FTSE All-Share round-up: Victrex, Gym Group, Mortgage Advice Bureau

Upgraded guidance by Victrex (LSE:VCT) and Gym Group (The) (LSE:GYM) today provided cheer in a session when the FTSE All-Share touched a six-week low and Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings) (LSE:MAB1) dived on a profit warning.

The mood of risk aversion following Brent crude’s rise above $100 a barrel left the benchmark at 5,753, having rallied by 11% to 5,876 in the period between 23 March and early August.

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The UK’s leading mortgage intermediary network fell 95p to a multi-year low of 395.5p after its revised £38 million full-year profit forecast came in 12% below City expectations.

Housing and mortgage market activity has been weaker than expected over the summer, reflecting the impact of higher-for-longer interest rates and uncertainty for borrowers due to geopolitics and UK economic jitters.

MAB highlighted HMRC figures showing that UK purchase transactions were 3% lower in the first seven months of 2026, as well as a 15% year-on-year drop in the Bank of England’s mortgage approvals for house purchase in July.

The quieter summer also led to a £5 million shortfall on profit expectations at specialist lending broker Fluent, which MAB acquired in 2022 and had been anticipated to deliver a step-up in performance during this year.

The updated guidance for the group still points to adjusted profit growth of approximately 5% over a year earlier, which founder and chief executive Peter Brodnicki said showed the resilience of the business in a more challenging market backdrop.

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He added that the company also had greater visibility over the timing and delivery of operational and commercial synergies.

Brodnicki said: “Together with the significant opportunity presented by upcoming fixed-rate mortgage maturities, this progress leaves us well placed to deliver solid profit growth this year and strengthen performance into 2027.”

The shares of LSL Property Services (LSE:LSL) also fell sharply, while the update added to pressure on property portal Rightmove (LSE:RMV) during a weaker session across the technology space.

Broker Peel Hunt retained its Buy recommendation on MAB shares but cut its price target by 250p to 1,000p.

Berenberg, which moved to 975p, added: “The company remains capital-light and highly cash-generative, and we continue to see a strong balance sheet for 2026. We think this acts as a significant underpin to the medium-term investment case.”

The best-performing stock in the FTSE All-Share was polymers business Victrex, which at one point traded above 1,000p for the first time in over a year.

The shares later settled 124p higher at 993p, representing a rise of 50% this year as strategic progress under the leadership of chief executive James Routh is accompanied by growth in end markets such as aerospace and electronics.

Progress across all regions, particularly Asia Pacific, and the completion of a previously announced 10% reduction in headcount means adjusted profits will be in the range of £45-47 million. This compares with prior guidance of up to £44 million.

The focus now moves to a capital markets event on 24 September, when Routh intends to provide “further detail on our compelling growth strategy and clear and differentiated value proposition”.

The FTSE 250-listed company is still significantly below its September 2021 price of more than 2,500p, having been hit by prolonged weak conditions across the chemical sector.

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Gym Group rose 12.25p to 205.25p after the low-cost operator said 2026’s underlying earnings are on course for the top end of City’s forecast range between £60.5 million and £62 million.

The improvement from last year’s £56.7 million is based on 3% like-for-like revenue growth and cost growth that is now expected to be at the lower end of the guided range of 3-4%.

Total revenue increased by 10% to £133.1 million in today’s half-year results, with average members up 5% to one million and average revenue per member per month also 5% higher. The group ended the period with 264 sites amid plans to add at least 20 new gyms across 2026.

Shore Capital has a price target of 280p, adding that a valuation multiple of seven times forecast earnings was too low given the favourable long-term industry fundamentals, robust cash generation and the significant profit development opportunity.

It said underlying earnings had scope to build towards £90 million, fuelled by plans for the delivery of 75 new gyms over the next three years. “This is before considering the possibility for further pricing initiatives across its more than one million membership base.”