On the second line, hedge fund firm Man Group gained 2.2 per cent, or 4.6p, to 213.8p after assets under management grew around 1 per cent in 2024 and it announced an £80million share buyback – twice what analysts had expected.
As investors waded through a deluge of corporate results, the FTSE 100 ended 0.3 per cent, or 24.75 points, higher at 8756.21, but the FTSE 250 plunged 0.9 per cent, or 181.17 points, to close at 20,414.13.
Shares tumbled 16.2 per cent, or 125p, to 645.2p as the advertising giant reported a 0.7 per cent fall in 2024 revenues and warned of another tough year in 2025.
And Serco took on 3.8 per cent, or 6p, to 165p as the outsourcer posted a 10 per cent jump in underlying 2024 operating profit.
The FTSE 100-listed group’s chief executive Mark Read said that although revenues were hit by weaker client discretionary spending, growth of 2 per cent was seen from the top 25 clients.
