Weekly review
By Josh White
Date: Friday 29 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - The FTSE 100 ended the week down 121.86 points, or 1.31%, closing at 9,187.34 on Friday.
Equity view
Engineering and consulting business Wood Group has sold its transmission and distribution division in North America as it sheds non-core businesses ahead of its possible takeover by Sidara. North America T&D, which provides power infrastructure engineering for substations, transmission, distribution and renewable generation across Canada and the US, is being sold to Qualus for $110m.
Private equity investor Pantheon International said on Friday that its net asset value had increased 3.7% in July to 510.4p per share, primarily by favourable foreign exchange movements and valuation gains, while total NAV grew to £2.3bn. During July, Pantheon invested £7.0m in share buybacks, bringing its year-to-date total to £19m out of a £30m allocation earmarked for the period between June and the August NAV publication, repurchasing 2.17m shares at a weighted average price of 321.1p per share - an average discount of 35.0% to the prevailing net asset value per share at the time of the transactions.
Frasers Group said on Friday that chair David Daly will step down from the board at the annual general meeting next month after eight years of service and will be succeeded by Sir Jon Thompson on 1 September. The company also said it expects to appoint Andy Lyon as non-executive director and to make a further announcement in due course regarding a second, "well-advanced" candidate, for a further non-executive director position.
Ocean Wilsons has once again urged investors to back its £900m merger with Hansa after US investor Arnhold said it would vote against the deal, claiming it undervalued the UK maritime services and investment firm. In a letter to investors, Ocean Wilsons said an independent committee appointed to look at the merger "believes that the combination is in the best interests of ...shareholders".
Apax Global Alpha reported a fall in net asset value in the first half of 2025 on Friday, as currency movements weighed on returns, while its board backed a takeover offer from Janus Bidco. Net asset value stood at €1.11bn at 30 June, down from €1.23bn at the end of 2024, equivalent to €2.29 or £1.97 per share. The FTSE 250 company recorded a total NAV return of -6.1% in the period, largely driven by the depreciation of the US dollar against the euro.
Precision engineering group Hunting on Thursday held full-year guidance but cautioned that market uncertainty could impact results. The oil industry specialist posted a jump in half-year core earnings to $70.2m from $60.3m a year earlier against what it called a "volatile" macro-economic environment and unveiled a $40m share buyback.
IT infrastructure firm Softcat said on Thursday that it now expected to deliver "high-teens growth" in full-year gross profits and "mid-teens growth" in FY operating profits as it continued to "trade well" during the fourth quarter, supported by further conversion of larger solutions projects. Softcat also said that it had remained "highly cash generative", with FY25 cash conversion expected to be towards the top end of its 85%-95% forecasts.
Barclays said it had sold its shareholding in Entercard Group to its joint venture partner, Swedbank at book value - estimated to be 2.6 billion Swedish crowns. Entercard was established as a joint venture in 2005, providing consumer credit to customers across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. The sale is expected to release around £0.9bn of risk weighted assets, increasing Barclays' common tier equity ratio by around four basis points. The deal is expected to complete by year-end 2025, after buyer regulatory and competition approvals, the bank said in a statement.
Biotherapeutics firm Puretech Health said on Thursday that it had made "meaningful progress" across its portfolio in the first half of 2025, with contract revenues soaring throughout the period. Puretech said contract revenues had surged 542.7% to $1.85m in the six months ended 30 June, primarily due to the recognition of royalty revenue from sales of its Cobenfy asset, while general and administrative expenses decreased by 10% to $24.9m, driven by workforce reductions. Total operating expenses for the first six months of the year were $49.8m, versus $66.7m at the same time a year earlier.
Drax tumbled on Thursday after saying it is being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority over statements regarding biomass sourcing. In a brief statement, the company said the regulator has begun an investigation covering the period from January 2022 to March 2024. It relates to certain historical statements about Drax's biomass sourcing "and the compliance of Drax's 2021, 2022 and 2023 annual reports with the Listing Rules and Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules".
Sports fashion retailer JD Sports said on Wednesday that it expects FY26 pre-tax profits to meet current market expectations despite seeing group sales fall in the six months ended 2 August. JD Sports said H1 group sales were down 2.5% on a like-for-like basis at £5.94bn, with North American sales down 3.8% at £2.31bn, UK sales dropping by 3.3% to £1.46bn, Asia-Pacific sales slipping 2.4% to £238m and European sales contracting 0.4% to £1.92bn.
Prudential delivered double-digit growth across its key metrics in the first half, with earnings coming in ahead of analysts' forecasts as it announced new plans for share buybacks over the next two years. The company, which said it had reached an "inflection point in our capital generation", said it would repurchase $500m of shares in 2026 and $600m in 2027.
Hochschild Mining cut its full year production target after problems at its Mara Rosa operation in Brazil due to weather and contractor performance issues. The company now expects to produce 291,000- 319,000 gold equivalent ounces, down from a prior forecast of 350,000-378,000 ounces. Mara Rosa's production target was revised down to 35,000-45,000 ounces from 94,000-104,000.
Frasers Group said on Wednesday that it has taken a minority stake in UK leisure company We Do Play, which operates Rumble Rooms and gaming venues Activate. No financial details were disclosed. Frasers Group chief acquisition officer James France said: "Today's announcement marks a significant milestone in our strategy to diversify and create more dynamic consumer and leisure experiences.
National Grid urged Ofgem to make significant changes to its RIIO-ET3 draft determination on Wednesday, saying it wanted to ensure the next price control delivered the scale of investment needed for Britain's electricity transmission network. The FTSE 100 company said it welcomed Ofgem's "continued positive intent" in designing the framework, including its commitment to an £80bn investment plan, the recognition of the urgency in delivering new infrastructure, and improvements to the financial package since the sector-specific methodology decision.
Workspace Group has announced a new five-year lease at its Kennington Park site in London, giving up its own headquarters to Wild Cosmetics as the office management company relocates to Camden. Following its acquisition by Unilever, Wild Cosmetics is nearly doubling its space in Kennington Park from 7,500 square foot to 14,000 square feet, while Workspace will move its base operations to The Centro Buildings.
Halma on Tuesday said it had bought Netherlands-based gyroscopic locating system maker Brownline for €150m (£129m). Founded in 1994 Brownline's main markets are energy, fibre connectivity and water. Its sales are principally to North America, continental Europe and the UK, and it has offices in the Netherlands, the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
Wood Group has announced that it would be willing to accept a reduced takeover offer from Dubai-based Sidari, but has extended the deadline for talks by another three days. Sidari first approached the oilfield services group in April but, after a series of extensions under 'put up or shut up' UK takeover rules, had until 25 August to make a firm offer or walk away.
Shares in AIM-listed Ashtead Technology jumped on Tuesday after the subsea tech group revealed a surge in both revenues and adjusted profits in the first half, as it confirmed plans to move to the Main Market. The firm, which provides tech solutions to the offshore energy sector, intends to apply for admission to the Main Market of the London Sock Exchange, with the move expected to happen on 6 October.
ITM Power announced on Tuesday that its newly-established subsidiary Hydropulse has entered into a strategic partnership with international renewable energy developer ABO Energy to accelerate the rollout of decentralised green hydrogen production facilities across Europe. The AIM-traded firm said the collaboration would combine ABO Energy's development capabilities, power supply expertise and access to industrial offtakers with Hydropulse's focus on building, owning and operating modular, containerised hydrogen plants using ITM's electrolyser technology.
Economic news
Shares in UK banks fell on Friday after an influential think tank called for a windfall tax on the sector to bolster public finances. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said the Bank of England should stop bond sales to stem £22bn-a-year losses from quantative easing (QE) as it winds the programme down.
Business confidence in the UK edged higher this month as trading prospects hit their highest in more than a decade, though optimism about the economic outlook still declined. The Lloyds Business Barometer for August rose two points to 54%, marking the fourth monthly increase in a row.
UK car production increased in July, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, with exports driving growth despite a sharp decline in commercial vehicle output. The SMMT said UK car manufacturing rose 5.6% year-on-year in July to 69,127 units, principally driven by a 13.7% rise in exports, which accounted for nearly four-fifths of total production. Shipments to the US, Turkey and Japan saw notable growth, although exports to the EU and China declined.
Service sector activity across the UK continued the weaken in the three months to August, according to a survey released on Thursday by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), as business confidence waned and profitability dropped to its lowest level in nearly five years. Among business and professional services firms, optimism about the general business situation during June, July and August was in negative territory for the fourth straight quarter, though eased to -29% from -43% in the three months to May.
Producer price inflation in the UK surged to a two-year high in June, according to data out on Wednesday from the Office for National Statistics. In its interim publication before the ONS resumes its monthly releases of produce price indices (PPI) in October, the statistics agency said that factory gate prices were 1.9% higher than a year ago in June, hitting its highest since May 2023.
UK retail sales fell for the eleventh month in a row in the year to August, according to a survey released on Wednesday by the Confederation of British Industry, with weak demand, increased labour costs, and low confidence continuing to take their toll. The retail sales volume balance was -32%, a slightly improvement on July's -34%.
Thames Water has secured a payment plan with Ofwat for £122.7m in penalties, it was confirmed on Wednesday, as it raced to avoid collapse and potential temporary nationalisation. The UK's largest water company, serving 16 million customers, would pay £24.5m - 20% of the total fines - by 30 September, with the remaining balance due on the earliest of three dates - 30 days after a financial restructuring, 30 days after exiting a special administration regime (SAR) if one is imposed, or by a backstop deadline of 31 March 2030.
Shop price inflation across the UK rose in August to a 17-month high as rising costs filtered through to consumers, with pressure mounting on the government to ease the strain on retailers ahead of the next Budget. The British Retail Consortium's shop price index was 0.9% higher than last August, its highest annual increase since March 2024, as a 0.8% fall in non-food prices was outweighed by a 4.2% increase in food inflation.
International events
Germany's unemployment rate held at its highest level in more than four years in August, remaining unchanged for the sixth straight month, according to official statistics out on Friday. When excluding seasonal trends, unadjusted unemployment rose by 46,000, topping the 3m mark for the first time in more than a decade.
Rémy Cointreau has revised the estimated impact of US tariffs on business, cutting the estimated negative hit on profits by €15m, following the trade deal reached between the US and EU. After the US and EU agreed a 15% tariff rate from 1 August, down from the initially proposed 30%, the French spirits group now estimates that the net overall impact of tariffs on current operating profit will be €30m, compared with €45m previously.
Retail sales in Germany dropped more than expected in July, registering their sharpest rate of decline in nearly two years, according to data out on Friday from Destatis. Retail sales volumes declined 1.5% last month, more than offsetting a 1.0% increase in June, the Federal Statistical Office said.
The US economy grew more than initially estimated in the second quarter, according to figures released on Thursday by the Commerce Department. A second estimate revealed that gross domestic product expanded at an annualised rate of 3.3%, up from an initial estimate of 3% growth. Economists were expecting a revision to 3.1%.
German takeaway food delivery firm Delivery Hero has reduced its full-year profit outlook citing foreign exchange headwinds. The company now expects FY25 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of between €900m and €940m, down from previous guidance of €975m to €1.03bn. It pointed to around €110m of foreign exchange headwinds.
Chipmaker Nvidia posted second-quarter earnings late on Wednesday that topped Wall Street estimates, but shares traded lower after data centre sales fell short of expectations. Revenues rose 56% year-on-year to $46.7bn, and net income surged 59% to $26.4bn, while adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.05, ahead of consensus estimates, while gross margins remained robust at 72.7%.
Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace last week, according to fresh data from the Department of Labor, but underlying trends suggested the US labour market remains in a holding pattern. Initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 in the week ended 23 August, slightly below consensus forecasts of 230,000, while continuing claims, which track those still receiving benefits, dipped by 7,000 to 1.954m in the prior week.
Dick's Sporting Goods delivered record second-quarter sales and raised its full-year guidance on Thursday, as strong demand across its store network and online channels drove higher revenue and earnings. For the quarter ended 2 August, sales rose 5% year-on-year to $3.65bn, while comparable sales increased by the same margin, ahead of analyst expectations of 3.2%, according to LSEG data.
Best Buy reported second-quarter results that beat sales expectations on Thursday, posting its first quarterly sales growth in more than three years as demand for gaming, computing, and mobile devices helped offset the drag from restructuring costs and lower margins. Revenue for the quarter ended 2 August rose 1.6% to $9.44bn, above analyst forecasts and ending a streak of 14 straight quarterly sales declines.
Economic sentiment in the eurozone dipped in August, according to a survey released on Thursday. The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator for the eurozone nudged down to 95.2 from 95.7 in July, while the indicator for the European Union ticked 0.3 points lower to 94.9. Meanwhile, the employment expectations indicator for the euro area nudged up 0.3 points to 97.8, while the indicator for the EU was 0.6 points higher at 98.1.
Wine and spirits group Pernod Ricard said on Thursday that sales had declined in the twelve months ended 30 June, citing ongoing weakness in both the US and China as key drags on performance. Pernod Ricard said full-year organic sales fell 2%, with a 9% drop in the US and a 12% decline in China offsetting growth in India and its travel retail segment, with the group pointing to subdued consumer demand and inventory adjustments in both markets, adding that macroeconomic pressures and geopolitical tensions had weighed on sentiment.
Shares in Kohl's surged by nearly a quarter on Wednesday after the American department store chain beat forecasts with its second-quarter results and guided to a slightly lower-than-expected sales decline this year. The company, which is in the midst of a years-long turnaround to reinvigorate its product line-up and cut costs, said full-year net sales would likely decrease by 5-6% this year, compared with an earlier forecast of 5-7%.
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