TRADING UPDATES: Essentra makes buy; Bow Street revenue rises

Wed, 20th May 2026 14:12

(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

----------

Essentra PLC - Oxford, England-based manufacturer of plastic and metal hardware components - Essentra says it traded in line with expectations in the four months to May 2. Revenue in the period was up 7.2% at constant currency. In addition, it announces the acquisition of mechanical components manufacturer Boteco Srl for an initial EUR7.4 million. There is a deferred contingent cash consideration of up to EUR2.5 million.

----------

Bow Street Group PLC - casual dining restaurant operator - Revenue in the seven weeks to May 17 "has continued to increase on a like-for-like basis", in line with the first quarter of its financial year. Back in its results for the year to December 28, reported last month, it said like-for-like sales increased 6.1% in March. "The investment in improving the Wildwood estate has continued with four restaurants refurbished during the first quarter of this year, all of which are showing significant revenue growth. In addition, the refurbishment of the Salisbury Wildwood restaurant has recently been completed with three further Wildwood restaurants due to be refurbished within the coming weeks," Bow Street says. "The group continues to monitor the impact of the war in the Middle East on its costs and consumer spending. The team is also monitoring for the potential opportunity from increased staycation footfall over the summer as a result, inter alia, of higher jet fuel costs." The firm adds that it is "optimistic of completing of one or more" acquisitions during the current financial year. "The board remains confident that Bow Street Group is a highly attractive platform for exciting restaurant brands, offering structural benefits of scale, operational synergies and attractive incentivisation plans for entrepreneurial management teams. The group remains in active discussions with several acquisition opportunities and looks forward to enhancing the group's growth prospects through acquisitions," it explains.

----------

Mortgage Advice Bureau Holdings PLC - Derby, England-based mortgage broker - "Positive momentum has continued", Chair Michael Jones says at company's annual general meeting. Mortgage applications in the first 19 weeks of 2026 were 15% higher on-year, in line with board expectations. MAB says: "During March and April, a period of heightened macroeconomic and interest rate uncertainty led to four weeks of accelerated refinancing activity, as customers moved to fix rates early ahead of their product expiry dates. Application levels have since normalised, with refinancing activity expected to remain robust through the remainder of 2026."

----------

Petards Group PLC - Guildford, England-based security, communication and surveillance systems developer - Petards wins a four year framework contract with Northumbria Police for automatic number plate recognition equipment and support. The deal is won by its QRO Solutions unit. "The award follows a tender process run by Northumbria Police for all its IT hardware, with QRO being ranked first in the Lot related to the provision of ANPR equipment and support. QRO is therefore now the preferred supplier for any direct awards for ANPR systems and support placed under this framework. Each of Northumbria Police, Durham Police and Cleveland Police are able to procure QRO's fixed and mobile ANPR systems and related support and maintenance services using this contract. While Northumbria and Durham are existing customers, Cleveland is a new addition to QRO's customer base," Petards says. "The estimated value of the ANPR lot set out in the tender was GBP650,000, although current market indications lead QRO to believe that this estimated value to be a floor."

----------

Norman Broadbent PLC - London-based recruitment firm - Chair Peter Searle, at the firm's annual general meeting, says trading has been encouraging. The firm still expects net fee income for 2026 in line with market expectations, which it puts at GBP13.1 million, up from GBP12.3 million in 2025. "We remain watchful of the situation in the Gulf and the state of the UK political backdrop and remain of the view that progress this year from one quarter to the next is likely to be non-linear," Searle says.

----------

Gem Diamonds Ltd - Lesotho-focused diamond miner - Gem sells 16,727 carats in the first quarter of 2026, down 21% on-quarter from 21,191. The total value of carats sold is USD25.1 million, down from USD27.3 million, with the value per carat rising to USD1,501 from USD1,288,

----------

Oriole Resources PLC - West and Central Africa-focused gold explorer - Drilling intersects further gold mineralisation at the Mbe South deposit. "Results from the first three holes in the Programme, MBDD040 to MBDD042, have returned 30 mineralised gold intersections," Oriole says. A programme is roughly two-thirds complete and the firm is "encouraged" that it will lead to a "meaningful increase" in the mineral resource estimate.

----------

East Star Resources PLC - Kazakhstan-focused copper and gold explorer - East Star reports a "large and geochemically anomalous lithocap" has been spotted at the Piket asset. The area is a "potential host" for copper and gold. "We are delighted with the progress made at Piket which has again demonstrated that our team can identify and acquire ground, and conduct the initial field work on prospective targets, in a single season. The positive results from this work are a strong demonstration that our strategy for porphyry target generation in Kazakhstan is working well and we are looking forward to the next phase of work to advance the project to drill-ready status," Chief Executive Officer Alex Walker says.

----------

Georgina Energy PLC - onshore helium and hydrogen explorer with permits in Australia - Executes a drilling contract with Ensign Australia Pty Ltd for the supply of a rig. The rig will be used for drilling at the Hussar prospect in the third quarter. "The company's operations and technical consultancy teams will be travelling to site in June 2026 to undertake inspections of the access roads repairs, ensure site preparation, as well as the upgrades made to the airstrips, including the supply of an authorised wind directional equipment, along with the preparation of the drill pad and accommodation pad," Georgina says.

----------

Cloudbreak Discovery PLC - gold and base metals project developer in Australia - Cloudbreak says a co-funded geophysics programme has been granted covering the Paterson project in Western Australia. The programme award is under an exploration incentive scheme. Cloudbreak reports a co-funded geophysics grant of up to AUD269,270 to go towards surveying work.

----------

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com