Hasbro, European Wax Center, Bright Horizons, Grand Canyon Education, and Purple Shares Skyrocket, What You Need To Know

By 1200 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.52% at 9,983.34, while the more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 slipped 0.26% to 22,411.54.

The blue-chip index had earlier touched an intraday record of 10,052.

Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG, said the move above 10,000 was “a powerful signal for UK markets,” reflecting “ongoing confidence in earnings resilience, attractive valuations and the growing appeal of UK equities to international investors at a time when policy headwinds are beginning to ease.”

He added that while performance may be “choppier in 2026,” the index remained “fundamentally supported by globally diversified earnings, strong cash generation and the prospect of a more accommodative Bank of England.”

Trading volumes remained thin as many investors stayed on the sidelines over the New Year holiday, with little in the way of major corporate or macroeconomic catalysts.

Attention was already shifting to next week’s data calendar, where US jobs numbers were expected to set the tone for global markets.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said the milestone had capped “a tremendous year for UK shares,” adding: “It’s time to break out the champagne as UK stock markets have delivered a New Year’s treat.”

Manufacturing data tentatively positive, house price growth slows

Economic data showed tentative improvement in the UK manufacturing sector at the end of 2025.

The S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI rose to a 15-month high of 50.6 in December from 50.2 in November, remaining above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction, although below the earlier flash estimate of 51.2.

Output increased for a third consecutive month and new orders rose for the first time since September 2024, supported largely by stock building and efforts to clear backlogs.

S&P said manufacturers faced fewer headwinds as uncertainty linked to the Autumn Budget, tariffs and the JLR cyber-attack began to ease, though employment continued to fall for a 14th month and export orders declined for a 47th month, albeit at one of the slowest rates in that sequence.

House price data meanwhile pointed to a cooling housing market.

Nationwide said annual UK house price growth slowed to 0.6% in December, the weakest rate since April 2024, as its index fell 0.4% on the month to 543.0 and average prices eased to £271,068.

The lender’s chief economist Robert Gardner said prices “ended 2025 on a softer note” but described the housing market as resilient overall, with mortgage approvals near pre-pandemic levels despite subdued consumer sentiment and higher borrowing costs.

Elsewhere, eurozone manufacturing remained under pressure, with the HCOB manufacturing PMI falling to a nine-month low of 48.8 in December from 49.6.

Production slipped back into contraction and new orders fell at the fastest pace in almost a year, though business optimism for the year ahead improved.

HCOB chief economist Cyrus de la Rubia said companies continued to cut staff amid weak demand, but noted hopes that German stimulus and higher European defence spending could support the sector in 2026.

In commodities, oil prices were little changed after suffering their biggest annual loss in five years in 2025.

Brent crude was down 0.4% on Friday morning to $60.68 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 0.4% to $57.24.

Precious metals remained strong, with silver up 4.8% at $74.02 an ounce after a 148% surge last year, gold futures rising 1.4% to $4,402.90 an ounce, copper up 0.9% at $573.45 a pound and platinum jumping 3.1% to $2,126.06 an ounce.

Coatsworth noted that “the sharp rise in the price of gold and silver” has been one of the key tailwinds for the FTSE 100, benefiting miners such as Fresnillo.

Miners and banks among the gainers on a quiet Friday

In equities, miners were among the top performers as metal prices stayed near record highs, with Fresnillo, Glencore and Anglo American all advancing.

Banks also traded higher, led by gains in HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group.

Coatsworth said the FTSE 100’s strong showing over the past year reflected its “diverse range of industries offering a tonic to investors who started to get the jitters about tech stocks,” adding that overseas investors have increasingly “looked away from the US for opportunities” and towards “cheaper areas of the market, of which the UK is one.”

Corporate news was otherwise limited, though Seeing Machines rose more than 8% after announcing a new Future Mobility Group to support demand from the autonomous driving sector, while Invinity Energy Systems edged higher after securing two new 20MWh battery storage sales in Hungary for delivery in the first half of 2026.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 9,981.90 0.51%

FTSE 250 22,411.94 -0.26%

techMARK 5,624.52 0.01%

FTSE 100 - Risers

InterContinental Hotels Group 141.95p 35.71%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,187.00p 3.22%

Burberry Group 1,301.00p 2.52%

Fresnillo 3,410.00p 2.28%

Babcock International Group 1,270.00p 2.17%

Glencore 415.30p 2.15%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,744.50p 1.78%

Melrose Industries 598.40p 1.70%

Airtel Africa 360.80p 1.58%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) 420.80p 1.57%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Auto Trader Group 574.00p -2.11%

British Land Company 396.80p -1.73%

Convatec Group 239.40p -1.56%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) 6,750.00p -1.46%

Bunzl 2,046.00p -1.45%

Games Workshop Group 18,650.00p -1.43%

Rightmove 512.40p -1.39%

British American Tobacco 4,163.00p -1.21%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,225.00p -1.09%

Next 13,535.00p -1.06%

FTSE 250 - Risers

BlackRock World Mining Trust 832.00p 3.48%

Princes Group 464.50p 3.22%

Ocado Group 242.80p 2.88%

Fidelity China Special Situations 309.00p 2.49%

Pacific Horizon Inv Trust 799.00p 2.44%

Schroder Asia Pacific Fund 673.00p 2.28%

Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Company 572.00p 2.14%

Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust 240.00p 2.13%

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited 69.90p 2.04%

Harbour Energy H 200.40p 1.93%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

IntegraFin Holding 347.00p -3.61%

Kier Group 214.50p -3.38%

Marshalls 174.60p -3.32%

Big Yellow Group 1,012.00p -3.25%

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) 164.20p -2.73%

GB Group 250.00p -2.72%

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) 2,705.00p -2.70%

Lancashire Holdings Limited 626.00p -2.34%

Hays 55.00p -2.31%

Pets at Home Group 193.50p -2.27%

By Natasha Khan

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — The maker of Candyland, Monopoly and Scrabble has a new board game on its hands.

But it is only for a select group of Hasbro employees.

"Toy Tycoon" is a role-playing strategy game for up-and-coming leaders. Promising managers inside Hasbro chosen to play the game become CEOs for the day, facing decisions like whether to push into electronic games or go all-in on plush toys.

Is that Marvel or Pokémon license worth it? How about that star hire? How much product should they produce? Did they hit the plan communicated to Wall Street?

"I think the job of a CEO is very similar to a grand strategy game," said Hasbro Chief Executive Chris Cocks.

A Dungeons & Dragons fan, Cocks brought the idea of "Toy Tycoon" to Hasbro from Microsoft, where he played a similar simulation game.

"Moving pieces on a complex game board has a lot of dynamism around it," he said. "I've always thought about business that way, and that's partially why I like it."

Promising managers at Hasbro play at the company's Pawtucket headquarters, after a two-day crash course in business and the toy industry taught by Cocks, Chief Financial Officer Gina Goetter and Chief People Officer Holly Barbacovi.

The game takes a full day. Under the direction of a game master, players confront a series of scenarios testing their managerial mettle. Every round corresponds to a year. The game heats up as each round goes by.

Recently Kate Fakonas, a senior director of product design for Play-Doh and Nerf products, and Stephanie Buscher, vice president of supply planning, took part as co-CEOs competing against other teams.

The two had never met before pairing up. Their assignment: building and dominating toy markets armed with two brands, Super Soaker and My Little Pony. Their rivals were three other pairs of colleagues.

The contestants sat around a table at the "University of Play" conference room at Hasbro's offices in a converted brick mill building.

In the center was a giant board with the categories — toy segments such as dolls and collectibles, plush and interactive, action figures and play sets — while each pair of "CEOs" had in front of them their cards and a phone with only the game loaded so contestants could check their progress.

As soon as Fakonas and Buscher sat down, they had to make a frenzy of decisions, including how much product to order and money to earmark for innovation — as well as profit, dividends and sales to promise investors.

"It struck me immediately how fast it pulls you into a very real-feeling environment," Fakonas said.

Sharp increases in freight costs caused skyrocketing expenses. Then dwindling demand for legacy categories required each player to enter a new category. If a player chooses wrongly, all market share could be lost.

Meanwhile, players also battle each other to secure star talent and license hot brands. Often, they egg each other on, cheer and raise their hands in celebration or disappointment.

The goal of the game is to help the player executives think through how to manage their company's cash, time and other resources — and pivoting when the most thoughtful plans are torpedoed.

Players aim to build a brand, scale a business and smartly apply market research. Milestones include hiring the best talent, controlling inventory and dominating a category.

Over the course of the game, a market leader emerges. Players are rewarded with perks for ascending to "category captain" because their product gains the most share of, say, the plush sector.

Players can lose all their market share in one year, however, though they can claw back if they make a shrewd investment and it pays off.

"It gave me a much broader perspective of what it takes to run a business," Fakonas said.

Also a benefit: Players can observe their own management style. What is their appetite for risk? Should one give a lowball forecast to investors only to over deliver later, or be ambitious and do everything possible to stick to the promised goal?

Fakonas and Buscher ended up winning after five rounds, beating out rival teams by having what the game master calculated was the highest market capitalization.

"We had to balance being responsive to the market without being too reactive to it," Buscher said.

She said she went back to curious colleagues with a broadened view of how the business is run.

But she has tried not to reveal too much about the game to anyone who might play in the future to preserve the element of surprise.

Write to Natasha Khan at natasha.khan@wsj.com

By Andy Serwer

An eclectic group of prominent business leaders left the stage in 2025, reflecting, perhaps, that whom the Pale Horseman chooses makes sense only to him. What follows is a selective and subjective necrology of the deceased.

Fred Smith (June 21, Age 80)

Smith, founder and longstanding CEO of FedEx, was the son of a successful businessman. He grew up in Memphis and went to Yale University, where he was Skull and Bones and befriended George W. Bush. He did two highly decorated tours of duty in Vietnam with the Marine Corps. His Silver Star citation reads, in part: "Unhesitatingly rushing through the intense hostile fire to the position of heaviest contact, Lieutenant Smith fearlessly removed several casualties from the hazardous area and, shouting words of encouragement to his men, directed their fire upon the advancing enemy soldiers...." Back in Memphis after Vietnam, Smith founded FedEx, which now has revenue of some $90 billion and over half a million employees. Smith, who twice declined Bush's offer to make him Defense Secretary, played himself in Tom Hanks' movie Cast Away.

Alan Hassenfeld (July 8, Age 76)

The CEO of Hasbro was born into the family business, which eventually specialized in toys. Hassenfeld became CEO in 1989 after his brother Stephen died, and under his stewardship Hasbro acquired Tonka, Parker Brothers, and Kenner, bringing in brands Play-Doh, Monopoly, and Nerf. Hassenfeld became a benefactor of Brown University's medical center, spearheading the founding of Hasbro Children's Hospital. "He often said his goal was 'to make Rhode Island the healthiest place for children to live,' " says Kris Cambra, assistant dean at Brown's Division of Biology and Medicine.

David Murdock (June 9, Age 102)

Billionaire David Murdock reportedly wanted to live to 125 — and got fairly close. Homeless and destitute as a youth, Murdock became an insatiable entrepreneur and investor. He started in real estate in Phoenix and Los Angeles. He later locked horns with Armand Hammer to invest in Occidental Petroleum. He bought textile maker Cannon Mills in Kannapolis, N.C., and took over Hawaii's Castle & Cook, which owned Dole, making Murdock a pineapple magnate. He owned Lanai, Hawaii's sixth-largest island, which he sold to Larry Ellison in 2012. Back in Kannapolis, he created the North Carolina Research Campus, a scientific center to study a healthy diet, which became his obsession. He would disparage companions' eating habits, according to his physician, who told The Wall Street Journal that "people are afraid to have dinner with him." Murdock collected livestock, orchids, Chippendale mirrors, and Czechoslovakian chandeliers. "In order to do the impossible, you must see the invisible," he told the BBC in 2010.

Leonard Lauder (June 14, Age 92)

Schooled by his mother Estée, Lauder joined the family's cosmetics company at age 24. CEO from 1982 to 1999, he expanded the company to a multiline (Bobbi Brown, Mac, Aveda), publicly traded powerhouse. A major patron of the arts, Lauder donated his $1 billion collection of cubist masterpieces to the Metropolitan Museum in 2013. Raising money for museums was a particular passion of Lauder's. "I first met [Leonard] over 30 years ago at a final interview for me to become a trustee of the Whitney Museum," says Bob Hurst, former vice chairman of Goldman Sachs Group. "I will never forget his parting comment, made with that beautiful, big smile: 'You know, joining this board is going to cost you a lot of money.' "

Giorgio Armani (Sept. 4, Age 91)

Few combined fashion sense and financial acumen like Armani, who built a global empire of clothes, then cosmetics, perfumes, home furnishings, and more — netting him some $10 billion. Armani grew up in Northern Italy; his once-comfortable family ended up impoverished in World War II. Armani dropped out of medical school, did time in the army, and ended up as a window dresser and a salesclerk. In 1975, he founded Armani, with his big break coming in 1980 with the Richard Gere film American Gigolo, in which his brand was splashed all over the screen. "I wrote for Miami Vice, and part of the show's success was the great style Giorgio brought to it," recalls acclaimed editor Terry McDonell. "At the same time, Pat Riley was pacing the L.A. Laker bench in his suits, and suddenly it seemed like the high cool of pop culture — like Eric Clapton — had a new sheen of easy sophistication in his clothes. When I was editing Esquire, I'd have lunch with Armani in his Milan garden with his cat, Hannibal, prowling the flower beds. He would talk about his collections in terms of the simplicity of the lines and the richness of the fabrics. His understatement was symphonic."

Wesley LePatner (July 28, Age 43)

LePatner, CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust and a rising star at that firm, was among four people shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan when an intruder walked into the office building in which she worked looking for the headquarters of the NFL, allegedly because he was angry about injuries he suffered playing football. LePatner, a wife and mother of two children, was nightmarishly at the wrong place at the wrong time. "Wesley LePatner was simply the best, both personally and professionally, " says Blackstone Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray. "She was an unstoppable force who achieved enormous success but never lost her humility and compassion for others." LePatner, who graduated summa cum laude from Yale University, spent over a decade at Goldman Sachs before joining Blackstone in 2014.

Write to Andy Serwer at andy.serwer@barrons.com

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