JW Wetherspoon sales grow YTD, Informa upgrades FY guidance
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 23 Jul 2025
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 39.7 points higher ahead of the bell on Wednesday, after wrapping up the previous session 0.12% firmer at 9,023.81.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Pub landlord JD Wetherspoon said on Wednesday that like-for-like sales increased by 5.1% year-on-year in the 12 weeks ended 20 July, as sales volumes recently overtook pre-pandemic levels. Year-to-date like-for-like sales also increased by 5.1%.
Publishing and exhibitions group Informa said on Wednesday that strong forward visibility had led it to upgrade FY guidance. Informa said reported revenues had grown by 20.1% in the six months ended 30 June, while adjusted operating profits increased 24% to £578.9m and earnings per share rose by 25.2% to 29.8p. Operating margins increased from 27.5% to 28.4%.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Donald Trump said the US had agreed the terms of a "massive" trade deal with Japan that will impose 15% tariffs on goods imported into America from the world's fourth-largest economy. The 15% levy is lower than the 25% he had threatened in a letter earlier this month, but higher than the 10% rate that had been in force while the countries negotiated. - Financial Times
The governor of the Bank of England has warned Rachel Reeves that cutting red tape on the banking sector risks sparking another financial crisis as he downplayed the rise in UK government debt costs. Andrew Bailey told a group of influential MPs on Tuesday that rolling back restrictions on the City and ditching bank ringfencing guidelines could destabilise the UK financial system and "would not be [a] sensible" decision for the time being. - The Times
Eurostar has urged the UK government to choose a "credible long-term strategy" for international rail or risk "falling behind" the rest of Europe, before a crucial decision by the regulator that could end its cross-Channel monopoly. The high-speed train operator warned that a "premature" ruling from the Office of Rail and Road to allow competitors to squeeze trains into existing facilities could jeopardise its planned investment and expansion. - The Guardian
The House of Lords has approved legislation to enable the United Arab Emirates to become part-owner of The Telegraph against significant cross-party opposition. Peers agreed to allow foreign states to take passive shareholdings in British newspapers of up to 15%. The move prepares the ground for the end of more than two years of damaging limbo for The Telegraph, which has effectively operated without an owner since June 2023. - The Telegraph
Private equity firms made record use of a controversial tactic to cash out their clients by selling assets to themselves in the first half of the year, as they struggle to find external buyers or list holdings. Buyout groups used so-called continuation funds - in which a private equity group sells assets from one of the funds they manage to a fresher fund also managed by the firm - to exit $41.0bn of investments in the first six months of 2025, according to a report by investment bank Jefferies. - Financial Times
A new survey among small and medium-sized businesses has found that a huge majority expect to be raising prices over the next year, with optimism split on whether they will survive or thrive amid challenging economic conditions. Business owners have been hit this year by raised National Insurance Contributions and a higher minimum wage, while a new pensions review could ultimately see them have to contribute more in the future as well. - The Independent
US CLOSE
Major indices delivered a mixed performance on Tuesday as traders digested another batch of quarterly earnings reports from some of the country's biggest companies.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.40% at 44,502.44, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.06% to 6,309.62, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.39% weaker at 20,892.68.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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