FTSE 100 movers: Next, M&S boosted by Citi note; Melrose surges

25th Aug 2026 14:25

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 10,836.25 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.

Melrose Industries shot to the top of the index as it said the Orange County District Attorney has now closed its criminal investigation into an incident at the GKN Aerospace Garden Grove facility with no charges.

Melrose also said it will launch a $100m claims programme for residents and businesses affected by the May evacuation, after a chemical tank containing thousands of gallons of methyl methacrylate overheated and forced authorities to clear a wide area for several days.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "A chemical incident at a Melrose-owned facility in California will cost the company up to $100 million in compensation and potentially more in lost earnings.

"The threat of a chemical tank explosion at the GKN Aerospace manufacturing centre saw tens of thousands of people evacuated from the surrounding area. Melrose is now counting the cost of this incident, including hotel bills and loss of wages for those upended by the drama.

"It's an unfortunate event for Melrose but importantly there will be no criminal charges brought against the group. That means the industrial investor has escaped with a bruised reputation and is only out of pocket temporarily.

"The priority now is to ensure that safety standards are improved, otherwise Melrose could have much bigger problems on its hands."

Next and Marks & Spencer also gained on the back of a research note from Citi. The bank upgraded Next to 'buy' from 'neutral' and lifted the price target to 184p from 155p as it took a look at the European retail sector.

It said Next's international segment has grown at a +20% five-year sales compound annual growth rate and is now more than 20% of product revenues. "It continues to see opportunity for profitable growth via investment in marketing and is future proofing its fulfilment capacity to support ambitious growth," Citi said.

"We model a +17% 4year sales CAGR FY25a-FY29e for international and anticipate a further circa 10 percentage point mix shift over the next four years.

"With reducing exposure to the UK and superior growth, we believe Next now commands a higher multiple versus its own long-term average (circa 14x) as investors start to compare Next with a more global fashion retail peer set."

It added that Next's expected forward total shareholder return is now closing the gap to best-in-class global peer Inditex, which has historically traded at a circa 23x forward P/E.

Citi also upped its price target on Marks & Spencer, to 470p from 390p, reiterating its 'buy' rating as it sees structural tailwinds in both Food and Fashion.

"Incrementally, we assess the margin opportunity in Fashion (versus Next) and believe the Lichfield warehouse will unlock margin benefits from FY29e onwards," it said. "The strength of M&S' Food business is apparent, with Worldpanel data suggesting it is likely to post +DD% sales growth in 1H26e (Citi: +13.1%)."

FTSE 100 - Risers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 508.60p 10.13%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,541.00p 2.79%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 443.60p 2.64%

Next (NXT) 15,615.00p 2.23%

Spirax Group (SPX) 7,165.00p 1.85%

Weir (WEIR) 2,926.00p 1.67%

Computacenter (CCC) 5,190.00p 1.67%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 165.20p 1.66%

Halma (HLMA) 3,612.00p 1.52%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 390.80p 1.51%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Relx plc (REL) 2,577.00p -2.79%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,142.00p -1.96%

Diageo (DGE) 1,737.50p -1.92%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,684.00p -1.72%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,121.00p -1.69%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,710.00p -1.36%

Fresnillo (FRES) 3,162.00p -1.13%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,071.00p -1.11%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 30.98p -1.09%

Haleon (HLN) 365.90p -1.03%