Mark Watson-Mitchell - 18.02.2026   The shares of the McBride Group (LON:MCB)  put on 6p yesterday, to close nearly 4% higher at 165p, the highest level since 2018 – so what is going on? Could it be anticipation of a good set of Interim Results to be announced next Tuesday morning, 24 th  February? I featured this group at the end of February 2023, when its shares were just 24p, so the subsequent increase in price, up 680% in those three years, has been more than pleasing. An

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 18.02.2026 The announcement this morning that Aberforth Partners has increased its stake to 12.0%, some 18.84m shares, in the Macfarlane Group (LON:MACF) reminded me that we should be looking out for the Final Results from the UK and Ireland's largest packaging supplier, due next week. This time last year, the group was bedding down the mid-January 2025 £18m acquisition of Pitreavie packaging group. Unfortunately, a fatal incident at that company's pl

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 16.02.2026   This coming Friday morning, 20 th  February, will see the £1.39bn-capitalised Chemring Group (LON:CHG)  issue a Trading Update ahead of holding its AGM on that day. The group focuses upon niche, high-margin markets with global reach and high barriers to entry – including advanced sensors, electronic warfare, cyber and energetic materials. Those sectors benefit from resilient, long-term demand, underpinned by rising defence budgets, geopolit

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 16.02.2026 Active investors will, no doubt, have already noticed the much heavier dealing volume in the shares of Filtronic (LON:FTC) over the last couple of weeks since the Tuesday, 3rd February, release of the group's Interim Results. The Sedgefield-based group, now capitalised at nearly £450m, is gaining evermore investor interest, helping to drive its shares a lot higher. On pure investment grounds, they look vastly overpriced trading on some 70

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 16.02.2026 The unique Seraphim Space Investment Trust (LON:SSIT) has this morning announced a significant valuation update for its top four portfolio holdings as at end-December 2025. The update resulted in a combined fair value uplift of £69m, representing a significant 24% increase on the previously reported net asset value of £284m as at the end of September 2025. That uplift was driven by substantial financing rounds and corporate activity, includ

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 16.02.2026 In a very interesting piece of corporate news, Hunting (LON:HTG) has this morning announced positive results from a pilot test of its Organic Oil Recovery (OOR) enhanced oil recovery solution, utilised by Buccaneer Energy PLC at its Pine Mills field. The OOR technology led to a 100% production uplift in oil wells and reduced water cut to zero in one well, prompting Buccaneer Energy to plan a wider rollout. This successful pilot reinforces Hu

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 13.02.2026 I have to say that I do like the look of this group's latest deal, taking it into a strong trend sector that gains significant investor interest. This morning SDI Group (LON:SDI) announced that it has acquired PRP Optoelectronics for a net £9.3m, marking its entry into the avionics markets with essential components for programs like the Eurofighter Typhoon, F-16, and F-22 Raptor. PRP, which is a profitable business with £5.99m in revenues

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 12.02.2026   Less than a month ago, I featured the shares of the Hunting Group (LON:HTG)  at 401p, they are now 480p, and I see them going even higher. It is a business that I have been following for nearly four decades, yes decades! And I have maintained my faith in its ability to deliver for its shareholders. Showing the strength of its Management, over the last seven years the corporate shape of Hunting has shifted significantly. It is now estimated

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 10.02.2026   The older you get, and I am very old, it is always good to have a surprise in the morning. Today’s event is the surprise Trading Update from Ramsdens Holdings (LON:RFX),  the financial services provider and retailer that I have followed for years. The group has stated that it now anticipates its full-year 2026 profit before tax to exceed £21m, surpassing previous market expectations of £18.6m and representing a significant increase from FY

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 09.02.2026 Despite a near 5% fall in its overall sales in the year to end-October 2025, Wynnstay Group (LON:WYNN) , the undervalued £91m-capitalised agricultural supplies and services supplier has this morning declared a 21.1% rise in pre-tax profits. "FY25 has been a year of significant progress for Wynnstay, with a stronger underlying performance and clear early benefits from the operating changes delivered during the year. The business enters FY26 i

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 09.02.2026 Already this morning, in just four market hours, some 2,008,428 shares have been traded in Filtronic (LON:FTC) , which is far higher than the recent daily average dealing volume of 1,581,075. Based in Sedgefield, the £450m -capitalised group designs and manufactures RF-to-mmWave components and subsystems for mission-critical communication networks. It develops products for telecommunications infrastructure, aerospace and defence, space, tes

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 06.02.2026   The shares of the £225m-capitalised MJ Gleeson (LON:GLE) put on a 10p gain yesterday to close at 394p, today they have slipped back to 386p. At the start of last December, they were trading at 381p, by the end of that month they had improved to 435p. Over the last five weeks, they have ranged from 430p down to 377p, before edging up again this week. Next Wednesday, 11 th  February, will see the housebuilding and construction group announce

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 06.02.2026 This morning, the shares of my favourite infrastructure business, the Costain Group (LON:COST) , have hit a five-year High at 186p. In my view, they are heading higher and very soon. It really has a lot going for it, boasting a record Order Book, together with a strong balance sheet stuffed with some £190m of cash, as compared to its £493m market capitalisation, whilst making a very healthy £1m a week in profits. Analyst Max Hayes, at Cavend

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 06.02.2026 On Thursday 29th January the shares of Gulf Marine Services (LON:GMS) hit a New High at 23.50p, since when they eased back to 21.40p yesterday on the back of a very heavy dealing volume at 4,460,502 traded. However, this morning as I write, some 912,183 shares have been transacted and they currently stand at 23.47p - a fraction off the previous High. The group is a world‐leading provider of advanced self‐propelled self‐elevating support ve

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 04.02.2026   Yesterday’s Full Year Trading Update from A.G. Barr (LON:BAG) was really quite positive. Capitalised at £765m, the multi-beverage business boasts a broad portfolio of market-leading UK brands including IRN-BRU, Rubicon and Boost. The group has now acquired two other brands operating in the Adult Soft Drinks market – paying £38m for Fentimans, well-known for its soft drinks and mixers, and for £13m it purchased Frobishers Juices, famed for i

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 04.02.2026 Following yesterday's Interim Results statement from Filtronic (LON:FTC) , the designer and manufacturer of products and sub-systems for the aerospace, defence, telecoms infrastructure, space and critical communications markets, its shares moved down to 176p on profit-taking, before hitting 188p and closing at 186p, up 3p on the day. There was quite a significant trading in the group's shares, with some 3,237,278 shares dealt compared to the

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 03.02.2026   This morning Filtronic (LON:FTC) , the £402m-capitalised Sedgefield-based designer and manufacturer of products and sub-systems for the aerospace, defence, telecoms infrastructure, space and critical communications markets, has reported its Interim Results to end-November 2025. The group’s CEO Nat Edington stated that: " The first half of the year demonstrated the strength of Filtronic's positioning in markets where performance, reliability

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 02.02.2026   This coming Wednesday, 4 th  February, will see the Watches of Switzerland Group   (LON:WOSG)  update investors on its third-quarter trading. The £1.17bn-capitalised business, which is the UK's largest retailer for Rolex, OMEGA, Cartier, TAG Heuer and Breitling watches, is an international retailer of world leading luxury watch brands, complemented by a strong luxury jewellery offering. With over 200 showrooms globally, employing some 3,00

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 02.02.2026   My favourite infrastructure group is winning even more orders and is said to be improving its margins as we proceed into its 2026 Trading Year. Last Tuesday morning, 27 th  January, Costain Group (LON:COST)  announced that it had been awarded a contract to design and build a new junction on the M5 motorway, junction 22A. Awarded through the Regional Delivery Partnership framework, over a five-year period the contract is worth some £100m to

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 30.01.2026   It was on Friday 19 th  December last year, that the Strix Group (LON:KETL)  announced the proposed disposal of its Billi business for £110.0m on a cash-free, debt-free basis, representing a significant return on its initial £38.0m investment. That strategic move is aimed at addressing the macroeconomic headwinds impacting the Controls division and strengthen the £108m-capitalised group's financial position, with an estimated net debt of £6