Howdens Joinery has agreed to acquire DIY Kitchens for an enterprise value of £390 million, giving the trade-only supplier a direct line into a customer base it has never served before.

The deal is structured as £292.5m in cash, funded from existing resources, plus a new £240m bank facility, and £97.5m in shares, with Howdens issuing 12.7 million new ordinary shares at 766 pence each.

Howdens is paying 8.5 times the last 12 months’ EBITDA.

The company expects the acquisition to lift revenue, EBIT margin and earnings per share immediately, with returns comfortably above its cost of capital.

The acquisition is a major shift in Howdens’ model. Up until now, Howdens has sold exclusively to the building trade through nearly 900 depots; DIY Kitchens has sold exclusively online to non-trade consumers who want to plan, design and order a kitchen themselves.

Buying it opens up a whole segment of the UK market that Howdens has previously not had direct access to.

DIY Kitchens turned over £136m in 2025 at a 27% EBIT margin, and has grown revenue by more than 17% a year over the past five years.

DIY Kitchens supports its online offer with two large destination showrooms and a third under construction in Scotland, a format Howdens sees expanding nationwide over time. The deal also brings around £55m of freehold property, and management expects cost savings further out in shared raw materials, sourcing and machinery, though the priority initially is to let the business keep doing what it does well.

Andrew Livingston, CEO of Howdens, said: “Howdens’ highly successful trade-only model is built around supporting solely trade customers with outstanding in-stock availability, expert local depot teams, and an end-to-end service from design through to delivery. The acquisition of DIY Kitchens, which will be operated on a standalone basis, adds a complementary very profitable, business to the Group, providing access to non-trade end customers through its direct online channel with self-service planning, design and ordering tools.”

ITM Power has signed a strategic partnership with Protium Green Solutions to develop, fund and operate industrial-scale green hydrogen plants across the UK.

ITM said the Cromarty project is the immediate focus. Recently acquired by Protium, the project secured government-backed funding through Hydrogen Allocation Round 1 and will run a 15 MW electrolyser producing around 7 tonnes of green hydrogen a day at peak.

The output is aimed at heavy industrial heat-and-power customers in the region, many of whom are off the national gas grid and short of clean alternatives.

Dennis Schulz, CEO of ITM Power, said: “By working alongside Protium in a framework ranging from equipment supply to investment, we are bringing together our complementary expertise. Together, we can deliver highly competitive hydrogen with strong long-term economics and help accelerate the UK hydrogen market.”

Protium will lead as primary developer, handling power procurement, permitting, downstream infrastructure and distribution, with a final investment decision targeted for December 2026.

The companies haven’t set out an exact framework for the ongoing relationship, but are exploring options, including working through ITM’s build-own-operate subsidiary, Hydropulse, which delivers containerised hydrogen plants, as well as Protium buying ITM’s electrolysis assets outright.

Whichever options they choose, today’s announcement is another step forward for ITM Power as it expands its base of partnerships.

In April, ITM entered a strategic collaboration with German defence group Rheinmetall on its Giga PtX project, an ambitious plan to build a Europe-wide network of decentralised synthetic fuel plants for NATO forces.

ITM Power shares were 4% higher on Wednesday and are 200% higher on the year.

The FTSE 100 was on the front foot on Tuesday as oil dipped and Anthropic filed for its IPO, boosting sentiment and driving US stocks to record highs.

London’s leading index was 0.3% higher at the time of writing.

“Oil down, markets up – these are welcome movements for investors after three months of uncertainty around the Iran war,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Brent crude fell 1.1% to $93.90 after Israel halted strikes on Lebanon, raising hopes that a peace deal is still plausible. The further the oil price retreats from the $100 per barrel level, the greater investors’ risk appetite. This explains why miners and consumer cyclical stocks led the charge on the FTSE 100. Defensive-style sectors including healthcare and utilities didn’t fare as well as there was classic portfolio rotation.”

There’s nothing like a bumper IPO to fire up the animal spirits and markets were also given a boost by Anthropic, which fired the starting gun on its US IPO, thought to value the company at over $1 trillion.

“AI enthusiasm is still the talk of the town, with Anthropic is joining the listing party, filing paperwork for an IPO later this year,” said Susannah Streeter, Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club.

“The company is clearly keen to capitalise on mega-enthusiasm washing through markets for artificial intelligence investments. It’s hot on the heels of SpaceX’s filing, and there are expectations that OpenAI will also go public pretty soon.”

London’s lack of major listed AI plays meant the uptick in sentiment played out in those sectors most sensitive to oil prices.

Rightmove was the FTSE 100’s top riser at the time of writing, on hopes the UK housing market may pick up once the conflict in the Middle East is resolved. Rightmove added 3.5% as Persimmon and Barratt Redrow rallied on similar sentiments.

Retailers caught investors’ attention with Kingfisher rising 3.3% and Marks & Spencer adding 2%.

As Russ Mould alluded to above, defensive sectors were the worst performers. British American Tobacco was the FTSE 100’s top faller, losing 3.5%, closely followed by Babcock and Imperial Brands.

After a five-month search, British Land has landed its new chief executive: Joanne McNamara, who will take the helm by the end of November.

McNamara brings more than 20 years of experience in the sector, 16 of them at Oxford Properties, a firm with which British Land has a history, having partnered on the Leadenhall Building development.

At Oxford Properties, McNamara climbed through the ranks to Executive Vice President for Europe and played a central role in building an £8 billion portfolio spanning offices, retail, logistics and residential.

Before Hammerson, McNamara was at Hammerson, one of British Lands peers in the listed REIT space.

That experience leaves her well placed to steer British Land’s own £10.1 billion of comparable assets, and the appointment lifts the cloud of uncertainty that had been hanging over the group.

The CEO joins the group at a time when AI is starting to provide welcome support for the group that has been so long dogged by uncertainty around the UK economy.

“Looking ahead, British Land looks well-positioned, with occupancy rates sitting high and good exposure to the science and technology sector, where strong demand from AI companies has been a big tailwind,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The group’s finances remain strong, with sufficient funding to support future growth as developments make a comeback and to maintain a respectable 6.2% dividend yield for income-focused investors.”