FTSE 100 movers: Flutter surges on buyback; Prudential dips

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 8,263.04 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Flutter Entertainment surged as it announced a $5bn share buyback and said profits are expected to more than double by 2027.

The owner of Betfair and FanDuel said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were set to grow to over $5bn in 2027.

The company also said at its investor day that North American mature total addressable market was now expected to be about $70bn, of which the US is forecast to be approximately $63bn. This is 1.5 times its previous US market estimate, while Canada is estimated to be $7bn.

Rentokil was also a high riser after it announced the appointment of a partner of Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management to its board as a non-executive director.

The company said that Brian Baldwin - head of research at Trian - has been appointed with effect from 1 October. He will also become a member of the Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee from the same date.

Baldwin has been a Trian partner since 2013 and a member of Trian's investment team since 2007. Rentokil said he has played leadership roles in many of Trian's investments.

EasyJet flew higher as JPMorgan Cazenove highlighted the stock as "a high conviction" ‘overweight’ in the low-cost carrier space.

It noted the shares are flat this year despite more resilient pricing and earnings than peers. JPM said it currently sees a "cleaner" pathway to high earnings growth in September 2025.

Prudential gave back some ground after rallying on Tuesday, while Rightmove fell as it rejected a third, £6.1bn takeover offer from Australian outfit REA Group, saying it "materially undervalues the company and its future prospects".

FTSE 100 - Risers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 18,340.00p 7.25%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 372.50p 3.30%
Fresnillo (FRES) 617.50p 3.09%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,083.00p 1.77%
easyJet (EZJ) 518.00p 1.57%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,448.00p 1.45%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,749.00p 1.39%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,636.00p 1.33%
Halma (HLMA) 2,592.00p 1.25%
BT Group (BT.A) 151.15p 1.07%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Prudential (PRU) 645.60p -2.89%
BP (BP.) 401.55p -2.10%
Rightmove (RMV) 669.40p -1.99%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 766.80p -1.72%
Centrica (CNA) 117.60p -1.67%
Diageo (DGE) 2,509.50p -1.55%
Shell (SHEL) 2,536.50p -1.38%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 58.62p -1.11%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,036.50p -1.10%
IMI (IMI) 1,840.00p -0.97%