Daily market update: Unilever, Coca-Cola HBC, Bunzl, Segro, Shawbrook

It’s hard to imagine that markets were in panic mode only four days ago. It’s like all the troubles faded away over the weekend, and investors are back in risk-on mode.

Wall Street enjoyed a particularly strong session on Monday, and that optimism has extended to Asia and Europe on Tuesday. The focus is now on US interest rate cuts, the new corporate reporting season, and US/China trade talks.

The FTSE 100 advanced 0.4% to 9,438 as investors snapped up banks following last week’s sell-off, while energy stocks and utilities were also in demand.

There was only a mild reaction to the latest public sector finance figures on the bond market. 10-year gilts hovered around the 4.5% level despite UK government borrowing in September hitting the highest level for the month in five years. Markets already know that Rachel Reeves must act fast to get public finances in a better shape, and a lot is riding on next month’s Budget for solutions.

Unilever

Unilever has fallen foul of the US government shutdown as the SEC cannot rubber stamp the paperwork for its ice cream division spin-off. There is nothing the consumer goods company can do about the situation apart from sit tight and wait.

The spin-off of the ice cream arm has been in the making for a long time and waiting a bit longer won’t hold back the parent company. However, it will be frustrating for Unilever shareholders who might have been keen to sell their free shares in the ice cream business, or for investors who only wanted to buy into that entity.

The corporate split will still go ahead; it’s just the timing that’s now uncertain.

Coca-Cola HBC

The reaction to bottling outfit Coca-Cola HBC’s decision to buy a controlling stake in an African bottler betrays some nervousness on the part of the market.

This is a significant deal for the company in monetary terms and represents a slight departure from its previous focus, which has largely been on European markets.

It is buying the majority holding in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa from a private equity firm and the eponymous soft drinks giant itself.

Coca-Cola HBC already has experience in Africa, having built a presence in Egypt and having enjoyed a longstanding footprint in Nigeria. However, there will still be risks involved in operating more widely across the continent and Coca-Cola HBC will hope these are justified by the growth opportunities on offer.

The decision to add a secondary stock market listing in Johannesburg reflects the significance of this deal but equally, there will be relief in the UK market that the primary stock listing will remain in London.

Debt levels will bubble higher off the back of this transaction but Coca-Cola HBC expects to remain within its target range. A solid, if not spectacular, third-quarter update, unveiled alongside the acquisition, provides a measure of reassurance to investors.

Bunzl

Bunzl is not a company that you expect to make waves and that’s how its shareholders typically like it. Its steady and reliable performance, augmented by acquisitions, has been rewarded by the market over the years.

However, the last 12 months have been an exception, and there will be a measure of relief to see the company now post a suitably solid update.

Bunzl provides businesses with items like coffee cups or cleaning products which are not sold to customers but are essential to their day-to-day operations.

Building on a reassuring first-half update, the company has stabilised its margins and eked out some sales growth in the third quarter. Crucially, Bunzl has stuck to its full-year guidance which should help rebuild some of the credibility with the market damaged by its recent bad spell.

Segro

Segro caught the market’s attention with talk of a growing data centre pipeline. Investors are constantly looking for new ways to play the AI theme, having become well-versed with opportunities among semiconductor companies.

With talk of significant sums being invested in data centres, names like Segro have suddenly found more investors are interested in what they’re doing. It also helps that Segro has reported improved occupier sentiment.

Shawbrook

Shawbrook has announced a 350p to 390p IPO price range, implying a £1.8 billion to £2 billion valuation. Pre-IPO chatter speculated the lender could get up to a £2 billion valuation, so the IPO price range is not out of kilter with market expectations.

This is one of the most significant IPOs on the UK market in 2025 as it is a decent size business. A successful listing could show London is still capable of attracting new names of scale and not simply tiddlers.