Retailer Next posted better‑than‑expected first half figures and an upgrade to its full‑year profit guidance.
However, it warned the Chancellor against tax increases in next month’s Budget as it said consumers were already under mounting pressure from Iran war inflation and a weak jobs market.
Chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson said: “These worries will only be compounded if they are accompanied by tax increases.”
The company said full‑price sales rose 7.7% in the six months ended 1 August, taking total sales to £3.28bn, while total sales including markdowns climbed 8.9% to £3.54bn.
Pre‑tax profits climbed 10.5% to £569m, with net margins improving to 16.1%, helped by higher bought‑in gross margins, warehousing efficiencies and profitable digital marketing.
Next upgraded its full‑year profit guidance to £1.255bn, up from £1.243bn previously, reflecting slightly stronger sales expectations and additional cost savings, mainly in warehousing.
Despite the strong first half and upgrade it cut its outlook for UK sales growth in the final six months from 2.8% to 2% as it flagged concerns over the impacts on consumer spending from the rising cost of living, higher mortgage costs and a cooling labour market.
International growth remained the standout as direct‑to‑consumer sales rose 24% despite Middle East disruption, and wholly owned brands and licences (WOBL) delivering exceptional growth – up 32% online in the UK and 82% overseas.
Frasers/Hugo Boss
The boss of Frasers Group has been named the new chairman of Hugo Boss, signalling a step up in efforts to secure majority ownership of the luxury fashion brand.
Michael Murray, Frasers’ chief executive, was appointed by the supervisory board of the German company.
NatWest
Natwest chair Rick Haythornthwaite has claimed the UK is in a “moment of national crisis” that can only be fixed by encouraging investment into the country’s struggling economy.
He said that years of poor decision-making and political instability have hampered public and private sector investment and hindered growth prospects for the UK.
He told City AM: “Where we’re headed right now is into a very, very difficult national debt situation, into an inter-generational crisis and to lives on the street that are increasingly difficult. These are all things that need to be confronted now.” Full story here
Galliford Try
Galliford Try has announced the launch of a £15m share buyback as it hailed a strong full-year performance, with profit ahead of market expectations.
In the year to 30 June, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 24.2% to £55.9m, with revenue up 3% at £1.9bn. Galliford said revenue was driven by a strong performance in Highways and a successful transition to AMP8 in Environment.
Revenue in the infrastructure business rose 7.7% to £971.6m, while the building segment recorded revenue of £951m, down from £964.7m a year earlier as it was hit by delays resulting from political uncertainty in the second half of the year.
The order book ticked up 5% from the previous year to £4.3bn and Galliford said it had good visibility of future revenue.
Capricorn Energy
DNO has revised its recommended takeover of Capricorn Energy into an all-cash deal, keeping the headline price the same but removing the risk tied to paying a special dividend before completion.
Under the original terms, shareholders only received the full $5.214 per share if Capricorn could declare and pay the dividend in full before completion. The new structure pays that entire amount in cash from Bidco instead, with Capricorn no longer expecting to declare the dividend.
The total value is unchanged, but the sterling equivalent of 388p a share represents a premium of roughly 46% to the undisturbed 266p close on the 10 March and about 61% to the three-month volume-weighted average price before the offer period began. The Capricorn board now intends to recommend the revised offer unanimously.
Drax
Power generation firm Drax has lifted its profit outlook for the year after demand was boosted by the summer heatwave.
Chief executive Will Gardiner said strong recent trading continued into the second half of 2026 as its facilities “helped meet power demand through the summer heatwave, turning up and turning down as required to help balance the system”.
It now expected adjusted earnings for 2026 to be “around the top” of forecasts.
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