Despite mixed performances from different sectors filtration technology supplier Porvair (LON: PRV) improved margins and profit in the year to November 2026. Porvair’s wide spread of markets offset weakness in some areas. Porvair has a good growth record and is involved in growing markets.

Full year revenues edged up 1% to £194m, while pre-tax profit improved from £22.7m to £25.1m. the total dividend was raised from 6.3p/share to 6.7p/share. That is more than six times covered by earnings.

The improvement in profit came from the laboratory, helped by strong environmental demand, and metal melt quality divisions, even though the latter had lower reported revenues due to currency movements.

The aerospace and industrial division maintained its profit on slightly lower revenues. There are signs that industrial demand may recover and areas such as nuclear are doing well.

The aerospace market is set to grow at 4%+ annually and the aluminium market at a similar rate. The environmental market is likely to grow even faster.

Cash generation remains strong and more than covers capital investment and the dividend. Net cash was £22.9m at the end of November 2025.

At the beginning of the year, Porvair paid €20.5m for Drache, which fits well with the metal melt quality division. It increases exposure to Europe and while it is profitable there is scope to improve margins.

The share price has risen 9p to 869p, which is just over 20 times earnings. That reflect the growth sectors that Porvair is involved in and the strong tract record. The benefits of the latest acquisition may not show through this year, but it should provide a long-term boost and there is potential for further acquisitions.

Warpaint London announced on Monday that it had acquired the Barry M brand out of administration for £1.4 million in cash, alongside a trading update.

Barry M is an established value cosmetics brand with significant retail distribution across more than 1,300 stores, including Superdrug, Boots, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco, as well as direct-to-consumer online sales. The brand generated approximately £15 million in revenue in the year ended 28 February 2025.

The acquisition will be funded from existing cash resources. Warpaint reported cash balances of £18 million as at 31 January 2026, up from £9 million the previous year, demonstrating a strong balance sheet position.

Warpaint released a trading update alongside its acquisition, announcing that it expects full-year revenue of approximately £105 million for FY25, up from £102 million last year, at an improved gross margin, including a £12 million contribution from Brand Architekts.

Although revenues increased, the group was hindered by the closure of Bodycare, a significant customer, challenging consumer conditions, and US tariff uncertainty, resulting in stalled momentum in America.

Adjusted EBITDA for FY25 is expected to reach approximately £22 million, down from £25 million in 2024, impacted by these factors.

Warpaint noted that after losing £1 million in 2024, its Brand Architekts business generated a positive Adjusted EBITDA contribution of £0.8 million in FY25 following successful integration and delivery of expected year-one synergies.

Warpaint shares were 1% higher at the time of writing.

Phoenix Copper shares sank on Monday after announcing it had suspended two senior board members and warned it was running out of cash.

Executive Chairman Marcus Edwards-Jones and CFO Richard Wilkins have been suspended with immediate effect whilst investigations are conducted into allegations concerning their recent conduct and historic payments to the company’s former corporate finance adviser, Lloyd Edwards-Jones S.A.S.

The AIM-quoted US-focused base and precious metals company said its board is conducting investigations with input from professional advisers, with a further announcement expected once the investigations are concluded.

Phoenix has implemented interim financial oversight arrangements and is advancing the appointment of an interim CFO to minimise operational disruption. Catherine Evans, Chair of the Audit Committee, and Ryan McDermott, CEO, will support the interim arrangements, along with other board members and senior management.

In addition to announcing the suspension of two senior executives, investors also received the news that Phoenix currently has limited working capital, with existing cash balances expected to cover only until early Q2 2026 without additional funding.

Phoenix said it is evaluating both short and long-term funding options and will update shareholders on its fundraising strategy in due course.

Discussions with Riverfort Global Opportunities regarding a short-term loan facility remain ongoing following the announcement on 27 January 2026.

Phoenix has a $2.1 million convertible loan note facility with Indigo Capital that has been used to repay Riverfort’s loan facility, but it is almost fully used.

Phoenix Copper shares traded above 5p at the start of 2025, but persistent funding issues have seen them drop to below 1p today.

NatWest Group has acquired Evelyn Partners from Permira and Warburg Pincus for £2.7 billion, creating what it says is the UK’s leading private banking and wealth management business.

The deal combines Evelyn Partners’ £69 billion in assets under management with NatWest’s £59 billion, bringing total AUMA to £127 billion.

“Bringing together these two leading businesses creates a unique opportunity to provide financial planning, savings and investment services to more families and people across the UK. We look forward to welcoming our new clients and working with our colleagues at Evelyn Partners to transform the services our 20 million customers across the Group can expect from us,” said Paul Thwaite, Chief Executive of NatWest Group.

“At a time when the benefits of saving and investing are increasingly part of the national conversation, we can help customers to make more of their money through a broader range of services, as well as helping to drive growth and investment across the economy.”

NatWest successfully fought off interest from other parties to secure the deal. Barclays and RBC Brewin Dolphin were reportedly interested in acquiring Evelyn. And for good reason.

The acquisition transforms NatWest’s investment offering for its 20 million customers and increases fee income by approximately 20% before revenue synergies.

Evelyn Partners, operating for 180 years, offers an integrated wealth management model that includes financial planning, discretionary investment management, and the BestInvest platform.

NatWest expects annual cost synergies of around £100 million, equivalent to 10% of the combined cost base, with implementation costs of £150 million.

Alongside the acquisition, NatWest announced a £750 million share buyback, maintaining its track record of capital returns to shareholders. The ordinary dividend payout ratio of around 50% remains unchanged.

NatWest shares were 3% lower at the time of writing on Monday.

The FTSE 100 was higher on Friday after a choppy week for global stocks amid volatility in precious metals and concerns about the future of software companies.

London’s leading index was 0.1% higher at 10,328 at the time of writing.

Banks and miners were among the risers, while there was a divergence in the performance of heavily hit FTSE 100 software stocks.

The London Stock Exchange Group managed to attract buyers on Friday, gaining 1%, but RELX, Experian, and Sage resumed their declines. RELX was down 3% at the time of writing.

“It’s been a week from hell for tech stocks as AI spending plans caused upset across global markets and pushed investors to unplug hyperscalers from their portfolios,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Mould continued to highlight that AI considerations were also impacting the US tech giants, with Amazon shares sinking on the sheer scale of their AI capex.

“Amazon has followed its peers by turning up the dial to max on AI spending, leaving investors with their jaws to the floor. The hyperscalers are so confident that AI will change the world, they’re spending big bucks to have the foundations to serve what they predict will be sky-high demand. Investors are becoming increasingly dubious about the level of spending, fearing these companies are wasting their money,” Mould said.

US futures, however, were pointing to a higher open despite Amazon losing 8% as investors rotated into stocks that would benefit from Mag 7 AI spending, such as chipmakers and AI factories.

Fresnillo was the FTSE 100’s best performer as gold price choppiness continued, but within a tighter range than earlier in the week.

Joseph Dahrieh, Managing Director at Tickmill, explained, “Gold prices remained volatile, but traded broadly near the same levels seen during the last few trading sessions.”

“The market could stabilize gradually after its last selloff, but could continue to react to new data and geopolitical developments. The latter could fuel demand for safe-haven assets.”

Melten Energy was at the bottom of the leaderboard after warning that EBITDA would be 25% lower this year due to challenges at its renewable energy business. Melten shares were 15% lower at the time of writing.

Richard Edwards has a 6.5% stake in Ethernity Networks (LON: ENET). The share price is 24.4% higher at 0.0051p, but still lower on the week after it raised £367,500 at 0.004p/share.

Sports and leisure products supplier Tandem (LON: TND) improved revenues by 6% to £26.2m in 2025 despite weak consumer confidence. Bicycles and home and garden sectors grew fastest, offsetting the drop in toys, sports and leisure. Efficiency improvements mean that pre-tax profit should be slightly ahead of expectations of £500,000 – Cavendish forecasts £600,00. Management hopes to maintain the rate of growth in revenues this year. The results will be published on 23 March. The share price increased 8.82% to 185p.

Chariot Oil and Gas (LON: CHAR) says 34% owned associate Etana Energy has signed a significant power purchase agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater, a multinational mining and metals processing group, in South Africa. This a ten-year agreement to supply 220MW of renewable energy each year, starting in 2027. The share price rose 3.32% to 1.524p.

FALLERS

Jangada Mines (LON: JAN) says trenching at the Paranita gold project returned gold grades of up to 4.3g/t and confirmed a strike length of 800 metres. Further results are expected this month, and these should contribute to expanding the existing JORC resource. The share price  declined 7.58% to 1.525p.

Huddled Group (LON: HUD) has raised up to £730,000 from a share subscription at 1.75p/share and secured a debt facility of up to £600,000. There is also a retail offer of up to £100,000. The cash will fund additional stock for the retailer. New marketing initiatives are proving successful. The share price fell 5.26% to 1.8p.

Karl-Erik von Bahr has increased his stake in Firering Strategic Minerals (LON: FRG) from 3.14% to 4.1%. The share price dipped 4.06% to 1.3p.

Inspecs (LON: SPEC) says that the votes received for the scheme of arrangement for the 84p/share offer by a bid vehicle established by Luke Johnson and Ian Livingsgtone would not be enough for it to go through. The general meeting has been delayed from 9 February to 23 February. The share price is down 0.7% to 68p, having been as low as 61p earlier in the morning.