(Coalition News) – Tensions in the Middle East intensified ahead of Tuesday’s opening in London; Meanwhile the green chip company Intertek received an increased offer from EQT Fund Management.
Recently, Danish shipping titan Maersk announced that one of its vessels, the US-flagged Alliance Fairfax, has successfully sailed through the Strait of Hormuz under US escort. South Korea, meanwhile, said it would “review its stance” on joining US operations in the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump urged Seoul to take action following Iran’s apparent attack on one of its ships.
“Yesterday, the US announced that it would send ships through the Strait of Hormuz – calling it a humanitarian operation (!). Iran warned that it would retaliate, and reports show that the US continued regardless. Iran then hit ships and important oil infrastructure in Fujairah, UAE – especially the terminal that allows exports outside the Strait. noted.
Here’s what you need to know before the London market opens:
———–
MARKETS
———–
FTSE 100: down 5.6 points, 0.1%, at 10,358.33
GBP: lower at USD1.3521 (USD1.3626 at previous London equities close)
———–
LEGAL MEASURES
———–
Bank of America raises BT to ‘buy’ (neutral) – price target 282 pence (213)
———–
JPMorgan starts Genus ‘overweight’ – price target 3,200 pence
———–
Goldman Sachs lowers Ryanair price target to 28 (30) EUR – ‘neutral’
———–
COMPANIES – FTSE 100
———–
EUROLAB receives an increased offer of potential takeover bids from ETQ Fund Management. The London-based assurance, testing, product testing and certification company’s indicative offer is GBP58.00 per share for Entertek, which is 7.4% higher than the offer of GBP54.00 per share Intertek ordered in April. Under UK takeover rules, EQT has until May 14 to declare a firm intention to make an offer or confirm that it does not intend to proceed.
———–
Melrose Industries appoints Ross McCluskey as chief financial officer, stepping down from Matthew Gregory. Birmingham, England-based Aerospace, named McCluskey to the role at the end of February.
———–
Vodafone announces the acquisition of all UK mobile operator VodafoneThree in the acquisition of joint venture partner CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holding Ltd. The Berkshire, England-based communications provider will pay GBP4.3 billion in cash to cancel shares in the CK Hutchison joint venture. VodafoneThree is currently 51% owned by Vodafone, with Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison owning the remaining 49%, which Vodafone is set to acquire. Vodafone says the deal values VodafoneThree’s business at GBP13.85 billion, including debt. The deal is expected to increase Vodafone’s pro forma debt to adjusted earnings of 0.4 times. VodafoneThree is, according to Vodafone, the UK’s largest mobile operator, “and one of the fastest growing broadband providers”.
———–
HSBC said pretax profit fell 1.1% to USD9.38 billion in the first quarter ended March 31 from USD9.48 billion a year earlier. “The decrease reflected expected loan losses and other credit impairment charges,” the London-based Asia-focused bank explained. Change in expected credit losses and other credit impairment charges increased 49% to USD1.30 billion from USD876 million. Diluted earnings per share rose 2.6% to USD0.40 from USD0.39. The bank has maintained a dividend for the first quarter of USD0.10 per share. Net interest income rose 7.7% to USD8.95 billion from USD8.30 billion, while tax income jumped 12% to USD3.72 billion from USD3.32 billion. HSBC’s first-tier common equity ratio fell to 14.0% from 14.7%, although the bank aims to keep it within its medium-term target range of 14.0% to 14.5%. Reflecting the improved interest rate outlook, HSBC now expects the bank’s interest income to reach around USD46 billion in the full year 2026, up from earlier guidance of at least USD45 billion. It also says it is on track to deliver USD1.5 billion in annual cost savings by the end of June, six months ahead of schedule.
———–
COMPANIES – FTSE 250
———–
Wizz Air says it carried 6.6 million passengers in April, up 22% from 5.4 million in the same month in 2025. Average 12-month capacity rose 12% to 78.3 million from 70.2 million seats, while passenger numbers rose 11% to 70.9 million from 63.9 million. “In response to misconceptions made by the media, Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi confirmed the company’s financial stability,” the company added. “He noted that the airline maintains a strong and well-hedged cash flow, as it has hedged around 70% of its summer jet fuel needs at around USD720/MT.”
———–
OTHER COMPANIES
———–
Ryanair also reports its traffic figures for April, with passenger numbers up 5% to 19.3 million from 18.3 million. The 12-month figure rose 4% to 209.3 million from 201.3 million.
———–
Auction Technology appoints Duncan Painter as new CEO, effective immediately. It says outgoing CEO John-Paul Savant will provide interim support during the handover period, which ends on May 20. Painter was the most recent CEO of Omnicom Commerce, after serving in the same role at Ascential from 2011 until early 2024.
———–
RWS Holdings announces its formal agreement to acquire UK-based intellectual property and product management platform Clearly. Both companies are in advanced and exclusive discussions to finalize and enter into definitive, legally binding documents, RWS said. The Maidenhead, England-based language services provider and artificial intelligence solutions provider expects the deal to expand its total addressable market by approximately GBP2 billion through the expansion of trademark and product protection solutions, and strengthen its Protect division’s ability to capture a larger share of its existing addressable market. Also, providing a platform for Clear to existing and potential customers “creates significant revenue opportunities” across Protect and Transform segments. “The acquisition, once completed, will position RWS as an end-to-end new product lifecycle technology solution provider, from creation and local deployment to protection, strengthening RWS’s value proposition as an integrated ‘Global Brand Guardianship’ platform for major enterprise customers,” RWS said.
———–
Anheuser-Busch InBev reported a 12% rise in ordinary earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization to USD5.44 billion in the first quarter ended March 31 from USD4.86 billion a year earlier. The Leuven, Belgium-based brewer said revenue grew 12% to USD15.27 billion from USD13.63 billion, thanks to improved beer volumes, which rose 0.9% to 118.48 million hectoliters from 117.38 million, with record first-quarter volumes in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa and Peru. Looking ahead, AB Inbev expects Ebitda to grow in line with its medium-term outlook of between 4% and 8%. “The outlook for FY26 reflects our current assessment of inflation and other macroeconomic conditions,” it noted.
———–
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All rights reserved.
Goods Forex Business News Economic Affairs Market News Vodafone 
HSBC Holdings share price 
Melrose 
Wizz Air 
Auction Technology Group 
BT 
Genus 
RWS Holdings share price 
EUR group
