A strong showing from financials helped to support the FTSE 100 on a quiet day for corporate news.
NatWest, Barclays and Prudential took the top spots on the FTSE 100 risers’ list. The industrials and real estate sectors were also in demand, while housebuilders were out of fashion amid negative broker comment. Gold was down nearly 1% to trade just above $5,000 per ounce.
The reporting calendar will soon heat up as a plethora of big names are scheduled to report later this week, including BAE Systems on Wednesday, Walmart on Thursday, and Warner Bros Discovery on Friday.
UK takeovers: Beazley / Pinewood Technologies
Even though the UK stock market continues to see a steady stream of takeover approaches, getting those deals over the line isn’t always a given.
Beazley has been courted by Zurich for some time, and while it finally looked as if they were ready to get hitched, there still isn’t an official bid. So far, they’ve only agreed in principle on the terms of a takeover deal.
Zurich has now been given extra time to finish its due diligence and decide if it is ready to commit to a new partner or walk away.
The deadline to decide has now been extended from 16 February to 4 March. So-called ‘put up or shut up’ extensions are common, so the extra time isn’t necessarily a sign that Zurich is having second thoughts. It’s more likely the bidder is being thorough in its due diligence than anything else.
It’s not worked out for Pinewood Technologies and Apax Partners, with a potential bid in the bin. Apax only revealed takeover interest a mere fortnight ago but now says it won’t make a formal offer because of ‘challenging’ market conditions.
Pinewood is a technology provider to car retailers and manufacturers and has gone big in AI-related services. Two years ago, that strategic development would have attracted hoards of investors wanting exposure to all things AI. In 2026, the reverse is true as investors panic about companies being disrupted by the big AI platform providers including Anthropic and OpenAI.
It’s notable that Pinewood’s share price hasn’t simply given up the share price spike from when Apax first revealed takeover interest. The shares have fallen even further as investors are now worrying why a big-name bidder has suddenly walked away, and whether Pinewood is going to be lumped with the multitude of other stocks that have struggled this year due to AI disruption-related fears.
Dan Coatsworth: Head of Markets
Dan Coatsworth is AJ Bell's Head of Markets. Dan has been with the company since December 2012 and has more than 18 years' experience in the industry, following the markets and all things investing. He...
