The FTSE 100 ended Friday higher as calmer trading conditions and a sharp rise in Vodafone shares helped lift London’s leading index, although both major UK benchmarks finished the week lower.
The FTSE 100 closed 0.2% higher, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.6%, with the broader mid-cap index receiving support from strong gains in Hays and easyJet. Despite Friday’s recovery, the FTSE 100 fell 1.7% over the week and the FTSE 250 declined 0.7%.
Vodafone was the standout performer, surging 13% after investment vehicle Vega, controlled by the Xavier Niel family, agreed to acquire Emirates Telecommunications’ 16.2% stake in the telecoms group for £4.4 billion. The transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval, will make Vega Vodafone’s largest shareholder.
Vega said it does not intend to make a takeover offer for Vodafone and plans to engage with the UK government regarding the deal. Following the agreement, Vodafone confirmed its relationship agreement with Emirates Telecommunications had ended, while e& nominee director Hatem Dowidar stepped down from the board with immediate effect.
The move also supported shares in BT Group, which rose 1.6% as investors assessed the potential implications for the wider telecoms sector. Xavier Niel has previously taken an active approach to investments, leading analysts to consider whether Vodafone’s operations could become a focus for further strategic changes, particularly in major markets such as Germany and the UK.
Not all companies benefited from Friday’s session, with wealth manager St James’s Place falling 8.6% after Financial News reported that Sovereign Wealth, one of its largest partner firms, had decided to leave the group.
Sovereign Wealth is expected to join advice consolidator Soderberg and Partners, where former St James’s Place chief executive David Bellamy sits on the board. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets described the development as a concern, suggesting it provided further evidence that recent changes to St James’s Place’s charging structure may be affecting the appeal of its platform.
The company introduced a major overhaul of its charges in August 2025 aimed at improving transparency, although RBC said the changes had created additional challenges for advisers during the sales process.
On the FTSE 250, recruiter Hays climbed 20% after forecasting annual profits towards the top end of market expectations despite difficult conditions across hiring markets.
The company reported a 4% annual decline in net fees during the final quarter of its financial year, or 5% on a like-for-like basis, which was better than the 6% fall analysts had expected and an improvement from the previous quarter’s 8% decline.
easyJet was another major riser, gaining 14% after agreeing in principle to a £5.7 billion takeover proposal from Apollo Management X. The offer, worth 715 pence per share in cash, surpassed a previous agreement with US private equity firm Castlelake, which had proposed 690 pence per share.
easyJet said it was no longer minded to accept Castlelake’s offer and described Apollo’s proposal as a superior outcome for shareholders, while JPMorgan analyst Harry Gowers said further interest in the airline could still emerge from other financial or strategic bidders. Castlelake said it was reviewing its options.
Across the Atlantic, US markets also finished higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.29%, the S&P 500 gaining 0.42% and the Nasdaq Composite advancing 0.29% on Friday.