FTSE 100: Natwest slips as RELX and Experian bounce

UK Investor Magazine
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FTSE 100: Natwest slips as RELX and Experian bounce

The FTSE 100 was broadly flat on Friday as investors assessed the latest wave of concerns about potential AI disruption that shook US stocks overnight.

London’s leading index was slightly weaker at 10,389 at the time of writing.

The selling that hit software stocks last week has spread from sector to sector this week, with price comparison companies feeling pressure before wealth management companies in the UK and US bore the brunt of panic selling.

US real estate management companies even felt the anxiety yesterday as investors fretted that their services could be replaced by AI.

“A gloomy session on Wall Street on Thursday put investors in a grumpy mood at the end of the trading week,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Association with AI has gone from party to peril as investors reappraise what the technology means for companies.

“Some are concerned about excessive levels of spending and others fear AI will disrupt multiple industries. It all adds up to a cocktail of worries and that’s bad for market sentiment more broadly.”

But as Mould alludes to, the impact, so far, has been limited to sentiment and perceptions of future disruption, rather than real-world evidence of companies starting to lose out to AI start-ups.

Indeed, bargain hunters couldn’t resist the value FTSE 100 RELX offers after the group released a fairly strong set of results yesterday.

As one of the stocks most heavily hit by concerns about new tools from Anthropic, RELX’s results yesterday were a real litmus test of how companies were implementing AI and dealing with potential disruption. In many respects, results highlighted the company was successfully building out an AI-powered offering that was fuelling growth.

Although RELX shares were only slightly higher yesterday, the rally gained momentum on Friday, and shares added another 5%.

Other stocks swept up in the indiscriminate selling of FTSE 100 AI beneficiares including Pearson, Experian, and Sage, were also higher on Friday.

Experian rallied 3.5% while Pearson added 2%.

However, NatWest and the rest of the banking sector offset gains elsewhere after NatWest released results that failed to inspire a snap back from a heavy week of selling following the acquisition of Evelyn Partners.

NatWest shares were 2.6% lower as HSBC fell 2%. UK housebuilders were also among the stocks dragged the index lower.

AIM movers: SkinBioTherapeutics chief executive resigns and Tekmar wins order

Andrew Hore
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AIM movers: SkinBioTherapeutics chief executive resigns and Tekmar wins order

Helix Exploration (LON: HEX) identified an issue with the variable speed drive that delayed the start of helium production at the Rudyard project, and this has been resolved. There will be a broader update next week. The share price increased 8.16% to 26.5p.

Offshore energy services Tekmar Group (LON: TGP) has won a £4m plus contract for cable protection systems to a large European offshore windfarm. Revenues should be recognised in 2025-26 and 2026-27. The share price gained 4.88% to 10.75p.

CelLBxHealth (LON: CLBX) is reducing costs by discontinuing maintenance of the FDA establishment licence and device listing for liquid biopsy Parsortix. There is an option to reinstate the listing, but currently 97% of installations are for in-house research. The company can focus on this core market. The share price rose 4.76% to 1.1p.

Nexteq (LON: NXQ) has gained the first order for the Launchpad gaming software platform. This is with a new Asian customer and could be worth more than $1m each year. This will enable the client to launch land-based gaming in a new country. The share price is 3.89% higher at 77.5p.

Scientific instruments supplier SDI Group (LON: SDI) has secured the earnings enhancing acquisition of PRP Optoelectronics. The manufacturer of ruggedised LEDs for the aerospace, medical and industrial printing markets cost £9.3m, net of cash acquired of £2.8m, and could enhance 2026-27 earnings by nearly 8%. Forecast net debt will increase to £23.1m. This takes SDI into new markets, and the product range fits with some existing products. The share price improved 3.7% to 84p.

FALLERS

Skin treatments developer SkinBioTherapeutics (LON: SBTX) chief executive has resigned after having been suspended due to investigations into his conduct. Martin Hunt has become executive chairman. There is no further comment about what has happened. The share price slumped 29.5% to 13.75p.

Tern (LON: TERN) has launched a one-for-seven open offer at 0.4p/share. The closing date is 2 March. This will provide cash to operate the company and make follow-on investments while Tern realises its investments. Follow-on investments can be required to maintain a stake. Current cash is £24,000. Two executives will have their pay halved, saving £153,000 each year, while 12.5% of net proceeds from investment disposals will be paid to the board and executives. Shareholders are promised the distribution of 50% of net proceeds from individual disposals over £1m. The share price dipped by one-fifth to 0.4p.

Video streaming technology developer Aferian (LON: AFRN) has extended its $16.5m banking facilities to 20 March 2026. It could be further extended at a later date. The loan from major shareholder kestrel Partners is £1.59m and is repayable on 15 April 2026. The formal sale process continues, and this is leading to significant adviser costs. Some potential options for the trading businesses would not raise as much as the bank facility. The share price fell 5.56% to 0.425p.

SigmaRoc: up 29.5% in five months, Finals by end-March, shares 143.80p, TP 216p

Mark Watson-Mitchell
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SigmaRoc: up 29.5% in five months, Finals by end-March, shares 143.80p, TP 216p

Just over five months ago, in early September 2025, I wrote about SigmaRoc (LON:SRC), the lime and minerals group, stating that its shares, then at 116p, were destined to gradually climb to around the 150p level.
Yesterday saw them hit 150.23p, before easing back to close at 143.80p in the wake of some small profit-taking after that 29.5% appreciation in price.
But do not get tempted to join the sellers.
There is still so much more to go for – with one broker recently upping his Target Price to 216p, from 198p previously.
The Business
SigmaRoc invests in and acquires businesses in the lime and...

Nick Train: Pursuing superior returns in FTSE 100 AI beneficiaries

UK Investor Magazine
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Nick Train: Pursuing superior returns in FTSE 100 AI beneficiaries

Jeremy Naylor sits down with Nick Train, Manager of the Finsbury Growth & Income Trust, to delve into the portfolio and the trust’s focus on FTSE 100 AI beneficiaries.

Find out more about Finsbury Growth & Income Trust here.

After a challenging start to 2026 for a number of Finsbury Growth & Income Trust’s digitally orientated holdings, Nick provides a fascinating insight into why he thinks companies such as Experian, RELX, and Sage Group have what it takes to create long-term shareholder value.

Nick also discusses consumer-focused holdings Diageo and Burberry, and why they continue to earn a place in the portfolio.

NatWest rewards investors with 51% full year dividend hike

UK Investor Magazine
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NatWest rewards investors with 51% full year dividend hike

NatWest Group has hiked its dividend after delivering a very respectable financial performance for 2025, with attributable profit climbing to £5.5 billion and earnings per share jumping 27% to 68.0 pence.

The bank’s return on tangible equity hit 19.2%, whilst total income, excluding notable items, rose by £1.8 billion to £16.4 billion. Profit before tax rose to £7.7 billion.

The strong results were driven by deposit margin expansion, increased customer lending, and robust growth in assets under management and administration, which climbed 19.6% to £58.5 billion.

Results follow a bad week for NatWest shares, which sank after announcing the £2.7 billion acquisition of Evelyn Partners at the beginning of the week. Some analysts suggest NatWest has overpaid.

NatWest shares were little changed on Friday, down around 0.5% at the time of writing.

“NatWest delivered a reassuring set of results after a tough week for the shares,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Results beat expectations across the board, with profits coming in 10% ahead. The standout was lending income, while tighter cost control and lower bad-loan charges gave profits an extra lift. The balance sheet also looks healthier, with capital ticking up (though there was a benefit from the smaller-than-hoped buyback announced earlier in the week).”

The bank said it added approximately one million new customers during the year, both organically and through the Sainsbury’s Bank transaction, helping net loans to customers grow by £20.7 billion, whilst customer deposits increased by £10.4 billion.

Retail banking savings were a particular area of strength.

NatWest’s efficiency drive delivered results, with the cost-to-income ratio improving 4.8 percentage points to 48.6%. The bank maintained a strong capital position with a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 14.0%, up around 40 basis points year-on-year.

The board has proposed a final dividend of 23.0 pence per share, bringing the total for 2025 to 32.5 pence. This is a whopping 51% increase on 2024.

The outlook wasn’t bad either. NatWest expects 2026 total income between £17.2 billion and £17.6 billion, with return on tangible equity exceeding 17%.

Helix Exploration ready to begin helium production

UK Investor Magazine
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Helix Exploration ready to begin helium production

Helix Exploration, the helium exploration and development company focused on the Montana Helium Fairway, will soon begin production at its flagship Rudyard project after resolving a minor technical issue that temporarily delayed production.

The company identified a problem with the Variable Speed Drive (VSD) during the final commissioning stages. The issue has now been fixed, with the VSD operating seamlessly.

Helix intends to provide a market update on its production milestone, alongside a broader operational review, during the week commencing 16 February 2026.

“Our team has worked tirelessly, and thanks to their dedication and expertise, we are now closer than ever to achieving a significant milestone – becoming the first helium producer in the state of the Montana,” said Bo Sears, Chief Executive Officer of Helix Exploration.

“The Board remains confident in the tremendous potential of the Rudyard project and is excited to take this important step towards production, creating value for our shareholders while contributing to the global helium market.”

Once production commences, the company plans to host several prospective offtake partners at the Rudyard site and says it will evaluate potential offtake arrangements to secure terms.

The Rudyard project is thought to be able to generate net revenue of $115 – $220 million over a 12.5 year life of field.

Anthropic raises $30 Billion funding at $380 billion valuation

UK Investor Magazine
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Anthropic raises $30 Billion funding at $380 billion valuation

Anthropic, the operator of the Claude AI chatbot, has secured $30 billion in Series G funding, valuing the AI company at $380 billion post-money, in one of the largest financing rounds in technology history.

The round was led by GIC and Coatue, with co-leads including D. E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, ICONIQ, and MGX.

Prominent institutional investors also joined the round, with Anthropic receiving investments from BlackRock, Blackstone, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Qatar Investment Authority, and Sequoia Capital, among others.

The round also includes portions of previously announced investments from Microsoft and NVIDIA.

Revenue growth

The fundraising comes as Anthropic reports significant growth revenue generation. The company now has run-rate revenue of $14 billion, having grown over 10x annually in each of the past three years. This is remarkable for a business that earned its first revenue less than three years ago.

The number of customers spending over $100,000 annually on Claude has grown sevenfold in the past year. More than 500 customers now spend over $1 million annually, up from just a dozen two years ago. Eight of the Fortune 10 are now Claude customers.

Claude Code, the company’s agentic coding platform, launched to the public in May 2025 and is an example of how Anthropics’ focus on specific tasks has become a key element of customers’ workflows, helping grow the firm’s revenues. The code product has reached over $2.5 billion in run-rate revenue, more than doubling since the beginning of 2026. A recent analysis estimated that 4% of all public GitHub commits worldwide are now authored by Claude Code, double the percentage from a month prior.

“This fundraising reflects the incredible demand we are seeing from these customers, and we will use this investment to continue building the enterprise-grade products and models they have come to depend on,” said Krishna Rao, Anthropic’s Chief Financial Officer.

The Series G investment will fund continued frontier research, product development, and infrastructure expansion as Anthropic consolidates its position as a leader in enterprise AI.

Although Anthropic didn’t address an IPO in a statement released yesterday, the firm is reported to be considering a listing later this year and is in a quiet race with OpenAI to become the first foundational AI firm to list.

FTSE 100 hits intraday record high as Schroders agrees takeover

UK Investor Magazine
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FTSE 100 hits intraday record high as Schroders agrees takeover

The FTSE 100 hit a fresh intraday record high on Thursday as markets shrugged off soft UK GDP data, and Schroders’ takeover helped lift the index.

London’s leading index was trading 0.1% higher at 10,482 at the time of writing, after touching a high of 10,535.

“The Footsie has scaled fresh heights, as demand for London-listed assets intensifies,” explained Susannah Streeter, Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club.

Schroders shares were 28% higher after agreeing to a £9.9 billion takeover by a US investment group.

“The mega takeover of Schroders by US institutional investor Nuveen demonstrates how overseas players are sniffing out untapped value in UK companies. The acquisition will create an asset management behemoth and, thanks to the decision to locate the merged company in London, adds shine to the City’s reputation as a leader in global asset and wealth management.”

It will, however, be a blow to London’s equity markets as another stalwart leaves the FTSE 100.

Elsewhere, several high-profile results announcements were made by FTSE 100 companies.

Unilever released full-year results on Thursday, showing fourth-quarter progress with sales and volumes increasing. However, a disappointing outlook for 2026 overshadowed any optimism around recent sales growth, and shares slipped 1%.

“Today’s results fit into a pattern of recent UK corporate updates, cautiously optimistic but by no means ambitious,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

“Sales growth targets for 2026 seem achievable, but are still short of the 5% target the company has spoken of in the past. Instead it seems investors will just have to wait and see, but with the stock trading at a more expensive level relative to its peers there’s not much room for disappointment.” 

Underpressure RELX provided investors some reassurance around AI in their 2025 results with steadily growing revenues and profits.

“RELX’s latest results are a pivotal moment for the business following market concerns that Anthropic’s new legal AI tool would eat its lunch,” explained Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. 

“RELX’s message on AI is loud and clear – it’s an opportunity, not a threat. It has deployed AI across its own business to become more efficient and to benefit clients. However, there still feels a sense of trepidation among investors about third party AI disruption, given a muted share price reaction to the results. That is despite the company ticking all the right boxes on revenue, profit and dividend growth.”

Investors may also find some solace in the firm’s valuation and PE Ratio of around 17x earnings.

British American Tobacco weighed on the index after reporting falling revenues despite increased sales of smokeless products. BATS shares were down 2% at the time of writing.

AIM movers: More good news for TPXimpact and ex-dividends

Andrew Hore
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AIM movers: More good news for TPXimpact and ex-dividends

Sancus Lending (LON: LEND) is increasing the size of its credit facility with Pollen Street Capital from £200m to £300m and extended the maturity to 11 February 2031. This will enable the company to grow property-related lending. The share price is one-third higher at 1.2p.

Digitisation services provider TPXimpact (LON: TPX) has won a second large contract this week. The latest is a four-year contract with DEFRA worth £39m. That is the second largest contract TPXimpact has ever won. The contract covers digitisation of programmes across agricultural, environmental and sustainability areas. This follows a two-year, £22m contract with NHS England. The share price increased 17.9% to 33p.

Pri0R1ty Intelligence (LON: PR1) has launched the Vox AI-powered voice agent and secured The Property Buying Company as a new client that will take two Vox licences. This should generate 10,000 outbound sales calls in the first month. The share price improved 7.69% to 2.1p.

Inspiration Healthcare (LON: IHC) says that revenues were ahead of expectations in the year to January 2026. Revenues are expected to rise from £38.3m to £47.5m, including more than £8m from one-off exports, while the loss will be slashed from £3.1m to £400,000. The medical technology supplier will find it difficult to maintain revenues this year, despite the recent US hospital order. The share price recovered 7.25% to 18.5p.

Europa Oil & Gas (LON: EOG) raised £641,000 from a retail offer at 1.2p/share. A placing had raised £3.5m. The cash will finance the company’s share of the drilling costs of the Barracuda prospect in Equatorial Guinea. Europa has a 42.9% interest in Antler Global, which has a 40% interest in Barracuda, although it only has to fund 5% of costs up to $53m. That should leave more than £2m for working capital. The share price rose 5.77% to 1.375p.

Griffin Mining (LON: GFM) says gold production has started in Zone III of the Yuan Long orebody at the Caijiaying Mine in China. Drilling is expanding the contained gold estimate for the orebody. The share price gained 5% to 336p.

There are some places that have a share price jump for Origin Enterprises (LON: OGN) shares, but that is due to a change in currency from €4.25/share on Wednesday to 370p/share. Taking an exchange rate of €1.15/£ the Wednesday share price was 369.6p, so there has been a small gain.

FALLERS

Strategic Minerals (LON: SML) reported positive results from exploration at the Redmoor tungsten tin copper prospect in Cornwall. Drillhole CRD037 has intersected the central portion of the target and confirmed continuation of high-grade mineralisation, including silver. The share price fell 4.23% to 3.4p.

Uranium investor Yellow Cake (LON: YCA) increased the amount of cash raised in a placing at 629p/share from £55m to £80.6m because of investor demand. This will fund the purchase of 1.16 million pounds of physical uranium at $86.15/lb – a 2.1% discount to the spot price – and other opportunistic purchases. The implied pro forma NAV at the uranium purchase price is 629p/share. The share price dipped 0.89% to 640.75p.

Ex-dividends

Samuel Heath (LON: HSM) is paying an interim dividend of 4.5p/share and the share price slipped 30p to 355p.

Knights Group Holdings (LON: KGH) is paying an interim dividend of 1.94p/share and the share price is 0.25p to 184.75p.

Oxford Metrics (LON: OMG) is paying a final dividend of 3.25p/share and the share price dipped 3.3p to 55.9p.

Ramsdens Holdings (LON: RFX) is paying a dividend of 11p/share and the share price fell 15p to 430p.

Renew Holdings (LON: RNWH) is paying a final dividend of 13.33p/share and the share price declined 7p to 923p.

Recommended combination of Aberdeen Equity Income Trust with Shires Income

UK Investor Magazine
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Recommended combination of Aberdeen Equity Income Trust with Shires Income

Thomas Moore, Manager of Aberdeen Equity Income Trust, and Iain Pyle, Manager of Shires Income, discuss the rationale, structure and shareholder implications surrounding the proposed combination of Aberdeen Equity Income Trust with Shires Income.

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