Market Live Email
Unilever FY sales growth seen at bottom end of guidance, Schroders agrees to £9.9bn takeover
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 12 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 58.1 points higher after wrapping up the previous session 1.14% firmer at 10,472.11.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Consumer goods giant Unilever said 2026 sales growth was expected to be at the bottom end of its underlying range of 4-6% reflecting slower market conditions, adding that it anticipated a "modest" improvement in underlying operating margins for the full year versus 20% last year. Unilever said on Thursday that reported full-year underlying sales had grown of 3.5% and a 1.1% fall in underlying operating profit to €10.1bn in its first results since spinning off its ice-cream business at the end of last year.
Schroders has agreed to be taken over by US investment manager Nuveen in a £9.9bn deal. Under the terms of the acquisition, Nuveen - which is part of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America - will pay 612p per share. The price comprises a cash consideration of 590p a share and permitted dividends of up to 22p per share. The cash consideration represents a 29% premium to the stock's closing share price on Wednesday.
Tobacco giant British American Tobacco posted preliminary full-year results on Thursday, reporting a slight decline in reported revenue but modest growth at constant currency rates. British American Tobacco said revenues had slipped 1% to £25.61bn in the year ended 31 December, but rose 2.1% at constant exchange rates, with its new categories division accelerating to double digits in the second half, delivering full‑year revenue growth of 7% to £3.62bn, while its contribution to profit jumped 77% to £442m. Reported profits from operations surged 265% to £9.99bn.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
There are "tentative signs" that the housing market in England and Wales is recovering from a months-long slowdown after uncertainty around the autumn budget and economic pressures, estate agents and surveyors have reported. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its members were feeling more optimistic about the year ahead than at any time since December 2024, as inquiries from new buyers, agreed sales and house prices became less negative in January. - Guardian
EU leaders are expected to diverge on whether "Buy European" is an answer to Europe's waning economic fortunes, at a summit on how to secure the continent's future in a more volatile global economy. At a moated castle in the east Belgian countryside, the EU's 27 leaders will gather on Thursday for a brainstorming session on how Europe can regain its economic competitiveness vis-a-vis the US and China, at a time of economic threats and political turbulence. - Guardian
Tesco has cut ties with the lobbying group co-founded by Lord Mandelson amid a growing exodus of clients after the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. The supermarket giant confirmed it had axed its deal with Global Counsel on Wednesday, becoming the latest major client to cancel a contract after the extent of Lord Mandelson's close relationship with Epstein came to light. - Telegraph
One of Britain's only space rocket businesses is at risk of collapse despite being handed £26m in taxpayer loans just last year. Orbex, a Scottish start-up that had been hoping to launch the first UK rocket from home soil, is lining up administrators in the event that it fails to secure a rescue deal. - Telegraph
An activist investment firm has taken a $200m stake in Warner Bros Discovery and urged the Hollywood giant to walk away from its "inferior" $83bn deal with Netflix. Ancora Holdings, an Ohio-based wealth management company, has argued that the $27.75-a-share offer for Warner's streaming and studios businesses, which is contingent on the spin-off of its legacy television networks ahead of completion, is "flawed, inferior and high-risk" compared to a rival $30-a-share offer from "bona fide" studio Paramount Skydance. - The Times
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former cryptocurrency tycoon serving a 25-year prison sentence for defrauding customers of his collapsed FTX digital currency exchange, has filed a request for a new trial. In a court filing, the 33-year-old argues that he was indicted on a false allegation that he stole customer assets from FTX, leaving customers with billions of dollars in losses. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed slightly lower on Wednesday as the initial positive reaction to January's jobs report quickly faded as investors assessed the impact of stronger-than-expected payrolls on interest-rate policy.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.13% at 50,121.40, while the S&P 500 was flat at 6,941.47 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.16% weaker at 23,066.47.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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