter's financial adviser confirmed a letter would not be provided and that the board "should make its own assumptions as to the other terms and conditions of the indicative offer". Earlier this month, ATG said its board had unanimously rejected eleven unsolicited takeover proposals from FitzWalter. On Monday, ATG says its board has "unanimously concluded that the indicative offer fundamentally undervalued the company and its future prospects". "The board will continue to act in the best interests of all stakeholders and remains confident in ATG's standalone prospects. We have valued the constructive engagement with our shareholders over the last few weeks," says Chair Scott Forbes. "The board, mindful of its fiduciary duties, stands ready to constructively engage with FitzWalter, or any other party, if a comprehensive proposal that reflects fair value is presented to it."
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By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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Related Shares:
VodafoneStandard CharteredHSBC HoldingsMarshallsWorkspaceWh SmithNccAuction Technology Group