Latest news with #StuartTogwell
Mint
22-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
UK equities mixed as investors assess corporate earnings, await key data
(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window) FTSE 100 unchanged, FTSE 250 down 0.4% UK approves Sizewell C nuclear plant Compass raises profit forecast, buys Vermaat in $1.8 bln deal July 22 (Reuters) - London's main stock indexes were mixed on Tuesday as investors parsed a spate of corporate earnings, and awaited the release of key economic data this week. The benchmark FTSE 100 was flat by 0944 GMT, after registering a record closing high on Monday. The domestically oriented midcap FTSE 250 lost 0.4%. Industrial miners rose 1.1%, tracking a rise in copper prices, buoyed by hopes for firmer Chinese demand. Glencore gained 2.2%, while Rio Tinto rose 1.1%. Homebuilders and household goods stocks led sectoral losses, falling 1.6%. Vistry down 2.7%. Data showed Britain borrowed more than expected in June as a jump in inflation pushed up the government's debt costs. In company news, British food catering firm Compass Group rose 6.1% to the top of the blue-chip index, after it agreed to buy European premium food services business Vermaat Groep for about 1.5 billion euros ($1.75 billion), including debt and also raised its annual profit forecast. Energy firm Centrica surged 3.9% after Britain approved the 38 billion pound ($51 billion) Sizewell C nuclear plant in eastern England. The company holds a 15% stake in the project. Greencore jumped 10.5%, to top the FTSE mid-cap index, after the convenience food manufacturer raised its annual profit expectations. Kier Group fell 5.1%, to the bottom of the mid-cap index, after the British infrastructure and construction group said that its CEO Andrew Davies would be stepping down, and named insider Stuart Togwell as his successor, effective November 1, 2025. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca on Monday said it plans to invest $50 billion in the U.S. to expand manufacturing and research capabilities as it reacts to White House trade policy. On the radar this week are UK flash Purchasing Managers' Index for July and June retail sales data. (Reporting by Sukriti Gupta; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
Reuters
22-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK's Kier names insider Togwell as next CEO after Andrew Davies decides to step down
July 22 (Reuters) - Britain's Kier Group (KIE.L), opens new tab said on Tuesday that its CEO Andrew Davies would be stepping down after more than six years in the role, and named insider Stuart Togwell as his successor. Shares in the infrastructure and construction group, which have fallen almost 50% during Davies' tenure, dropped 5.6% in early trade. Togwell, the head of Kier's construction business, will assume the company's top role with effect from November 1, 2025. Togwell joined the company in 2019 and took up the role of heading the construction business in December 2022. Davies was appointed as CEO in 2019, and he undertook a strategic review to cut debt and boost operations by selling its housebuilding unit and cutting over 1,000 jobs. "Although some investors may be disappointed by (Davies') departure, they will likely welcome (Togwell's) appointment, given his deep industry experience and impressive track record at Kier," Peel Hunt analyst Andrew Nussey said in a note. Kier Group said it expects annual revenue and profit to be higher than last year. ($1 = 0.7423 pounds)
