WINNERS & LOSERS: Intertek in red after latest EQT rejection

Fri, 08th May 2026 10:46

(Alliance News) - The following are the leading risers and fallers among FTSE 100 and 250 index constituents on Friday.

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FTSE 100 winners

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JD Sports Fashion PLC, up 4.1% at 76.02 pence, reported strong annual results on Thursday

BT Group PLC, up 2.4% at 226.90p, JPMorgan raises price target to 310 pence

Vodafone Group PLC, up 0.7% at 116.85p, buys back 3.9 million shares at average 117.40p

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, up 0.7% at USD149.05, brokers raise targets after quarterly results

Kingfisher PLC, up 0.6% at 289.50p

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FTSE 100 losers

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Intertek Group PLC, down 3.4% at 4,877.00p, rejects latest EQT takeover proposal

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, down 2.8% at 385.00p, profit warning over fuel costs

St James's Place PLC, down 2.3% at 1,184.00p

J Sainsbury PLC, down 2.1% at 312.70p

Babcock International Group PLC, down 2.0% at 1,078.00p

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FTSE 250 winners

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Zigup PLC, up 3.0% at 416.27 pence, Berenberg gives 'buy' rating

Ithaca Energy PLC, up 2.9% at 260.20p, price of oil rises

NCC Group PLC, up 2.6% at 141.00p, Deutsche Bank raises price target to 150 pence

FirstGroup PLC, up 2.6% at 164.80p

Softcat PLC, up 1.6% at 1,440.00p

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FTSE 250 losers

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Trustpilot Group PLC, down 3.8% at 260.50p

Ceres Power Holdings PLC, down 3.6% at 723.27p

Workspace Group PLC, down 3.0% at 340.20p, Saba attempts to replace directors

RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd, down 2.8% at 2.12p, invests USD1.7 million in Windward

Ocado Group PLC, down 2.2% at 193.05p

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FTSE 100 & 250 movers in focus:

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BT Group PLC, up 2.4% at 226.90 pence, 12-month range 159.80p-231.20p. JPMorgan raises its price target to 310p from 300p, maintaining an 'overweight' rating. Also, fellow FTSE 100-listed telecommunications company Airtel Africa reports that pretax profit more than doubled on-year to USD1.42 billion for the year to March 31. Revenue climbed 30% to USD6.42 billion, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation shot up 37% to USD3.16 billion, and Airtel raises its final dividend by 9.2% to 4.26 cents, while the total dividend increases by the same amount to 7.1 cents.

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Intertek Group PLC, down 3.4% at 4,877.00 pence, 12-month range 3,519.42p-5,270.00p. The London-based assurance, inspection, product testing and certification company "unanimously and unequivocally" rejects the latest takeover approach from EQT Fund Management Sarl, believing it "significantly undervalues" its prospects and predicting "significant execution risk given its conditional nature". EQT on Tuesday said it made a new proposal of 5,800 pence per Intertek share, which values the company as whole at around GBP8.93 billion. Intertek had also rejected prior EQT proposals of 5,400p and 5,150p per share. Says its strategic review announced last month, which will look into a sale or demerger of Intertek Energy & Infrastructure, "presents a significant value creation opportunity". Adds that it "has received an encouraging level of interest from potential buyers".

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International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, down 2.8% at 385.00 pence, 12-month range 281.10p-464.28p. The Madrid-based owner of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling says operating profit jumped 77% to EUR351 million in the three months to March from EUR198 million the year prior, beating Bloomberg-cited consensus of EUR246 million. Revenue edges up 1.9% to EUR7.18 billion from EUR7.04 billion with basic earnings per share of 6.5 euro cents, up 76% on-year from 3.7 cents. But Chief Executive Luis Gallego warns that the impact of higher fuel prices caused by the Middle East crisis will "inevitably lead to lower profit this year than we originally anticipated." JPMorgan says current full-year consensus for operating profit is EUR4.7 billion, which would be down from EUR5.02 billion posted in 2025. IAG now expects full-year fuel costs of EUR9 billion, including hedging positions, which would be 27% higher than EUR7.08 billion in 2025, and above the EUR7.0 to EUR7.4 billion range it forecast in February. Says full-year free cash flow will be less than the EUR3 billion guided in February.

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Zigup PLC, up 3.0% at 416.27 pence, 12-month range 294.50p-430.00p. Berenberg starts the Darlington, England-based vehicle rental and management firm on a 'buy' rating, with a 550p price target.

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Workspace Group PLC, down 3.0% at 340.20 pence, 12-month range 312.00p-457.00p. The London-based flexible workspace provider, which in mid-April warned of a "substantial step down" in annual trading profit, has received a requisition notice on behalf of Saba Capital, which has an approximate 18.21% stake. Saba wants, at the annual general meeting on July 23, to propose resolutions removing five of the current non-executive directors and to appoint four replacements. Workspace notes that in January, Saba proposed a managed wind-down and says it "engaged constructively" with the hedge fund, but that it concluded that this proposal was not achievable and would not maximise value for shareholders. "Nevertheless, the board remains open to continuing a constructive dialogue with Saba Capital," Workspace says. Also, Barclays cuts Workspace to 'underweight' from 'overweight', lowering its price target to 310p from 450p.

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By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter

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