The Leicestershire-based tile chain said sales fell 1.8% in the three months to June 27

Tile retailer Topps Tiles has been hit by a double blow, as soaring temperatures compounded already difficult trading conditions, prompting the Leicestershire-based chain to warn on profits.

The company reported a 1.8% drop in sales during the three months to June 27, with flat like-for-like revenues across its core Topps Tiles brand — a picture that deteriorated as the quarter progressed.

Demand has shifted towards lower-priced products amid growing uncertainty amongst customers, with the blistering heat at the end of June only adding to the firm’s trading difficulties.

Topps said: “Recent periods of extreme heatwave conditions led to temporary work stoppages among housebuilders and traders, further affecting activity levels.

“Whilst there is likely to be a catch-up over a six-month period, this is unlikely to come back fully in our financial year which ends in September.”

The group now anticipates underlying profits for the year to the end of September to come in above £6.5 million — a significant decline from the £9.2 million recorded the previous year.

Shares in the company dropped 8% shortly after markets opened on Wednesday.

Chief executive Alex Jensen said: “Topps continues to outperform the wider market despite weaker consumer sentiment and an increased focus on lower priced products.

“We’re making significant strategic progress across our priorities and the self-help actions we are taking to support profitability are working and will position the business for long-term sustainable growth.

“In the short term, the macro-economic environment continues to remain challenging.”

The group has been cutting costs sharply in response to tougher trading conditions, and in April confirmed the closure of 23 shops — representing 7% of its 319-strong estate.

Store shutdowns across its Topps and CTD brands have placed further strain on revenues.

Topps’ acquisition of CTD out of administration came under scrutiny from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which demanded the disposal of a number of CTD outlets to address competition concerns.

The company now operates 23 CTD stores, reduced from an original 31.

In December, it also snapped up the brand of stricken rival Fired Earth in a £3 million rescue deal, after the Oxfordshire-based competitor collapsed into administration in October, triggering the closure of all 20 of its UK showrooms and 133 redundancies.

This is an edition of the Markets P.M. newsletter, a recap of the day’s most important markets moves, delivered after the closing bell. If you’re not subscribed, sign up here.

---

What Happened in Markets Today

The Supreme Court blocked Trump from firing Lisa Cook. The Court on Monday rejected President Trump’s bid to fire Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook with little legal scrutiny. In a second decision, however, it gave Trump free rein to fire officials at other independent agencies for any reason. The pair of rulings effectively delivers a split verdict on Trump’s second-term effort to exert maximal control over the executive branch, protecting the Fed’s special status but not other agencies.

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

AeroVironment AVAV 18.76%increase; up pointing triangle reported a higher profit as revenue more than doubled during the fiscal fourth quarter.

The drone maker on Monday reported a profit of $63.2 million, or $1.25 a share, for the quarter ended April 30. That compares with a profit of $16.7 million, or 59 cents a share, a year earlier.

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

KPIT Technologies‘ latest business update has reignited concerns over the company’s near-term growth outlook, with analysts pointing to project-related setbacks and a slower-than-expected recovery despite a healthy deal pipeline. While management continues to expect improvement in the second half of FY27, the Street remains cautious about how quickly new wins can offset the impact of recent programme closures.

Rahul Jain from Dolat Capital believes the current weakness is more execution-specific than an indication of a broader structural slowdown.

“In their Q4 call also, they highlighted that there are two SDV programmes they were working on. We are seeing some conclusion, which was unexpected for them. Despite very strong deal wins, it would be difficult for those wins to translate quickly enough to cover the fall from these two programmes. As a result, Q1 looks challenging, and they have also indicated that things might improve only in the second half of the year. Based on our calculations, they are unlikely to see a positive year in FY27,” he said.

Profitability could come under pressure

The weaker revenue outlook also raises questions over KPIT’s ability to maintain its FY27 EBITDA margin guidance of 20.5% to 21.25%.

According to Jain, currency movements remain one of the few supportive factors, but margins could still face pressure if growth continues to disappoint.
“Growth could be a challenge for profitability in general, so that is always a concern. The only supporting factor currently is the currency, which is at least accretive. If they are able to manage costs and the currency remains supportive, profitability can stay within the indicated range. But if it turns out to be a declining year, sustaining those margins will also be challenging,” he said.
Not necessarily a sector-wide problem
While KPIT derives significant business from global automotive clients, including BMW, Jain believes investors should avoid drawing broad conclusions for the entire engineering research and development (ER&D) space.

He noted that performance has often differed across companies despite operating in similar markets.

“We have seen in the past that there has been disparity, with KPIT doing well while others were not, and vice versa. I would not extrapolate this to the broader ER&D space. However, certain OEMs are facing challenges and issuing profit warnings. That could affect several vendors across both IT services and ER&D. I would not directly correlate it, but it is a painful situation where many companies could gradually feel the impact,” he said.

Markets may remain sceptical about H2 recovery
KPIT’s shares have already corrected sharply over the past year, making investors increasingly cautious about management’s expectation of a second-half recovery.

Jain acknowledged that while the company’s sizeable order wins provide some comfort, execution remains the key challenge.

“It is difficult to believe that things could turn around very quickly. The only supporting argument is the nearly $349 million worth of deals, which indicate that new wins are coming in. It is more about managing the transition in existing accounts while scaling business from newer clients. Last year they also spoke about entering the Chinese market, and they have already secured one customer there. If they execute well with Chinese OEMs, that could become an important growth driver and improve the exit trajectory,” he said.

Estimate cuts likely
Following the latest developments, analysts are reassessing their earnings expectations for FY27, with meaningful downgrades now appearing likely.

Jain indicated that current projections are significantly below earlier expectations, while the upcoming quarterly commentary will be crucial in determining whether the recovery narrative remains intact.

“We do not have a precise FY27 outlook yet. But based on our assessment, there is at least a 7-8% reduction compared with the numbers we were building earlier, which is a meaningful change in estimates. We now look forward to management’s commentary on how things are progressing, how the deal wins are shaping up, and how the non-affected parts of the business are performing during the Q1 call. At this point, the impact could be around 7%,” he said.

With revenue visibility weakening and recovery pushed further into the fiscal year, investors are likely to focus closely on KPIT’s first-quarter earnings for signs that fresh deal wins are beginning to compensate for the slowdown in existing programmes. Until then, market sentiment towards the stock is expected to remain cautious.

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin offered an unusually candid public acknowledgment over the weekend of widespread fuel shortages gripping the country, conceding that Ukrainian missile and drone strikes on energy infrastructure have created real difficulties for Russian motorists, businesses and the agricultural sector, even as he insisted the situation remained under control.

The shortages have been visible across Russia for months, with long lines forming at petrol stations, fuel rationing spreading to dozens of regions, and refineries repeatedly damaged by Ukrainian strikes reaching from Moscow to the Black Sea coast. In Crimea, the Russian-annexed Ukrainian peninsula, drivers have been barred from filling their tanks altogether so that available fuel can be redirected to military vehicles. Despite the visible strain, Putin had largely avoided addressing the crisis directly in public until a weekend meeting with senior officials and oil executives.

Speaking candidly at that meeting, Putin acknowledged the toll the shortages have taken on ordinary Russians.

“You’re well aware that problems persist for both motorists and businesses,” Putin told the assembled officials. “Unfortunately, there are still queues at petrol stations, and finding the right grade of petrol isn’t always easy.”

Putin also pointed to the strain on Russia’s agricultural sector, noting that the country’s harvest depended on fuel supply schedules being met on time, an acknowledgment that ties the energy crisis directly to broader concerns about food production and the domestic economy heading into the back half of the year. According to independent Russian outlet Mediazona, 56 Russian regions are currently enforcing some form of fuel restriction, underscoring how widespread the disruption has become.

In a subsequent interview with Russian state television, Putin went further, offering what diplomatic observers described as an even more open assessment of the crisis than his earlier remarks to officials.

“We are currently seeing a certain shortage, but it’s not critical,” Putin said, while acknowledging that Ukraine’s attacks were “obviously creating problems.”

He pledged to ramp up production of air defense systems to better protect Russian energy infrastructure from further strikes, and said authorities would work to accelerate repairs at refineries that have already sustained damage from Ukrainian attacks. Regarding Crimea specifically, Putin admitted the peninsula currently had only “a few days’ supply” of fuel remaining, though he expressed confidence that additional fuel would be brought in to address the shortfall soon.

The directness of Putin’s comments marks a notable departure from his typical public posture on the war’s domestic costs. BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale, reporting from Moscow, noted that the scale of the shortages and the resulting public awareness had likely left Putin with little choice but to acknowledge the reality on the ground, even as he continued to insist, as he has throughout the conflict, that Russia’s broader war effort was making progress.

Putin’s admission regarding Crimea’s fuel difficulties carries particular symbolic weight given the peninsula’s outsized importance both to ordinary Russians and to Putin personally. Since Moscow’s occupation of Crimea began in 2014, the Kremlin has transformed the peninsula into a major military base and a strategic anchor for controlling the Black Sea, using it as a launching point for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Any sign of strain there carries political resonance well beyond its immediate practical impact.

During the televised interview, Putin offered an explanation for why he chose to address the issue so openly, framing Ukraine’s strategy as an attempt to fracture Russian society and erode public support for the war effort, while pushing more Russians toward favoring negotiations to end the conflict.

“We won’t give them that chance,” Putin said, adding that Ukraine’s long-range strikes were having “absolutely no impact on the situation at the front line.”

That assessment is directly disputed by officials in Kyiv, who argue that Ukraine’s deep strikes inside Russian territory serve a dual purpose: bringing the tangible costs of the war home to ordinary Russian citizens while also forcing Russian military commanders to divert air defense resources and personnel away from the front lines in eastern Ukraine to protect domestic energy infrastructure instead.

The acknowledgment comes amid a period of growing confidence in Kyiv that battlefield momentum may be shifting in Ukraine’s favor. In recent months, Ukrainian forces have launched deep strikes against targets in both St. Petersburg and Moscow, intensified attacks on Crimea, and pursued a more aggressive strategy aimed at inflicting maximum casualties along the front line. Despite that shift in tactics, the Kremlin reaffirmed Monday that its core territorial objectives remain unchanged. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s position continues to be that Ukrainian forces must withdraw from four southeastern regions that Moscow claims as its own, territorial claims that Kyiv categorically rejects.

In the same interview, Putin claimed that Ukraine had signaled willingness to limit hostilities and begin negotiations, though he dismissed any such overture as a tactical maneuver designed to give Kyiv time to regroup and rearm rather than a genuine push toward peace.

“It is clear why this proposal is being made, because our counter-strikes deep into Ukrainian territory are much stronger, have greater impact and are, frankly, more destructive,” Putin said.

He went on to characterize Ukraine’s own strikes against Russia as an attempted “salvation” for what he described as a Ukrainian military that has been “catastrophically” depleted by years of fighting, while making clear that Moscow had no interest in offering Kyiv’s leadership any reprieve.

“But saving the Kyiv regime is not part of our plans,” Putin said.

The rare public airing of Russia’s fuel crisis offers one of the clearest signals yet of how Ukraine’s sustained campaign against Russian energy infrastructure is registering domestically, even as both sides continue to offer starkly different assessments of how much that pressure is actually shaping the broader trajectory of the war.

Chief executive Tom Tainton said it was a ‘ground-breaking moment’ for the Gallagher PREM side

Bristol Bears has agreed a “landmark” long-term partnership with a UK law firm. Foot Anstey will become the club’s new principal partner for the 2026-27 season, with shirt branding for both the men’s and women’s teams.

The Gallagher PREM side said the multi-year agreement represented “one of the most progressive partnerships” in the club’s history.

Under the terms of the deal, Foot Anstey, which has 11 offices including in Exeter, Bristol and Manchester, will also become the main partner of the Bristol Bears Foundation – the club’s award-winning charitable arm.

Off the pitch, it will become the Bears’ exclusive legal provider, offering a full range of legal solutions to the club and its players over the term of the partnership.

Foot Anstey managing partner, Martin Hirst, said: “Our partnership with Bristol Bears is built on a shared belief in the impact individuals can have when they come together as a team.

“From our earliest conversations, it was clear this is more than sponsorship, it’s about bringing together two ambitious organisations to drive performance, support our communities and create lasting impact.

“This reflects how we work as a firm: building strong relationships, working collaboratively and focusing on what really matters to our clients and to the communities around us.

“Sport has a unique ability to bring people together and create momentum. We’re excited about what we can achieve, alongside Bristol Bears and the Bristol Bears Foundation, over the coming years.’

Bristol Bears chief executive Tom Tainton said the deal was “a ground-breaking moment” for the club.

“From the beginning of this process, Foot Anstey has been an excellent partner – collaborative, engaging and genuinely excited about using the power of sport to leave a lasting legacy,” he said.

“Having Foot Anstey’s name on our shirts is about far more than a business agreement; it is a statement of intent about our aligned growth journeys. This authentic partnership represents a shared set of values and a long-term commitment to driving success across our men’s, women’s and community programmes.

“Foot Anstey’s support of the Bristol Bears Foundation is particularly significant, enabling us to expand our reach and deepen our impact within the communities we serve.”

The news comes just a day after South West Gallagher PREM club Exeter Chiefs announced it had been acquired in a major deal by US businessman Bill Foley, ending 155 years of member ownership.