British Land CEO steps down, Plus500 beats expectations
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Monday 12 Jan 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 is tipped to open around 16 points lower (-0.16%) than Friday's record closing high of 10,124.60.
STOCKS TO WATCH
The chief executive of British Land is to leave after five years in the role, it was announced on Monday, to head up a pan-European logistics firm. Simon Carter, who has been at British Land for 18 years, will join GIC-owned P3 Logistics Parks as chief executive following a 12-month notice period.British Land said it would now start a "full process" to appoint his successor.
Trading platform tech group Plus500 has issued a pre-closing trading update, which showed that full-year revenues and EBITDA were both ahead of market expectations in 2025. The company also reported improved "customer longevity", helped by retention initiatives and deeper engagement.
Life sciences investor RTW Biotech Opportunities said its portfolio company Aktis Oncology had raised $318m via an IPO.Aktis offered 17.65 million shares at $18 each, representing a 2.6% step-up from RTW Bio's prior holding value at November 30 and a18.3% step-up from the cost at the time of purchase in September 2024. Aktis started trading on the Nasdaq global select market on January 9, where the stock traded up 24.4% to close at $22.40 per share.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
UK business confidence weakened sharply at the end of 2025 and hiring fell amid rising costs and uncertainty about the economic outlook, according to key business surveys. Contrasting with the prime minister's optimistic new year message that the country was about to start feeling richer again, the jobs market weakened, with full-time and temporary appointments falling in December, according to a study by the accountants KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). - Guardian
Senior Labour backbenchers are urging the government to introduce legislation forcing UK banks to expand affordable lending to small businesses and low-income neighbourhoods. The former minister Gareth Thomas has tabled a 10-minute rule bill - a type of private member's bill - echoing the US Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). - Guardian
Marks & Spencer is facing a fresh legal row over copycat products after it was accused of ripping off a nutritionist's "brain bomb" health snacks. The supermarket has been hit with legal action over its range of "Brain Balls", which it released last year as part of its so-called "Brain Food" line, which is designed to provide people with brain health-supporting nutrients that they lack in their diets. - Telegraph
The Liverpudlian tycoon and Labour donor behind Home Bargains has paid himself and his family a £66m dividend as his budget retail chain embarks on a major expansion. Tom Morris, who is nicknamed "the richest Scouser to have ever lived", received the payout from his company, TJ Morris Group, last year, according to newly published accounts. - Telegraph
The Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is under a federal criminal investigation related to the $2.5 billion renovation to the central bank's headquarters, he has revealed. Powell said the investigation was a pretext because the Fed had set "interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of" President Trump. - The Times
MPs have registered their dismay and disappointment at the lack of pace and clarity concerning the government's plans for a state-owned railway. Key questions remain unanswered about the progression of the railways bill and the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) merging trains operators with Network Rail. - The Times
US CLOSE
US stocks pushed higher on Friday with the Dow and S&P 500 both setting new records and the Nasdaq closing in its own all-time high despite a mixed bag of economic data, which included weaker-than-expected non-farm payrolls.
The Dow finished up 0.5% at 49,504.07 while the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 6,966.28, with both indices edging past earlier peaks set on Tuesday. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, gained 1.0% to settle at 23,702.88, its highest since 3 November.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN