Author: Fiona Craig

Connecting Excellence Group Plc (AQSE:XCE) (USOTC:XCELF) reported a solid first-half trading performance, with net fee income rising sharply as higher-value executive placements supported revenue growth, while the company continued to build out its Bitcoin treasury following its recent IPO.

For the six months ended 31 December 2025, the group’s operational recruitment business, Spencer Riley, generated net fee income of £0.89 million, representing a 20.3% increase compared with £0.74 million in the same period a year earlier. The improvement was driven by a 12.7% increase in average fee per placement, reflecting a strategic shift toward higher-value mandates.

Trading momentum has continued into the new year, with the company delivering its strongest January on record, generating £0.25 million in net fee income since the period end.

IPO and market expansion

In December 2025, Connecting Excellence completed its initial public offering and began trading on the Access segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market, raising £3.3 million in gross proceeds. The company further expanded its market presence in February 2026 when its shares started trading on the OTCQB market, a move aimed at improving liquidity and broadening its international investor base.

Bitcoin treasury strategy progresses

Since listing, the group has accelerated its Bitcoin treasury strategy, acquiring 33.15 BTC for £2.2 million using IPO proceeds alongside £64,000 generated from free cash flow. The company also launched its XCE BTC Bond in January, issuing the first tranche equivalent to 10 BTC.

Combined with 9.27 BTC held prior to the IPO, Connecting Excellence now holds a total of 52.42 BTC.

The company expects to publish interim results in the second half of March 2026.

Scott Ellam, Chief Executive Officer of Connecting Excellence Group, commented:
“We are pleased to report a strong first half, with net fee income increasing by 20.3% year-on-year, supported by a 12.7% rise in average fee per placement and our strategic focus on higher-value mandates. The record January performance since the Period end provides encouraging momentum entering the second half.

“Our successful IPO and admission to the Aquis Exchange marked an important milestone, strengthening our balance sheet and enabling further progress in our long-term Bitcoin treasury strategy. We remain firmly focused on delivering cashflow growth in our international executive recruitment business and enhancing our Bitcoin treasury strategy. We look forward to updating shareholders with our interim results next month.”

Company overview

Connecting Excellence Group is an international executive recruitment business operating through its flagship brand Spencer Riley, placing senior professionals across engineering, logistics, life sciences, automation, technology, professional services and B2B sectors worldwide.

Alongside recruitment operations, the company is pursuing a disciplined Bitcoin treasury strategy designed to support long-term growth, talent incentives and potential acquisition-led expansion using performance-based equity structures. The group is also developing a specialist Bitcoin-focused executive recruitment division targeting both crypto-native and traditional businesses seeking Bitcoin expertise.

Gold prices traded slightly higher on Thursday as safe-haven demand persisted amid uncertainty over U.S. trade policy and ahead of renewed nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.

At 05:00 ET (10:00 GMT), spot gold advanced 0.5% to $5,188.77 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures slipped 0.4% to $5,204.49 per ounce.

Markets focus on diplomacy and trade risks

Investor attention remained firmly on geopolitical developments as officials from Washington and Tehran prepared to meet in Geneva later in the day for fresh discussions surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme.

Markets are closely watching for any signs of rising tensions or stalled negotiations, developments that could increase demand for traditional safe-haven assets such as gold.

At the same time, traders continued to assess the fallout from newly introduced U.S. tariffs following a recent Supreme Court ruling that reshaped the legal basis for certain trade actions.

The introduction of additional global tariffs of up to 15% has heightened uncertainty surrounding the outlook for international trade.

Later in the session, investors will also monitor incoming U.S. economic indicators — including weekly jobless claims — for signals about the likely direction of monetary policy.

So far this year, gold has remained supported by persistent geopolitical uncertainty, ongoing central bank purchases and diversification flows from investment portfolios.

“Gold has now recovered more than half of the losses seen during the sharp sell-off late last month,” ING analysts said in a note.

“Geopolitical risks remain a key upside factor; any escalation in tensions involving Iran is likely to add further support and reinforce gold’s role as a hedge against shocks,” they added.

Silver and platinum pull back after recent advances

Other precious and industrial metals moved lower on Thursday, surrendering part of their recent gains.

Silver declined 4% to $87.37 per ounce after climbing more than 2% in the previous session.

Platinum dropped 1.5% to $2,298.95 per ounce following a rally of more than 5% on Wednesday.

Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange edged down 0.1% to $13,315.0 per ton, while U.S. copper futures eased 0.2% to $6.0315 per pound.

Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) advanced on Thursday, continuing its recovery from the previous session as bargain hunters returned to the market and improving sentiment in global equities helped stabilise the broader cryptocurrency space after weeks of heavy pressure.

The move higher was amplified by a wave of short covering, with traders betting against the digital asset forced to unwind positions following an unexpectedly sharp price rebound.

Bitcoin climbed 5.3% to $68,349.6 at 01:22 ET (06:22 GMT), regaining most of the losses posted earlier this week.

Dip buyers return as short positions unwind

The rally was driven in part by investors stepping back into the market at discounted valuations, with Bitcoin still trading roughly 50% below the record highs reached in October.

As prices moved higher, crowded bearish trades came under pressure, triggering a short squeeze that accelerated gains. According to data from crypto analytics platform Coinglass, approximately $468.7 million in short positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours.

Market sentiment toward Bitcoin had weakened considerably after a prolonged downturn that began late last year. Purchases by large corporate holder Strategy failed to meaningfully ease concerns that prices could fall further.

Even with the recent rebound, overall crypto sentiment remained subdued. Coinmarketcap’s crypto fear and greed index held steady in “extreme fear” territory as of Thursday.

Strong equities backdrop supports risk appetite, Nvidia reaction muted

Cryptocurrency markets also benefited from improved risk appetite following two consecutive sessions of gains on Wall Street.

U.S. equities advanced alongside a rebound in technology stocks ahead of closely watched results from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), with crypto assets often showing correlation with tech-sector performance.

The chipmaker delivered stronger-than-expected earnings and upbeat guidance on Wednesday, supported by sustained demand tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure.

However, the broader market response remained restrained, with S&P 500 futures declining 0.2% during Asian trading hours. Much of Nvidia’s positive performance appeared already reflected in valuations, while concerns around elevated inventories and exposure to China weighed on investor sentiment.

Altcoins extend gains alongside Bitcoin

The broader digital asset market moved higher as well, largely tracking Bitcoin’s rebound.

Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 9.4% to $2,062.71, while XRP gained 6.4% to $1.4468.

Solana and Cardano advanced 7.3% and 11.1%, respectively, and BNB added 5.6%.

Among meme-focused tokens, Dogecoin climbed 8.3%, while $TRUMP rose 3.5%.

Despite the latest recovery, most alternative cryptocurrencies — like Bitcoin itself — remain significantly below levels seen in recent months following the sector’s broader correction.

WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) reported a sharp fall in profits for 2025 after recording significant impairment charges, while warning that trading conditions are expected to remain challenging into the first half of 2026, sending the company’s shares more than 8% lower following the announcement.

Reported operating profit dropped 71.2% year-on-year to £382 million from £1.33 billion, largely due to £641 million in goodwill impairments. Diluted earnings per share swung to a loss of 20 pence, compared with earnings of 49.4 pence in 2024.

Group revenue declined 8.1% to £13.55 billion. Revenue less pass-through costs — a key industry measure — fell 10.4% on a reported basis to £10.18 billion and decreased 5.4% on a like-for-like basis.

Headline operating profit decreased 22.6% to £1.32 billion, with headline operating margin narrowing to 13% from 15% a year earlier, representing a 1.8 percentage-point decline on a like-for-like basis.

Total adjusting items amounted to £939 million, including £641 million in goodwill impairments and £114 million related to property impairments. The company also incurred £68 million in restructuring and transformation expenses.

WPP proposed a final dividend of 7.5 pence per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 15 pence, significantly lower than the 39.4 pence distributed in 2024.

Chief executive Cindy Rose said the group’s recent underperformance had been driven by “excessive organisational complexity, lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic execution.”

She added, “Our recent underperformance has been driven by excessive organisational complexity, a lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic execution.”

Looking ahead to 2026, WPP expects like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to decline by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage in the first half of the year, followed by improving momentum in the second half. The company guided headline operating margin to a range of 12% to 13%.

Adjusted operating cash flow before working capital is forecast between £800 million and £900 million, including approximately £250 million of cash restructuring costs. Excluding those charges, adjusted operating cash flow before working capital is expected to reach £1 billion to £1.1 billion.

In 2025, adjusted operating cash flow before working capital totalled £1.19 billion, down from £1.34 billion the previous year. Adjusted free cash flow declined sharply to £202 million from £738 million, while reported net cash inflow from operating activities fell to £724 million from £1.41 billion.

Average adjusted net debt stood at £3.4 billion, slightly lower than £3.5 billion a year earlier. Adjusted net debt at year-end was £2.17 billion, while the net debt-to-headline EBITDA ratio increased to 2.1 times from 1.8 times.

Across business segments, Global Integrated Agencies reported a 5.7% like-for-like decline in revenue less pass-through costs during 2025, with WPP Media down 5.9%. Other Global Integrated Agencies fell 5.6%, while Public Relations recorded a mid-single-digit decline. Specialist Agencies performed more resiliently, declining 0.7% for the year.

Regionally, North America revenue less pass-through costs decreased 4.6% like-for-like, while the United Kingdom declined 7.6%. Western Continental Europe fell 4.7%, and Rest of World revenues declined 5.9%, with India growing 3.8% and China contracting 14.3%.

Revenue from WPP’s top 25 clients declined 4.1% like-for-like in 2025. The company noted improved performance in healthcare accounts, although spending across several other client sectors weakened during the year.

WPP also unveiled a new multi-year strategy, “Elevate28,” aimed at delivering £500 million in annualised gross cost savings. The programme is expected to require approximately £400 million in cash costs over two years, with a significant portion of savings planned to be reinvested into media, commerce, production and enterprise solutions.

Derwent London (LSE:DLN) reported higher net asset value and a modest dividend increase for the 2025 financial year, supported by leasing activity and asset management gains across its portfolio.

Net asset value reached 3,225 pence per share at year-end, representing a 2.4% increase compared with the previous year. Earnings per share totalled 98.4 pence, while the company declared a full-year dividend of 81.5 pence per share.

During FY25, Derwent London completed new leasing agreements worth £11.3 million, achieved at rents 9.9% above estimated rental value. Since the start of the new financial year, the group has secured a further £1.5 million in leases, with £14.4 million currently under offer, including all office space at Network, and an additional £4.4 million under negotiation.

Asset management initiatives generated £58.9 million of activity, delivering rental uplifts of 6.4%. The company also progressed its capital recycling strategy, completing property disposals totalling £216.1 million during the year. A further £33 million has exchanged year to date, with roughly £240 million of additional transactions under offer.

The 25 Baker Street W1 development was fully pre-let, achieving an ungeared internal rate of return of 11.3%. The project delivered an accounting return of 5%, with earnings per share of 98.4 pence excluding 3.7 pence of trading profits.

Looking ahead, Derwent London expects estimated rental value growth across its portfolio of between 4% and 7% in fiscal year 2026. The company aims to complete £1 billion of disposals over the next three years and is targeting EPRA earnings growth of 25% to 30% by 2030.

Financial leverage remained stable, with net debt to EBITDA at 9 times, an interest coverage ratio of 3.1 times and a loan-to-value ratio of 29%, unchanged from the prior period.

The chief executive said the company expects continued increases in portfolio estimated rental values and EPRA earnings, while projecting total accounting returns of between 7% and 10% over the coming years.