The morning's news flow is dominated by a major pharma licensing deal and a clutch of full-year and half-year results from UK-listed industrials and retailers. GSK has moved to bolster its oncology pipeline with a near-$750m acquisition from a US biotech partner, while Kier Group posted a step-change in its balance sheet and McBride flagged margin pressure from Middle East-driven cost inflation. Elsewhere, TotalEnergies struck an AI partnership with Mistral, and smaller-cap names Wickes, Norman Broadbent and Zanaga Iron Ore each updated the market on trading and project progress.
GSK strikes $750m Chimagen T cell-engager deal
GSK (LSE:GSK) has agreed to acquire a trispecific T cell-engager for multiple myeloma from Chimagen Biosciences, a privately held US biotechnology company, in a deal worth up to $750m. The agreement combines an upfront payment for full global rights with development and commercial milestone payments tied to the asset's progress, reinforcing GSK's push to build out its blood cancer franchise.
The asset binds to T cells while targeting two validated tumour-associated antigens, an approach intended to improve on existing T cell-engagers, which have demonstrated strong efficacy in multiple myeloma but have been hampered by difficult tolerability profiles. GSK expects the programme to reach phase I trials in 2027. The deal extends an existing relationship between the two companies: GSK previously acquired CMG1A46, a Chimagen dual CD19/CD20-targeted T cell-engager now in phase I trials for B-cell malignancies and autoimmune disorders. Multiple myeloma is the third most common blood cancer globally, with around 180,000 new cases diagnosed annually, and remains incurable despite being generally treatable; external forecasts cited by GSK put the US T cell-engager market for the disease at more than $10bn by 2032.
"Today's deal secures a promising T cell engager and advances GSK's leadership goals in blood cancer. The agreement complements our existing portfolio in multiple myeloma, adding a new potential option to address the different needs of patients facing this complex disease," said Hesham Abdullah, president at GSK.
The transaction signals GSK's willingness to return to a proven external partner rather than simply scanning the wider biotech market, suggesting confidence in Chimagen's underlying platform beyond this single asset. For GSK, the deal adds a differentiated, potentially best-in-class mechanism to a blood cancer pipeline it is explicitly trying to lead, at a moment when the T cell-engager class is drawing intense commercial interest; the milestone-heavy structure also limits GSK's near-term cash exposure while giving it optionality on a market it expects to be worth billions by the early 2030s.
McBride profit dips as Middle East crisis squeezes margins
McBride (LSE:MCB), the European manufacturer of private label and contract-manufactured household and hygiene products, reported adjusted EBITDA of £80m for the year ended 30 June, down from £85.8m a year earlier, even as revenue edged up to £934.2m from £926.5m. Private label volumes grew 0.4% while contract manufacturing demand softened, and adjusted EBITDA margin slipped to 8.6% of revenue from 9.3%, a decline the company tied mainly to a fourth-quarter margin recovery lag after the Middle East crisis pushed up input costs and forced price increases with customers.
Adjusted basic earnings per share eased to 21.6p from 22.1p, while net debt rose to £122.8m from £105.2m, lifting leverage to 1.5 times adjusted EBITDA from 1.2 times. The company still returned £18m to shareholders, made up of £5.2m in dividends, a £6.4m share buyback and £6.4m in direct share purchases by its Employee Benefit Trust. "We remained firmly in control with prompt actions to mitigate the material cost impact we faced," said Chris Smith, chief executive.
The results show a business that absorbed an external cost shock without abandoning shareholder returns, but the rise in leverage and margin erosion underline how exposed McBride's cost base remains to geopolitical disruption in input markets, a risk investors will watch closely if similar pressures resurface.
Kier lifts outlook amid record order book
Kier Group (LSE:KIE), the UK infrastructure and construction group, said it now expects FY27 earnings to land at the top end of the board's previous expectations, citing strong order book growth and recent contract wins. Revenue rose 7.5% to over £4.39bn in the year ended 30 June, up from £4.09bn in FY25, while adjusted operating profit grew 6.7% to £169.8m, holding the adjusted operating margin at 3.9%.
The group reported an average net cash position of £10.7m for FY26, a sharp turnaround from average net debt of £49.2m in FY25, with year-end net cash up 13.9% to £232m. Operating free cash flow reached £206m, representing 121% cash conversion against a 90% medium-term target. "We continued to bolster the group's financial profile, reaching an average net cash position for the first time in over a decade, a significant milestone from which to build," said Stuart Togwell, chief executive. The order book grew 8% to a record £11.9bn, securing more than 95% of forecast FY27 revenue.
The scale of the cash turnaround, achieved after years of debt reduction efforts, gives Kier meaningfully more flexibility on capital allocation and bidding capacity, while the record order book provides unusually high revenue visibility heading into FY27, a combination that underpins management's upgraded confidence.
TotalEnergies inks AI oil exploration partnership with Mistral
TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) has agreed a three-year joint programme with European AI developer Mistral, committing more than €100m to build AI models for its geosciences and reservoir engineering teams. The energy major, which produces and markets oil, gas, biofuels and low-carbon power across around 120 countries, said the models will draw on nearly 10 petaflops of data alongside almost a century of subsurface expertise.
The two companies will establish a joint scientific laboratory pairing TotalEnergies' subsurface knowledge with Mistral's technology to build tools tailored to exploration and reservoir development, with the stated goal of generating multiple development scenarios for new exploration opportunities and extending the life of existing projects. TotalEnergies said the arrangement keeps its proprietary models and strategic subsurface data within a European digital ecosystem while helping Mistral scale as a European AI champion. "By combining a century of geoscience data, the expertise of our teams and Mistral's capabilities, we aim to develop a new generation of tools capable of supporting our experts in analyzing the most complex data and in their decision-making," said Patrick Pouyanné, chairman of TotalEnergies.
The tie-up positions TotalEnergies to apply AI directly to the highest-value, most data-intensive parts of its business, exploration risk and reservoir yield, while also serving a strategic purpose of anchoring sensitive subsurface data within European infrastructure rather than ceding it to non-European AI providers.
Wickes lifts interim dividend as volumes drive revenue growth
Wickes Group (LSE:WIX) reported first-half revenue up 2.1%, with volume growth underpinning the increase, and lifted its interim dividend accordingly.
The retailer reiterated that it remains on track to meet market forecasts for 2026 adjusted profit growth of around 10%, signalling confidence in the trajectory of its home improvement business through the remainder of the year.
Norman Broadbent marks a loss as it invests in headcount
Norman Broadbent (LSE:NBB), the executive search firm, reported half-year net fee income of £5.3m, down from a record £6m a year earlier, as the business invested in additional headcount.
Management pointed to stronger second-quarter momentum as the basis for confidence in an improved second half, framing the headcount investment as a deliberate step to capture that recovery in demand.
Zanaga starts bulk sampling at Congo iron ore project
Zanaga Iron Ore Company (LSE:ZIOC) has mobilised equipment for its first major site activity since 2014, marking a bulk sampling campaign at its iron ore project in the Republic of Congo.
The work involves extracting ore ahead of a final investment decision on the project, representing a concrete step in advancing the asset toward development after more than a decade of on-site progress.
