Situations
Where money or control changes hands at a UK small cap – takeovers, disposals, capital returns, activists, stake building, refinancings. Each one followed from the first announcement to the outcome.
Results and guidance ahead of or below expectations, upgrades and profit warnings.
Friday
Thursday
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Profit outlook Camellia CAM£135m
Full-year trading outlook
On 26 Aug Kakuzi flagged 2026 net earnings at least 25% lower, and the H1 results (3 Sep) added El Nino as a headwind.
Direction below expectations / warningReaction on the day −7%In 12 months 2 statements in the same directionNext final 2026 trading result, shaped by Q4 phasing -
Profit outlook Essentra ESNT£326m new
Profit upgrade
Essentra raised its guidance on 22 Oct 2026; the shares moved +5% on the day.
Stage Guidance raisedDirection ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +5%In 12 months 1 statement in the same direction
Wednesday
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Profit outlook Hardide HDD£94m
Profit upgrade
Hardide said it is trading ahead of expectations on 21 Oct 2026; the shares moved +7% on the day. It is the fourth such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +7%In 12 months 6 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Hercules Plc HERC£30m new
Profit upgrade
Hercules Plc raised its guidance on 21 Oct 2026; the shares moved +9% on the day. It is the second such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +9%In 12 months 2 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Serabi Gold SRB£137m new
Profit warning
Serabi Gold issued a profit warning on 21 Oct 2026; the shares moved −11% on the day.
Stage Profit warningDirection below expectations / warningReaction on the day −11%In 12 months 1 statement in the same direction
Tuesday
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Profit outlook Cropper (James) CRPR£76m
Profit upgrade
Cropper raised its guidance on 20 Oct 2026; the shares moved +14% on the day. It is the third such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +14%In 12 months 3 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Ixico IXI£22m
Profit upgrade
Ixico raised its guidance on 20 Oct 2026; the shares moved +10% on the day. It is the second such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +10%In 12 months 2 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Genuit Group GEN£640m new
Subdued market and profit guidance
Since Nov 2025 profit guidance has tracked a subdued market. In May 2026 FY26 was guided to the lower end of the £94.7m-£105.5m range, and on 11 Aug H1 came in line.
Direction below expectations / warningReaction on the day −12%In 12 months 1 statement in the same directionNext FY26 results with 2027 outlook 1 Mar · in 126 days
Earlier this month
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Profit outlook Diales Group Plc DIAL£17m new
Results ahead of expectations
Diales Group Plc said it is trading ahead of expectations on 19 Oct 2026; the shares moved +10% on the day. It is the second such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +10%In 12 months 2 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Iofina IOF£90m new
Results below expectations
Iofina said it is trading below expectations on 16 Oct 2026; the shares moved −7% on the day.
Stage Below expectationsDirection below expectations / warningReaction on the day −7%In 12 months 1 statement in the same direction -
Profit outlook THG THG£630m
Profit upgrade
THG raised its guidance on 15 Oct 2026; the shares moved +16% on the day. It is the fourth such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +16%In 12 months 4 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook TPXimpact Holdings TPX£90m new
Profit upgrade
TPXimpact Holdings raised its guidance on 15 Oct 2026; the shares moved +17% on the day. It is the second such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +17%In 12 months 2 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Dunelm Group DNLM£1,727m
Furniture availability recovery
Guidance went from 'in line' in October 2025 to the lower end of consensus in April 2026, then in line with £210m consensus in July. FY26 PBT of £211.0m was flat.
FY26 PBT £211.0m, flat on FY25Early FY27 significantly softer first six weeks due to hot weather; …Next Q2 trading update 14 Jan · in 80 days -
Profit outlook XPS Pensions Group XPS£692m new
Results ahead of expectations
XPS Pensions Group said it is trading ahead of expectations on 15 Oct 2026; the shares moved +8% on the day.
Stage Ahead of expectationsDirection ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +8%In 12 months 1 statement in the same direction -
Profit outlook Vertu Motors VTU£264m
Profit upgrade
Vertu Motors raised its guidance on 14 Oct 2026; the shares moved +4% on the day. It is the third such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +4%In 12 months 3 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Thor Explorations Ltd THX£330m new
Profit warning
Thor Explorations Ltd issued a profit warning on 14 Oct 2026; the shares moved −9% on the day.
Stage Profit warningDirection below expectations / warningReaction on the day −9%In 12 months 1 statement in the same direction -
Profit outlook Marston's MARS£364m
Profit upgrade
Marston's raised its guidance on 13 Oct 2026; the shares moved +15% on the day. It is the third such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +15%In 12 months 3 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Caledonia Mining Corporation CMCL£310m
Profit warning
Caledonia Mining Corporation issued a profit warning on 9 Oct 2026; the shares moved −4% on the day. It is the second such statement in 12 months.
Direction below expectations / warningReaction on the day −4%In 12 months 2 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Oxford Metrics OMG£39m
FY26 guidance cut
On 17 June 2026 FY26 revenue guidance of c.£56m for the 15 months was confirmed. On 9 October 2026 the Board cut it to £47-51m with an Adjusted EBIT loss of £0.5-3.9m, against market expectations of £56.2m and a £3.0m profit.
Direction below expectations / warningReaction on the day −6%In 12 months 1 statement in the same directionNext Interim results for 12 months to 30 September 2026 -
Profit outlook Mincon Group (CDI) MCON£164m
Profit upgrade
Mincon Group raised its guidance on 9 Oct 2026; the shares moved +6% on the day.
Stage Guidance raisedDirection ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +6%In 12 months 1 statement in the same direction -
Profit outlook MyCelx Technologies Corporation MYX£12m
Middle East conflict exposure
Impact on 2026 business was not assessable in May. In July several large Middle East projects were expected within six months.
Direction below expectations / warningReaction on the day −20%In 12 months 1 statement in the same directionNext Middle East purchase order award for the delayed project -
Profit outlook Avon Technologies plc AVON£700m
Profit upgrade
Avon Technologies plc raised its guidance on 7 Oct 2026; the shares moved +15% on the day.
Stage Guidance raisedDirection ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +15%In 12 months 1 statement in the same direction -
Profit outlook Celebrus Technologies CLBS£19m
New business and logo wins
The go-to-market restructure (Marketing, Sales, Customer Success) was meant to fix FY26's new business shortfall.
Direction below expectations / warningReaction on the day −40%In 12 months 2 statements in the same directionNext H1 FY27 results and presentation 8 Dec · in 43 days -
Profit outlook Clarkson CKN£1,525m
Profit upgrade
Clarkson raised its guidance on 6 Oct 2026; the shares moved +2% on the day. It is the second such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +2%In 12 months 2 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Quartix Technologies QTX£111m
Results ahead of expectations
Quartix Technologies said it is trading ahead of expectations on 5 Oct 2026; the shares moved +3% on the day. It is the third such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +3%In 12 months 3 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook RentGuarantor Holdings PLC RGG£174m
Profit upgrade
RentGuarantor Holdings PLC raised its guidance on 1 Oct 2026; the shares moved +18% on the day. It is the third such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +18%In 12 months 3 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Saga SAGA£1,165m
Profit upgrade
Saga raised its guidance on 30 Sep 2026; the shares moved +23% on the day. It is the third such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +23%In 12 months 3 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook NAHL Group NAH£22m
Lower FY26 Consumer Legal Services outlook
Earlier guidance flagged notably weaker H2 NAL settlements, with H1 in line. The interims reconfirm lower H2 NAL settlements but now say FY26 profit and cash will be materially above market expectations.
Amount at stake £1.85m due on or before 15 October 2026Board view FY26 profit and cash generation materially higher than … -
Profit outlook Marks Electrical Group MRK£51m
Profit upgrade
Marks Electrical Group raised its guidance on 30 Sep 2026; the shares moved +8% on the day. It is the second such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +8%In 12 months 2 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Everplay Group plc EVPL£599m
FY26 guidance upgrades
The Board only said 'in line' in July, then on 15 Sep said FY26 would be materially ahead of consensus (£175.2m revenue, £50.7m EBITDA).
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +7%In 12 months 2 statements in the same directionNext FY26 results against raised consensus -
Profit outlook Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares YNGA£708m
Profit upgrade
Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares raised its guidance on 30 Sep 2026; the shares moved +8% on the day.
Stage Guidance raisedDirection ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +8%In 12 months 1 statement in the same direction -
Profit outlook Skillcast Group SKL£36m
ARR growth slowdown
The delays in decision-making have particularly impacted new business opportunities and resulted in a slowdown in growth in ARR in the first half of the year.
Next full-year ARR growth, expected slightly below 14% -
Profit outlook Smiths News SNWS£195m
Profit upgrade
Smiths News raised its guidance on 29 Sep 2026; the shares moved +4% on the day. It is the second such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +4%In 12 months 2 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Tekmar Group TGP£16m
Middle East disruption to projects
The 18 June 2026 interims reported Middle East delays, higher costs and deferred Offshore Energy Services activity, with bottlenecks easing.
Direction below expectations / warningReaction on the day −6%In 12 months 1 statement in the same direction -
Profit outlook Winvia Entertainment PLC WVIA£292m
Profit upgrade
Winvia Entertainment PLC raised its guidance on 28 Sep 2026; the shares moved +15% on the day. It is the fourth such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +15%In 12 months 4 statements in the same direction -
Profit outlook Character Group CCT£52m
Profit upgrade
Character Group raised its guidance on 28 Sep 2026; the shares moved +3% on the day. It is the second such statement in 12 months.
Direction ahead of expectations / raisedReaction on the day +3%In 12 months 2 statements in the same direction
A row opens the situation with its chart and every step. Company pages also show the smaller matters – a new CEO, a plan, a contract, director buying.