Source: Sharecast
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Costain said on Wednesday that it has won a £45m contract from Severn Trent to upgrade the water utility's Rugby Newbold sewage treatment works. As principal contractor, Costain will design and build new facilities and upgrade systems to improve "operational resilience and increase the site's feed and storm capacity", the it said. The programme will run until 2028.
Softcat lifted its full-year guidance on Wednesday following an "exceptional" first half performance. Softcat, which provides IT infrastructure products and services, now expects high single-digit growth in underlying operating profits for FY26, up from low single-digit previously. The upgrade came as it reported a 27.3% increase in underlying operating profits to £93.8m for the six months ended 31 January, and a 33% jump in gross invoiced income to £2bn.
Diploma also hiked its full-year guidance on Wednesday, on the back of robust first-half trading The industrial group now expects annual organic revenue growth of 9% and an operating margin of 25%. Diploma had previously forecast 6% growth in revenues and a 22.5% margin. It also noted that trading remained "very strong", leaving it confident for the second half.
Mining giant BHP announced on Wednesday that Brandon Craig will take over as chief executive officer on 1 July, succeeding current CEO Mike Henry, who will step down after six and a half years in the role. Craig currently serves as BHP's president of the Americas.
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Finding out who owns land in England is to become much simpler because a paywall will be lifted from large parts of the Land Registry, the government is to announce. A small number of landowners control the majority of land but finding out who owns what is difficult to piece together, even for government departments, owing to the way the Land Registry operates. Freeing up access will make it easier to determine ownership of key areas, such as river catchments, grouse moors and peatland. – Guardian
The UK government is facing calls to spend almost £4bn to launch a "social tariff" providing cheaper energy for poor households amid growing concerns over the Iran conflict. As households brace for an increase in living costs, the Resolution Foundation said ministers should develop a system of discounted domestic energy bills in time for next winter to protect the most vulnerable households. – Guardian
Crispin Odey offered £1m to his compliance chief after a row over the hedge fund chief's suitability to remain at his eponymous firm, a court heard on Tuesday. Jack Satt, the former compliance chief at Odey Asset Management, told the Upper Tribunal that Mr Odey offered him the money after Mr Satt came under pressure to support an application to the Financial Conduct Authority for Mr Odey to become a partner. – Telegraph
The amount of money missing after the collapse of a London-based mortgage lender at the centre of fraud claims could be significantly in excess of the previous estimate of £1.3bn, administrators have warned. There is "compelling evidence of serious financial mismanagement" at Market Financial Solutions, insolvency practitioners from Alix Partners said in court documents. – The Times
Regional mayors could be given control of a share of national taxes including income tax to invest in their areas under plans announced by the chancellor. Rachel Reeves said on Tuesday that the reforms would not involve further tax increases or the creation of levies, but would focus on giving regions a better say over how they spend revenues generated by economic activity in their area. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices rose for the second straight session on Tuesday despite yet more volatile moves on energy markets as oil prices moved further above the $100-a-barrel mark.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.10% at 46,993.26, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.25% to 6,716.09, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.47% higher at 22,479.53.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com