Author: Fiona Craig

MSLH Marshalls (LSE:MSLH) reported group revenue of £205 million for the first four months of 2026, representing a 1% decline year-on-year but remaining in line with board expectations. The company said performance across its predominantly UK-focused operations remained resilient despite inflationary pressures and ongoing uncertainty across end markets. Revenue in the Landscaping and Building Products division was broadly stable, with the business also regaining market share and continuing to deliver cost-saving initiatives. Roofing experienced a modest revenue decline due to softer demand conditions, while Marshalls stated that its strong balance sheet and ongoing “Transform & Grow” strategy support unchanged full-year guidance and planned balance sheet deleveraging.

Management pointed to operational improvements within Landscaping and increasing momentum in Water Management ahead of anticipated AMP8-related infrastructure demand. In Roofing, the company highlighted disciplined commercial execution, including continued growth at Viridian Solar. Marshalls also noted that it retains £107 million in undrawn credit facilities and remains focused on cash management, cost control and disciplined capital allocation. Additional measures are being implemented to help mitigate input cost inflation linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The company said these initiatives are intended to protect profitability and reinforce its market position while supporting sustainable and profitable medium-term growth.

The company’s outlook is driven primarily by mixed financial performance (stronger balance sheet but weaker 2025 margins and cash flow) and weak technicals (price below key moving averages with negative MACD). Supportive valuation (low P/E and high dividend yield) and modestly positive corporate events partially offset those risks.

More about Marshalls

Marshalls plc is a long-established UK manufacturer of sustainable products for the built environment, operating across Landscaping, Building and Roofing divisions. The group manages a nationwide manufacturing and distribution network and focuses on branded products, technical and design expertise, and sustainability leadership as part of its strategy to become the UK’s leading sustainable building products provider.

EPP EnergyPathways (LSE:EPP) has entered into a collaboration agreement with Associated British Ports to explore the suitability of the Port of Barrow in Cumbria as the onshore operations base for its Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH), which is planned to become the UK’s largest integrated energy storage project. The assessment will examine infrastructure requirements linked to compressed air, natural gas and hydrogen storage activities, as well as offshore connection systems and facilities for hydrogen and graphite production. The project remains subject to commercial agreements, funding arrangements and regulatory planning approvals.

The MESH development, which has been recognised by the UK government as a project of national significance, is designed to store substantial amounts of energy within subsea salt caverns while also capturing excess wind power generation. EnergyPathways said the project could increase Britain’s gas storage capacity by the equivalent of roughly six additional days of national demand. Proposed facilities at Barrow are also intended to support the UK’s broader energy transition objectives, critical minerals strategy and regional economic development plans. The company believes the initiative could establish Barrow as an important future energy hub while progressing the project toward a final investment decision alongside an existing group of Tier-1 partners.

More about EnergyPathways plc

EnergyPathways plc is an AIM-listed energy transition business focused on developing large-scale integrated energy storage projects in the UK. Its flagship Marram Energy Storage Hub (MESH), located in the Irish Sea, combines compressed air, natural gas and hydrogen storage technologies with the aim of improving national energy security, reducing emissions and lowering energy costs for UK consumers.

ATYM Atalaya Mining Copper, S.A. (LSE:ATYM) has confirmed that it will release its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended 31 March 2026 on 26 May, together with condensed consolidated financial statements. The announcement marks the next major reporting milestone for investors monitoring the company’s operational progress and financial performance as development activities continue across its Spanish copper portfolio.

Management is set to host a webcast for analysts and investors on 26 May at 9:00 BST through the SparkLive platform. A separate Investor Meet Company presentation will follow at 11:00 BST and will be open to both current and prospective shareholders. The two investor events reflect Atalaya’s ongoing focus on maintaining active market engagement and offering shareholders direct opportunities to discuss first-quarter performance and the broader development pipeline.

The company’s outlook is supported primarily by strong TTM profitability and a very conservative balance sheet with low leverage, which helps resilience in a cyclical industry. Offsetting this, the stock’s technical picture is clearly bearish (price far below key moving averages with negative MACD), and valuation/income support is only moderate (P/E ~23, sub-1% yield).

More about Atalaya Mining

Atalaya Mining Copper, S.A. is a European copper producer focused on mining and development operations in Spain. The company owns and operates the Proyecto Riotinto complex in southwest Spain, which includes the Cerro Colorado open-pit mine and a 15-million-tonne-per-annum processing plant. Listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market under the ticker ATYM and included in the FTSE 250 Index, Atalaya also holds interests in several additional Spanish copper projects, including Proyecto Masa Valverde, Proyecto Riotinto East, Proyecto Touro and Proyecto Ossa Morena.

CHLL Chill Brands Group (LSE:CHLL) has introduced its Chill Connect wholesale distribution platform, with more than 2,000 UK convenience stores already integrated into the network. The launch represents a strategic transition away from a primarily brand-focused consumer goods model toward a distribution-led business structure. The company said its immediate priorities include maintaining dependable inventory levels, strengthening service capabilities and delivering measured growth, while also widening the platform’s product offering to meet retailer demand for a single, reliable supply partner.

Management described the new digital ordering platform as a significant operational enhancement that broadens the company’s commercial reach beyond traditional field sales activity. The system is also intended to reduce dependence on cash transactions while creating scalable infrastructure for order processing and fulfilment. Alongside the rollout, the board has initiated a strategic review and is currently engaged in early-stage discussions regarding potential partnerships, investments and corporate transactions aimed at broadening and diversifying the business. Management added that the company’s Main Market listing is viewed as a potentially underutilised asset that could support the development of a larger and more diversified listed group.

The company’s outlook is driven primarily by very weak financial performance (ongoing losses, negative free cash flow, and negative equity with debt), which outweighs the benefit of recent revenue growth. Technicals also remain soft with the stock trading below major moving averages and negative MACD. Valuation is constrained by negative earnings and no dividend support.

More about Chill Brands Group PLC

Chill Brands Group PLC is a UK-based distribution-focused consumer packaged goods business serving the convenience retail market. Through its Chill Connect platform and nationwide field sales operation, the company distributes vaping and nicotine alternative products while expanding into additional fast-moving consumer goods categories including beverages, confectionery, sundries and other convenience retail products for both established and emerging brands.

SPEC Inspecs Group (LSE:SPEC) reported 2025 revenue of £191.7 million, broadly unchanged year-on-year on a constant currency basis, as the company navigated a difficult consumer environment and pressure from U.S. tariffs. Gross margin declined to 51.7%, while underlying EBITDA fell to £17.7 million. During the year, the group shut its loss-making Norville lens manufacturing facility, completed the integration of previous acquisitions and significantly improved production capacity and operational resilience at its enlarged Vietnam plant. Inspecs said it remains focused on achieving above-market organic growth, delivering a double-digit EBITDA margin and reducing leverage by 2027. Meanwhile, a takeover proposal backed by investors Luke Johnson and Ian Livingstone has now become unconditional, paving the way for a likely change of control and a new ownership phase for the company.

Management pointed to stronger manufacturing performance, particularly within its Vietnam operations, alongside encouraging sales momentum in European frames and optics markets during the early part of 2026. The company said these developments reflect ongoing progress in operational efficiency and margin recovery despite continuing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. Through measures including portfolio simplification, centralised procurement and investment in products such as Optaro low-vision devices and smart eyewear technologies, Inspecs is aiming to strengthen its position in the global eyewear sector while creating a more resilient long-term operating platform under its prospective new ownership structure.

Inspecs Group Plc’s company’s outlook is primarily influenced by its financial performance challenges, including declining revenues and negative profitability. Technical analysis provides a more positive outlook with bullish momentum, but valuation remains a concern due to the negative P/E ratio and lack of dividend yield. The absence of earnings call and corporate events data means these factors do not impact the outlook.

More about Inspecs Group Plc

Inspecs Group plc is a vertically integrated eyewear designer, manufacturer and distributor producing branded and OEM optical frames, sunglasses, safety eyewear and low-vision products for global retailers, distributors and independent opticians. The group operates across Europe, the United States and Asia, with manufacturing facilities located in Vietnam, China, the UK and Italy, and distributes products through approximately 75,000 points of sale in more than 80 countries worldwide.

CRE Conduit Holdings (LSE:CRE) delivered a solid opening quarter for 2026, with gross premiums written increasing 4.9% to $430.3 million and reinsurance revenue climbing 12.8%. Growth was led primarily by casualty business, alongside moderate expansion in property lines, while specialty underwriting volumes were intentionally reduced as market conditions weakened. The group said underwriting and investment performance remained resilient despite heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and broader market volatility. During the period, managed investments rose to $2.3 billion, while the company also strengthened its capital return strategy through a new share buyback programme of up to $50 million, payment of the final 2025 dividend, and board changes including the appointment of a new chair and three additional independent non-executive directors.

Across the portfolio, pricing declined by 5% on a risk-adjusted basis, reflecting more pronounced softening in property and specialty markets, while casualty pricing remained comparatively stable. Management stated that underwriting conditions are still considered broadly adequate following several years of favourable rate hardening. Conduit also confirmed that no single or combined loss event had a material effect on quarterly results. The company maintained its conservative investment positioning, centred mainly on fixed-income assets, which generated a 0.3% return during the quarter. Looking ahead, management signalled an intention to pursue disciplined and selective expansion with established cedants and broker relationships, even as increased industry capital and relatively low catastrophe losses continue to pressure reinsurance pricing.

The company’s outlook is driven primarily by strong financial strength (minimal leverage, growing equity) and solid cash generation/earnings quality. Technicals are supportive with clear trend strength, while the main offset is valuation—an unusually high P/E despite an attractive dividend yield—along with the post-2023 profitability step-down.

More about Conduit Holdings Ltd

Conduit Holdings Limited is the parent company of Conduit Re, a Bermuda-based multi-line reinsurer operating across property, casualty and specialty segments. Listed in London under the ticker CRE, the group focuses on disciplined underwriting practices, conservative investment management and active shareholder capital returns within the global reinsurance market.

GETB GetBusy (LSE:GETB) reported group annualised recurring revenue of £23.4 million for the four months ended 30 April 2026, representing an 11% increase year-on-year. The company said stronger adoption of artificial intelligence features across its software platforms helped drive the improved performance. Management added that the results support confidence in continued growth and reaffirmed its guidance for 2026, highlighting ongoing operational progress for investors and stakeholders.

SmartVault, which is now integrated with all leading US tax preparation software platforms, recorded ARR growth of 19% to $18.5 million alongside a 36% increase in new business activity. The company said this further establishes SmartVault as a key component within US tax workflows, supported by high switching costs and the scale of its document management infrastructure. Meanwhile, Workiro returned to growth following a renewed emphasis on professional services customers and an expanded collaboration with UK tax software provider TaxCalc. Continued migrations from the legacy Virtual Cabinet platform are also contributing to higher average revenue per user and lower churn, supporting GetBusy’s wider move toward AI-enabled cloud workflow products.

Management expects the upcoming launch of SmartProposals, together with additional SmartVault upgrades, to extend the platform’s role further into customer engagement and pricing functions. Alongside planned integration partnerships for Workiro across the UK and ANZ markets, the company believes these initiatives will strengthen GetBusy’s standing as a core infrastructure provider for tax and document workflow services, with AI increasingly positioned as a major driver of value creation across its platforms.

The company’s outlook is held down primarily by balance-sheet risk (negative equity) and volatile profitability despite strong gross margins. Improving cash flow provides some support, but technicals remain weak-to-neutral and valuation is constrained by a negative P/E and no dividend data.

More about GetBusy Plc

GetBusy plc is a UK-listed provider of specialist SaaS document workflow software serving professional and financial services industries. The business focuses on securing and automating workflows linked to more than 1.3 billion high-value documents. Its strategy is centred on generating near-term cash returns from SmartVault, its expanding US tax workflow platform, while continuing to develop Workiro, a collaboration and content management solution integrated with professional services and cloud ERP ecosystems and used by more than 60,000 paying customers globally.

The Group positions its AI-enabled software as mission-critical tools embedded in customers’ day-to-day operations, particularly for regulated industries requiring secure, compliant and automated document management. Through integrations with leading tax and compliance software providers in the US, UK and ANZ regions, GetBusy aims to establish itself as the preferred independent workflow engine for tax and professional services firms, supporting recurring revenues through long customer retention and high switching barriers.

PALM Panther Metals (LSE:PALM) has released the sixth and concluding set of Vibracore assay results from its Winston Tailings Project in Ontario, marking the completion of the core sampling program that will support a future mineral resource estimate for the historic Winston Lake Mine tailings site. The newest assay data, which include additional samples from 49 collar positions, demonstrated consistent mineral grades and significant tailings depth throughout the storage area, reinforcing — and in some instances surpassing — the preliminary findings reported during 2025 and 2026.

According to management, the completed Vibracore dataset is now being incorporated into mineral resource modelling, estimation studies and metallurgical recovery analysis. The project will next move into engineering and design work focused on low-cost tailings reprocessing and exploitation, which is intended to support a future mining recovery permit application. With most of the major sampling expenditures already completed and access to established infrastructure including power, transport and water systems operated by First Quantum, Panther Metals believes the project now has a more defined route toward potential development. The company also noted increasing interest from prospective investment partners.

The company’s outlook is held down primarily by weak financial performance (pre-revenue, recurring losses, and persistent negative free cash flow), partially offset by a strong technical uptrend (price above major moving averages and positive MACD). Valuation remains constrained by negative earnings (negative P/E) and no provided dividend yield.

More about Panther Metals Plc

Panther Metals PLC is a mineral exploration business listed on the London Stock Exchange and incorporated in the Isle of Man. The company is focused on Canadian resource projects, with particular attention on recovering valuable minerals from historic mine tailings. Its activities include the Winston Lake Mine tailings facility in Ontario, where it is targeting the recovery of gold, gallium, silver, zinc, copper, indium, cobalt and other metals.