Whitebread shares tumbled on Thursday after the hotel group posted a 7% decline in operating profit in the 26 weeks to 28 August 2025.

Group revenue declined 2% as growth in the UK hotels flatlined and food and beverage sales fell. Although the fall in food and beverage sales was expected, the 11% drop in sales weighed heavily on overall sales for the UK, which fell 3%.

Germany fared better, but the region makes up just 10% of sales.

“Investors had clearly expected better service from Whitbread, with the shares down sharply in early trading,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

However, one wonders whether Whitbread’s 9% decline presents a buying opportunity for investors.

The company is undergoing several strategic improvements that should position it well for growth when the UK economy picks up.

“Premier Inn owner Whitbread shrugged off its first quarter weakness to deliver first half UK accommodation sales in line with last year,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The second quarter market recovery was supported by a string of events in London and that’s continued into the second half, with the likes of Lady Gaga, Oasis and the less glamorous Defence and Security Equipment International conference keeping demand for hotel rooms high. 

“Once again Premier Inn outperformed the competition, with rooms on average generating £6.10 per day more than other midscale and economy operators. That wasn’t enough to offset a double-digit drop in food sales however, mainly driven by a slimming down of the group’s pub and restaurant offer. The drop in revenue and increased finance charges saw underlying pre-tax profit fall by 7% to £316mn bang in line with market forecasts.”

At 16x earnings, Whitbread is neither cheap nor expensive. That said, a recovery in earnings growth could quickly make the group look good value.

Travis Perkins offered investors reason to be optimistic by recording modest revenue growth in the third quarter, with like-for-like sales rising 1.8% in the three months to 30 September 2025.

The building materials supplier said actions taken to sharpen its competitive proposition in the Merchanting segment have improved performance.

Its General Merchant business showed notable improvement, with like-for-like volumes up 2.5% despite a 0.8% decline in price and mix.

However, trading conditions remain challenging in Specialist Merchants’ markets, which continue to face subdued demand. The Labour government can be blamed for the conditions impacting Travis Perkins and the rest of the construction industry.

Travis Perkins shares were down 1% at the time of writing on Thursday, but there is only minor profit taking in the context of recent gains.

“As we outlined at our half year results, in the third quarter we have consciously focused on building top-line momentum and regaining market share in the Merchanting businesses,” said Geoff Drabble, Chair of Travis Perkins.

“I am pleased with how our teams have responded to this challenge with Merchanting returning to revenue growth and our operating performance stabilising.

“In what remains a highly competitive market, we have invested in pricing and targeted promotions and will continue to do so in the near-term. We continue to demonstrate good discipline on capital allocation and overheads which will allow us to reinvest in our proposition and position the Group well as we look forward to Gavin Slark’s arrival as CEO in January.”

Toolstation delivered solid results with like-for-like revenue growth of 2.3% and total revenue up 3.0%. The tool retailer is focusing on strategy execution whilst taking steps to drive further operating margin improvement.

Although Q3 growth will be welcomed, the group will need to do more to prove that the worst is behind them.

For the year to date, the group has seen like-for-like sales decline 0.2%, with total revenue down 1.3%. Merchanting has struggled with a 2.1% fall in total revenue, whilst Toolstation has proved more resilient with growth of 2.8%.

The company said it continues to make good progress on enhancing cash generation, further strengthening its balance sheet.

The FTSE 100 missed out on a global equity rally on Wednesday as pharma stocks and other overseas earners weighed on the index amid hopes of a US interest rate cut.

London’s leading index was 0.4% in the red at the time of writing, underperforming the German Dax’s 0.2% gains and a surging 2% rally in the French CAC.

The softer session for the FTSE 100 also ran counter to S&P 500 futures, which pointed to a higher cash open.

The key driver of stocks on Wednesday was the uptick in hopes of US interest rate cuts after a speech by the Federal Chair that signalled rate setters were preparing to lower borrowing costs.

“Markets have been lifted by the rekindling of rate cut expectations in the US after comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell which highlighted sluggish hiring were taken as an indication that not one, but two further cuts were very much on the table for 2025,” says Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis.

“Buoyed by continued deal making in the frothy AI sector, investors seem prepared to overlook the growing number of warnings about the potential for a market correction at the moment, but this earnings season will be crucial if that optimism is to continue.”

This optimism wasn’t evident in London, and the FTSE 100’s lack of tech exposure and inverse relationship with the pound can be blamed for the drop on Wednesday.

Pharma giants AstraZeneca and GSK were down heavily. As the FTSE 100’s largest constituent, Astra’s 2.3% drop weighed on the index, offsetting gains for Burberry and Ashtead.

Burberry enjoyed the positive effects of strong results from LVMH that showed the luxury brand had returned to growth. LVMH shares were 14% higher at the time of writing, helping propel the CAC over 2% higher.

Entain was the FTSE 100’s top faller after the betting firm released a reasonable, but uninspiring, third quarter trading update.

“It was very much a case of ‘steady as she goes’ from Entain this morning,” explained Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG.

“The group remains on track, but after the surge from April’s low the share price is clearly looking for something more exciting, though it has only been three months since it upgraded guidance for the year. So long as Entain can show more progress at its next update then shareholders will remain content – the longer-term picture in the share price suggests it has turned a corner, after a severe decline from 2021-2024.”

Entain shares were down over 3% at the time of writing.

GenIP Plc has secured its first technology park partnership, collaborating with Pelotas Science Park in Brazil to deliver GenAI commercialisation services.

The park—a “quadruple helix” innovation hub uniting government, academia, industry, and civil society—houses 63 enterprises, 23 partner institutions, and the Candy Valley startup network. GenIP will guide tenant companies and incubated startups through technology investment and commercialisation decisions.

The partnership accelerates GenIP’s strategic goal to diversify its client base to include more corporates. The company has so far been very active with university research departments, so today’s news looks to be the first step into what could be a more lucrative market.

By tapping into the tech park’s concentrated ecosystem of corporate entities and startups, GenIP gains direct access to multiple commercial clients through a single relationship. One tech park. Multiple clients.

The Brazil deal looks to establish a blueprint. More park alliances could follow.

“Our collaboration with Pelotas Science Park represents an important milestone for GenIP as we expand our reach beyond universities to support entire innovation ecosystems,” said Melissa Cruz, CEO of GenIP.

“Science parks play a vital role in Technology Transfer by connecting researchers, startups, and industry partners, and we’re proud to provide the analytical foundation that helps their tenant companies identify commercially viable technologies and attract investment. This partnership reflects our broader strategy to deepen engagement with industry and startup communities,  bringing us closer to our goal of achieving 45% industry participation.”

Oxford Metrics is valued at just a little over its cash balance despite the firm returning to year-on-year revenue growth for the financial year ending 30 September 2025.

In a trading statement released on Wednesday, the smart sensing and software company said it expects revenue and adjusted EBIT to be in line with market forecasts of around £46.2m and £2.3m, respectively.

Oxford Metrics has around 10,000 clients across 70 countries.

The firm’s flagship Vicon motion capture division showed resilience despite US academic funding challenges, supported by stronger performance in other regions and markets.

Oxford Metrics’ smart manufacturing segment performed well. Both IVS and Sempre delivered robust organic and inorganic growth through improved management execution.

Notably for investors, the group closed the year with £37.0 million in cash – only just below its market cap of around £45 million. This was after £5.4 million in acquisition costs, £4.2 million in dividends, and £8.3 million allocated to share buybacks.

The company has very little debt.

“FY25 was a year of strong strategic progress for Oxford Metrics,” said Imogen O’Connor, CEO of Oxford Metrics.

“Continued innovation, including the launch of new products, further strengthens our position across diversified, high-value niches and aligned to market trends. With a healthy balance sheet and a clear strategic direction, we enter the new financial year well placed to pursue the exciting growth opportunities ahead.”