Weekly review
By Josh White
Date: Friday 27 Jun 2025
(Sharecast News) - The FTSE 100 ended the week up 24.26 points, or 0.28%, closing at 8,798.91 on Friday.
Equity view
Energy firm Centrica will take a 15% stake in Britain's Sizewell C nuclear project, according to the Financial Times, following years of delays and extensive negotiations. A final investment decision on the project was being targeted for before parliament's recess on 21 July.
The sale price of Unilever's takeover of men's grooming brand Dr Squatch is reported to have been $1.5bn, according to reports on Friday. The acquisition, from growth equity firm Summit Partners, was formally announced by all three companies on Monday, but press releases did not disclose any financial details.
DP Poland reported strong growth for 2024 on Friday, with revenue rising 20.2% to £53.6m and system sales up 19.8% to £55.2m, driven by robust like-for-like growth in Poland despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop. The AIM-traded company, which holds the master franchise for Domino's Pizza in Poland, delivered its third consecutive year of double-digit like-for-like system sales growth in the country, which rose 17.9%, supported by a 20.1% increase in delivery channel sales.
IG Group confirmed on Friday that its previously-announced reduction of capital has become effective following approval by the High Court. The FTSE 250 company said the court order, along with the accompanying statement of capital, was registered on 26 June.
Balfour Beatty secures £833.0m contract with Technip Energies that will see it act as the construction partner for Net Zero Teesside Power - an onshore power, capture and compression project. Balfour Beatty said on Thursday that it will work alongside Technip Energies and GE Vernova to construct the large-scale combined cycle gas-powered generation plant for Net Zero Teesside Power, a joint venture between BP and Equinor.
Automotive distributor Inchcape reiterated its FY guidance on Thursday after what it called a "resilient operating performance" for the six months ending 30 June. Inchcape said it had seen "consistent overall total industry volume trends" across its markets throughout H125, with the company being hit with limited tariff-related impacts so far.
Chemring said a joint feasibility study with Norway on a new military explosives factory would now go to a second phase. The new phase will determine the size of the facility, along with the commercial arrangements, and is expected to be finalised next year, Chemring added.
Topps Tiles' share price jumped on Thursday after the retailer appointed former National Express boss Alex Jensen as its new chief executive officer and reported a change-up in the chief financial officer role. The tile specialist said that, following current CEO Rob Parker's announced retirement in January, Jensen will join the business in September and work alongside Parker until the end of the year.
Distribution centre investor Tritax Big Box REIT (BBOX) has reached an agreement to take over smaller peer Warehouse REIT for £485m, outbidding an earlier proposal by Blackstone. The offer gives Warehouse REIT shareholders 0.4236 new BBOX shares and 47.2p in cash, which equates to 110p per Warehouse REIT share, based on BBOX's closing share price on Tuesday.
Auto and bike parts retailer and garage chain Halfords reported full-year profits ahead of market expectations, driven by solid underlying revenue growth and improved margins, but said it remains "somewhat cautious" about the outlook for consumer spending. Trading in the early weeks of FY26, which began on 29 March, has been in line with expectations, though chief executive Henry Birch expressed uncertainty regarding how the macro environment will impact how customers spend their money.
Online retailer THG said on Tuesday that Q2 trading has been "much improved" across both its beauty and nutrition units, with the overall group returning to constant currency revenue growth, underpinned by a "strong June exit rate". Following "a significant improvement" quarter-on-quarter, THG said its beauty arm was expected to deliver a revenue decline of between 2.0% and 3.0%, up from Q1's 9.8% drop. Beauty retail, which comprises the vast majority of the THG beauty business, "traded resiliently", with growth in the UK at its highest rate since Q124, supporting market share gains.
Automotive retailer Vertu Motors said on Wednesday that it was "encouraged" by its start to FY26, particularly the growth of the new retail market in March. Vertu said new car retail like-for-like volume growth came to 7.0%, with the group gaining market share against the UK retail market, which was up 5.6% in the three months ended 31 May. Fleet and commercial vehicle like-for-like sales volume was 3.0% higher.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca's Datroway has been approved in the US for adult patients with previously treated advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. AstraZeneca said the indication was approved under accelerated approval based on objective response rate and duration of response. However, it said continued approval may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefits in a confirmatory trial.
Rio Tinto on Tuesday announced a joint investment of $1.61bn with Hancock Prospecting to develop the Hope Downs 2 iron ore project in Western Australia's Pilbara region. The mine is expected to produce 31 million tonnes of ore a year. Hope Downs 2 will include two new pits and be incorporated into existing infrastructure, Rio said in a statement. All regulatory and environmental approvals were in place and the first ore was scheduled to be mined in 2027, it added.
Telecom Plus reported record profits in line with market expectations in the 12 months to 31 March despite a slip in revenues, and pointed to further growth in the year ahead. The company, which provides subscription-style essential household services in the UK, said the 20% drop in the Ofgem energy price cap during the year, which averaged £1,700, led to a fall in revenues to £1.84bn from £2.04bn.
Online ticketing platform Trainline on Tuesday said it had signed a contract with the Rail Delivery Group to supply technology supporting new digital pay-as-you-go trials. The trials will run across the Northern Rail and East Midlands Railway networks, starting between September and November, with each running for nine months from their respective start date.
Trading platform tech group Plus500 has expanded further into North America after getting the green light from regulators in Canada, lifting the number of its regulatory licences worldwide to 15. The company said the licence, from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, is an "important milestone" in the "well-established and highly regulated Canadian market".
The battle for Assura took a new twist on Monday after the healthcare property firm accepted an increased £1.79bn bid from Primary Health Properties only days after recommending a £1.7bn final offer from private equity outfits KKR & Stonepeak. Based on the PHP closing share price of 103.5 pence on 20 June 2025, the increased offer is 0.3865 new PHP shares and 12.5p in cash. Assura shareholders would also be entitled to a special dividend of 0.84p a share.
Military equipment manufacturer Avon Technologies has received a £10.2m order from the UK Ministry of Defence to provide respirators for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Avon says that its FM50 respirator masks, which provide full-face protection against CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) threats, are the "most advanced military general service respiratory protection masks to date".
Cake Box Holdings said on Monday that it was delaying publication of its full-year results after the specialist baker's auditor asked for more time. The AIM-listed business, known for its egg-free celebration cakes, said the audit was already "well advanced".
Economic news
UK car production slumped to a near 80-year low in May, industry figures showed on Friday, as Donald Trump's swingeing tariff regime hit home. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, car and commercial production fell for a fifth consecutive month, tumbling 32.8% to 49,810 units, the weakest performance since 1949 excluding Covid.
The recent rise in UK inflation had introduced more uncertainty about the near-term outlook for price rises, particularly food, said Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. In a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce, Bailey added that there were signs of a cooling in the jobs market and wage growth.
Retail sales volumes tumbled in June, an industry survey showed on Thursday, as nervous consumers put off spending. According to the latest distributive trades survey from the Confederation of British Industry, the retail sales volumes balance slumped to -46 from -27 in May. The ninth consecutive month of decline, the print also missed consensus expectations of -32.
Supermarket sales sparked in June, industry data showed on Wednesday, fuelled by the warmer summer weather and Father's Day. According to NielsenIQ, total till sales growth was 3.8% in the four weeks to 14 June, an improvement on the 3% uplift seen in May.
Manufacturing output in the UK weakened in the three months to June, according to the latest industrial trends survey from the Confederation of British Industry released on Tuesday. The CBI's balance for manufacturing new orders fell to -33 from -30 in May.
Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene warned on Tuesday that UK inflation may not fall as quickly as hoped, cautioning that recent price increases could mark a prolonged plateau rather than a temporary spike. Speaking at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research on Tuesday, Greene said she was concerned about the near-term outlook.
Amazon announced plans to invest £40bn in the UK over the next three years on Tuesday, in a move hailed by the government as a major vote of confidence in Britain's economic future. The wide-ranging investment plan would include new fulfilment centres, office buildings, data infrastructure, creative industry projects, and nationwide job creation.
The volume of groceries sold in the UK slipped over the past month despite footfall jumping to a record high, though higher prices lifted sales figures for the nation's supermarkets, according to data from industry research firm Kantar on Tuesday. Shoppers made 490m trips to the supermarket over the four weeks to 15 June, averaging nearly 17 trips per household, despite grocery price inflation surging to a 14-month high of 4.7%, up from 4.1% the month before.
The UK government has pledged to lower electricity bills for thousands of businesses and slash red tape, as it formally launched its long-awaited industrial strategy on Monday. Under the wide-ranging, ten-year plan, more than 7,000 energy-intensive businesses will see their electricity costs cut by up to 25% from 2027 under a new British industrial competitiveness scheme.
UK consumer sentiment hit a two-month low in June amid worries about inflation eroding purchasing power and an increasing appetite for debt by households, according to a survey published on Monday. The S&P consumer sentiment index for June fell to 45 from 45.2 in May, while the spending sentiment index declined to 37.4 from 38.2 and a read out on job security slipped below 50 to 49.2.
International events
Economic sentiment across the eurozone weakened as expected in June, according to data out on Friday from the European Commission, with falling industry confidence weighing on the overall mood. The EC's Economic Sentiment Indicator for this month showed a 0.8-point decline to 94.0, compared with the consensus forecast of an improvement to 95.1.
The US and China have taken a significant step towards securing a long-term trade deal after agreeing details of a trade framework, it was widely reported on Friday. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Beijing would "review and approve eligible applications for export of controlled items in accordance with the law", while the US would cancel unspecified restrictions.
Inflation in France unexpectedly accelerated in June, rising from a four-year low, as energy price deflation slowed and price pressures in the services sector picked up. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, otherwise known as INSEE, the consumer price index rose 0.9% year-on-year this month, surprising economists who expected the annual inflation rate to hold at 0.7% - its lowest since early 2021.
US pending home sales increased 1.1% year-on-year in May, according to the National Association of Realtors, marking the first annual rise in six months. Based on signed contracts, pending home sales increased 1.8% month-on-month to 72.6, with sales rising in all four regions.
The US economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2025, marking its first quarterly decline in three years, according to a final estimate from the Commerce Department on Thursday. It was a downward revision from the previous estimate of a 0.2% decline, reflecting weaker-than-expected consumer spending and exports.
Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 21 June, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 236,000, down from the previous week's upwardly revised 246,000 print and better than the 245,000 analysts had expected to see.
Consumer confidence in Germany remained subdued over the past month, as an improving economic outlook was dampened by an increasing willingness to save money, according to the closely watched survey from market research firm GfK on Thursday. The forward-looking consumer climate indicator, jointly published by NIQ/GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), came in at -20.3 for July, down from -20.0 in June but slightly ahead of the 19.0 consensus forecast.
New home sales in the United States plunged in May by their most in nearly three years as elevated mortgage rates dampened affordability levels among buyers. Data from the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed the sales of new single-family houses totalled just 623,000 last month, down 13.7% after growing by 9.6% in April.
US mortgage applications increased by 1.10% in the week ended 20 June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, trimming the prior week's 2.6% drop. Applications to refinance a mortgage rose by 3%, while applications to purchase a home were broadly flat week-on-week.
New car registrations across the European Union in May were 1.6% higher than last year as sharp drops in combustion engine cars were outweighed by surging sales of alternative fuel vehicles. Total registrations across the EU totalled 926,582 last month, up from 911,581 in May 2024, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (also known as ACEA).
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