Anthropic raises $13bn at a whopping $183bn valuation

UK Investor Magazine
-
0
Anthropic raises $13bn at a whopping $183bn valuation

AI giant Anthropic announced a Series F $13bn capital raise this week, valuing the company at $183bn as the company sees an explosion in its run-rate revenue.

The funding round means Anthropic has a higher company valuation than all but three FTSE 100 companies.

Having entered 2025 with run-rate revenue of $1bn, the company enjoyed one of the fastest periods of growth of any tech company in history as the firm launched new features and improved models. Anthropic’s run-rate revenue surpassed $5bn in August.

Anthropic is one of the biggest challengers to OpenAI’s dominance of AI chat interfaces and large language models. The company has launched a string of AI innovations in recent months, including its coding functionality and financial analysis services.

“From Fortune 500 companies to AI-native startups, our customers rely on Anthropic’s frontier models and platform products for their most important, mission-critical work,” said Krishna Rao, Chief Financial Officer of Anthropic.

“We are seeing exponential growth in demand across our entire customer base. This financing demonstrates investors’ extraordinary confidence in our financial performance and the strength of their collaboration with us to continue fueling our unprecedented growth.”

The funding round was led by ICONIQ and co-led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Other investors include Altimeter, Baillie Gifford, and affiliated funds of BlackRock, Blackstone, Coatue, D1 Capital Partners, General Atlantic, and General Catalyst.

“Anthropic is on an exceptional trajectory, combining research excellence, technological leadership, and relentless focus on customers. We’re honored to partner with Dario and the team, and our lead investment in their Series F reflects our belief in their values and their ability to shape the future of responsible AI,” said Divesh Makan, Partner at ICONIQ.

“Enterprise leaders tell us what we’re seeing firsthand—Claude is reliable, built on a trustworthy foundation, and guided by leaders truly focused on the long term.”

Berkeley Group reiterates guidance and warns of falling London housing starts

UK Investor Magazine
-
0
Berkeley Group reiterates guidance and warns of falling London housing starts

Berkeley Group Holdings has called on the government to support investment in the London housing market with planning reform and lower taxes in a trading statement released on Friday.

The group is highly weighted to London and the South East – an area of slowing house price growth as highlighted by the latest Halifax House Price Index.

Nonetheless, Berkeley Group confirmed it remains on track to achieve £450 million pre-tax earnings for FY2026, with 85% already secured through exchanged contracts.

The group expects profits to be evenly split between both halves of the financial year and targets net cash of around £300 million by April 2026.

Although the UK housing market has slowed, Berkeley Group remains a highly cash-generative firm and is committed to returning cash to shareholders.

The housebuilder highlighted it had returned £121 million to shareholders in the first four months through share buybacks at an average of £37.20 per share.

The company completed its 2011 shareholder returns programme and the first £260 million of its £2 billion Berkeley 2035 strategy target. A further £640 million will be returned by September 2030 through buybacks and dividends.

Like all housebuilders, Berkeley referenced government planning reforms but highlighted concerning data showing London housing starts have fallen to levels not seen since the global financial crisis.

The company called for deregulation and warned against increased taxation beyond the Building Safety Levy, citing regulatory and viability challenges deterring investment.

UK house prices hit record high as mortgage affordability improves

UK Investor Magazine
-
0
UK house prices hit record high as mortgage affordability improves

UK house prices rose in August to touch a fresh record high as mortgage affordability improved, according to the latest data released by Halifax.

The average UK house price reached a new record high of £299,331, marking the third consecutive month of increases with a 0.3% rise in August.

Despite this upward trend, annual growth has slowed to 2.2% from 2.5% in July, with average prices rising by less than £600 since the start of the year.

Regional variations remain stark, with northern England leading growth as the North East, North West, and Yorkshire & the Humber all saw increases exceeding 4%. The South West showed signs of considerable weakness with a 0.8% decline.

“House prices hit a new high in August, as the impact of the stamp duty holiday faded and the foundations of the market firmed up a little. More affordable mortgages and wages rising faster than house prices are playing a vital role, and with a modest rise in mortgage approvals in July, there’s the chance we could see the market strengthen in the autumn,” said Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown.

However, Coles continued to warn that although the housing market has provided a welcome surprise over the summer, clouds are starting to form that could weigh on activity in the later stages of 2025.

“Sellers may want to wait before cracking open the bubbly, because the future is far from certain. Prices are still only up £600 since the start of the year, and there’s a risk that buyer enthusiasm could subside again before it has time to take hold. Now house prices are back at a record high, affordability risks being stretched. Meanwhile, there’s an awful lot going on which could damage price growth.”

“The employment market has been weakening. New figures from the Bank of England show businesses are cutting jobs at their fastest pace since 2001, and aren’t planning to hire in a hurry either. The strength of the jobs market underpins the property market, so we could see those foundations become shakier.”

Index-beating yields, BP v Shell, and navigating UK politics with Aberdeen Equity Income Trust

UK Investor Magazine
-
11
Index-beating yields, BP v Shell, and navigating UK politics with Aberdeen Equity Income Trust

The UK Investor Magazine was thrilled to welcome Thomas Moore, Fund Manager of Aberdeen Equity Income Trust, to discuss the trust’s award-winning strategy and approach to achieving a high yield from the full spectrum of UK equities.

The trust has earned AIC Dividend Hero status and won Best Income Trust at the Online Money Awards. The trust is among the best performing AIC equity income trusts over the past 52 weeks on a NAV growth basis while maintaining an attractive 6% yield.

Find out more about Aberdeen Equity Income Trust here.

The conversation begins by exploring Moore’s distinctive approach to UK equity investing and what sets Aberdeen Equity Income Trust apart from its peers. We delve into the trust’s index-agnostic approach to portfolio construction and how it enhances the trust’s payouts.

Thomas provides his view on the current UK political environment and the implications for UK shares.

Financials dominate the trust’s portfolio, Thomas explains the attraction of the sector and what the future holds. We explore portfolio companies including HSBC, BP, Coats and Ithaca Energy. Thomas also provides his view on the housebuilders.

FTSE 100 ticks higher on interest rate hopes

UK Investor Magazine
-
0
FTSE 100 ticks higher on interest rate hopes

The FTSE 100 made steady gains on Thursday as investors positioned for a potential US interest rate cut in September and breathed a sigh of relief as the global bond sell-off eased.

London’s leading index was 0.2% higher after a solid session for US stocks amid jobs data that pointed to a need for the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs.

“Ahead of non-farm payrolls on Friday, sharply lower job openings across the Atlantic suggested a weakening in the labour market which could push the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates more aggressively,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“Markets remain twitchy however, and the pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves is unlikely to dissipate in any meaningful sense before she delivers her Autumn Budget in late November.”

Reeves’ decision to schedule the budget for the end of November could be seen as unusual, but fortunately, bond markets took the news well, and the sell-off of long-dated gilts experienced at the beginning of the week has slowed.

As bond market tensions eased, the focus shifted to the US, and strong gains for tech stocks spilt over into the European session.

“SPX managed a 0.5% gain, with the Nasdaq outperforming on the back of an 11% surge in Alphabet shares after a favorable antitrust ruling relieved it from being forced to spin-off Google Search engine,” explained Ahmad Assiri, Research Strategist at Pepperstone.

In the UK, Next was the FTSE 100’s top riser as consumer-facing stocks enjoyed the easing in interest rate tensions. Next rose 2.5% while Autotrader gained 2%.

JD Sports also joined the rally but remained below 100p mark, which is proving to be a strong level of resistance. Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s all joined the rally.

Admiral Group was the top faller with losses of 3% as the stock moved below levels seen before they released a strong half-year report in August.

AIM movers: Potential extended use for Shield Therapeutics’ ACCRUFeR iron deficiency treatment and ex-dividends

Andrew Hore
-
0
AIM movers: Potential extended use for Shield Therapeutics’ ACCRUFeR iron deficiency treatment and ex-dividends

Shield Therapeutics (LON: STX) says the US FDA has accepted ACCRUFeR as a clinical supplement and assigned priority review to extend coverage to children with iron deficiency anaemia. Approval could be received in 2026. This follows positive results from a phase 3 paediatric clinical trial. The share price jumped 32.5% to 8.35p.

Block Energy (LON: BLOE) has revealed farm-out terms for exploration licence XIQ in Georgia. The undisclosed partner is a leading oil and gas exploration and production company, which will fund the cost of 3D seismic in the Martkopi Terrace and up to three wells. Block Energy currently holds a 10% interest in the licence. The transaction should complete late this year or early 2026. The share price increased 23.5% to 1.05p.

Modular construction company Eco Buildings Group (LON: ECOB) has secured a €2.2m contract for construction of a luxury 18-unit apartment block, which will start immediately. There could be work on five similar structures in the future. This could be part of a larger villa development in Albania. A £300,000 zero coupon convertible loan note with a conversion price of 4p/share has been issued to existing shareholder Frazer Lang to provide working capital. The share price rose 21.8% to 3.35p.

Diagnostics company Oxford BioDynamics (LON: OBD) says its EpiSwitch CiRT (Checkpoint inhibitor Response Test) has been shown to impact clinical treatment decisions by a published study. An application to be included in US National Comprehensive Cancer Network clinical guidelines is planned. The share price is 16.7% higher at 0.525p.

Newmark Security (LON: NWT) had a much stronger second half and this is carrying on into the new year. In the year to April 2025, revenues rose 3% to £23m, while pre-tax profit improved from £388,000 to £643,000. The growth came in the Grosvenor Technology business, which provides software and hardware for access control and managing people, with recurring revenues growing faster than hardware sales. The launch of GT Tablet, a pure software product, will help to broaden the potential market. The Safetell security products revenues declined, but the services contribution increased. Increasing recurring services revenues is a core part of the company’s strategy. The share price improved 6.45% to 82.5p.

FALLERS

Airline and tour operator Jet2 (LON: JET2) says the market is difficult and Canaccord Genuity has cut its 2025-26 pre-tax profit forecast from £578.8m to £555.5m. There is uncertainty over demand and pricing, while costs are increasing. The share price declined 14.5% to 1380p.

Flexible workspace software developer Essensys (LON: ESYS) has returned to a positive EBITDA, but there was still a cash outflow in the year to July 2025. Customer churn has continued, and revenues fell from £24.1m to £19.2m, while an EBITDA loss of £900,000 to a profit of at least £1.3m. Closing datacentres has helped to reduce costs. Net cash was £1.8m at the end of July. The new elumo meeting rooms bookings software has gained its first customers since the year end. The share price slipped 9.3% to 19.5p.

Savannah Resources (LON: SAV) has completed the resource drilling at the Barroso lithium project in Portugal. Work on the JORC resource estimates for the Grandão, Pinheiro and Reservatório orebodies is advanced and there will also be new exploration targets. The focus is progress with DFS-related work and the environmental licence. The share price dipped 8.43% to 3.8p.

Fusion Antibodies (LON: FAB) improved full year revenues from £1.14m to £1.97m and there was an increase in the sales pipeline opportunities in the second half. The company is transitioning from a service provider to a technology licensor. The share price fell 7.35% to 15.75p.

Ex-dividends

Brickability (LON: BRCK) is paying a final dividend of 2.39p/share and the share price decreased 2.3p to 54.9p.

GlobalData (LON: DATA) is paying an interim dividend of 0.3p/share and the share price is unchanged at 132p.

Globalworth Real Estate Investments (LON: GWI) is paying an interim dividend of 5 cents/share and the share price is unchanged at 237 cents.

One Health Group (LON: OHGR) is paying a final dividend of 4.13p/share and the share price fell 2p to 258p.

RTC Group (LON: RTC) is paying an interim dividend of 1.21p/share and the share price is unchanged at 95p.

Currys: AGM Update proclaims group is on ‘a good track, with growing momentum’, starting £50m share buyback, looking for £170m pre-tax this year

Mark Watson-Mitchell
-
0
Currys: AGM Update proclaims group is on ‘a good track, with growing momentum’, starting £50m share buyback, looking for £170m pre-tax this year

Todays AGM Trading Update from Currys (LON:CURY) covers the 17-week period to the end of August. 
It reported that the group’s trading in the first four months of the financial year has been in line with expectations, with guidance of around £170m (£162m) of adjusted pre-tax profits.  
It noted that the group is planning confidently for the year ahead, comfortable with market those expectations. 
It is targeting for continued growth in higher margin, with a build-up in its recurring revenue services, while aiming to reach at least 2.5m iD Mobile subscribers before the year-...

Defence Holdings shares jump on first AI product for UK Ministry of Defence

UK Investor Magazine
-
0
Defence Holdings shares jump on first AI product for UK Ministry of Defence

Defence Holdings shares surged on Thursday after the software-led defence company announced it will showcase its inaugural AI product at DSEI 2025.

The real driver of shares on Thursday is that the technology is already in active development for the UK Ministry of Defence.

Defence Holdings shares were 20% higher at the time of writing.

The product is the creation of Defence Technologies, a partnership between Defence Holdings and Whitespace Global, a British deep-tech specialist in AI infrastructure for defence and national security.

Defence Holdings and Whitespace Global are collaborating with one of the world’s “Magnificent 7” technology giants on the product, with engineers from both Whitespace and the unnamed hyperscale partner working together to integrate cloud infrastructure designed specifically for AI workloads directly into the build.

“Our first product proves that Defence Holdings can move faster than the traditional defence cycle and from vision to operational capability in record time,” said Andrew McCartney, Chief Technology Officer of Defence Holdings.

“Through Defence Technologies, we are embedding sovereign AI into the heart of defence where it matters most. The scale of what we can deliver, secure, deployable software that can run at the tempo of modern operations, sets a new benchmark for UK defence.”

The partnership with the hyperscaler positions Defence Technologies amongst the few emerging defence platforms capable of operating at the same scale as established tech suppliers and underpins the progress the company has made in a short period.

It is also a massive validation of Defence Holdings’ ‘Five-Year Strategic Plan’ set out when the group transitioned from an e-sports firm to defence earlier this year.

Beeks Financial Cloud Group secures over $7 million in new contracts

UK Investor Magazine
-
0
Beeks Financial Cloud Group secures over $7 million in new contracts

Beeks Financial Cloud won more than $7 million worth of new Private Cloud contracts in August, the financial markets cloud computing and connectivity provider announced today.

Shares in the firm were 3% higher at the time of writing.

The contracts span multiple financial institutions across different regions, with revenue recognition beginning in the current financial year. This supports the board’s expectations for FY26.

Private Cloud offers secure, high-performance, low-latency computing platforms built exclusively for single organisations within their chosen data centres, unlike shared public cloud resources.

The August wins follow Beeks’ record Proximity Cloud performance in June, demonstrating continued contract momentum for the AIM-listed company.

“Demand for our offerings continues to build as financial institutions increasingly recognise the need for secure, high-performance infrastructure,” said Gordon McArthur, CEO of Beeks.

“These wins add meaningful contracted revenue for this year and reinforce our confidence in the Company’s ongoing growth prospects.”

New AIM admission: MedPal AI share price soars in first week

Andrew Hore
-
0
New AIM admission: MedPal AI share price soars in first week

MedPal AI is one of the few new companies to be brave enough to come to AIM this year. It has raised cash to commercialise its digital health app. There are also plans to incorporate AI in the current product.
Having raised £1.65m net there will be £650,000 spent on technology development and £575,000 on marketing. There is currently a partnership with employee benefits firm Epassi. Management hopes to secure other partnerships.
The share price ended the first day at 6.25p and it has risen to 12.25p (12p/12.5p). This is an impressive start, and the bid/offer spread is relatively narrow for suc...

1...565758...1,764Page 57 of 1,764