FTSE 100 movers: Beazley surges on Zurich offer; Fresnillo shines

19th Jan 2026 14:20

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE was down 0.4% at 10,197.71 in afternoon trade on Monday.

Beazley rocketed after Zurich Financial said it had made a £7.7bn takeover offer for the London-listed insurer.

The offer of 1,280p a share in cash represents a 56% premium to the closing share price on Friday, and a 32% premium to the all-time high of 973p on 6 June 2025.

The latest proposal follows an earlier approach by Zurich, on 4 January, at 1,230p a share, which was rejected on 16 January on the basis that it significantly undervalued Beazley.

Fellow insurers Hiscox, Admiral and Lancashire Holdings also shot up.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo shone as gold and silver prices hit new highs amid mounting geopolitical tensions, after US President Donald Trump doubled down on his demands to take over Greenland by threatening to start a trade war.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "[Gold] is holding even more allure as a safe haven as worries spread about the repercussions of the US aggressive trade and geopolitical policies."

Defence company BAE Systems also gained on the back of Trump's threats.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Beazley (BEZ) 1,141.00p 39.15%

Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,485.00p 6.91%

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,908.00p 4.32%

BT Group (BT.A) 183.05p 2.29%

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,088.00p 1.91%

Severn Trent (SVT) 2,888.00p 1.87%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,091.00p 1.54%

Next (NXT) 13,940.00p 1.31%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 362.00p 1.12%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 318.20p 1.08%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 13,620.00p -5.78%

Diploma (DPLM) 5,480.00p -3.61%

3i Group (III) 3,265.00p -2.86%

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 18,270.00p -2.66%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 230.40p -2.62%

Spirax Group (SPX) 7,010.00p -2.44%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,241.50p -2.40%

Halma (HLMA) 3,614.00p -2.27%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,188.00p -2.22%

Croda International (CRDA) 2,689.00p -2.11%