Senior Product Manager

LONDON BRIEFING: Kingfisher annual profit up; Trustpilot names new CFO. Tue, 24th Mar 2026 07:59 (Alliance News) - Kingfisher reports higher profit and launches a new buyback, while Trustpilot names a new CFO following a major shareholder stake sale. The UK Competition & Markets Authority unveils sweeping reforms to the veterinary sector, and Bellway posts steady interim growth with an improved outlook. FTSE 100: called 0.1% higher at 9,899.15 GBP: higher at USD1.3427 (USD1.3390 at previous London equities close) BROKER RATINGS Goldman Sachs cuts SSE to 'neutral' (buy) - price target 2,812 (2,535) pence Goldman Sachs cuts National Grid to 'neutral' (buy) - price target 1,389 (1,450) pence COMPANIES - FTSE 100 Kingfisher reports higher profit and sales for the financial year ended January 31, alongside improved margins, as it launches a new GBP300 million share buyback and maintains its dividend. Pretax profit rises to GBP378 million in financial 2026 from GBP307 million, while adjusted pretax profit increases to GBP560 million from GBP528 million. Total sales edge up to GBP12.95 billion from GBP12.78 billion, and basic earnings per share rise to 14.0 pence from 10.1 pence. Retail profit margin improves to 5.7% from 5.4%. The home improvement retailer proposes a total dividend of 12.40p per share, including a final payout of 8.60p, both unchanged year-on-year. It also completes a GBP300 million share buyback earlier in March and announces a further programme of the same size. Looking ahead, Kingfisher guides for financial adjusted pretax profit of GBP565 million to GBP625 million for financial year 2027 and says it remains well positioned to benefit from long-term structural growth, supported by strong demand in markets such as Valencia following last year's flood damage. Chief Executive Officer Thierry Garnier says: "We have continued to execute our strategy at pace and delivered good margin and cost discipline. This resulted in significant market share gains, a 13% profit growth rate excluding last year's business rates one-off, and strong free cash flow. Our UK banners led the way, with sales up 4% at B&Q and 4.5% at Screwfix. This reflects the growth of our digital ecosystem, increased share of wallet from trade customers and the opening of 34 new stores." Trustpilot has appointed a new chief financial officer, following plans by Advent Global Opportunities Master Ltd Partnership to sell most of its stake in the company. Trustpilot on Tuesday names Marcus Roy as CFO, set to join the board on September 14, succeeding Hanno Damm, who will step down after more than a decade but remain until October to ensure a smooth transition. Roy joins from The Economist Group, where he has been group CFO since 2021. The appointment comes after Advent said on Monday it plans to sell around 21.6 million shares in the Copenhagen-based consumer review platform, equivalent to a 5.6% stake. Based on Monday's closing price of 243.80p, the sale would be worth around GBP52.5 million. The shares are being offered via an accelerated bookbuild, with Deutsche Bank AG and JP Morgan Securities PLC acting as joint bookrunners. Advent will retain a small residual holding of around 250,000 shares through a separate fund. The UK Competition & Markets Authority concludes its investigation into the veterinary sector, unveiling a package of legally binding reforms to boost transparency and consumer protection. The measures include mandatory price lists, caps on prescription fees, clearer disclosure of practice ownership, and a price-comparison system to help pet owners make informed choices. Practices will also be required to provide written estimates for treatments over GBP500 and follow formal complaints procedures. The CMA says weak competition and limited pricing transparency have led to higher costs for consumers, with the new rules set to be implemented from later this year through to 2026. Norfolk, England-based provider of veterinary services CVS Group says it welcomes the outcome, noting the final measures largely mirror earlier proposals and provide regulatory certainty after more than two years of scrutiny. The company says it is already compliant with many of the requirements, including publishing price lists and introducing joint branding across practices, and expects to continue trading in line with market expectations. Bellway reports a "robust" first-half performance, with higher completions and profit growth, as it raises its interim dividend and reiterates full-year guidance despite ongoing market uncertainty. Housing completions for the six months ended January 31 rise 2.7% to 4,702 homes from 4,577 homes a year prior, with the average selling price increasing to GBP322,180 from GBP310,581. Underlying operating profit edges up to GBP159.0 million from GBP156.6 million, though the operating margin slips to 10.5% from 11.0%. Revenue rises to GBP1.52 billion from GBP1.43 billion, while pretax profit is broadly flat at GBP139.9 million compared with GBP140.8 million. The housebuilder lifts its interim dividend to 23.0p from 21.0p and continues its GBP150 million share buyback, with around GBP64 million completed to date. Net debt widens to GBP72.0 million from GBP8.0 million, reflecting shareholder returns, while the balance sheet remains well capitalised. Bellway says demand has improved since the start of the year, with a stronger reservation rate in recent weeks, and expects financial 2026 completions of between 9,300 and 9,500 homes. It guides for full-year underlying operating profit of GBP320 million to GBP330 million and margins broadly in line with the first half. The group notes the Middle East conflict has not materially affected trading so far but warns of potential risks from inflation and mortgage market volatility. OTHER COMPANIES PZ Cussons reports continued revenue growth in the third quarter, though momentum slows from the first half, and expects full-year profit at the top end of guidance. Like-for-like revenue grows 6.3% in the three months ended February 28, easing from 9.5% in the first half, while reported revenue rises 5.0%, down from 8.0% previously. The consumer goods group known for Carex hand wash now expects adjusted operating profit for financial 2026 to be towards the upper end of its GBP53 million to GBP57 million guidance range, supported by stable trading and cost control, including reduced exposure to Nigerian naira volatility. Fevertree Drinks reports lower revenue and profit for 2025 but raises its dividend and keeps its 2026 outlook unchanged. Revenue falls to GBP325.0 million from GBP368.5 million, while pretax profit declines to GBP29.9 million from GBP35.5 million. The London-based manufacturer of premium drink mixers proposes a final dividend of 11.34p per share, up 2% from 11.12p, and continues to return cash to shareholders following a GBP100 million buyback and a further GBP30 million programme underway. Fevertree says trading momentum improved in the second half, supported by growth in the US and Europe and increasing diversification beyond tonic products. Looking ahead, the company expects 2026 performance to be in line with market expectations despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. CEO Tim Warrillow says: "Across our markets, the long-term trends shaping adult socialising, namely premiumisation, moderation and longer, lighter serves, continue to play directly to our strengths. Fevertree is increasingly enjoyed as the world's leading premium mixer, but also as a premium soft drink. Products beyond tonic now represent 45% of group revenue, a clear sign that our diversification strategy is resonating with consumers." By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter 17 mins ago (Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of earnings for London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News: 52 mins ago (Alliance News) - Alternative Income REIT PLC shares rose on Tuesday, after it confirmed the receipt of an indicative, non-binding proposal from AEW U... 1 hour ago * YouGov's Shopper unit profits halve

Trustpilot Group reported full-year 2025 results with bookings rising 18% in constant currency to $291 million and annual recurring revenue surpassing $300 million. Revenue reached $261.1 million, whilst adjusted EBITDA jumped 69% to $40.7 million, delivering a 15.6% margin. The company is shifting towards larger customers, with clients paying over $20,000 annually growing 35% and now representing 43% of bookings. This segment achieved 93% gross dollar retention and 111% net dollar retention. Trustpilot generated adjusted free cash flow of $46.6 million, up 173%, and returned $72 million to shareholders through buybacks. The platform's active reviews grew 20% to 361 million, with management highlighting increasing demand for "Answer Engine Optimisation" driven by AI search. The company guided to high-teens revenue growth for 2026 and raised its medium-term margin targets to 25% by 2028 and 30% by 2030.

After just five months, digital broker raises million-dollar investment to challenge the insurance industry. This post is also available in: Danish A new Danish insurtech startup has secured a significant capital injection in just a few months. The digital insurance and pension broker Norlix has raised DKK 30 million in a seed round just five months after its launch, led by venture fund Seed Capital. "We are already helping well over 100 SMEs after a short time on the market, which proves the need for a thorough modernization of a very traditional industry that has historically been characterized by a lack of transparency. Having a significant partner like Seed Capital on board puts us in a strong position when we launch our pension broker product this spring and eventually take the first steps abroad," says Jens Grønlund, CEO and co-founder of Norlix. The new capital will be used to accelerate the development of the company's digital platform and strengthen the spread among Danish SMEs. The initial focus is on scaling the business in Denmark. At the same time, the company plans to launch a new pension broker product later this year. In the longer term, the ambition is to expand to international markets. Giving SMEs the same insights as large enterprises. Norlix is working to digitize a market that has traditionally been characterized by manual processes and limited transparency. The platform uses data and artificial intelligence to analyze companies' insurance needs and help them find the right coverage. The ambition is to give small and medium-sized businesses the same precision in their risk management as larger corporations. Since its launch, the company has built up experience from more than 100 customers, which it says has revealed a number of structural issues in the market. "The first six months have confirmed that SMEs are often overlooked or overpay for coverage they don't need. We believe that the latest technology with the use of artificial intelligence can give customers significantly more transparency, better coverage and ultimately also sharper prices, which will create a direct positive effect on the customers' bottom line," says Jens Grønlund. See potential in ai-driven model. Seed Capital is leading the investment together with a group of existing investors including Flatpay founders Rasmus Busk and Sander Janca Jensen, former Microsoft CEO Kristian Nygaard Johansen and Medley Venture Capital. According to the venture fund, Norlix has quickly demonstrated the potential of a data-driven approach to an otherwise analog market. "Norlix has proven in record time that their data-driven approach and use of artificial intelligence can create transparency in an otherwise analog and complex market. Their ability to translate deep industry insights into a scalable technology is unique, and we see great potential in rolling out the model to new product categories and markets outside Denmark," says Lars Andersen, General Partner at Seed Capital. Seed Capital has previously invested in Danish fintech and tech companies such as Flatpay, Lunar, Embankment and Trustpilot.