Kingfisher issued a surprisingly strong half-year report on Tuesday, sparking a rally in the stock as investors cheered positive revenue growth across the UK and Europe.

Investors would have been forgiven for expecting a soggy update from Kigfisher, given the disappointing UK economic backdrop.

However, Kingfisher wowed the market as it increased its profit guidance to the upper end of the previously guided range of approximately £480m to £540m.

“There was plenty to like about the numbers, which makes a nice change for shareholders,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

“The investment case for Kingfisher has been given a solid boost, thanks to improvements in margins, cash flow and an upgrade to forecasts. Combined with the recent improvement in Wickes’ trading, it seems things are finally looking up for this area of UK retail.”

The DIY retailer posted underlying like-for-like sales growth of 1.9% in the third quarter, up from 1.4% in Q2. Both B&Q and Screwfix delivered robust results, with like-for-like sales rising 4.4% and 3.0% respectively.

The company gained market share across the UK, France and Spain whilst maintaining its position in Poland. Trade sales surged 11.9% and e-commerce grew 11.1%, reflecting continued strategic progress.

“We delivered a strong first half with high quality underlying like-for-like sales growth of 1.9%, driven by increased volumes and transactions,” said Thierry Garnier, Chief Executive Officer.

“Our teams continue to execute at a high level, delivering double-digit growth in our strategic initiatives, trade and e-commerce, which supported our market share gains. We were encouraged by underlying quarter-on-quarter growth in our core categories, and a third consecutive quarter of growth in big ticket sales.”

GB Group shares rose on Tuesday after the identity technology firm announced its intention to move from AIM to the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

GB Group is the latest company to cancel its AIM listing in favour of the main market as the AIM market continues to shrink through cancellations and a lack of IPOs.

Investors will hope that the shift to the main market will reinvigorate interest in the group’s shares, which have declined by 26% over the last year and are now worth roughly 75% of their peak value in 2021. 

In an accompanying trading update, the company stated that its performance year-to-date has been in line with board expectations. Combined with its current sales pipeline, GB Group said it will meet its full-year revenue outlook, which aligns with market expectations.

Performance was reasonable in FY25, with revenue growing 3% and adjusted operating increasing 9%.

GB Group shares were 4% higher at the time of writing.

N4 Pharma shares rose on Monday after announcing an update on its collaborations with the research institute SRI to test its Nuvec gene delivery system.

Shares were 10% higher after the company said it successfully delivered RNA into lung cancer cells using N4’s Nuvec®.

The technology works by attaching targeting molecules to tiny particles that carry therapeutic RNA. These particles then seek out and bind to specific proteins found on cancer cells.

The system successfully targeted non-small cell lung cancer cells in laboratory tests, delivering RNA therapy only to the intended cancer cells, not healthy tissue. This is promising news.

The RNA therapy market is worth $13.7 billion globally and is growing at a pace. However, getting these treatments to the right cells remains a major challenge for developers, the company says.

Current RNA delivery methods struggle with precision targeting. N4 Pharma’s work focuses on tackling this “holy grail” problem by targeting therapy specifically to diseased cells while sparing healthy ones.

“Targeting RNA therapies to particular cell types is highly sought after by companies developing RNA therapeutics. We have now demonstrated Nuvec®’s ability to do this in multiple systems, which we believe sets it apart from other RNA delivery methods,” said Nigel Theobold, Chief Executive Officer of N4 Pharma.

“These recent data from our collaboration with SRI are particularly exciting because they represent the first example of the use of Nuvec® for the potential treatment of some of the most common and life-threatening cancers.

“N4 Pharma raised capital earlier this year to build out the data to support the key performance claims of Nuvec®: simultaneous delivery of multiple RNAs; targeting of specific cell types; oral delivery; low immunogenicity; stability; and simple manufacturing. These data generated with SRI are a significant step forward in that process, because of the high demand for targeted therapies to support deal-making and building our own differentiated RNA therapeutics pipeline.” 

Van Elle Holdings, one of Britain’s largest ground engineering contractors, has warned that full-year trading will fall materially below market expectations.

Shares in Van Elle sank over 14% as the firm blamed continued challenging conditions across its core sectors.

Revenue has failed to increase as anticipated year-to-date, and the company said profitability is now expected to trail both forecasts and prior-year performance. This is not what investors want to hear.

Echoing the sentiments of major housebuilders in their recent releases, Van Elle highlighted slow approvals as a reason for their revised forecasts.

The shortfall stems from ongoing spending constraints and contract delays, particularly those linked to Building Safety Act approvals for high-rise residential projects.

The recovery in their main markets is also yet to materialise, further weighing on revenue.

These difficulties, which plagued the company throughout its previous financial year ending April 2025, are now persisting in the new financial year.

Despite near-term pressures, the group maintains a robust order book of £47.3m as of 31st July 2025, up from £41.5m three months earlier.

The company will provide its next trading update for the six months ending 30th October in early December.

ITM Power has landed a significant capacity reservation deal with European energy powerhouse RWE for 150MW of its NEPTUNE V hydrogen units.

The agreement covers 30 units with call-offs expected by 2027.

“We are proud to expand our collaboration with RWE,” said Dennis Schulz, CEO.

“Building on our strong relationship developed through the joint execution of the GetH2 Nukleus project, this additional 150MW capacity reservation underlines RWE’s confidence in our technology and delivery capability. Repeat business with a global leader in energy is the strongest validation of our strategy, our products, and our people.”

Today’s deal builds on RWE’s successful operation of an ITM Power 4MW pilot plant and delivery of 200MW of electrolysers for the ambitious GetH2 Nukleus project in Lingen, Germany.

The NEPTUNE V represents ITM Power’s latest generation of containerised green hydrogen solutions, enabling rapid deployment and simplified installation. The units can also be interconnected to create larger container-based facilities.

Since its launch last year, the NEPTUNE V platform has achieved impressive commercial momentum and ITM say it is recognised as ‘a benchmark technology for commercial-scale green hydrogen projects’.

Investors will hope the agreement and its delivery can help push ITM back above 100p mark after a prolonged period trading beneath the key psychological level. ITM Power once traded above 600p.