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Wizz Air passenger numbers up 8.5pc in January, AG Barr acquires Fentimans and Frobishers
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 03 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 20.6 points higher ahead of the bell on Tuesday after wrapping up the previous session 1.15% firmer at 10,341.56.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Budget carrier Wizz Air posted an 8.5% year‑on‑year rise in passenger numbers in January, carrying 5.35m travellers, while capacity increased 10.5% to 6.34m seats, resulting in a load factor of 84.4%. Wizz Air said on Tuesday that it had also passed a major milestone during the month, surpassing 500m cumulative passengers in just 21 years of operation, as it expanded its network to 1,000 routes across 200 destinations in more than 50 countries.
AG Barr said it had bought soft drinks maker Fentimans and juice producer Frobishers as it looked to cash in on the fall in alcohol consumption by consumers. The Irn-Bru owner bought Fentimans for £38m, and Frobishers for £13m. AG Barr added that full-year results were expected to be in line with expectations as revenue jumped 4% to £437m with double-digit profit growth.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Consumers searching for healthy food from trusted sources have fuelled the UK organic market's biggest boom in two decades, according to vegetable box seller Riverford. The delivery business, which sells meat, cheese, cookbooks and recipe boxes alongside vegetables, recorded a 6% increase in sales to £117m in the year to May 2025, as the UK organic food and drink market grew by almost 9% in that year, according to new figures from the Soil Association. The strong growth, significantly outpacing the wider food market, helped the employee-owned business give a £1.1m bonus to workers. - Guardian
Donald Trump has announced the creation of a critical mineral reserve worth nearly $12bn, a stockpile that could counter China's ability to use its dominance of the hard-to-process metals as leverage in trade talks. "Today we're launching what will be known as Project Vault to ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage," Trump said at the White House on Monday. - Guardian
Britain is losing out on American investment because of its high energy costs, Sir Keir Starmer has been warned. Executives of US businesses and embassy officials said at a gathering on Monday that the crippling cost of power in the UK was making it harder to justify spending money here. High taxes and employment costs are also harming international competitiveness. - Telegraph
Net zero poses an "existential risk" to Britain's struggling farmers, Labour's favourite think tank has warned. The push to decarbonise agriculture is set to force thousands of profitable farms into the red unless the Government steps in to cover the costs, the Resolution Foundation said. - Telegraph
A string of high-profile client wins has lifted underlying revenue at Publicis ahead of market expectations, as the French advertising house capitalises on the weakness of rivals such as WPP. Organic revenue rose 5.6% last year, ahead of a previously-upgraded guidance range of 5% to 5.5%, bucking an anticipated decline across the broader advertising industry, which has been hit by a pullback in spending by major brands as macroeconomic conditions have worsened. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed higher on Monday as market participants shrugged off recent declines in the price of bitcoin and silver.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.05% at 49,407.66, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.54% to 6,976.44 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.56% firmer at 23,592.11.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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