AIM-listed Aptamer Group developer announces £360,000 deal with top-tier pharmaceutical company alongside strong commercial momentum.

Aptamer Group shares jumped on Wednesday after announcing a contract worth £360,000 with a top three global pharmaceutical company to develop its Optimer® binders for radiopharmaceutical applications.

The fee-for-service agreement focuses on therapeutic potential whilst retaining future licensing rights for the York-based biotech firm.

The contract marks Aptamer’s entry into the targeted radiopharmaceuticals market, valued at $7.5 billion in 2025, and represents the company’s second therapeutic modality alongside targeted gene therapy.

Aptamer Group shares were 19% higher at the time of writing on Wednesday.

The programme will engineer Optimers targeting an undisclosed cancer marker. Initial work centres on developing tools for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging, with plans to progress towards therapeutic uses.

Strong commercial performance

The contract wins were announced alongside a commercial update highlighting that Aptamer has already secured £675,000 in total new contract value, including the radiopharmaceutical deal, during the early stages of the new financial year.

An additional £315,000 stems from smaller contracts and project extensions across therapeutics, diagnostics, and research applications.

Aptamer drew attention to agreements that include two extensions with a top-five global pharmaceutical company for ELISA project work, synthesis of an enzyme inhibitor supporting a licensing deal under negotiation, and a therapeutic development agreement with Invizius targeting complement system components for inflammatory conditions.

Combined with £350,000 carried over from the previous financial year, Aptamer now has visibility of approximately £1.03 million in contract value, with nine months remaining in the current period. This builds on the £1.2 million revenue achieved in FY25.

The FTSE 100 was largely flat again on Tuesday as investors held off making big bets, with the French political crisis continuing to rumble on and the US government shutdown extending into its second week.

It was a busy day for earnings and trading statements in London, but positive updates were finely balanced with negative, and London’s leading index was trading up just 9 points at 9,488 at the time of writing.

“The FTSE 100 held firm at the market open on Tuesday as strength in energy stocks was offset by weakness in miners and banks,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Shell was the standout corporate story on Tuesday after the oil giant said in its earnings teaser that strong energy trading helped offset weakness elsewhere in the group. Shell shares were 1.8% higher at the time of writing.

“A boost in activity at the trading division has helped Shell to weather the ongoing troubles in its chemicals division,” explained Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

“But the bigger problem of a struggling oil price refuses to go away, and while OPEC+ might have balked at outsize production increases for now, the worries about weak demand will just not go away.”

Rentokil Initial was the FTSE 100’s top riser, continuing its recent rally with 2% gains.

Housebuilders were weaker after the latest house price data from Halifax showed average UK house price growth slowing to 1.3%. Halifax’s data for September paints a much gloomier picture of house price growth than Nationwide’s latest reading, raising questions about the state of the property market.

“Halifax’s latest data shows house price growth easing to 1.3% year-on-year in September, with a second monthly dip hinting at a market losing momentum,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“While lower mortgage rates and steady wages are helping to steady sentiment, affordability remains a headwind. Housebuilder shares have been under pressure all year, and underperformance looks set to continue with no obvious driving force as we move into the final quarter of 2025.”

Persimmon fell over 1% and Barratt Redrow lost 0.6%.

Retailers JD Sports, Kingfisher and Sainsbury’s fell in sympathy with a dire update from B&M European Value that showed slowing sales growth. Although B&M admitted internal failings, investors will be concerned about broader consumer weakness.

Supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury’s were under heavy pressure after Asda announced a wave a price cuts that could threaten their market share.

JD Sports was the FTSE 100’s top faller with a loss of 1.5%.

Tekcapital has announced that portfolio company Innovative Eyewear made significant strides in its European expansion at SILMO Paris 2025, the world-leading optics trade show held 26-29 September.

After recording 88% revenue growth in Q2 2025, Innovative Eyewear has set its sights on Europe for the next leg of its global expansion.

The smart eyewear manufacturer, which produces the Lucyd®, Lucyd Armour™, Reebok®, Eddie Bauer®, and Nautica® brands, secured initial orders from the UK, Romania, Greece, Spain, and France at the Paris event.

Innovative Eyewear noted that it was featured in SILMO’s inaugural Tech Village alongside Meta, Google, and Snapchat.

To support its European expansion, Innovative Eyewear has opened a warehouse in the Netherlands, enabling VAT-free purchasing across all 27 EU member states.

Encouragingly for investors, the Lucyd Armour® Collection, now certified to EN 166 European safety standards, attracted substantial interest from industrial distributors.

Innovative Eyewear is also in discussions with sales representatives to establish dedicated coverage across EU countries, positioning the company for broader continental penetration.

“SILMO Paris provided an exceptional platform to showcase our market-leading smart eyewear to European vendors and distributors. Being part of the first Tech Village alongside the world’s largest technology companies validated our position as a pioneer in AI-enabled eyewear,” said Harrison Gross, CEO of Innovative Eyewear.

The establishment of our Netherlands distribution hub represents a critical milestone in our international expansion strategy, enabling us to serve EU businesses more efficiently. With initial orders already secured from five European countries and active discussions with regional sales representatives, we’re building the infrastructure necessary to capture significant market share in Europe’s rapidly growing smart eyewear business.

“SILMO Paris attracted over 32,000 visitors from more than 130 countries, with 51% international attendance, making it one of the most important global gatherings for the optical industry. The Company’s participation aligns with its strategic focus on international expansion, particularly as smart eyewear adoption accelerates in markets outside the United States, where pedestrian and public transit usage create ideal use cases for open-ear audio and AI assistance.”

Imperial Brands shares rose on Tuesday after the group announced it is on track to meet its full-year guidance for FY25, driven by solid growth in both tobacco and next-generation products (NGP).

Shares were 2% higher after announcing results and a £1.45bn share buyback program for FY26.

The tobacco giant expects market share gains in the US, Germany, and Australia to broadly offset declines in Spain and the UK. This balanced performance across key markets demonstrates the company’s resilient global positioning.

Imperial Brands anticipates another year of double-digit Next Generation Product (NGP) net revenue growth, with the full-year figure expected around the mid-point of a 12-14% range.

Next-generation products, such as vapes and other tobacco alternatives, are clearly the future for Imperial Brands, and continued growth will likely encourage investors.

Group adjusted operating profit growth is projected at a similar rate to last year, aligning with previous guidance.

“Investors in tobacco giant Imperial Brands won’t need to inhale too deeply after digesting today’s full year trading update,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The company behind the likes of Rizla, Golden Virginia and blu vapes is set to deliver results in line with guidance. That translates to low single-digit growth in underlying revenue and mid-single digit growth in underlying operating profit, implying a step up in margins over the second half of the year.”

FY25 marks the final year of Imperial Brands’ 2021 strategy, with the company positioning itself strongly for the next phase through 2030. The transformation focuses on becoming a more consumer-centric, focused, and agile challenger business.

Constant currency tobacco and NGP net revenue growth has been underpinned by strong combustible pricing and continued double-digit NGP business expansion. Volume declines have eased across most markets.

As part of its 2030 strategy to build a simpler, more efficient organisation, Imperial Brands has initiated consultation regarding its Langenhagen, Germany, factory. The process will result in either a third-party sale or closure of the facility.

Share buybacks are always welcomed by the market, and the announced £1.45bn FY26 share buyback will go a long way to offsetting concerns about falling combustible sales.

B&M shares sank on Tuesday after the retailer said sales growth was slowing and revealed its ‘Back to B&M Basics’ plan to improve operations.

B&M shares fell 15% after the discount retailer B&M unveiled a comprehensive operational overhaul following the reporting of weaker-than-expected sales growth and a significant decline in profits during the first half of its financial year.

The company’s Group revenue grew 4.0% to £2.74 billion in H1 FY26, but this masked underlying challenges. B&M UK’s like-for-like sales managed only 0.1% growth in the first half, declining 1.1% in the second quarter alone.

Back to B&M Basics Initiative

Management has identified key operational weaknesses and launched the “Back to B&M Basics” programme to address them. The initiative focuses on four critical areas that have impacted recent performance.

The company has reduced prices on 35% of its Key Value Items, lowering the average prices by 1.8% to target customer price perception. B&M’s low-cost options will be all-important as UK job creation slows.

B&M is also rebooting its “Managers Specials” promotions, giving store managers more flexibility to select products that respond to local opportunities. The revamped approach launched with Back-to-School and Halloween ranges, both showing positive early results.

Operational challenges addressed

Product availability has emerged as a significant issue and B&M found that FMCG best seller availability across key stores stood at just 86%, well below the industry benchmark of 98%. This will be a concern for investors who rely on management to get low-cost products to customers in an orderly fashion.

Range simplification will also be looked at. B&M plans to reduce line counts and accelerate clearance of discontinued ranges, particularly in FMCG, home accessories and toys, following a material increase in product complexity in recent years.

Investors will hope that, over time, these measures pay off.

Financial Impact and Outlook

The operational challenges have taken a financial toll. Group adjusted EBITDA is expected to fall to approximately £198 million in H1 FY26, down from £274 million in the previous year.

Additional headwinds include £14 million in Extended Producer Responsibility tax costs, adverse foreign exchange movements of £3 million, and around £30 million in higher wage costs from minimum wage and National Insurance increases.

For the full year, B&M expects Group adjusted EBITDA of £510-560 million. The company’s leverage ratio will temporarily exceed its 1.0-1.5x target range due to lower earnings and seasonal working capital requirements.

B&M anticipates the full impact of its turnaround programme will take 12-18 months to materialise. With shares down 36% year-to-date, it can’t come soon enough.

The FTSE 100 was relatively steady on Monday as investors took the continued US government shutdown in their stride and looked to US earnings for the next source of optimism.

There was, however, a marginal negative tone to trade as French stocks sank amid the latest bout of political uncertainty. The French CAC was down around 1% at the time of writing.

Trading just beneath 9,500 at the time of writing, the FTSE 100 was within touching distance of record highs after recording an intrady record in early trade.

“The FTSE 100 briefly touched new highs on Monday but soon became sluggish as investors continue to weigh the risks posed by shutdown in Washington,” explained AJ Bell’s head of markets, Dan Coatsworth.

The steady session in London followed more encouraging signs from the US equity market on Friday, which also seemed pretty comfortable with the US government shutdown and the potential strength of economic data points that will eventually be released when the shutdown ends.

“US futures point higher after the S&P 500 capped Friday with fresh all-time highs in a whipsaw session,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Investors are navigating a data drought as the government shutdown drags on, but Fed minutes and policy chatter later this week will be key for rate expectations. Hopes of further cuts, even as sticky inflation looms longer term, combined with optimism for earnings season is keeping momentum alive, with nearly 70% of the largest US companies seeing their profit forecasts raised over the past three months.”

The US earnings season is set to gather pace over the coming days, and equity bulls will hope that slowing US job creation and economic uncertainty aren’t evident in the earnings releases of major US firms.

In the UK, mining shares showed signs of positivity with Fresnillo making gains in early trade. The precious metals miner is 270% higher year-to-date in 2025 with gold trading near record highs.

Firmer oil prices helped BP and Shell higher after OPEC+ announced a production increase that was less than economists had feared. BP rose more than 1%.

Mondi was the FTSE 100’s top faller after the papermaker said ‘Volumes were impacted by subdued demand and paper selling prices declined during the quarter’. It wasn’t what investors wanted to hear, and the stock plummeted 15%.