BAT Extends Share Buyback With New Santander Mandate to Cancel Shares

British American Tobacco ( (GB:BATS) ) has shared an announcement.

British American Tobacco has entered into an agreement with Banco Santander to continue its share buyback programme between 12 February and 22 April 2026, with Santander executing purchases independently. The move is aimed at reducing the company’s share capital, with all repurchased ordinary shares to be cancelled, reinforcing capital-return efforts within the regulatory parameters and shareholder authority granted at the 2025 AGM.

The purchases will be conducted under strict pre-set limits, including a cap linked to 105 per cent of the recent average market price and the highest independent bid or last trade price, in line with UK listing and market abuse regulations. By structuring the buyback in this way, BAT signals ongoing commitment to shareholder value while ensuring compliance with post-Brexit UK market rules on safe harbour and share repurchases.

The most recent analyst rating on (GB:BATS) stock is a Buy with a £49.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on British American Tobacco stock, see the GB:BATS Stock Forecast page.

Spark’s Take on GB:BATS Stock

According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, GB:BATS is a Outperform.

British American Tobacco’s overall score is driven by strong technical indicators and positive corporate events, including share buybacks and executive share acquisitions. While financial performance shows robust cash flow, concerns about earnings volatility and a high P/E ratio slightly temper the outlook. The company’s strategic initiatives in innovation and digital transformation are promising, but challenges in specific markets require attention.

To see Spark’s full report on GB:BATS stock, click here.

More about British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco is a global tobacco and nicotine products group, best known for manufacturing and marketing cigarettes and next-generation nicotine products across multiple markets. The company focuses on maintaining shareholder returns while managing its capital structure through tools such as share repurchase programmes and dividend policy.

Average Trading Volume: 4,168,312

Technical Sentiment Signal: Strong Buy

Current Market Cap: £96.66B

See more insights into BATS stock on TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.