Trainline shares slump after profit slips on watchdog probe. Senior City Reporter Trainline's profit slipped in the first half of the year after the ticket retailer was dragged down by a charge linked to an investigation from the UK competition watchdog. The rail ticketing platform recorded a £4m hit to its bottom line, which will cover legal fees and potential liabilities, following the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) inquiry. The watchdog launched a formal probe in August under new consumer protection powers that came into force in 2025. It is examining whether Trainline's presentation of mandatory booking fees breach transparency rules. "The investigation is at an early stage, and there are many variables involved in predicting the possible range of outcomes of the investigation and therefore to quantify any potential financial impact," the firm said in its update. The next case update is slated for January 2027. Shares in the firm were down 6.5 per cent in early trading on Wednesday, falling below 200p. Stay in the know Three daily briefings with the key market moves and top business and political stories. Trainline's pre-tax profit dropped to £55.2m, down from £66.2m in the same period last year. Trainline squeezed by UK fare reforms. It also came as group revenue dipped one per cent to £233m, largely driven by headwinds from UK rail fare reforms. Earnings were capped by the government's decision to freeze regulated fares, which stripped out the inflation-linked price hikes that typically buoy percentage-based ticketing commissions. Changes to refund rules introduced in April 2026 also sharply reduced ticket refund transactions, which have dampened administrative fee revenue that Trainline collects on cancelled trips. Total ticket sales across the group were broadly flat at £3.3bn, while digital railcard users on the app rose 26 per cent to 3m. Overseas, the firm's international consumer division swung into profitability for the first time at £6m, compared with an £8m loss a year earlier. The turnaround was helped by tighter marketing spend and double-digit ticket sales growth across France's South-East corridor. The group is projecting net ticket sales between £6.2bn and £6.45bn for the year while revenue is expected to come in between £440m to £455m.

LONDON BRIEFING: UK GDP beats forecast; trade deficit narrows. Fri, 11th Sep 2026 07:57 (Alliance News) - UK economic growth exceeds expectations in July and the country's trade deficit narrows, while Trainline reiterates its full-year guidance and announces a new GBP100 million share buyback programme. FTSE 100: called up 0.2% at 10,633.92 GBP: lower at USD1.3525 (USD1.3532 at previous London equities close) The UK economy grows by 0.4% in July, accelerating from 0.3% in June and comfortably beating market expectations for no growth, according to the Office for National Statistics. Growth is broad-based, with services output rising 0.4%, production rebounding 0.2% after two monthly declines, and construction edging 0.1% higher. Manufacturing output increases 0.9%, led by gains in electronics, pharmaceuticals and basic metals, although mining and quarrying contracts 4.4%. Compared with a year earlier, GDP is up 1.6%, while the economy expands 0.4% over the three months to July from the previous three-month period, matching the pace seen through June and marking the eighth consecutive rolling three-month period of growth. Despite the stronger monthly reading, production output falls 0.5% over the three months to July, and construction declines 0.5%, reflecting weakness in new work and the energy sector. UK goods imports rise by GBP1.3 billion, or 2.4%, in July, driven by a GBP1.7 billion increase in imports from non-EU countries, partly offset by a GBP400 million fall in imports from the EU, according to the Office for National Statistics. Goods exports increase by GBP900 million, or 2.8%, with exports to the EU rising GBP800 million and those to non-EU countries up GBP100 million. Over the three months to July, the UK's total trade deficit in goods and services narrows by GBP1.1 billion to GBP9.0 billion from the three months to April. The goods trade deficit shrinks by GBP400 million to GBP61.6 billion, while the services trade surplus widens by GBP700 million to GBP52.6 billion. South Korea Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi discuss the situation in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz in a phone call requested by Tehran, days after Seoul confirms it is considering a possible contribution to securing the vital shipping route. The talks follow an Iranian warning that any South Korean military involvement would have "serious consequences". Seoul says it has dispatched a fact-finding team to assess the situation but has yet to decide whether to deploy forces. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily disrupted amid the US-Iran conflict, while negotiations between Washington and Tehran over the strategic waterway remain stalled. BROKER RATINGS Jefferies raises Halma to 'hold' (underperform) - price target 3,660 (3,050) pence Jefferies raises XP Power to 'buy' (hold) - price target 2,330 (1,870) pence Trainline reports a resilient first-half trading performance and reiterates its full-year guidance, as it announces a new GBP100 million share buyback programme. Group net ticket sales are broadly flat year-on-year at GBP3.26 billion, while underlying revenue slips 1% to GBP233 million. The company says UK rail demand remains resilient despite disruption from hot weather, strikes and a regulated fare freeze, and expects first-half adjusted Ebitda margin to be slightly ahead of its full-year target. Trainline reconfirms guidance for financial 2027 net ticket sales of GBP6.20 billion to GBP6.45 billion, underlying revenue of GBP440 million to GBP455 million, and an adjusted Ebitda margin of around 2.9%. It also announces a new GBP100 million share repurchase programme, due to begin after completion of its existing GBP150 million buyback, with the new programme to run over the next 12 months in two tranches. Since launching buybacks in 2023, the company has repurchased and cancelled GBP350 million of shares, representing around 28% of its issued share capital. Trainline will publish half-year results on November 4. Berkeley Group Holdings says trading remains in line with the cautious outlook outlined in June, as prolonged conflict in the Middle East and continued UK political uncertainty weigh on housing market activity. The housebuilder says enquiries remain stable, but buyers without an immediate need to move are delaying purchases, and some transactions may be deferred until after the UK budget in late October. Berkeley maintains its four-year GBP1.40 billion pretax profit target, with profits expected to be slightly weighted to the first half of the current financial year, subject to completions. The company returns GBP60 million to shareholders through share buybacks during the first four months of the year, taking total buybacks since October 2025 to GBP171 million, ahead of schedule. It expects half-year net cash of around GBP250 million and reiterates calls for stamp duty reform to support new-build housing demand and help meet the UK government's target of 300,000 homes a year. Harbour Energy agrees to buy 53 million of its own shares from BASF at 266 pence each for around USD190 million, alongside BASF's sale of a further 80 million shares to institutional investors at the same price. The purchased shares will be cancelled, with around USD40 million of the consideration counting towards Harbour's ongoing USD250 million share buyback programme. In total, BASF sells around 133 million Harbour shares at 266 pence each, reducing its stake in the oil and gas producer to around 16.4% from 24.3%. The placing to institutional investors is expected to settle on September 15, while BASF's remaining holding will be subject to a 60-day lock-up, subject to certain exceptions. OTHER COMPANIES C&C Group agrees to acquire Asahi UK's wholesale interests for a nominal consideration, including Nectar Imports Ltd and Asahi UK's direct distribution operations, which will be integrated into its Matthew Clark Bibendum business. The deal also includes a long-term partnership to distribute Asahi brands in the UK and is expected to complete in early October, with management expecting a small positive contribution to earnings in the current financial year. Separately, C&C says trading in the six months to August 31 is in line with expectations. Net revenue falls 3% on a constant currency basis, as 2% growth in branded sales is offset by a 4% decline in distribution revenue. The group expects first-half underlying operating profit of EUR43 million to EUR44 million and remains on track to deliver full-year operating profit in line with market expectations. C&C will host a capital markets day on September 24 and report interim results on October 28. Circle8 Group confirms it has submitted a proposal for a possible all-cash takeover of SThree, saying a combination would create a global IT and technology recruitment platform with combined gross revenue approaching USD3 billion. The Nasdaq-listed company says it would finance the proposed transaction entirely in cash, meaning existing Circle8 shareholders would not be diluted. Circle8 says the deal would expand its international scale, strengthen its technology capabilities and accelerate its growth strategy across AI, cybersecurity, cloud and software engineering. It notes there is no certainty an offer will be made or on what terms. Under UK takeover rules, Circle8 must announce a firm intention to bid or walk away by October 7, unless the Takeover Panel extends the deadline. Heathrow airport has revealed a fall in passengers during the peak getaway month of August as it flagged "big challenges" across the sector. The west London airport said 7.87 million passengers passed through its four terminals last month, down 2.1% year-on-year, despite cheering a record busy day on August 2, with nearly 272,000 passengers. It comes after the firm revealed recently it was overtaken by Istanbul as Europe's busiest airport in July. But Heathrow said it remained the most "punctual" airport in Europe. "Despite some big challenges across aviation this season, passengers consistently had smooth journeys, with 98% waiting less than five minutes at security, and 98% seeing bags depart as planned, helping retain the title of Europe's most punctual hub," the airport said. By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News senior economics reporter Shares in this article. 3,618.00 0.84% 1,964.00 9.11% Berkeley Group 3,292.00 -0.06% 194.00 2.11% Harbour Energy 270.40 -2.66% 96.00 7.62% 294.50 0.00%

Trainline hits out at tube strikes and fare freeze as growth stalls. Retail Reporter Trainline has hit out at tube strikes and the government's freeze on rail fares, as the train ticketing platform saw sales growth grind to a halt. The FTSE 250 firm posted flat ticket sales in the six months to August, at £2.1bn, blaming "the impact of the regulated fare freeze, additional disruptions from hot weather and TfL strikes, as well as ongoing headwinds". The government has frozen all standard rail fares across England until March, in a move it said would save passengers £600m. Trainline also hit out at the government's move to tighten refund rules, which the group said slowed the number of refund transactions and dragged its underlying UK revenue down by five per cent to £102m. The train ticketing platform missed out on the refund fees it would have made if refunds had not been made harder for passengers to claim, it said. News updates. Stay ahead with our three daily briefings delivering all the key market moves, top business and political stories, and incisive analysis straight to your inbox. The group said its four per cent dip in international ticket sales to £579m was due to one-off factors like January's "tragic" rail disaster in Spain, which caused consumers to stay away from train travel. Record heat, train strikes across Europe and the Iran war all combined to create a "softness in foreign travel demand," Trainline said. Trainline boss disembarks. Chief executive Jody Ford, who will quit the business later this month, said the platform delivered a "robust" performance as it capitalised on a "backdrop of resilient underlying demand for UK rail travel". "The industry is moving through an important period of change and Trainline is well positioned, with real scale in the UK and across Europe, deep customer loyalty, and over three million customers now holding a digital railcard in our app. "I hand over to Ian Brown a company strongly positioned for its next chapter, with significant multi-year growth opportunities ahead." The group launched a £100m share buyback on Friday, following the end of Trainline's previous £150m scheme. Duncan Ferris, an analyst at Freetrade, said: "Trainline's newest numbers might not scream full steam ahead, but they may steady the journey after a bumpy few weeks for shareholders. "What might offer investors some cheer is a newly announced 12-month share buyback programme, covering as much as £100m. Coupled with steady, if unspectacular, performance and unaltered guidance, this may offer shareholders reassurance that the business is still chugging along despite regulatory issues." Last month, the UK's consumer watchdog announced an investigation into Trainline and Virgin Atlantic over so-called 'drip pricing' practices. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is cracking down on ticketing platforms which add hidden fees to transactions which do not appear in the original ticket price. Trainline said it "is proactively engaged with the CMA in relation to its ongoing investigation on fees presentation."