<div id="readability-page-1"><div>(Alliance News) - Rio Tinto says earnings could rise by up to 50% by 2030, SSE and National Grid welcome Ofgem's approval of GBP28 billion of energy investment and SSP swings to a loss.Here is what you need to know before the London market open: ---------- MARKETS ---------- FTSE 100: called up 0.3% at 9,719.87 GBP: down at USD1.3335 (USD1.3342 at previous London equities close) ---------- BROKER RATINGS ---------- Goldman Sachs cuts NatWest to 'neutral' - price target 685 pence ---------- UBS cuts Diageo to 'neutral' (buy) - price target 1,850 (2,250) pence ---------- COMPANIES - FTSE 100 ---------- Ofgem sets out a package of GBP28 billion of investment into the UK energy grid. &#34;Energy network companies have been given the green light for multi-billion-pound funding to strengthen the stability security and resilience of our energy networks,&#34; it says. The energy regulator says GBP17.8 billion of the funding is for gas networks, while GBP10.3 billion will be used on the electricity transmission network. It estimates that the GBP28 billion commitment will rise to GBP90 billion by 2031 across both gas and electricity networks. SSE says it welcomes improvements to baseline total expenditure. &#34;However, a detailed assessment is required to determine the overall investability of the package,&#34; SSE adds. National Grid also welcomes &#34;recognition of the need for significant investment into the electricity transmission sector&#34;. &#34;We will now review in detail the full package contained within the final determination, to assess how Ofgem have addressed the critical points we raised in our draft determination response, and therefore whether it delivers an overall framework that is both investable and workable,&#34; National Grid adds. ---------- Rio Tinto says it expects production growth of 7% in 2025 and 3% compound annual production growth outlook to 2030 at its capital markets day event. The miner says this is underpinned by the delivery and ramp-up of developments across copper, iron ore and lithium. It sets out USD650 million of annualised productivity benefits in the first three months and says it plans the &#34;opportunistic release&#34; of between USD5 billion and USD10 billion from its existing asset base. Rio Tinto Chief Executive Simon Trott says: &#34;We are building from a position of strength for Rio Tinto's next chapter, sharpening and simplifying the business to deliver leading returns... We are delivering strong early productivity benefits and cost savings with more to come. Freeing up cash from our asset base where it makes sense will strengthen the balance sheet and maintain returns, as we invest for the future with discipline.&#34; The company highlights a 4% reduction in unit costs between 2024 and 2030 and says its mid-term capital expenditure guidance for 2028 and beyond is reverting to below USD10 billion. Rio Tinto says earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation could rise by as much as 40% to 50% by 2030 based on &#34;long-run consensus prices&#34;. It upgrades copper production for 2025 to between 860,000 to 875,000 tonnes from between 780,000 and 850,000 tonnes. It upgrades bauxite output guidance for 2025 to exceed the previous guidance of between 59 Mt and 61 Mt, with aluminium at the upper end of the 3.25 Mt to 3.45 Mt range. ---------- Vodacom Group says it has agreed to acquire an additional 20% stake in Safaricom for USD2.1 billion, or ZAR36.0 billion. The Midrand-based telecommunications firm will buy a 15% shareholding in Safaricom from the government of Kenya and a 5% interest from Vodafone International Holdings, raising its ownership to 55%. Vodafone International Holdings is a 100% subsidiary of UK-based Vodafone Group. Following the transaction, which will be funded through new term loan facilities, the Kenyan government will own 20% in Nairobi-based Safaricom, while public investors via the Nairobi Securities Exchange will hold the remaining 25% in the listed company. ---------- British Land has been promoted to the FTSE 100 in its latest quarterly shuffle, with WPP relegated from the benchmark index. British Land rejoins the FTSE after it was relegated in March. Also joining the FTSE 250 are GB Group, Pan African Resources, Princes Group, and Shawbrook, which held its IPO in October. Leaving the FTSE 250 are investors European Opportunities Trust and Foresight Solar Fund. PayPoint and Pinewood Technologies will also leave the index. All changes will take effect from the start of trading on December 22. Prior to that, Utilico Emerging Markets Trust and RTW Biotech Opportunities join the FTSE 250 on Thursday as replacements for Spectris and Petershill Partners. ---------- COMPANIES - FTSE 250 ---------- SSP swings to a loss despite reporting higher revenue. The food and beverage outlet operator says revenue rises 6.0% to GBP3.64 billion in the 12 months to the end of September from GBP3.43 billion a year prior. It swings to a pretax loss of GBP10.4 million from a GBP118.6 million profit a year ago. The firm says its bottom line was hit by GBP183 million of non-underlying expenses and impairment charges. It proposes a final dividend of 2.8 pence per share, up from 2.3p a year prior. This gives a full-year dividend of 4.2p per share, up 20% from 3.5p a year ago. &#34;We have delivered a resilient financial performance this year, with revenue and [earning per share] up 8% and 25% respectively, on a constant currency basis, and a pivot to positive free cash flow. As a result of our actions in the year including an ongoing focus on cost efficiency, we saw strong trading across three of our four regions,&#34; says Chief Executive Officer Patrick Coveney. Looking ahead, he says: &#34;While there remains a degree of macro-economic uncertainty across the world, our focus is on what we can control. We have made an encouraging start to [financial 2026], with [like-for-like] sales growth now positive in all regions and tracking at 4% year-to-date for the group as a whole. This early momentum, together with the specific actions that we are taking to deliver sustained improvements in profit, cash and return on capital, gives us increasing confidence in our prospects for the coming year.&#34; ---------- OTHER COMPANIES ---------- Power Probe says it expects to IPO on London's AIM market on Thursday next week. The firm is based in Charlotte, North Carolina and is a &#34;leading producer of automotive electrical diagnostic tools for professional service technicians&#34;. The firm says it is seeking to raise around USD15 million through a placing of new shares. &#34;Admission would allow us to build on this culture of innovation, and we are particularly excited at the opportunity to open a state-of-the-art new US manufacturing facility, a strategic move designed to both strengthen our innovation pipeline and bring production capability physically closer to our critically important core market, increasing our overall production capacity,&#34; says Chief Executive Officer Chema Garcia. ---------- By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporterComments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.comCopyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.</div></div>

Ofgem has approved a GBP28 billion investment into the UK energy grid, with GBP17.8 billion for gas networks and GBP10.3 billion for electricity transmission. This investment aims to enhance the stability and resilience of energy networks, potentially increasing to GBP90 billion by 2031. SSE and National Grid welcome the investment but will assess its overall investability. Rio Tinto projects earnings growth by 2030, and Vodacom acquires a 20% stake in Safaricom for USD2.1 billion. British Land rejoins FTSE 100, while SSP reports a pretax loss despite revenue growth.

Ofgem approves GBP28 billion energy grid investment