JD Wetherspoon FY sales grow, RWS CFO to step down
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Friday 03 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 11.2 points higher ahead of the bell on Friday after wrapping up the previous session 0.20% lower at 9,427.73.
STOCK TO WATCH
Pubs chain JD Wetherspoon posted a jump in full-year sales and profits on Friday, despite a slew of higher costs. Revenues rose 4.5% in the 52 weeks to 27 July, to £2.13bn, while pre-tax profits came in at £81.4m, a 10.1% improvement on the previous year. Like-for-like sales were up 5.1%.
Content solutions firm RWS Holdings announced on Friday that chief financial officer Candida Davies will step down from the role at the end of 2025. Davies will remain with the company to support a smooth transition and the reporting of full-year results. The board has initiated a search for her successor.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Senior officials inside Donald Trump's administration have acknowledged the Federal government shutdown, without an end in sight, could hurt the US economy. The damage could be worth billions of dollars each week, according to analysts. [...] "We estimate that each week of shutdown would reduce US GDP growth by 0.1 percentage points in Q4 (in annualised terms), translating into a $7bn weekly hit to the economy," a report by EY Parthenon said, citing the effect of lack of pay for furloughed federal workers, delayed government procurement of goods and services and decline in demand. - The Guardian
Britain's fiscal watchdog is poised to deliver a £20bn blow to Rachel Reeves by downgrading its forecasts ahead of the Budget. The embattled Chancellor will on Friday receive initial predictions from the Office for Budget Responsibility about the state of the economy, which will underpin her autumn tax and spending plan set to be unveiled on Nov 26. Ms Reeves is set to be plunged even deeper in the red because the OBR is widely expected to admit its assumptions about UK productivity gains have been too optimistic. - The Telegraph
Ryanair could cancel up to 600 flights a day next week due to French air traffic control strikes, the airline has claimed. The company's chief executive, Michael O'Leary, has reiterated demands to the EU to protect overflights in a long-running campaign to minimise the disruption from ATC strikes. The strikes mean flights from the UK to France and holiday destinations such as Spain, Italy and Greece will be affected, as those routes overfly France. - The Guardian
The government can raise as much as £45bn in non-inflationary taxes in line with its manifesto pledges at next month's budget, according to an American investment bank. Economists at Morgan Stanley said that Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, could raise £25-45bn to cover a fiscal deficit through a blitz of taxes targeting pension savings, a reform of council tax, gambling taxes, and a series of smaller changes removing tax loopholes for capital gains and national insurance contributions. - The Times
The owner of Selfridges has warned of a slowdown in wealthy foreigners visiting London to shop after suffering a £130m sales hit. Cambridge Retail Group, which controls the British luxury department store, said "reduced numbers of international visitors coming to the UK and shopping" led to revenues tumbling last year to £1.44bn versus £1.57bn a year earlier. The warning will fuel concerns over Britain's luxury sector after it was dealt a blow from a government decision to axe tax-free shopping for tourists. - The Telegraph
US CLOSE
Major indices extended their record-setting run again on Thursday, even as the ongoing government shutdown kept a lid on risk appetite.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.17% at 46,519.72, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.06% to 6,715.35 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.39% firmer at 22,844.05.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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