Entain reiterates FY guidance, Wood Group CEO to step down
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 15 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 37.3 points higher on Wednesday after wrapping up the previous session 0.10% firmer at 9,452.77.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Bookmaker Entain reiterated its full-year guidance on Wednesday, despite a slew of customer-friendly results during the third quarter. Updating on trading, the owner of Coral, Ladbrokes, Foxy Bingo and Gala, among others, said total net gaming revenues rose 6% in the three months ended 30 September. In the UK, NGR grew 8%, while in the US - where Entain has a joint venture, BetMGM - they surged 23%, ahead of expectations.
Wood Group announced that chief executive Ken Gilmartin will resign from the board 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.
Property developer Great Portland Estates has received planning permission from Southwark Council for the redevelopment of St Thomas Yard, SE1. Great Portland Estates said on Wednesday that the retrofit-first project will retain the existing 1980s building's primary structure 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. The redevelopment was expected to commence in summer 2026 and be complete in late 2028.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Ed Miliband has approved the UK's biggest solar farm, which will be built in a county where Reform UK's anti-renewables agenda has won rising support. The energy secretary on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for the Tillbridge solar farm to be developed near Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. Once built, it will generate enough electricity to power 300,000 UK homes. - Guardian
The US and UK have seized $15bn (£11.3bn) in bitcoin and frozen London properties owned by the alleged leaders of scam centres in Cambodia that trick victims around the world and torture their trafficked workers. Two Chinese-born businessmen are among the six people hit by travel bans and sanctions that aim to tackle the growing threat of organised crime gangs carrying out online fraud globally on an industrial scale. - Guardian
Mortgage rates have risen for the first time since February, thanks to sticky inflation and lender nerves ahead of the Budget. Average rates on two and five-year fixed mortgages increased by 0.02% respectively over the past month, the first rise in eight months, according to Moneyfacts. It comes as the Bank of England voted to keep its headline interest rate at 4% last month amid sticky inflation in part caused by Rachel Reeves's National Insurance raid. - Telegraph
The Labour Party's hedge fund donor has paid out a dividend of £360m after reporting a jump in revenue and profits in the year of the general election. Quadrature Capital, which made the largest single donation to the Labour Party ahead of the election, paid out the dividend as revenues jumped to £1.2bn from £588m in the year ended January 31 2025, with profit before tax rising to £553.9m from £56.2m. - The Times
Oura has announced that it raised $900m in its latest investment round, valuing the health tech business at $11bn. Fidelity led the fundraising for the maker of health-tracker smart rings, with participation from Iconiq, a new investor, and contributions from Whale Rock and Atreides. - The Times
US CLOSE
Wall Street stocks turned in mixed performance on Tuesday despite a barrage of strong earnings from some banking heavyweights, as the focus was firmly fixed on trade tensions and comments from the head of the Federal Reserve.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.44% at 46,270.46, while the S&P 500 shed 0.15% to 6,644.31 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.76% weaker at 22,521.70.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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