GSK CEO steps down, Hilton Food disposes of Fairfax Meadow Europe
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 29 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 36.8 points higher ahead of the bell on Monday after wrapping up the previous session 0.77% firmer at 9,284.83.
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Chief executive Emma Walmsley will leave GSK after nearly a decade in the role, it said on Monday. She will be succeeded by the biopharmaceutical giant's chief commercial officer, Luke Miels.
Food packaging business Hilton Food Group has sold Fairfax Meadow Europe to Sysco GB, part of the Sysco Group, for £54m in cash. The FTSE 250-listed firm said on Monday that the transaction, which was expected to be earnings dilutive, included a three-year supply agreement with Hilton Food Solutions, ensuring continuity of supply.
Pets At Home said chief financial officer Mike Iddon was retiring after nine years in the job and will be replaced by Sarah Pollard, who joins the firm from consumer goods group PZ Cussons. Iddon will remain in his role until spring 2026 to ensure an orderly transition, the company said in a statement.
Housebuilder Berkeley has announced the promotion of a divisional finance director to its chief financial officer position. Neil Eady, who has been with the company since 2013 and currently leads the finance function of Berkeley Capital, has been appointed to the board with immediate effect. The promotion follows former CFO Richard Stearn's move to become chief executive earlier in the summer.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The EU steel industry, already reeling from Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on imports, is bracing itself for further damage after the US opened the possibility of a rolling list of "derivative" products that could be subject to tariffs, including windows and doors with some metal. In August, the US listed 407 product categories as "derivative" inclusions, ranging from wind turbines, mobile cranes and bulldozers to rail cars and furniture. - Guardian
Graduates fresh from university will find it difficult to find a job after a 35% drop in hiring by employers over the last year, according to analysis by a leading recruitment data provider. Hiring freezes at many employers have taken the biggest toll on graduates and meant there is fierce competition for the few jobs left for younger workers. - Guardian
Fears Britain is edging closer to a recession have been stoked by new figures showing a drop in job openings. Vacancies declined by 2.1% year-on-year in August, according to Adzuna, after businesses were hit by softer demand as well as a rise in employer National Insurance and the National Living Wage. - Telegraph
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's petrochemicals empire is operating under a debt burden from a series of acquisitions that is expected to prevent dividend payments until at least 2030. Ineos has been paying out dividends almost every year for more than ten years, but it has cut the payouts after it swung to a loss in 2024. - The Times
Rachel Reeves should increase taxes on landlords and homes worth more than £2m and force wealthy investors who relocate from the UK to pay a levy on profits made while they lived in the country, a cross-party think tank has urged. The chancellor could raise £21bn with eight reforms to the tax system, including introducing an "exit tax" on investors that leave the UK, subjecting landlords' rental income to national insurance and forcing people who inherit assets to pay capital gains tax on the change in value since they were bought rather than since the date of death. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices delivered decent gains on Friday, bouncing back after the recent sell-off, as investors digested another raft of economic data.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.65% at 46,247.29, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.59% to 6,643.70 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.44% stronger at 22,484.07.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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