FTSE 100 shares round-up: a couple of low-profile winners
They’re not among the household names that call the blue-chip index home, but they’re very popular right now. City writer Graeme Evans explains why.
11th November 2026 13:05
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
The records of quality compounder Spirax Group (LSE:SPX) and alternative asset manager ICG (LSE:ICG) were today in the spotlight as two of the lesser lights of the FTSE 100 index led the risers board.
Engineering firm Spirax, which has grown earnings at a rate of 9% over the past 25 years, extended the strong recent run for its shares with a reassuring 10-month trading update.
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The Cheltenham-based company, which joined the London Stock Exchange in 1959 and has been a member of the FTSE 100 index since December 2018, lifted 290p to 7,645p.
That performance placed Spirax just ahead of ICG, having pointed out in interim results that fee-related earnings (FRE) had compounded at an annualised rate of 28% over the past five years. This included 18% growth to 68p a share in today’s half-year figures.
ICG, which last year changed its name from Intermediate Capital Group and has $145 billion (£109 billion) of assets under management, rose 57p to 2,010p.
The improvement came as the 4.4% yielding ICG used the interim results to reaffirm its progressive dividend policy, having now grown the payout for 17 years in a row.
The review of its capital allocation structure also included a longer-term pledge to increase the dividend per share by at least mid-single digit percentage points on an annual basis.
The next award of 29p a share is payable on 8 January, representing growth of 5% on a year earlier and one-third of the prior year’s total dividend.
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Chief executive Benoît Durteste said ICG’s focus on long-term investment rather than short-term asset gathering was increasingly recognised by institutional clients.
He added: “Looking ahead, we have high conviction in our ability to continue gaining market share in the institutional client segment across a number of strategies.
“Our increasing scale and cash generation mean we expect to generate significant capital in the coming years. We will invest that capital to maximise long-term growth in FRE per share and will return excess capital to shareholders.”
ICG shares have risen by more than a third since April, while Spirax is up by 20% since July.
The latter’s improvement has been aided by supportive conditions for its Watson-Marlow fluid technology business, which engineers fluid technology solutions used in the production of vaccines and gene therapies.
Covid-related work meant Spirax shares peaked at 17,000p in November 2021 before subsequent de-stocking by biopharma customers alongside broader industrial weakness and slower growth in the high-margin semiconductor sector drove shares lower.
The 130-year-old company’s two other divisions are involved in the control and management of steam and in electric thermal solutions for ultra-critical industrial applications. About 60% of its sales are to defensive sectors, such as healthcare, food and chemicals.
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In Electric Thermal Solutions (ETS), Spirax said that the strong organic sales growth of the first half continued in the four months to October.
Excluding semiconductor sales, which accounted for 13% of the division’s revenue in 2025, ETS organic sales growth remains above the company’s mid-single-digit medium-term target.
Broker Peel Hunt said trading conditions appear supportive across most of the Spirax business: “We interpret commentary on ETS and Watson-Marlow as slightly better than consensus expectations, and we believe the shares should be supported today.”
The City firm has a price target of 8,500p, adding that it continues to see some upside based on a valuation multiple of 20 times forecast 2027 earnings.
An interim dividend of 50.4p a share is due to be paid on Friday, representing an increase of 3% on a year earlier. The dividend has grown at a compound rate of 9% over 25 years, with surplus capital returned through special dividends in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.