Companies Reporting: Vistry, Trade deals and UK GDP

Our regular look at the FTSE 350 and other companies reporting from 07 – 11 July.

• Can Vistry build back stronger after last year’s woes?
• Trump’s trade deal deadline drives last-minute deal-making
• UK GDP data likely to show stalling growth in May

Vistry, First Half Trading Statement, Thursday 10 July

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: Vistry’s LON:VTY shown some signs of returning to life over the first half of 2025, after a disastrous end to 2024 saw its share price collapse by nearly 60%. Recent interest rate cuts have helped to stimulate demand in the open market again, and sales rates picked up across April and May. Now eyes turn to next week’s trading update, where investors will be hoping to see that this trend continued over the rest of the first half.

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Costs are the other side of the equation, and they’ve been on the rise of late. Upward pressure on both labour and material prices looks set to weigh on margins, and markets are forecasting first-half underlying operating profits to fall nearly 7% to £335 million. The government’s pledge last month to invest £39 billion in affordable housing over the next decade surpassed expectations and should benefit Vistry more than others in the sector. The move’s been described by many in the sector as a gamechanger, so expect to hear some commentary from management on how it’s positioning itself to capture the opportunity.

Trade deal deadline, Wednesday 9 July

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown: With President Trump refusing to extend the deadline, speculation over which countries will be able to strike a deal with the US by 9 July is set to reach fever pitch. Trump is playing hardball in negotiations and has already managed to extract key concessions. Canada looks set to sign on the dotted line after it agreed to drop its planned digital services tax on US tech giants. While the trade rollercoaster ride has slowed for now, it could pick up speed if more agreements are not reached. Many nations are still gripping their seats, unsure exactly where they’ll end up. Old alliances have been damaged, some are being repaired, while new ones are being forged.

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All of this uncertainty is weighing on the economic outlook, with the World Bank forecasting that growth won’t be above 2.3% this year, globally. If more deals aren’t signed and higher tariffs come into effect, there could be yet another spurt of volatility on financial markets. However, with the TACO trade in play – the expectation that Trump Always Chickens Out – a big showdown may be avoided.

UK GDP estimates, Friday 11 July

Susannah Streeter: Amid tariff uncertainty, the unpredictable global outlook and concerns over the UK public finances, it’s likely that growth for the UK economy remained elusive in May. The economy is powered by the services sector, which relies on consumer and business confidence, which still remains downbeat. The 2.7% fall in retail sales also doesn’t bode well, indicating that shoppers remain wary, given stretched household budget.

Even though the UK signed a preliminary trade deal with the US early in May, unpredictable policy from the White House is still acting as a dampener on business optimism and the increase on employers’ costs via high NIC contributions hasn’t helped. Nevertheless, revised GDP data for March has indicated the economy was more resilient than expected heading into the troubles April brought, so there is a chance that activity may have rebounded more quickly than expected.

FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and selected other companies scheduled to report