British Equities Bounce Back; Trustpilot Plunges on Short Seller Report

MT Newswires · 3d ago
12:14 PM EST, 12/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- London's FTSE 100 index rose 0.19% on Thursday's close, ending a losing streak that started Monday, as investors digested the latest corporate updates. Vodafone Group's (VOD.L) African unit, Vodacom Group, agreed to buy 15% of telecommunications operator Safaricom from the Kenyan government for 1.36 billion euros and another 5% from its parent for 450 million euros. The British telco gained 0.27%. In other news, Frasers Group (FRAS.L) reported higher attributable profit and revenue for the fiscal first half ended Oct. 26, 2025. Looking ahead, the retailer continues to expect an adjusted profit before tax of 550 million pounds sterling to 600 million pounds for fiscal 2026. "Frasers has a strong position in UK mass market sports retailing and also has a long-term growth opportunity with its more upscale Flannels format in the UK and in omnichannel sports retailing in Europe ex UK," RBC Capital Markets said. "FRAS contains a lot of moving parts, but we think it should be relatively resilient, with good cash generation and asset value from strategic stake investments." The stock ended the session 2.70% in the red. Meanwhile, Trustpilot Group plc (TRST.L) plunged 31.89% amid allegations made by short seller Grizzly Research that the company engages in "mafia-style extortion campaigns against non-paying businesses." The review website operator said the claims in the report are "selective, misleading and framed to support a predetermined narrative." On the economic front, S&P Global data showed that the UK construction PMI tumbled to 39.4 in November 2025 from the previous month's 44.1, marking the lowest reading since May 2020. Analysts expected the figure to reach 44.5. "November data revealed a sharp retrenchment across the UK construction sector as weak client confidence and a shortfall of new project starts again weighed on activity," S&P Global Market Intelligence economics director Tim Moore said. "Total industry activity decreased to the greatest extent for five-and-a-half years, led by steep falls in infrastructure and residential building work."