Weekly review
By Josh White
Date: Friday 27 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - The FTSE 100 ended the week up 223.8 points, or 2.09%, closing at 10,910.55 on Friday.
Equity view
Education and assessment provider Pearson said on Friday that it had delivered on its goals in 2025, with both underlying sales and adjusted operating profit growth, leaving the firm confident in its outlook for 2026. Pearson said underlying sales rose 4% for the year to £3.57bn, while adjusted operating profits increased 6% to £614m, lifting its operating margin from 16.9% to 17.2%. Operating cash conversion remained strong at 93%, supported by high fourth‑quarter sales, and free cash flow rose 8%, giving a 125% free‑cash‑flow conversion rate.
Online real estate property portal operator Rightmove reported another year of solid top‑ and bottom-line growth and launched a fresh buyback on Friday, as advertisers continued to take higher‑value products and packages. Rightmove said revenue rose 9% to £425.1m in the year ended 31 December, driven by both agency and new homes partners increasing spend, while total membership edged 1% higher to 19,272, supported by record agent formation as lower interest and mortgage rates encouraged new entrants.
Private equity firm Indigo Partners has sold 10m shares in Wizz Air in a placing, according to a release on Friday by JP Morgan. The shares were sold at 1,250p each by way of an accelerated bookbuild process to institutional investors, raising gross proceeds of about £125m.
Rathbones - now the UK's largest discretionary wealth manager after it bought Investec's wealth management arm last year - posted a jump in full-year profit on Friday and struck an upbeat note on the outlook. In the year to the end of December 2025, statutory pre-tax profit rose 53.5% to £152.9m, benefitting from better-than-expected synergy delivery, a sharp reduction in integration costs and higher funds under management and administration (FUMA).
WPP said on Thursday that it was planning to save £500m in annual costs by 2028 as it looks to restore growth. As part of the restructuring, the advertising firm will become a single company, streamlined into four operating units across four regions, all unified by its "pioneering agentic marketing platform", WPP Open.
Trade kitchen supplier Howden Joinery said on Thursday that group revenues had grown in the year ended 27 December, supported by progress in both its UK and international operations and further gains in market share, leading it to launch a new £100m share buyback programme. Howden Joinery said group revenues rose 4.1% to £2.42bn, with UK sales up 3.8% as balanced pricing and volumes helped offset ongoing kitchen‑market headwinds, and international revenue 13.5% higher, reflecting continued development of the firm's model in France and the Republic of Ireland.
Property investor Great Portland Estates said on Thursday that it has secured a series of new fully managed leasing deals so far this year, adding further momentum to its premium office portfolio. GPE said it has agreed to 16 deals since 1 January, either let or under offer, securing £9.1m of annual rent at an average of £236 per square foot.
Jupiter Fund Management announced a share buyback of up to £30m on Thursday and a special dividend, as it reported better-than-expected full-year profits and the first calendar year of positive net inflows in nine years. In the year to the end of December 2025, underlying pre-tax profit rose to £138.3m from £97.5m the year before, driven by performance fees of £120.3m, up from £31.2m. Analysts had been expecting underlying pre-tax profit of £97.9m.
Drugmaker GSK has agreed to acquire Canadian clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm 35Pharma for $950m in cash. GSK said on Wednesday that the acquisition includes 35Pharma's HS235, a potential best-in-class investigational medicine that has completed phase I healthy volunteer clinical trials, with studies to start imminently in pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
HSBC reported better-than-expected annual results despite a 7.4% fall in pre-tax profits due to the adverse impact from legal provisions, organisational simplification and the sale of its French-retained portfolio of loans. Pre-tax profits at the lender came in at $29.9bn in 2025, beating estimates of $28.86bn. Revenue rose 4% to $68.27 versus company-compiled consensus forecasts of $67.36bn.
Morgan Sindall hailed another record full-year performance on Wednesday as it hiked its dividend and lifted medium-term targets for its Infrastructure and Mixed Use Partnerships businesses. In the year to the end of December 2025, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 35% to £232.6m on revenue of £5bn, up 10% on the previous year. Operating profit increased 39% to £225.7m and the company lifted its total dividend per share by 20% to 158p.
Insurance firm Hiscox lifted its full-year dividend payout on Wednesday as it reported a third consecutive year of record pre-tax profits in 2025, with both underwriting and investment income continuing to improve. Hiscox said pre-tax profits rose to $732.7m in FY25, up from $685.4m in FY24, while adjusted operating profits before tax increased to $743.8m from $683.3m. Insurance contract written premiums grew 5.9% to $4.98bn, with all three business segments contributing profitable growth.
Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty revealed on Tuesday that chief financial officer Phil Harrison will step down from the board later this year following more than ten years in the role. Harrison will remain a director of the company and continue to fulfil his current role until Myles Westcott, currently group financial controller at BAE Systems, succeeds him later in the year.
Croda International posted a jump in annual sales and earnings on Tuesday, despite the ongoing impact of US tariffs and wider geopolitical uncertainty. The speciality chemicals group posted a 6.6% rise in sales in the year to December end to £1.7bn, on a constant currency basis, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were 7.1% stronger at £396.6m.
Cleaning products maker McBride said on Tuesday that it was on track to meet full-year targets despite a dip in interim profit. In the six months to the end of December 2025, adjusted operating profit nudged 0.5% lower to £31.5m, while pre-tax profit was down 2.7% at £23m.
Contract development and manufacturing firm Oxford Biomedica said on Tuesday that it expects to report a strong rise in full year revenues, but signalled that underlying profitability would only be modest despite a one‑off boost from its US acquisition. Oxford Biomedica expects FY25 revenues to increase by around 30% to between £166m and £169m, or £168m to £171m at constant currency, placing the outcome at the upper end of guidance and well ahead of the £128.8m reported for FY24.
JD Sports Fashion on Monday said it was returning £200m to shareholders through share buybacks in its 2026/27 financial year. The programme will start immediately with an initial £100m purchase expected to complete no later than the close of the company's first half on July 31, it added.
MoneySuperMarket-owner Mony Group reiterated guidance on Monday despite "significant" headwinds in car insurance. Revenues for the year to 31 December rose 2% to £446.3m, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up 2% at £145.1m.
Engine maker Rolls-Royce will reportedly unveil plans this week to return more than £1bn to investors when it reports record profits and underlines the spectacular scale of its turnaround. According to Sky News, the company is expected to announce alongside its annual results on Thursday that it will launch a fresh share buyback worth as much as £1.5bn.
EnQuest said in an update on Monday that it delivered production above guidance in 2025 and strengthened its balance sheet through refinancing and a settlement related to the Magnus field, as it set out plans to maintain stable output in 2026 despite weather-related disruption in the UK North Sea. Group production averaged 45,606 barrels of oil equivalent per day, including pro forma Vietnam volumes, exceeding the top end of its 40,000 to 45,000 boepd guidance range.
Economic news
UK consumer confidence dipped in February as people grew more pessimistic about their personal finances, according to a survey released on Friday by GfK. GfK's long-running consumer confidence index fell three points from January to -19, with three of the confidence measures down, one up and one flat.
UK vehicle production dropped sharply in January, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Friday, amid weak demand across key global markets. The UK manufactured 65,249 cars last month, representing an 8.2% decline compared with December, while 2,166 commercial vehicles were produced, down 68.6% following a major plant restructuring, the SMMT said.
UK consumer confidence edged higher again in February, a survey released on Thursday showed. According to the BRC-Opinium consumer sentiment monitor for this month, the measure for expectations about the state of the economy over the next three months improved to -30 from -32 in January.
UK financial regulators have proposed changing information-sharing rules for lenders to close gaps in borrowers' credit files. The Financial Conduct Authority announced on Wednesday that it is consulting on potential changes that will mean if a lender shares credit details about a borrower with one consumer credit reference agency (CRA), it would be required to share them with all designated consumer CRAs.
Typical household energy bills are set to fall by £117 from April, the regulator confirmed on Wednesday, following changes introduced by the government. Ofgem said the price cap would be cut by 6.6% to £1,641 for the average combined gas and electricity bill for the three months from April. The price cap dictates the maximum amount suppliers can charge users for each unit of gas and electricity, including the standing charge. It is the biggest drop since last summer.
UK retail sales tumbled in February, an industry survey showed on Tuesday, as wet weather kept shoppers at home. According to the latest distributive trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry, the retail sales volumes balance for the year to February was -43, a sharp deterioration on January's -17.
Doug Gurr was named the preferred candidate to continue as chair of the Competition and Markets Authority for a full five-year term on Monday, subject to a parliamentary pre-appointment hearing. Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle announced Gurr as his chosen candidate following an open competition.
International events
Manufacturing activity across the Chicago region unexpectedly grew at its fastest pace in nearly four years in February, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The Chicago Business Barometer jumped to 57.7 this month, up from 54.0 in January and well ahead of the consensus forecast of 52.8.
US wholesale inflation picked up at a faster than accepted clip at the start of the year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with producer prices rising more strongly than in the prior two months. Core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.8% in January, up from 0.6% in December and well above the 0.3% economists had pencilled in, while headline PPI increased 0.5%, also topping forecasts for a 0.3% gain and coming in slightly hotter than the prior month.
The inflation rate in Germany slowed more than expected in February, dipping below the 2% mark for only the second time in 17 months, as energy prices dropped and food inflation slowed. The year-on-year change in the consumer price index fell to 1.9% this month, down from 2.1% in January, according to the Federal Statistical Office, Destatis.
Germany's jobless rate held steady again in February, but the number of unemployed people continued to creep higher, according to figures from the government's labour office on Friday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3%, in line with analysts' estimates. The jobless rate has remained unchanged since March 2025, marking its joint highest level since September 2020.
Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 21 February, according to the Department of Labor, pointing to a still‑stable labour market, with low levels of firing offsetting slower hiring. Initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 212,000, coming in below expectations of 215,000 and remaining well under the averages seen over the past two years, while continuing claims, a proxy for overall unemployment, fell by 31,000 to 1.83m - one of the lowest readings in around ten months.
Economic confidence across the eurozone weakened slightly in February, pulling back from a three-year high, despite improvements among consumers and retailers, as sentiment fell in the industrial and services sectors. The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator slipped to 98.3 this month from 99.3 in January - its highest since January 2023.
US mortgage applications edged higher in the week ended 20 February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the modest improvement seen a week earlier despite a further drop in benchmark borrowing costs. Mortgage applications rose 0.4% week-on-week, following a 2.8% increase in the previous period, with the MBA highlighting that the only modest increase came despite mortgage rates falling to their lowest level in nearly four years, driven by soft risk appetite that pushed investors into long‑dated Treasuries.
Eurozone inflation officially fell to a 16-month low in January, final estimates from Eurostat confirmed on Wednesday, as a bigger drop in energy prices combined with slowdowns in processed food and services inflation. The annual change in the eurozone consumer price index was 1.7% last month, down from 2.0% in December and in line with the preliminary estimate released three weeks ago.
Geopolitical concerns are expected to hit German consumer sentiment next month, according to a widely watched survey published on Wednesday. The consumer sentiment index, published by the GfK market research institute and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), fell to -24.7 points for March from a revised -24.2 in the previous month.
The German economy grew by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the previous three months, the federal statistics office said on Wednesday, confirming flash estimates. Total exports of goods and services were down 0.6% from the 3rd quarter , after price, seasonal and calendar adjustment, with declines registered in exports of both goods (-0.4%) and services (-1.2%), Destatis added.
US consumer confidence improved more than expected in February, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The Conference Board consumer confidence index ticked up to 91.2 from an upwardly-revised 89.0 in January. The previous month's figure was revised up from 84.5. Economists had expected a reading of 87.0 for this month.
Banking stocks were under pressure on Tuesday amid concerns about the credit market after the boss of JP Morgan warned about the risk of bad loans. In comments at an annual investor update on Monday, Dimon said he was starting to see parallels with the time before the 2008 financial crisis, when a rush to make loans ended badly and that some rival banks were doing "dumb things" to boost net interest income.
New car sales across the European Union dropped to their lowest in five months in January, with registrations falling year-on-year across the region's largest markets. New registrations for passenger vehicles totalled 799,625 across the bloc last month, down 17.0% from 963,319 in December, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).
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