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Serco names new CFO, Bunzl reiterates FY profit guidance
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 17 Dec 2025
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 23.6 points higher ahead of the bell on Wednesday, after wrapping up the previous session 0.68% lower at 9,684.79.
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UK government contractor Serco said it had appointed Proximus chief financial officer Mark Reid to the same role from 6 March, succeeding Nigel Crossley, who will retire after 11 years with the company. Reid has been with the Belgian telecoms operator for five years where he also held the role of interim CEO of their international division while retaining group CFO responsibilities.
US regulators have approved GSK's Exdensur treatment for severe asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype, marking the first ultra-long-acting biologic with twice-yearly dosing for this condition. The Food and Drug Administration's decision was based on clinical trial results which showed a "significantly lower rate of annualised asthma exacerbations" in patients receiving the treatment compared with a placebo.
Distribution and services giant Bunzl reiterated its full‑year profit guidance on Wednesday, despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges. Bunzl said FY revenues were still expected to grow between 2% and 3% at constant exchange rates, but to be broadly flat at actual exchange rates. Underlying revenues were seen as broadly unchanged.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Jim Ratcliffe's chemicals company Ineos has been granted £120m of government funding to help save the UK's last ethylene plant at Grangemouth, in a deal expected to protect more than 500 jobs. The investment in the Scottish plant was necessary to preserve a vital part of the country's chemicals infrastructure, the UK government said. The ethylene produced there was essential for medical-grade plastics production, water treatment and in aerospace and car-building, it added. - Guardian
Downing Street insists the $40bn Tech Prosperity Deal between the US and UK that is on hold is not permanently stalled. The BBC reported on Tuesday evening that the prime minister's office claimed that the UK remains in "active conversations with US counterparts at all levels of government" about the wide-ranging deal for the technology industries in both countries to cooperate. The agreement, previously billed as historic, was paused after the US accused the UK of failing to lower trade barriers, including a digital services tax on US tech companies and food safety rules that limit the export of some agricultural products. The New York Times first reported British confirmation that negotiations had stalled. - Guardian
Jared Kushner has withdrawn from the $100bn bid battle to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Mr Kushner's private equity firm, Affinity Partners, on Tuesday said it would no longer be backing a hostile takeover offer for Warner Bros by Paramount, the Hollywood studio owned by the billionaire Ellison family. - Telegraph
The developer of ChatGPT has hired George Osborne to help expand its business internationally. The former Conservative Chancellor confirmed he would take on a role leading OpenAI's push to establish American-led AI infrastructure worldwide, in a challenge to China. - Telegraph
Warner Bros Discovery's board is reported to be ready to announce a decision as early as Wednesday on Paramount Skydance's $108.4bn hostile takeover bid, with the board likely to advise shareholders to vote against the offer. The decision to recommit to Netflix's $82.7bn buyout offer would mark the latest twist in the race for assets that include Warner Bros' film and TV studio, and its extensive film and television library. These includes classics ranging from Casablanca and Citizen Kane to contemporary favourites such as Harry Potter and Friends, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as market participants digested key payrolls data that had been delayed by the Federal government shutdown.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.62% at 48,114.26, while the S&P 500 shed 0.24% to 6,800.26, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.23% firmer at 23,111.46.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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