Meanwhile, FTSE 250-listed John Wood announced the completion of the sale of its 51 per cent stake in Ethos Energy Group – a joint venture with Siemens Energy focused on rotating equipment – to One Equity Partners for £110million in cash.
Debt fight: Vodafone said it had finalised the sale of its Italian operations to Swisscom for £6.6bn but will continue to provide some services to Vodafone Italy for up to five years.
At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 1.1 per cent, or 87.07 points, at 8260.09, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.1 per cent, or 17.62 points, to 20,640.23.
MARKET REPORT: Vodafone picks up as it sells Italian arm to Swisscom for £7bn It might have been a new year, but the biggest corporate news on the first session of 2025 came from a number of old deals completing.
As investors braced for the deluge of post-Christmas retail trading updates, Marks & Spencer stood out, gaining 3.7 per cent, or 13.8p, to 389.3p, on speculation it enjoyed a strong festive period thanks to its premium-quality food and drink.
