Shares round-up: Ceres Power, Serica Energy, 3i Group
As is common during periods of more extreme market volatility, there’s a heady mix of winners and losers this trading session. City writer Graeme Evans looks at three of them.
26th March 2026 14:12
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
A partnership with Centrica (LSE:CNA) today ignited Ceres Power Holdings (LSE:CWR) as its shares and those of North Sea producer Serica Energy (LSE:SQZ) rose against the backdrop of a $107 a barrel oil price.
Brent crude’s latest rise on diminishing hopes of a ceasefire in the Middle East meant the FTSE 100 index gave up a chunk of the advance seen since Monday’s upturn in sentiment.
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Lower gold, silver and copper prices left Antofagasta (LSE:ANTO), Anglo American (LSE:AAL) and Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) among the big fallers, alongside the ex-dividend stocks Aviva (LSE:AV.) and Segro (LSE:SGRO).
Private equity group 3i Group Ord (LSE:III) suffered the biggest fall after it said like-for-like sales at European discount retailer Action were 4% in the most recent trading period. Action is targeting growth of between 4% and 5% in 2026, which compares with 4.9% in 2025 and 2024’s rate of 10.3%.
The shares hit a two-year low of 2,542p, having fallen from a record above 4,400p in October.
Action’s success since 3i’s initial 130 million euros (£112 million) investment in 2011 means the Dutch business now represents more than 70% of the total portfolio by value. Action has grown from 250 stores to more than 3,300 across 14 countries over that period.
Ceres Power led a much weaker FTSE 250 index, with shares up 40p to 348.8p after the clean energy firm announced a tie-up with British Gas owner Centrica and also hailed a significant milestone within its annual results.
The company’s solid oxide platform technology supports greater electrification of energy systems and produces green hydrogen at high-efficiencies as a way to decarbonise emissions-intensive industries.
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It unlocked its first-ever royalties during the year after Doosan commenced production of stacks and fuel cell power systems using Ceres’s technology at its 50MW factory in South Korea.
Among other developments, Ceres extended its relationship with China’s Weichai in a move that will focus on power for AI data centres, commercial buildings and industrial applications.
Contracted group revenue for 2026 is approximately £45 million before any new business, which compares with revenues of £33 million in today’s results as Ceres benefits from a sharpening of commercial focus amid rising demands for power generation.
The collaboration with Centrica will accelerate the deployment of solid oxide on‑site power solutions to meet demand from commercial and industrial customers.
Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea said: “Businesses across the UK and Europe need more power, and they need it faster than the electricity grids can deliver.
“This partnership is about offering customers a reliable, efficient source of on‑site power that can be up and running quickly.
“By combining Ceres' technology with our energy expertise, we see a real opportunity to support data centres, AI and industry with cleaner power at scale, while helping to ease pressure on the grid and boost economic growth.”
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Berenberg, which reiterated a price target of 530p, said the partnership sent a significant demand signal to Ceres partners and was a strong validation of its technology leadership.
It added: “Ceres’s technology can therefore provide a solution for the growing need for energy security, powering data centres, AI and industry.”
On AIM, Serica Energy rose 5.5p to 260p after the North Sea-focused energy company said production is set to increase materially over 2026 as it begins to reap the benefit of four cash-generative acquisitions during 2025.
The number of producing fields in the Serica portfolio is poised to more than double once all acquisitions complete, significantly increasing the diversification, reliability and predictability of future production and revenues.
Serica, which owes its scale to the Bruce, Keith and Rhum assets acquired from BP in 2018, was impacted by downtime and maintenance outages during 2025 as it recorded a fall in average production to 27,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Serica issued unchanged guidance for 2026 production of significantly over 40,000 barrels, rising to more than 65,000 by the end of the year as the acquisitions complete.
It added that its production is generating material cash flows, enhanced further at current commodity prices.
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Chief executive Chris Cox said: “Serica is better placed than ever to create sustainable value for shareholders and be an important contributor to the UK’s energy security.”
It declared an unchanged final dividend of 10p a share, which is due for payment on 24 July.
Berenberg, which has a 300p target price, said: “At current commodity prices, cash generation is likely to be ahead of consensus estimates and, we assume, Serica may consider increasing distributions while also remaining focused on investing in the portfolio.”
Serica remains committed to moving from AIM to the main market of the London Stock Exchange at the earliest opportunity, which is expected to be during the third quarter.
At a current valuation of about £1 billion, Serica will be large enough for inclusion in the FTSE 250 index.
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