Weekly review
By Josh White
Date: Friday 17 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - The FTSE 100 ended the week down 72.89 points, or 0.77%, closing at 9,354.57 on Friday.
Equity view
Insulation and building products group SIG has reiterated its full-year outlook but reported no growth in underlying sales in the third quarter. Like-for-like revenues were flat year-on-year over the three months to 30 September, following a 1.5% increase in the first half, as "subdued demand" persisted across the company's market, "with no material signs of market recoveries during the period".
Pearson forecast a pick-up in fourth-quarter sales on Friday, leaving the educational publisher on track to meet full-year guidance. Updating on trading, Pearson said underlying sales had grown 4% in third quarter, helping lift revenues in the year-to-date by 2%. Driving the growth was a 17% jump in third-quarter sales in virtual learning, helped by a 13% increase in 2025/26 academic year enrolments in the fall semester, while revenues in its assessment and qualifications were 4% higher.
Ventilation systems manufacturer Titon Holdings said Friday that its full-year performance was expected to be in line with internal expectations after both revenue and gross margins improved. Titon said group revenues were up 2.1% at £15.8m, with mechanical ventilation revenues up 19.4% across the group and 26.8% in the UK, offsetting a 13.3% decline in window and door hardware revenue.
Struggling energy infrastructure company Petrofac has announced its proposed restructuring will cause "no residual value" for existing shareholders. Petrofac, which had warned in early October that efforts to support operational capabilities might leave shareholders empty handed, confirmed on Friday that this would be the case.
Identity technology business GB Group said it expects to accelerate growth in the second half after a flat first half, as it reported the bolt-on acquisition of DataTools, an address validation and data quality solutions provider in Australia and New Zealand. The "financially attractive" purchase, for AUD$16.0m (£7.9m), adds scale in a region where GBG is already enjoying "strong growth" and is highly complementary to the company's existing identity verification platform, GBG said.
Building materials group Travis Perkins reported a return to underlying sales growth in its third quarter, as actions taken to "sharpen the competitive proposition" in its merchanting operations paid off. Like-for-like sales over the three months to 30 September were 1.8% higher than last year, following a 1.2% decline in the first half.
Flexible workspace operator Workspace Group reported a 2.3% decline in like-for-like occupancy on Thursday, dropping to 80% in the second quarter, largely due to customer vacations at The Centro Buildings in Camden. Like-for-like rent roll was down 3.2% in the quarter to £107.1m, while total first-half rent roll decreased by 3.9% to £134m. Like-for-like rent per square foot edged up 0.1% to £47.55.
IG Group said had had sold Small Exchange to Payward the parent company of the crypto exchange Kraken. The deal values Small Exchange at $100.0m (£74.9m), with the price comprising $32.5m in cash and $67.5m in Payward stock. The sale results in a post-tax gain of £73.3m and increases group regulatory capital resources by £22.7m, IG said.
Property developer Great Portland Estates has received Southwark Council planning permission for the redevelopment of St Thomas Yard, SE1. Great Portland Estates said on Wednesday that the retrofit-first project will retain the existing building's primary structure, "significantly reducing" embodied carbon and waste, and add five storeys, creating an 11-storey office building and increasing the total net area from approximately 100,000 square feet to 190,000 square feet.
Wood Group has announced that its chief executive Ken Gilmartin is to resign from the engineering consulting firm ahead of the proposed £216m takeover by Dubai's Sidara. Gilmartin, who has been at the helm for three years, will step down after the upcoming shareholder vote on the deal, and will be replaced by Iain Torrens, currently interim chief financial officer.
Business process outsourcing firm Capita has reached a settlement with the Information Commissioner's Office over a March 2023 cyber attack, resulting in a £14m penalty. Capita said on Wednesday that it was "committed" to upholding the security of its data and the protection of its systems for clients and their customers, stating it regretted the incident and that all those identified as being potentially impacted were contacted after the attack.
Real estate investment trust British Land said on Wednesday that underlying profits had grown in the six months ended 30 September, stating occupational fundamentals had "remained robust". British Land said underlying profits had risen from £143m to £155m, while underlying earnings per share had edged up to 15.4p from 15.3p.
Pharma giant GSK has received regulatory approval in China to expand the use of its Shingrix shingles vaccine, the company said Tuesday. Shingrix, which is currently available in China to adults over 50, has now been approved in adults 18 and over who are at increased risk of shingles due to immunodeficiency or immunosuppression caused by a known disease or therapy, according to the China National Medical Products Administration.
Housebuilder Bellway announced the launch of a £150m share buyback on Tuesday as it reported a jump in full-year profit and revenue as completions grew despite "ongoing challenges" for the industry. In the year to 31 July, underlying pre-tax profit rose 28% to £289.1m, with revenue up 17% to £2.78bn. The private reservation rate increased to an average of 139 per week from 124 in 2024, with trading enhanced by a modest increase in bulk sales.
Energy major BP guided for higher third-quarter production on Tuesday, but flagged a weaker oil trading result and lower gas prices. In a brief update on trading, the blue chip said reported upstream production was on track to be higher than the previous three months, in both oil production and operations.
Robert Walters posted a drop in third-quarter net fee income on Tuesday as conditions in Europe remain challenging, although it was a marginal improvement on the previous quarter. Group net fee income fell 12% at constant currency from the same period a year earlier to £69.6m. Asia Pacific, Europe and the UK saw declines of 6%, 24% and 4% to £33m, £18.9m and £12m, respectively. Net fee income in Rest of World fell 23% to £5.7m.
Financial services firm Legal & General revealed on Monday that Scott Wheway will succeed John Kingman as chairman following the group's next annual general meeting on 21 May 2026. Wheway, who currently serves as chairman of Scottish Widows, will join the board of Legal & General as a non-executive director and chairman designate on 2 January 2026.
AstraZeneca has struck a deal with the White House to cut drugs prices in America, allowing it to avoid steep tariffs on US imports. In a statement released on Monday, the Anglo-Swedish blue chip said it will provide direct-to-consumer sales to eligible patients with prescriptions for chronic disease at a discount of up to 80% off list prices. In return, the US Department of Commerce has agreed to delay section 232 tariffs for three years. AstraZeneca will onshore manufacturing during that time, it confirmed, so that "all medicines sold in America are made in America".
William Hill owner Evoke is reportedly gearing up to shut about one in ten of its betting shops in the new year as it battles to reverse its fortunes. According to The Times, bosses at Evoke are eyeing a raft of closures as part of a review of its high street bookmakers and ahead of expected tax rises in Rachel Reeves's budget on 26 November. The final number of stores due to close has not yet been decided. However, one senior industry figure told The Times that 120 stores would be closed. Other sources said the number of closures could be nearer 200. At the higher level, about 1,500 jobs could be lost.
Engineering services group Renew said Monday it had expanded into the "fast-growing" overhead line maintenance and repair market with its acquisition of Cheshire-based firm Emerald Power. Renew said Excalon, its wholly owned subsidiary, would acquire Emerald Power for a total consideration of up to £12.3m, with an initial cash consideration of £7.8m being funded from its existing banking facilities. Additional consideration of up to £4.5m was conditional upon the vendors remaining with the business and specific profit targets being achieved.
Economic news
The Bank of England's chief economist backed a "more cautious" approach to cutting interest rates on Friday, on the back of stubbornly persistent inflationary pressures. In a speech to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales' annual conference, Huw Pill acknowledged inflation had proved "stickier" than the Monetary Policy Committee had initially anticipated. Consumer price inflation currently stands at 3.8%, above the bank's long-term target of 2%, and is expected to tick up further in September to 4%.
The UK economy expanded modestly in August, official data showed on Thursday, supported by the UK's dominant services sector. According to the Office for National Statistics, GDP grew by 0.3% in the three months to August, in line with expectations and a slight increase on the 0.2% uplift seen in July. Within that, services output grew by 0.4%, unchanged on July, while construction output rose 0.3%.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering overhauling cash ISAs, it was reported on Wednesday, as she looks to boost investment in UK equities. Under current rules, savers can pay £20,000 annually into an ISA without incurring tax. But according to the Financial Times, Reeves is considering halving the cap to £10,000, in the expectation people will shift funds out of cash ISAs and into domestic stocks.
UK grocery inflation crept higher in September, industry data showed on Tuesday, prompting shoppers to seek out special offers as they juggled mounting costs. According to the latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator, like-for-like grocery price inflation was 5.2% in the four weeks to 5 October, up from 4.9% in September and on par with July's record high. Prices rose fastest in chocolate confectionary, fresh unprocessed meat and coffee, and fell fastest in household paper and sparkling wine.
UK unemployment ticked higher in August, official statistics showed on Tuesday, by slightly more than expected, while private sector wage growth softened. According to the Office for National Statistics, unemployment was 4.8% in June to August. That was up on both July's rate of 4.7%, and ahead of consensus, also for 4.7%. In the three months to September, vacancies fell by 9,000 - or 1.3% - to 717,000.
UK retail sales growth slowed significantly in September amid rising price pressures and uncertainty ahead of the Budget, with the milder autumn weather dampening shopping activity further, according to the British Retail Consortium on Tuesday. The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor showed total retail sales rose at a year-on-year rate of 2.3% in September, down from 3.1% in August and the slowest growth rate since May. Food sales were up 4.3% on last year, slowing from 4.7% previously, and largely a result of inflation than volume growth, the BRC said.
International events
BBVA's long-running takeover battle for fellow Spanish bank Sabadell has collapsed, after shareholders rebuffed the hostile €16bn approach. The lender managed to acquire just 25% of the voting rights in Sabadell, after the remaining investors declined to sell. It needed to secure support from more than 50% to push the deal through.
Shares in Volvo slid into reverse on Friday after the Swedish truckmaker slashed its North America truck market outlook after ongoing weakness across the region kept a lid on growth in the third quarter. The company, which makes heavy trucks, buses, and construction equipment and runs separately to the namesake car brand, said net sales were SEK110.7bn during the quarter ($11.72bn), just 1% higher than last year at constant currencies but slightly shy of the SEK111.2bn consensus forecast.
Continental shares jumped Friday after the German auto parts group topped analysts' forecasts with its third-quarter results, prompting Deutsche Bank to upgrade its rating on the stock. The company, which makes everything from tyres to brake systems and infotainment solutions, reaffirmed its full-year outlook on Thursday, which will have reassured investors after French peer Michelin downgraded its guidance earlier in the week, owing to weakness in North America.
Eurozone inflation was confirmed at 2.2% in September, according to official data released Friday. The rise, reported in a flash estimate released at the start of the month, pushed prices above the European Central Bank's 2.0% target for the first time in five months. The core inflation rate, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, ticked up 0.1% to 2.4%.
Shares in Novo Norodisk slumped on Friday, after Donald Trump warned he would cut the price of the Danish firm's blockbuster weight-loss jabs. At a White House event overnight on fertility and drug pricing, the US president was asked by reporters to identify which treatment he believed should be made less expensive.
Shares in Franco-Italian eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica surged in Paris on Friday after the company smashed revenue forecasts on the back of strong demand for its Ray-Ban and Oakley branded Meta glasses. The company, which has headquarters in Paris and Milan, reported revenues of €6.87bn over the three months to 30 September, up 11.7% at constant currency and its best quarterly performance ever.
European Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis urged G7 partners on Thursday to coordinate with joint action after China's sweeping rare-earth export controls, saying leaders would ramp up efforts to diversify away from Beijing's dominance of global supply chains. Speaking at the IMF meetings in Washington, Dombrovskis said G7 nations have "shared concerns" about China's latest expansion of export controls on rare earth minerals.
US homebuilder sentiment rose in October, with the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index climbing to 37 from 32 in the prior two months, marking a six-month high and beating forecasts of 33. Current sales conditions improved to 38, while sales expectations over the next six months jumped nine points to 54. The gauge for prospective buyer traffic also rose, up four points to 25.
Charles Schwab impressed investors with record revenues and earnings in the third quarter, as higher trading volumes and capital inflows boosted financial results. Revenues were 27% higher than last year at $6.14bn, as client transactional sweep cash balances rose $13.5bn over the three months to $425.6bn, driven by organic growth, client net buying activity and seasonality, the American brokerage said. This was comfortably ahead of the $6.01bn expected by the market.
Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region contracted sharply in October, with the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index falling to a six-month low of -12.8, down from 23.2 in September and well below consensus expectations of 10. Shipments dropped 20 points but remained in positive territory at 6.0, while new orders rose six points to 18.2.
Flat pack furniture giant Inter Ikea Group posted a second consecutive decline in annual sales on Thursday, as it cut prices amid softer demand. Over the last two years, the privately-owned Swedish firm said it had cut prices by 10% in a bid to make its home furnishings more affordable.
Shares in Bank of New York Mellon Corp were falling in pre-market trade on Thursday despite the financial services group comfortably topping analysts' estimates with record revenues and strong profit growth in the third quarter. Revenues over the three months to 30 September totalled a record $5.08bn, up 9% year-on-year and ahead of the consensus estimate of $4.97bn.
Contract chipmaker TSMC smashed forecasts with a record profit in the third quarter and once again upgraded its annual revenue guidance as it continues to reap the benefits of the continued surge in AI spending worldwide. The company, officially known as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, said it now expects revenues to grow at a "mid-30%" rate in 2025, up from earlier estimates of around 30%.
The Eurozone posted a trade surplus of €1bn in August, down from €3bn a year earlier and sharply lower than both the €12.4bn recorded in July and the €6.9bn expected by economists. Initial estimates from Eurostat, the European Commission's statistical office, revealed that exports from the bloc fell 4.7% year-on-year to €205.9bn, while imports declined 3.8% to €204.9bn.
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