The FTSE 100 rallied towards record highs on Tuesday as a sense of calm descended over equity markets amid easing geopolitical concerns.

Trade tariffs remain a concern, but there is a sense that we have passed the worst of the uncertainty, and Trump’s meeting with Putin later this week could lay the foundations for future peace in Europe.

London’s flagship index rose 0.3% in early trade after another strong session for US stocks overnight.

“There’s more optimism in the air as a tariff truce between the US and China holds, with hopes the global economy will withstand the trade blow a little better. Oil prices have crept higher in expectation of higher demand for energy around the world,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

UK stocks were also supported by hopes of additional interest rate cuts after another poor assessment of the UK jobs market. The Bank of England has pointed to the labour market as a central driver of their thinking on rates, and the recent rise in job vacancies suggests the voting committee could be forced to cut rates again.

Investors will have one eye on US inflation data due for release later on Tuesday, and any signals of when the Fed will next cut interest rates.

Spirax was the FTSE 100’s top riser as organic revenue and adjusted EBITDA rose amid strength in its Electric Thermal Solutions segment. The group’s shares have suffered over the past 18 months as results underwhelmed and investors will hope the organic growth reported for the half year is a sign of things to come.

Spirax shares were 12% higher at the time of writing.

Housebuilders Persimmon, Barratts and Taylor Wimpey were higher following the release of a trading statement by peer Bellway. Bellway’s completions rose 14% over their full year period, and the group was relatively upbeat about their outlook.

Despite gains on Tuesday, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments were still among the worst-performing FTSE 100 stocks of 2025 so far.

Bellway has delivered impressive results for the year ended 31 July 2025, with housing completions surging 14.3% to 8,749 homes.

The UK homebuilder exceeded previous guidance across multiple key metrics, signalling a resilience amid challenging market conditions that other listed housebuilders have lacked.

The company’s housing revenue jumped 17% to over £2.76 billion, while the underlying operating margin approached 11%, up from 10.0% in the previous year. Average selling prices also increased to around £316,000, reflecting a higher proportion of private completions.

Customer appetite remained robust throughout the year, supported by good mortgage availability and relatively stable interest rates. Other housebuilders have used these factors as an excuse for poor performance, and it’s refreshing to see Bellway view the glass half full.

Private reservation rates climbed 12.1% to an average of 139 per week, with the rate per outlet reaching 0.57 compared to 0.51 in 2024.

The company’s forward order book strengthened to 5,307 homes valued at £1,519.4 million, providing a solid foundation for future growth. This represents an increase from 5,144 homes worth £1,412.9 million in the previous year. Investors should be encouraged by this key metric.

Bellway’s balance sheet improved significantly, ending the year with net cash of £42 million compared to net debt of £10.5 million in 2024. The company said it maintained a disciplined approach to land acquisition, contracting to purchase 8,120 plots during the year.

Looking Ahead to 2026

For the upcoming financial year, Bellway expects to maintain approximately 245 outlets on average and deliver around 9,200 homes. The company remains focused on increasing return on capital employed while driving higher cash generation for shareholder returns.

Management acknowledged current industry headwinds but expressed confidence in the group’s position. Recent government planning reforms should benefit the sector long-term, though local authorities are still adapting to new frameworks.

RC Fornax shares are down heavily since listing in early 2025 after a string of unconvincing updates and a warning about revenues. RC Fornax’s IPO valuation was far too rich, and the company has failed to live up to expectations.

In April, when the company released half-year results, we warned that the company was overvalued and growth didn’t justify the share price at the time. Revenue grew just 8% in their first half despite promising ‘rapid growth’ by disrupting the defence contracting industry.

RC Fornax shares are down two-thirds since then.

With the market now valuing the firm at around £7m, is it time to buy RC Fornax shares? Possibly, but we’d argue that RC Fornax is nothing more than a short-term rebound opportunity.

Any strength in the stock will likely be sold into by investors who wish they’d sold earlier. Traditionally long-term investors are already dumping their shares. 

There may be money to be made for swing traders, but the outlook for the company is badly damaged. And there is a severe lack of evidence to suggest they are turning a corner.

The group put out a trading statement in June that effectively said it had misjudged the key drivers of the sole market it operates in, and the COO responsible for sales wasn’t up to the task, and was taking a career break.

Revenue guidance issued in the statement suggested the company would generate minimal revenue in the second half of the year.

Since June’s disastrous trading statement, the company has said very little, apart from the CEO being up for an award and an MP visiting their HQ to discuss the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), following the company’s admission in June that their analysis of the impact of SDR on the defence market was badly wrong. 

The biggest asset of consultancies such as RC Fornax is their people and the expertise they can deliver to their clients. On this front, RC Fornax has demonstrated that its asset base is subpar, especially from a strategic perspective.

There is a lot of hype around the defence sector currently. But there are probably better ways to play the uptick in defence spending than this over-egged consultancy.

Adsure Services has reported strong results for the year ended 31 March 2025, marking another successful year for the business assurance specialist.

The company demonstrated delivery on its strategic goals with significant improvements across key financial metrics whilst expanding its operational footprint.

Revenue climbed 7.7% to £10.0 million, more than doubling the previous year’s growth rate of 3.5%.

This acceleration reflects the company’s enhanced market position and successful client acquisition strategy across its core sectors. Adsure has alluded to their Aquis listing as a driving factor in securing new clients and leading talent.

Operating profit surged 61.4% to £0.9 million. Pre-tax profit jumped 74% to £0.8 million, whilst EBITDA rose to £1.18 million—a 35% increase that lifted margins to 11.8% from 9.4% the previous year.

These are very respectable results and helped support Adsure’s commitment to rewarding shareholders with progressive dividend increases.

The board has proposed a final dividend of 1.14 pence per share, representing a 15.2% increase. Cash balances remained steady at £1.1 million, providing financial stability for future growth initiatives.

“We have worked extremely hard to improve operational efficiencies across the business as revenue grows, and I’m thrilled that our efforts are bearing fruit, with EBITDA margin increasing to 11.8%,” said Vicky Davies, CFO of Adsure Services.

Operational progress

The company’s sector-led business development approach has yielded tangible results. New contracts were secured across health, housing, education, and local government sectors whilst staff utilisation targets were met by 83% of employees.

Adsure made strategic investments in technology, contracting K10 Vision to implement audit working paper software. The company’s proprietary TIAA Insight AI tool has reached testing stage, with early results showing outputs indistinguishable from human auditors. This digital transformation supports margin expansion and operational efficiency goals.

The group expanded into new markets, developing fraud prevention services for social housing and engaging with private sector rail freight operators. Entry into the private sector is particularly interesting.

Strategic focus

Adsure’s three-pillar strategy emphasises organic growth in core markets, accessing new service markets, and creating revolutionary business assurance technologies. The company benefits from its elevated profile following its Aquis listing, which has facilitated the recruitment of senior sector leaders.

Management addressed capacity constraints—the primary growth inhibitor—through restructured senior management and enhanced delivery models. Four lead directors now oversee the main business areas, whilst two senior directors manage operations and commercial activity.

The board expects continued strong trading performance in 2025/26, supported by a robust contract base and healthy new business pipeline. The company plans to refresh its five-year corporate plan, targeting growth in both volume and service scope.

“Our strong 2025 performance positions us well, but I’m focused on the significant opportunities ahead as a London-listed company,” said Kevin Limn, Chief Executive Officer of Adsure Services Plc.

“Having invested prudently in our technological capabilities, the coming year could prove to be game changing for Adsure Services as we pursue further operational efficiencies and margin expansion through the deployment of our proprietary AI tools.”

The FTSE 100 was higher on Monday as mild optimism crept into equity markets with investors choosing to focus on the recent market repricing of the number of US interest rates set for this year.

London’s leading index was 0.3% higher at the time of writing.

Banks, including JPMorgan, are now predicting the Federal Reserve will cut rates in September, and interest rate markets are pricing on 50 bps of cuts by the end of the year.

This is in contrast to the pricing of just one interest rate cut this year before a poor US jobs report at the beginning of August.

“A pulse of positivity also sent stocks on Wall Street back towards record levels on Friday and US indices are set for a higher open as optimism continues to swirl,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“But there could be a swift change in sentiment. The focus will be on US inflation numbers out this week, a key determiner for the Fed’s interest rate decision next week. With Trump’s tariffs set to make swathes of goods more expensive for American consumers and businesses, investors will want to see to if higher prices are landing and what the outlook is likely to be ahead.”

FTSE 100 movers

The FTSE 100’s gain was broad, with the majority of constituents trading positively at the time of writing.

However, while most shares were higher, there were few risers adding more than 1%.

Pharma heavyweights AstraZeneca and GSK were higher by over 1% helping support the wider index. GSK announced that the FDA had accepted a gonorrhoea treatment for priority review, although this wasn’t majorly price sensitive.

Defence-related stocks were weaker, with BAE Systems and Babcock losing over 1% as defence-spending euphoria continued to diminish.

Melrose was the top FTSE 100 faller, dropping 1.8%, on nothing more than profit taking after the stock touched the highest level since the announcements of Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs last week.