British stocks opened the week on a positive note, moving higher alongside gains across major European indices while the pound retreated slightly against the dollar.
As of 0812 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.4%. The British pound fell 0.07% against the dollar to 1.3603 (GBP/USD). On the Continent, Germany's DAX rose 0.8% and France's CAC 40 added 0.4%.
Corporate developments drive UK market focus
Plus500 Ltd reported full-year results for the period ending Dec. 31 and delivered performance that exceeded market expectations, prompting the company to say it expects 2026 performance to outperform consensus. The fintech attributed the stronger outlook to institutional partnerships in U.S. prediction markets and expansion among higher-value clients.
For the year ended Dec. 31, the company recorded revenue of $792.40 million, up 3% from $768.30 million in 2024. Net profit rose 3% to $281.30 million. Basic earnings per share increased 10% to $3.93 from $3.56.
In a separate deal, NatWest Group PLC has agreed to acquire wealth manager Evelyn Partners for £2.7 billion, a move the bank says will create the UK's leading private banking and wealth management business. The transaction will combine Evelyn Partners' £69 billion of assets under management with NatWest's £59 billion, producing a combined total of £127 billion in assets under management and administration. Alongside the acquisition announcement, NatWest revealed a £750 million share buyback program.
Phoenix Global Mining Ltd has taken immediate action to suspend two senior executives amid an internal probe. Executive Chairman Marcus Edwards-Jones and Chief Financial Officer Richard Wilkins were suspended with immediate effect. The company said it is investigating allegations about their recent conduct and certain historic payments made to Lloyd Edwards-Jones S.A.S., which served as the firm's former corporate finance adviser.
Separately, WPP is planning a streamlining measure that will consolidate its three main creative advertising agencies under a single banner, with an announcement expected later this month. The move is described as part of a broader effort to simplify the group's creative operations.
Regulatory scrutiny and market structure
Britain's Financial Conduct Authority indicated plans to publish more comprehensive trading data for London-listed shares to address what it regards as significant under-reporting of market liquidity. The FCA said the current picture of liquidity can be incomplete and that under-reporting has been a factor in some companies choosing to list in the United States instead of London.
The watchdog is considering collecting and releasing share-trading data from all venues, including exchanges, dark pools and off-exchange trading platforms, to provide a fuller view of market liquidity. Simon Walls, the FCA's interim director of markets, said that existing liquidity metrics are misleading because they lean heavily on data from the London Stock Exchange's central limit order book and exclude trades such as periodic auctions and transactions on opaque venues.
Market participants will be watching how these corporate actions and regulatory moves influence trading behaviour and listing decisions in the months ahead, even as the UK market begins the week with modest gains and a slightly weaker pound.