London's FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 10,124.87 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
 

Whitbread shot to the top of the index as it reiterated its full-year outlook after solid demand for its hotels during the third quarter helped offset weaker food and drink sales. It also said it now expects the cost impact from the proposed change in business rates to be around £35m, lower than its initial estimate for between £40m and £50m.

JD Sports was higher as Citi said in research note that the company's agreement with digital commerce tech firm Commertools, announced on Monday, was a "small positive".

JD Sports said on Monday that the deal would enable customers to make one-click purchases on AI platforms including Copilot, Gemini and ChatGPT.

Pearson was in the black as JPMorgan trimmed its price target on the 'overweight' rated educational publisher to 1,420p from 1,440p, but said it remains one of its key picks for 2026, along with Relx, UMG and Publicis.

Games Workshop lost ground even as it posted a "record" first half as demand for its Warhammer battle figurines continued to soar.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said the company "didn't offer anything to get the market too excited".

Rentokil fell after saying it has appointed Mike Duffy as chief executive and an executive director with effect from 16 March. He will join the company on 16 February as CEO designate. Duffy succeeds Andy Ransom.

Dan Coatsworth said: "The lacklustre market reaction to his appointment might simply reflect Duffy's position as an unknown name to many investors, particularly in the UK."

FTSE 100 - Risers

Whitbread (WTB)  2,726.00p 5.50%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH)  4,874.00p 3.22%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.)  85.00p 1.92%
Pearson (PSON)  1,091.00p 1.82%
The Sage Group (SGE)  1,124.00p 1.77%
Beazley (BEZ)  822.50p 1.54%
Barclays (BARC)  479.70p 1.41%
Informa (INF)  897.60p 1.22%
British Land Company (BLND)  401.20p 1.06%
Melrose Industries (MRO)  636.60p 0.89%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Games Workshop Group (GAW)  18,200.00p -3.55%
Rentokil Initial (RTO)  458.60p -3.17%
Smith & Nephew (SN.)  1,217.50p -2.91%
Kingfisher (KGF)  315.80p -2.80%
Severn Trent (SVT)  2,760.00p -2.16%
Vodafone Group (VOD)  99.20p -2.07%
National Grid (NG.)  1,154.50p -2.04%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR)  15,380.00p -1.88%
United Utilities Group (UU.)  1,193.50p -1.81%
Centrica (CNA)  178.30p -1.76%