Investors will be looking for more magic from M&G after last week’s agreement with Warner Bros Global Experiences that will see the opening of the UK’s first flagship Harry Potter store on London’s Oxford Street.
The two-storey store will feature licensed merchandise from the film series alongside interactive experiences.
The site has undergone a multimillion pound redevelopment, backed by patient capital from M&G’s £130bn With?Profits Fund, including the £68 billion PruFund.
M&G, which announces full-year figures on Thursday, revealed plans in January to invest more than £1bn into the UK economy over the next three to five years, targeting affordable housing, regeneration, infrastructure, and innovative companies through the launch of two new funds.
The commitment will be delivered by channelling capital from M&G’s Life business alongside investment from the British Business Bank and Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), and Scottish Borders Council Pension Fund.
Scottish Borders Council Pension Fund committee chair, David Parker, said the authority was “delighted” to partner with M&G on the new UK Social Investment Fund, arguing that the pipeline of projects would make “an enormous difference to many communities” across the UK.
British Business Bank chief executive, Louis Taylor, added that the organisation was pleased to support the initiative, which he said would help drive investment into the UK’s growth economy and encourage domestic institutions to increase allocations to unlisted companies.
Persimmon
Shares in housebuilder Persimmon trade at their highest mark in over a year, buoyed by January’s strong trading update and the prospect of further decreases in the Bank of England base interest rate.
The company has already revealed that completions rose 12% in 2025 to 11,905, while average selling prices rose by 4% to an average of £278,000. It has also said the forward order book stood at £1.2 billion, around a third of 2025’s revenues. Pre-tax profit are likely to come in toward the top end of expectations at around £440 million on an underlying basis.
Legal & General
Legal & General Shares in Legal & General are no higher than they were five years ago, despite chief executive António Simões’ efforts to galvanise it with the strategic plan unveiled in summer 2024, says AJ Bell.
The life insurer’s focus is now pension risk transfers for workplace pension schemes, asset management and private pensions.
It has sold its UK housebuilding and US insurance operations, merged Legal & General Investment Management and Legal & General Capital to create one giant asset manager and looked to maximise the value of non-core assets through a new Corporate Investments operation.
DIARY
Monday 9 March
- Full-year results from Clarkson
Tuesday 10 March
- Full-year results from Costain, Capita and Persimmon
Wednesday 11 March
- Full-year results from Balfour Beatty, Breedon, Gym Group, Legal & General and Robert Walters
- US inflation
Thursday 12 March
- Full-year results from M&G, Computacenter, Savills and Vesuvius
Friday 13 March
- Full-year results from CLS Holding
- UK GDP growth
- UK construction, manufacturing and industrial production growth
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