London open: FTSE falls after disappointing GDP; 3i, Aviva slide
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 13 Nov 2025
(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Thursday, dragged lower by 3i Group and Aviva and a host of ex-dividend names, as investors mulled disappointing UK GDP data.
At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 9,887.12.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the economy unexpectedly shrank in September.
GDP declined by 0.1% on the month following no growth in August - this was revised down from 0.1% growth - and an unrevised fall of 0.1% in July. Economists had been expecting GDP to be unchanged in September.
Production fell by 2.0%, while services grew by 0.2% and construction rose 0.2%. The drop in production was attributed largely to a fall in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, which slumped 28.6%.
This was due partly to the fact that production at Jaguar Land Rover was halted following a cyber attack.
In the three months to September, GDP grew 0.1%, following 0.2% growth in the previous quarter, which was revised down from 0.3%. Economists were expecting 0.3% growth.
ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown, said: "Growth slowed further in the third quarter of the year with both services and construction weaker than in the previous period. There was also a further contraction in production.
"Across the quarter as a whole manufacturing drove the weakness in production. There was a particularly marked fall in car production in September, reflecting the impact of a cyber incident, as well as a decline in the often-erratic pharmaceutical industry.
"Services were the main contributor to growth in the latest quarter, with business rental and leasing, live events and retail performing well, partially offset by falls in R&D [research and development] and hair and beauty salons."
Barret Kupelian, chief economist at PwC, said September's GDP figures show the economy has slipped into "wait-and-see" mode ahead of the Autumn Budget.
"That's consistent with the recent news of a cooling labour market and business investment that remains broadly flat on last year," he said. "An economy that pauses too long risks losing its rhythm. The onus now rests with the Chancellor to deliver a credible, pro-growth Budget that meets fiscal rules, creates certainty for the future and gets the UK back in step."
In equity markets, Convatec surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it hailed strong sales growth in the 10 months to October end and said it was on track to deliver FY25 and medium-term financial targets.
Persimmon gained as the housebuilder reiterated is full-year outlook despite "challenging" market conditions, after a jump in sales and prices.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Endeavour and Hochschild all shone as gold prices rose.
Burberry racked up strong gained as it reported an increase in quarterly comparable store sales for the first time in two years, and said it swung to an adjusted operating profit of £19m in the first half to 27 September, compared with a loss of £41m the year before.
Wizz Air flew higher after it posted a jump in first-half operating profit.
Premier Foods gained as the Mr Kipling owner said it was on track to meet full-year trading profit expectations, while adjusted pre-tax profit for the year was set to be slightly higher.
On the downside, 3i Group tumbled even as the private equity and infrastructure investment firm said it had delivered a strong investment performance over the first half to 30 September, helped by solid gains from long-term hold asset, Action.
Aviva slid after a third-quarter trading update. Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said this was "a harsh reaction to what looks like a solid set of results".
"Management raised targets, accelerated timelines, and gave investors a clearer path to buybacks, all while showing good progress on integrating Direct Line. Cost savings are well ahead of expectations at £225 million and a chunk of capital, to the tune of £0.5 billion, is expected to be freed up by 2026," he said.
Barratt Redrow lost ground as it said chief financial officer Mike Scott had stepped down with immediate effect "by mutual agreement". Former Rank Group finance director Micheal Passmore will join the company immediately as interim deputy CFO.
Keller and Grafton also fell after trading updates.
B&M European Value Retail edged lower as the discount retailer reported a slump in half-year profits and a leadership team reshuffle under new chief executive Tjeerd Jegen.
Rolls-Royce fell as it reiterated its full-year guidance despite supply chain pressures.
Sainsbury's, BP, Shell, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Lancashire Holdings, Partners Group, Greencoat, GCP Infrastructure Investments, The Renewables Infrastructure Group, C&C and International Public Partnerships were all in the red as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,887.12 -0.25%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,153.81 0.08%
techMARK (TASX) 5,644.72 0.10%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Convatec Group (CTEC) 253.40p 7.10%
Fresnillo (FRES) 2,466.00p 5.20%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,355.00p 3.81%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,279.00p 2.03%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,258.00p 2.03%
Experian (EXPN) 3,378.00p 1.66%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,378.00p 1.55%
Rightmove (RMV) 571.60p 1.46%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,927.00p 1.21%
Prudential (PRU) 1,108.00p 1.19%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
3i Group (III) 3,660.00p -10.05%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 326.60p -4.17%
Aviva (AV.) 666.40p -3.78%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 17,285.00p -2.95%
WPP (WPP) 292.00p -2.24%
BP (BP.) 459.40p -1.81%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 2,711.00p -1.49%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 7,030.00p -1.40%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 388.30p -1.25%
Shell (SHEL) 2,874.50p -1.19%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,564.00p 10.89%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,110.00p 9.47%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 396.20p 6.97%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 226.60p 4.38%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 232.00p 4.04%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 635.00p 3.42%
Premier Foods (PFD) 178.20p 3.01%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 453.80p 2.72%
Genus (GNS) 2,440.00p 2.31%
Keller Group (KLR) 1,512.00p 1.75%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 603.00p -7.80%
Anglo-Eastern Plantations (AEP) 1,305.00p -4.74%
Partners Group Private Equity Limited. (EUR) (PEY) 10.45p -3.24%
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 100.80p -3.08%
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 71.50p -2.59%
Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 927.50p -2.57%
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 72.70p -2.02%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 137.00p -1.72%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 205.00p -1.68%
International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 122.60p -1.61%
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