Unilever shares fell in early trade on Monday after it completed the spin-out of The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which began trading in London and Amsterdam.

Shares in The Magnum Ice Cream Company will also begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange later today.

Unilever shares were down around 3.8% at the time of writing.

It was a muted but marginally positive start to trading for The Magnum Ice Cream Company, whose shares were priced at 12.20 Euros in the IPO and were trading higher at 12.80 at the time of writing. Shares were trading at around 1,135p in London.

The IPO valued the company at around 2.14 billion Euros.

“TMICC has already been functioning as a standalone business since 1 July 2025, so the trading of its shares shouldn’t bring any major disruption to operations,” said Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“The separation makes TMICC the largest ice cream business in the world, with iconic brands like Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s, Wall’s and Cornetto in its portfolio. It’s already scooped up a 21% share of global ice cream sales, nearly double that of its largest competitor, Froneri. The global ice cream market is forecast to grow by 3-4% annually until at least 2029. TMICC is targeting growth slightly ahead of this pace, up to 5% annually, driven by increased marketing investment, improved distribution channels and market share gains.

“TMICC is already free cash flow positive and profitable in its own right. The balance sheet is in decent shape, but dividends are off the cards until 2027 as the group finds its footing as a standalone business. That could cause some downward pressure on the share price in the near term, as dividend-focussed investment funds that hold Unilever will be handed TMICC shares, the latter of which they may be forced to sell to abide by their investment mandate.”

Helium One Global is making significant progress at its Southern Rukwa Helium Project in Tanzania, with preparations for testing using an Electrical Submersible Pump underway.

The ESP equipment is expected to arrive in Tanzania between mid to late December. This will enable the company to begin comprehensive testing on the ITW-1 well.

Helium One shares were little changed at the time of writing.

The company’s Predator 220 drilling rig has successfully re-entered the ITW-1 wellbore. The rig crew has recovered the completion string and production packers, preparing the well for the next phase.

Wireline logging operations are currently underway. Digital Borehole Surveying is conducting logging activities to evaluate the open hole Basement section before ESP operations begin.

“This is the next step forward in progressing the southern Rukwa development in Tanzania. We remain hopeful that by being able to increase the flow rate from this discovery well using an ESP, we will see increases in the helium concentration and gas-water ratio,” said Lorna Blaisse, Chief Executive Officer.

“Our understanding is that the helium is sourced from the Basement and below, and we will be attempting to produce from this area at increased rates using the ESP as artificial lift. This will hopefully enable us to advance our contingent resource classification towards bookable reserves and further progress this development to the production stage.

The team continue to work hard in executing the deliverables of this important phase, and I’d like to also extend our thanks to the support of the local communities where we operate and to the Ministry of Minerals and the Mining Commission.”

The FTSE 100 had another steady, if uninspiring, session on Friday, trading marginally higher ahead of a big week for monetary policy.

With the index up just 0.1% at the time of writing, the FTSE 100 looked set to close the week out with minor gains.

This will be acceptable to most investors as it appears to draw a line under the volatility experienced in November as markets shift focus to the Fed’s interest rate decision next week and a possible Santa rally.

Investors will be given further clarification on the Fed’s likely path later today when the US PCE is released.

“The market is increasingly betting on an interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets on 10 December and mixed employment data this week has done little to dampen those expectations which, in turn, have helped drive recent gains for equities,” explained AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“The Core PCE measure of inflation, out later, is one of the most closely followed by the Fed when making its decisions on rates because it excludes more volatile items like food and energy.

“A higher-than-expected reading could give the Fed pause for thought about a pre-Christmas cut, while an in line or lower number would likely give markets further confidence about such a move.”

3i was the FTSE 100’s top riser, up 3%. Burberry and Melrose, rising between 2.8% and 3.0%, weren’t far behind.

Unilever shares were marginally higher after confirming the spin-out of its ice cream is complete and will begin trading on Monday. 

“This completes an important part of the company’s turnaround programme, launched in 2024 by former chief executive Hein Schumacher and continued under his successor Fernando Fernandez,” Mould said.

“Unilever’s strategy has involved job cuts and other efficiencies as well as a focus on its so-called Power Brands which account for more than 75% of revenue. These include household names like Hellmann’s, Knorr and Domestos.”

BP was the FTSE 100’s top loser, giving up 3% as oil prices weakened.

1Spatial has secured a major contract to support the next phase of the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), upgrading from its previous role to become prime contractor for the project’s Data Transformation and Ingestion Service.

The global Location Master Data Management software leader will work in partnership with Ordnance Survey Ltd under a contract worth £4.2m, including £1.5m in licence revenue. The initial two-year term includes the option to extend for a further three years.

NUAR is a Government Digital Service initiative creating a single digital map of underground pipes and cables across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The programme transforms and ingests data from over 600 asset owners, including utility companies and local authorities.

1Spatial’s Data Platform processes this information, enabling hundreds of asset owners to seamlessly upload and transform their data with efficiency.

The system makes information instantly available 24/7, replacing the current process in which work on buried infrastructure requires contacting multiple organisations and waiting an average of 6 days for information.

“We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Ordnance Survey Ltd on this nationally significant project, validating the strength of our product offering,” said Claire Milverton, CEO of 1Spatial.

“The renewal and upgrade of our role highlight our position as a trusted partner in delivering innovative geospatial solutions that create long-term value for government, industry and the public.

“NUAR will become one of the most comprehensive underground asset datasets globally and a high-profile example of data integration at scale, with our platform transforming fragmented records into a consistent, validated dataset. The complexity of harmonising thousands of datasets represents a strong barrier to entry to other vendors and with similar initiatives emerging internationally, we are strongly positioned to leverage the strength of our technology platform worldwide.”