On Thursday 11 December 2025, the UK stock market quietly ground higher – but beneath the modest index moves, some individual London-listed shares put in eye‑catching performances. A mix of buyback programmes, upbeat trading updates and fresh broker upgrades pushed a cluster of mid‑caps and smaller names to the top of the leaderboard, while newly listed Magnum Ice Cream Company continued to find its feet after its high‑profile spin‑off from Unilever.
All data and moves below refer to the close of trade on 11 December 2025, based on Hargreaves Lansdown index data and risers tables, together with regulatory announcements and newswires published the same day. [1]
Market overview: FTSE indices firmer after Fed, Europe turns cautious
The FTSE All-Share finished the session at 5,207.52, up 0.11% on the day. [2]
The FTSE 100 also managed a small gain, ending around the 9,655–9,665 level, roughly 0.1% higher, as traders digested the latest quarter‑point US Federal Reserve rate cut and a more measured message on the path of future reductions. [3]
Across Europe, shares were described as “subdued” on Thursday, with investor relief over the Fed’s less‑hawkish‑than‑feared tone offset by renewed nerves around lofty tech valuations after Oracle’s weak outlook. [4]
Against that relatively calm macro backdrop, the real action for UK investors was in the single‑stock stories – especially among the mid‑cap and small‑cap names.
Top UK stock market gainers today (FTSE All-Share)
The FTSE All-Share “Top 20 risers” board was dominated by a mix of building products, specialist lenders, fresh IPOs and engineering businesses. According to closing data from Hargreaves Lansdown, the biggest percentage movers in the index were: [5]
Top FTSE All-Share risers – 11 December 2025
- SIG plc (SHI) – +5.44% to 9.54p
- S & U plc (SUS) – +5.38% to 1,967.50p
- Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) – +5.17% to 126.10p
- The Magnum Ice Cream Company (MICC) – +5.15% to 1,181.30p
- RS Group (RS1) – +4.71% to 634.25p
- Goodwin plc (GDWN) – +4.59% to 20,350p
- Topps Tiles (TPT) – +4.44% to 47.25p
- Ashtead Group (AHT) – +4.03% to 4,980.50p
- SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) – +3.58% to 52.00p
- Capita (CPI) – +2.99% to 397.50p
- OSB Group (OSB) – +2.98% to 587.50p
- Biotech Growth Trust (BIOG) – +2.88% to 1,222.50p
- WAG Payment Solutions (EWG) – +2.54% to 95.30p
- ConvaTec Group (CTEC) – +2.48% to 231.80p
- Tullow Oil (TLW) – +2.34% to 6.04p
- Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) – +2.22% to 253.50p
- JPMorgan Emerging Europe, Middle East & Africa (JEMA) – +2.04% to 246.50p
- CAB Payments (CABP) – +2.01% to 66.35p
- FirstGroup (FGP) – +2.01% to 187.75p
- Brunner Investment Trust (BUT) – +2.00% to 1,402p
Let’s unpack the main stories behind the biggest gainers and what analysts are saying about their outlook.
SIG plc (SHI): beaten‑up building supplier tops the board
Move today:
- +5.44% to 9.54p, the strongest riser in the FTSE All‑Share. [6]
What’s driving the move?
There was no fresh trading statement from SIG on Thursday, but the stock has been heavily sold off in recent years and is sensitive to any hint of stabilisation in the UK and European construction cycle.
Key recent catalysts include:
- An October Q3 trading update which showed flat like‑for‑like revenue but confirmed that full‑year guidance remains unchanged, signalling management confidence despite weak markets. [7]
- Ongoing strategic changes at the top: the company has announced CEO Gavin Slark’s planned departure by the end of 2025 and is searching for a successor, part of a wider board refresh. [8]
After a prolonged de‑rating, even modest improving sentiment toward cyclical UK names and falling bond yields can trigger sharp, short‑covering rallies in low‑priced shares like SIG.
Outlook and analyst angle
SIG’s trading updates through 2025 repeatedly emphasised market share gains in weak markets, but also persistent margin pressure. [9]
- The investment case now largely hinges on:
- A gradual recovery in European construction and renovation demand
- Delivery of self‑help measures (cost savings, portfolio simplification)
- A smoother leadership transition at the top
Given the lowly share price in single‑digit pence, the stock is likely to remain high‑beta – moves like today’s can easily reverse if macro data or housing indicators disappoint.
S & U plc (SUS): upbeat Q3 update sparks a re‑rate in specialist lender
Move today:
- +5.38% to 1,967.50p, second‑strongest riser in the All‑Share. [10]
Fresh news (11 December): Q3 trading upbeat and “ahead of budget”
S & U’s jump was backed by hard news. A Sharecast report highlighted a Q3 update from the motor and property finance specialist: [11]
- Group profit is running ahead of budget, with receivables up to about £491m from £447m a year ago.
- Its car finance arm Advantage Finance has:
- Monthly new agreements averaging 2,500 worth over £25m
- Record Q3 applications of 869,000
- Receivables up 14% quarter‑on‑quarter to £318m
- Collections hit a record 93.4% in November, suggesting strong credit quality despite a tough UK consumer backdrop.
The lender also stressed it expects minimal impact from the UK FCA’s commission redress consultation affecting the wider motor‑finance industry, estimating only around 2.4% of its customers may be in scope. [12]
Why the market liked it
In a sector where investors are nervous about credit risk and regulatory overhang, S & U’s message was that:
- Credit quality is improving, not deteriorating.
- Growth is being funded prudently, with net borrowings of £241m and undrawn facilities still available to support expansion. [13]
Chairman Anthony Coombs even declared the group had regained its “va va voom”, underlining management confidence in both the cycle and S & U’s niche SME‑style lending model. [14]
Medium‑term view
S & U remains a small, tightly held stock with relatively low trading volumes, which helps explain why a positive trading update can produce a near 5–6% one‑day move. The balance sheet looks robust and the dividend yield remains a key part of the thesis, but the shares will remain sensitive to any downturn in used‑car prices or UK employment.
Funding Circle (FCH): buyback support boosts SME lender
Move today:
- +5.17% to 126.10p. [15]
Catalyst: ongoing share buyback programme
Funding Circle has been steadily buying back its own shares, and a Regulatory News Service (RNS) filing on 10 December confirmed another 29,836 shares repurchased on the London Stock Exchange at an average price of about 120.3p. [16]
This continues a buyback programme first announced in May 2025, designed to return surplus capital as the business has shifted to a more capital‑light, platform‑style model. [17]
Why it matters
With the stock trading at modest valuation multiples versus its net cash and lending book, an aggressive buyback tends to:
- Provide technical support to the share price
- Signal management’s confidence in the sustainability of free cash flow
- Increase earnings per share over time
Combined with signs of stabilisation in UK SME loan demand, this has put Funding Circle back on some investors’ radars after years in the wilderness following its IPO.
Magnum Ice Cream Company (MICC): newly listed giant continues to thaw
Move today:
- +5.15% to 1,181.30p on the London line, making Magnum one of the day’s most prominent winners. [18]
Backstory: Unilever spin‑off and cautious debut
Magnum only began trading on 8 December 2025 after Unilever completed the long‑trailed demerger of its global ice‑cream division, now listed as The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V. in Amsterdam, London and New York. [19]
Reuters reported that: [20]
- Magnum’s IPO valued it at roughly €7.8bn (~$9.1bn) – below analyst expectations, with the reference price implying about 8x expected 2025 EV/EBITDA, a steep discount to peers on around 13.6x.
- Some investors were wary of its exposure to sugar‑heavy products at a time of booming demand for GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs and tighter regulation of “unhealthy” foods in several markets.
- The stock’s early days were weighed down by index funds selling after the demerger and a lack of near‑term dividend payments (no dividend expected in 2026).
Today’s move: finding a clearing price
With the spin‑off now digested and price discovery under way, Magnum’s 5% jump today suggests:
- Some investors are starting to warm to a global leader in ice cream trading at a discount to consumer staples peers.
- The stock may be benefiting from bargain hunting as analysts highlight its strong brands (Magnum, Cornetto, Wall’s and Ben & Jerry’s) and the potential for margin improvement as a standalone business. [21]
A Director/PDMR dealing notice filed on 11 December – reflecting insider share transactions dated 10 December across European and US lines – also underscored that management and insiders are actively engaged in the stock. [22]
Analyst perspective
Research houses note that Magnum faces genuine structural headwinds (health trends, volatile weather‑dependent sales) but also boasts:
- Top‑tier global market share (about 21% of the global ice‑cream market, according to Reuters)
- A capital‑light, brand‑focused model after separation from Unilever’s broader conglomerate structure [23]
At current multiples, several analysts argue that if management can deliver even mid‑single‑digit sales growth and modest margin expansion, the shares could enjoy material re‑rating potential over the next 3–5 years.
RS Group (RS1): broker upgrade drives industrial distributor higher
Move today:
- +4.71% to 634.25p, placing RS among the top All‑Share risers and the top gainer on the FTSE mid‑cap index. [24]
Key catalyst: JP Morgan upgrade to “overweight”
A Reuters‑carried note from JP Morgan upgraded RS Group from “neutral” to “overweight”, raising its price target from 630p to 747p. [25]
The bank pointed to improving fundamentals at the industrial and electronic components distributor, which serves manufacturing, automation and maintenance customers worldwide.
The same report highlighted: [26]
- 12 of 17 analysts now rate RS as “buy” or better,
- 4 have a “hold”, and only one has a “sell” rating.
- The median analyst price target is around 751p, implying upside even after today’s rally.
Investment story
RS Group has been repositioning from a traditional catalogue distributor to a digital‑first, solutions‑oriented platform, focusing on higher‑margin services like condition monitoring, automation components and maintenance solutions.
With industrial activity still soft in parts of Europe, investors have been wary, but today’s combination of:
- A clear broker endorsement,
- A still‑depressed share price (Reuters notes the stock is down ~7% year‑to‑date while the FTSE mid‑cap index is up almost 6%), [27]
- And the prospect of operating leverage as volumes recover
was enough to make RS one of the day’s standout winners.
Goodwin (GDWN): quiet engineering star extends remarkable run
Move today:
- +4.59% to 20,350p. [28]
Goodwin, the Stoke‑on‑Trent‑based mechanical and refractory engineering group, is not a household name, but it has quietly delivered exceptional long‑term returns for shareholders. Recent data show the shares have surged through previous resistance levels, trading well above their 50‑day moving average. [29]
Recent newsflow includes:
- A late‑November note flagging the stock’s move above its 50‑day average, often watched by technical traders. [30]
- A family share sale that reduced the Goodwin family’s stake to around 54% for about £23m, interpreted largely as a liquidity event rather than a change in control. [31]
Given its illiquidity, relatively small free float and strong recent momentum, Goodwin is prone to sharp percentage swings on modest volume; today’s nearly 5% jump fits that pattern.
Topps Tiles (TPT): small‑cap retail play rides housing sentiment
Move today:
- +4.44% to 47.25p. [32]
Topps Tiles, a bellwether for UK home improvement spending, has had a choppy couple of years as higher mortgage rates cooled housing transactions and big‑ticket DIY projects. Historical data show the shares have traded in the high‑30s to low‑40s pence range for much of late 2025, with recent sessions showing signs of a recovery. [33]
While there was no major RNS from the company today, several forces may be in play:
- Growing speculation about further rate cuts in 2026 as inflation normalises, which would support housing activity.
- A general bid for under‑owned UK domestic cyclicals after years of outflows from London markets.
For now, the move looks more technical than news‑driven, but it underlines how sensitive smaller retailers remain to any perceived turn in the UK housing cycle.
Ashtead Group (AHT): buyback and NYSE move keep sentiment strong
Move today:
- +4.03% to 4,980.50p, also appearing near the top of the FTSE 350 risers list. [34]
Recent newsflow: massive new buyback and NYSE primary listing
Ashtead, the equipment‑rental group trading as Sunbelt Rentals in the US, has been in focus all week:
- On 9 December, Reuters reported that Ashtead missed consensus profit estimates for H1 due to higher internal repair costs and weaker hurricane-related demand, but crucially reaffirmed its 2025 outlook and announced plans for a new $1.5bn share buyback to coincide with moving its primary listing to the New York Stock Exchange in March 2026. [35]
- Follow‑up releases through the week have detailed a series of daily share repurchases as part of its existing $1.5bn buyback, with tens of thousands of shares bought back on the market at prices around 4,600–4,800p. [36]
- Fresh commentary from both company and analysts emphasised record free cash flow, an increased interim dividend (to 37.5 cents per share), and the strategic logic of re‑domiciling where most of its profits are generated. [37]
Why the shares rallied today
Investors are effectively being asked to look through a slightly softer profit print to focus on:
- A shareholder‑friendly capital return plan
- A higher‑profile US listing, which may drive valuation closer to US peers
- Structural demand for equipment rental from infrastructure spending, data‑centre builds and the ongoing energy transition
With UK equities still trading at a notable discount to US benchmarks, Ashtead’s move reinforces fears of a “London exodus” – but in the meantime, existing shareholders are being rewarded, and today’s ~4% gain reflects that enthusiasm.
Capita (CPI) and OSB Group (OSB): buyback and contract‑driven rebounds
Two more familiar UK names also featured in the day’s top risers:
Capita (CPI) – +2.99% to 397.50p [38]
Capita’s recovery story has been slow and sometimes painful, but recent contract wins and extensions have begun to move the dial:
- In late November, Capita announced a three‑year contract extension worth £33m with a leading UK financial‑services provider, underpinning revenue visibility in one of its core outsourcing niches. [39]
Coupled with an earlier extension of its AI‑powered customer‑support contract with Samsung UK, investors are starting to see evidence that Capita can stabilise and grow revenues while completing its turnaround programme. [40]
OSB Group (OSB) – +2.98% to 587.50p [41]
Specialist mortgage lender OSB Group also enjoyed a solid session after announcing another “Transaction in Own Shares” on 11 December.
- The detailed disclosure shows the company bought back significant volumes of stock at prices around 570–573p on 10 December, as part of its ongoing capital‑return framework. [42]
With the shares still trading below historical valuation multiples and concerns about the UK buy‑to‑let market slowly easing, the buyback is being read as a vote of confidence in asset quality and capital strength.
FirstGroup (FGP): London Overground contract continues to support gains
Move today:
- +2.01% to 187.75p. [43]
FirstGroup’s share price has been buoyed by this week’s news that its subsidiary First Rail London Limited has been selected as Transport for London’s preferred operator for the London Overground network in a contract worth around £3bn. [44]
Key points:
- The eight‑year concession (with a possible two‑year extension) will see FirstGroup operate one of London’s largest suburban rail networks, with around 4 million weekly passengers. [45]
- Reuters noted that the news sent the shares up more than 5% on the day of announcement; today’s move looks like a continuation of that positive re‑rating as investors factor in long‑term contracted revenues. [46]
The deal is particularly important as FirstGroup faces earnings headwinds from the UK government’s broader rail renationalisation drive; London Overground remains an outlier, run through TfL concessions rather than brought back fully under state control. [47]
Beyond the indices: micro‑cap rockets on London’s risers board
While the FTSE All‑Share list is dominated by mid‑caps and larger small‑caps, some of the biggest percentage moves anywhere in London today actually came from micro‑cap names.
The “Share Risers” panel on London South East highlighted: [48]
- Eqtec (EQT) – around +40%
- Nilfisk Holding (0RUZ) – +34.8%
- Satsuma Technologies (SATS) – +28.1%
- Anglesey Mining (AYM) – +26.9%
- East Star Resources (EST) – +20.3%
These companies tend to be illiquid, high‑risk plays in speculative sectors such as alternative energy technologies and early‑stage mining exploration. For most mainstream investors and for Google Discover‑style audiences, the activity in more established All‑Share constituents like Ashtead, RS Group and Magnum will be of greater relevance – but the micro‑cap fireworks are a reminder that volatility remains very much alive at the fringes of the UK market.
What today’s UK stock market gainers tell us about sentiment
Looking across the day’s biggest winners, several themes stand out:
- Buybacks and capital returns are in vogue
- Ashtead, Funding Circle and OSB all advanced on the back of share repurchase programmes.
- Investors are rewarding boards that use surplus cash to shrink equity and support EPS growth rather than chase acquisitions.
- Selective appetite for UK cyclicals
- SIG, Topps Tiles and Capita all rallied as investors tentatively add exposure to UK domestic cyclicals that have been heavily de‑rated.
- The moves are modest in absolute price terms but large in percentage terms, reflecting how thin positioning has become in this part of the market.
- Spin‑offs and relocations remain a core story
- Analyst upgrades still move the dial
- RS Group’s reaction to a single high‑profile broker upgrade and target hike is a reminder that sell‑side calls can still catalyse significant multi‑session re‑ratings when valuations are depressed. [51]
How investors might interpret today’s moves
For long‑term investors watching the UK market, today’s leaderboard suggests:
- There is growing but still cautious interest in UK equities as global investors search for value after a long stretch of underperformance versus the US.
- Company‑specific catalysts – buybacks, listing changes, contracts and trading updates – are crucial in unlocking that value; index‑level flows alone are not enough.
- The market is increasingly two‑speed:
- Mega‑caps move gently with global macro and Fed expectations.
- Smaller and mid‑cap names can jump 3–6% in a single day on positive news, given lighter liquidity and low starting valuations.
Final word: opportunities and risks
Today’s biggest UK stock gainers illustrate how quickly sentiment can flip once catalysts appear – whether that’s S & U’s upbeat Q3 trading statement, FirstGroup’s London Overground win, or Ashtead’s mega buyback tied to a New York listing.
However, these are not recommendations to buy or sell any particular share. Prices can go down as well as up, especially in lower‑liquidity names, and news‑driven rallies sometimes fade once the headlines move on. Before acting, investors should consider:
- Their risk tolerance and time horizon
- Company fundamentals (balance sheet strength, cash flow, competitive position)
- Valuation versus sector peers and long‑term averages
As of the close on 11 December 2025, though, the message from London is clear: stock‑picking still matters, and the UK market continues to throw up pockets of opportunity for those prepared to dig beneath the indices.
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References
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