31st Oct 2025 07:54
(Alliance News) - Fresnillo agrees to buy Canadian exploration firm Probe Gold, Auto Trader's COO leaves to become CEO of Moonpig while AIB Group pays EUR390 million to cancel warrants held by the Irish finance ministry.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.2% at 9,737.76
GBP: lower at USD1.3141 (USD1.3149 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Annual UK house price growth edges higher in October, a tracker from mortgage lender Nationwide shows. Property values increased by 0.3% month-on-month in October, following a 0.5% rise in September, taking the average UK house price to GBP272,226, Nationwide Building Society says. The typical UK house price increased 2.4% annually in October, compared with 2.2% in September. "The housing market has remained broadly stable in recent months, with house prices rising at a modest pace and the number of mortgages approved for house purchase maintained at similar levels to those prevailing before the pandemic struck," says Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist. "Against a backdrop of subdued consumer confidence and signs of weakening in the labour market, this performance indicates resilience, especially since mortgage rates are more than double the level they were before Covid struck and house prices are close to all time highs."
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BROKER RATINGS
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Barclays raises Standard Chartered target to 1,600 (1,400) pence - 'equal weight'
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Barclays cuts WPP price target to 325 (385) pence - 'underweight'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Fresnillo enters definitive arrangement agreement to buy Toronto-based Probe Gold for CAD3.65 per share. The total equity value is around CAD780 million, or around USD560 million, on a fully diluted basis. The London- and Mexico City-based silver and gold miner says Probe is a leading Canadian exploration company which is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of "highly prospective" gold properties. It owns the Novador gold project and early-stage Detour gold project, both located in Quebec, Canada. "We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Probe Gold, a company that fits our pursuit of high-quality exploration projects," says Fresnillo CEO Octavio Alvidrez. "While Mexico will remain central to our operating and growth strategy, Probe's assets will meaningfully complement our existing pipeline of projects and prospects. We are confident that the Novador project, together with our advanced exploration projects in Mexico, will underpin Fresnillo's long term future, further positioning us as one of the leading precious metals companies in the world."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Moonpig appoints Catherine Faiers as chief executive officer, to replace Nickyl Raithatha who is stepping down as previously announced. Faiers is currently chief operating officer at Auto Trader. The London-based online greeting card and gifting company Moonpig notes Faiers was previously COO at Addison Lee, corporate development director at Trainline and a director at Close Brothers. Kate Swann, non-executive chair, said: "Catherine brings a wealth of experience in e-commerce and public companies, with a proven track record of leading customer-focused digital, data, and technology transformations." Faiers' start date will be announced in due course, Moonpig adds. Noting Faiers' departure, Auto Trader CEO Nathan Coe says: "Catherine has been instrumental to many of the changes we have made in the business and will be missed. However, we are in the fortunate position to have a depth of talent at Autotrader enabling us to continue with our existing strategy and plans without interruption."
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Raspberry Pi says Chief Financial Officer Richard Boult will step down from his role in the second half of 2026 to "explore new challenges". The Cambridge, England-based maker of personal-use computers and modules says a formal search process has started, which Boult will assist with to "ensure an orderly succession". CEO Eben Upton says: "Since he joined us in 2019, Richard has been instrumental in building out a mature finance function at Raspberry Pi and has made an invaluable contribution to the growth and development of the company during a period of significant change in our industry."
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Princes Group starts conditional dealings on Friday and says its offer price is 475 pence, equating to a market capitalisation of around GBP1.16 billion. The Liverpool, England-based canned goods seller says the IPO offer comprises 84.2 million new shares to raise around GBP400 million of gross proceeds. Major shareholder NewPrinces has subscribed for around GBP200 million worth of ordinary shares in the offer. The shares will be admitted to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange next week on Wednesday.
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AIB Group pays EUR390 million to cancel 271.2 million warrants held by the Irish finance ministry. The Dublin-based bank says the payment brings the total proceeds return to the state to around EUR21 billion. AIB notes that the warrants gave the state the right to subscribe for shares at a specified price. They were originally granted in July 2017. AIB says its fully-loaded CET1 ratio will be reduced by around 70 basis points to 15.7% from 16.4% at the end of June.
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By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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Standard CharteredWPPAuto TraderMoonpig GrTrainlineClose BrosRaspberry PiAib Group