The Telegraph: BP (BP.) has put its North Sea business up for sale, potentially ending the oil giant’s six decades of production in the basin. The FTSE 100 business said the move was part of an ongoing portfolio review. Meg O’Neill, the chief executive of BP, said: “The North Sea remains integral to the UK’s energy system. “However, as we focus our portfolio and direct capital to our highest-value opportunities, we believe our North Sea business will be better positioned as part of another company.”
Comment: Strange that BP is finally leaving the North Sea, just when new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has suggested through gritted teeth that he was thinking of opening it up. Perhaps, like the rest of us, BP do not believe Burnham?
Sainsbury(J) (SBRY) – Sainsburys agrees sale of Argos to Swift Partners. “Sainsbury’s has transformed Argos into a leading multichannel retailer with millions of customers and thousands of talented colleagues. As we have strengthened our core food business, we have carefully considered what it will take to create the strongest possible future for Argos. “Swift brings retail leadership, operational expertise, technology capability and long-term investment, alongside a deep commitment and belief in the future potential for Argos customers and colleagues. Richard, Trevor and Matt understand and value the Argos brand, share our values and will accelerate Argos’s transformation through their dedicated expertise and long-term investment.”
Comment: If you were not familiar with the SBRY / Argos history you might have thought that the deal was an albatross around the neck of the supermarket, and that it would be delighted to get rid of it. However, judging by the statement today, SBRY loved Argos and is loathed to get rid of it….
Halfords Group plc (HFD), the UK’s leading provider of motoring and cycling services and products, noted the announcement by FTSE Russell that the Group will join the FTSE 250 Index, effective from 4 August 2026. The announcement follows a period of strategic and financial progress for the Group under its growth strategy, supporting stronger financial returns and an improved customer experience. Henry Birch, Chief Executive Officer of Halfords, said: “Joining the FTSE 250 is an important milestone for Halfords and reflects the progress our colleagues are delivering across the business. Our recent results showed that the ‘Optimise’ phase of our strategy is gaining traction, with good sales growth, higher margins, and an increased dividend. We are pleased with the momentum, but our focus remains unchanged: disciplined execution, continuing to improve our proposition for customers and creating sustainable long-term value for shareholders.”
Comment: HFD is clearly more than just a company that has done well out of bicycle sales, and perhaps really enjoys bicycle thefts, when combined with the car parts business this is clearly a cost of living crisis winner. The FTSE 250 today, a takeover from private equity tomorrow.
Total Graphite (TGR), the specialist graphite company developing an integrated mine-to-materials supply chain for the global energy transition, is pleased to announce its audited annual results and filing of the Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2026. The 2026 Annual Report will be made available shortly at https://totalgraphite.com. The Board and management team inherited a business facing significant operational, financial and governance challenges. Considerable effort has therefore been directed towards restoring stability, strengthening governance, rebuilding investor confidence and creating a platform capable of supporting sustainable long-term growth. The successful restoration of trading of the Company shares in March 2026 represented an important milestone in that process. Together with the recapitalisation of the business and the conversion of significant liabilities into equity, it provided a much stronger financial platform from which management could recommence operations and begin implementing the next phase of our strategy.
Comment: For anyone with time on their hands, today’s RNS is longer than War And Peace. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, given that having a lot to write about suggests that there is a lot going on in terms of the company’s recovery from its previous “challenges.” If even 10% of what is being worked on currently at TGR gets over the line, the present £6m market cap appears paltry indeed.
Acuity RM Group plc (ACRM), the software group specialising in cyber-security, which supplies its award-winning STREAM® software platform for the Governance, Risk and Compliance (“GRC”) market, and associated consultancy services, announces the renewal and expansion of its contract with a longstanding, large European manufacturing customer. The combined agreement is valued in excess of £100,000 and comprises the annual renewal of the customer’s STREAM® software subscription, together with a further period of consultancy services days and an expansion of the services provided to support the customer’s Information Security Management System (“ISMS”) and change management activities.
Comment: Perhaps there should be a rule that deals of £100k are not announced on the stock market as they are subscale and will not help to keep the lights on however good they are. That said, at least ACRM deserves points for trying, if not a higher share price.
Ariana Resources plc (AAU), the mineral exploration and development company with gold project interests in Africa and Europe, advise that it has sold its legacy interest in the Kiziltepe Sector in Türkiye to Proccea Construction Co, following the conclusion of commercial operations. Ariana’s 9.9% interest in Kiziltepe was sold to Proccea for US$3.7m gross cash (c.US$3.3m net of local taxes), with completion occurring on 29 July 2026 and the proceeds received.
Comment: If this was any other company in the space announcing that nearly $4m was coming in through the door, the shares would probably go ballistics. But as this is AAU, an initial 5% and then a fade is probably appropriate. And no, I will not delete this call even if the shares go through the roof, as it makes the point about sentiment towards the company.
ITV (ITV) Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2026. On track for full year guidance Carolyn McCall, ITV Chief Executive, said: “ITV delivered a solid H1 performance and we remain on track to deliver our full-year guidance, including good revenue growth in ITV Studios and strong, profitable digital revenue growth within Media & Entertainment. ITV Studios’ H1 performance reflects the year-on-year phasing of our production slate, with revenue, profit, and margin weighted as usual towards the second half of the year as previously guided. This reflects a significant volume of large deliveries and high-margin licensing deals in H2, over which we have good visibility.”
Comment: Although one might have got the feeling that Carolyn McCall did not do much at EasyJet, the shares were much higher under here tenure. ITV needs a similar share price shot in the arm, although this is a much more difficult situation, especially given the way that most of the key metrics here remain on the pedestrian side.
Rightmove (RMV), the UK’s largest property portal, today announced its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2026. RMV said “Our platform continues to deliver increased value to partners and consumers. H1 2026 has seen strong business and product results: we delivered our highest H1 retention in more than a decade, agency membership grew 1% and our investment in agentic-powered solutions is showing results and coming on the back of strong foundations laid over the last few years. With vertical specialisation and trusted quality solutions at our core, we saw Online Agent Valuation support a c.50% total increase in unique valuation leads for partners.”
Comment: While video may have killed the radio star, it has been the case with RMV that AI killed the Dotcom star, and despite all the worthy comments today, the overhang from the biggest own goal since Gerald Ratner on Ratners, continues. Probably best to have kept quiet about the agentic-powered solutions, even though most people still do not know what that means.
Amigo Resources (AMGO) – Shareholder Update from Executive Chair. “In the seven months since we started this journey, Amigo has undergone a significant, yet rational, transformation. Moving beyond theoretical planning, our team has worked tirelessly to build a company from the ground up. I want to emphasise that every operational gain we have achieved – from our geological database to our processing infrastructure – has been organically developed by our internal team.In record time with our partners, we have pegged and built two gold mines and processing facilities in Tanzania – Mojimoto and Kabete. As previously announced, Amigo has a 51% ownership interest in these projects. This hands-on execution has allowed us to achieve organic growth and focus our resources “on the ground” where real value is created.”
Comment: AMGO really has started to turn from a heap of dodgy beans into a full fledged resources beanstalk, with a decent share price recovery to match. That said, for this to go further the company needs to get out of the area of just enthusiasm towards actually results / pounds, shillings and pence.
Churchill China plc (CHH), the manufacturer of innovative performance ceramic products serving hospitality markets worldwide, today provides an update on trading for the six months ended 30 June 2026.As highlighted at the Company’s Annual General Meeting on 29 May 2026, trading performance stabilised following the market declines experienced in 2025, with Company sales broadly in line with the prior year.
Comment: One might have thought that there would be a continuation of the recent build in the CHH share price, following the confirmation of the stabilisation of the trading performance. Perhaps this will eventually arrive, or the market would like to see more evidence of recovery first? A retest of 2026 resistance at 445p is what we are looking for.
Arkle Resources PLC (ARK), the energy metals explorer focussed on uranium, is pleased to announce its Ordinary shares have been approved for cross-trading on the OTCID Basic Market (“OTCID”) in the United States and commenced trading on OTCID on 30 July 2026 under the ticker symbol “UARKF”. OTCID is provided through OTC Markets Group Inc. (“OTC Markets”), located in New York. OTC Markets operates the world’s largest electronic interdealer quotation system for US broker dealers.
Comment: Although we all know that the London market has as much liquidity as the Gobi desert, it would be good to know the actual statistics in terms of the improvement that UK companies actually get when the move to the OTCQB, or OTCID, or whatever acronym is the one of the moment. Perhaps the answer is that even the most Mickey Mouse of US markets is better than the worst of the UK.
Amaroq Ltd. (AMRQ) announced that the Company’s common shares are expected to be admitted to the Official List. Eldur Olafsson, CEO of Amaroq Ltd., commented:
“Admission to the UK Main Market represents an important step in Amaroq’s evolution as a producing mining company and reflects the significant progress we have made across our business in recent years. As we continue to advance our mining, exploration and infrastructure activities in Greenland, we believe a UK Main Market listing provides the appropriate platform to support our next phase of growth. The move is expected to enhance our visibility among international investors, broaden our access to long-term institutional capital and increase awareness of the opportunities we are creating in Greenland. We are grateful for the continued support of our shareholders and stakeholders and look forward to delivering on our strategy as a Main Market listed company.”
Comment: One wonders how much higher the share price and how much sooner the company would have gone to the main board if we were not treated to the incessant crackpot coverage that is delivered about it? One is also looking forward to the time the company actually makes money, rather than being very good at raising it? That said, above 105p and the next level up chart wise is 125p, perhaps in time for the end of next month.
