London close: Vodafone mast plan boosts shares as Sports Direct results unsighted

London stocks had closed higher on Friday, boosted by well-received results from the likes of Vodafone and Pearson, as investors eyed the release of US second-quarter GDP data and were still looking for final results from Sports Direct.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.8% at 7,549.

In equity markets, Vodafone rallied after saying it was creating Europe's largest mobile phone tower company with its infrastructure to be legally separated into a new organisation operational by May 2020.

It will be made up of 61,700 towers in 10 markets with potential proportionate EBITDA of around €900m. The group also posted a 2.3% dip in first-quarter revenue to €10.7bn (£9.59bn) due to foreign exchange rate effects.

Education publisher Pearson rose as it bumped up its full-year guidance for adjusted earnings per share, saying that it was beginning to benefit from accelerating its shift to digital.

Property website Rightmove was in the green as it reported a jump in first-half profit and announced the acquisition of Van Mildert - a company that provides tenant referencing services and rent guarantee insurance products - for up to £20m.

Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One gained ground after saying that Mark Gordon had signed a multi-year producing deal after speculation last month that he was leaving the company. eOne said would shift from his role as president & chief content officer and focus on developing and producing content for the group.

Sports Direct was down 3.9% as it issued three statements saying it still expects to release its already-delayed full-year results by the end of the day.

The retailer, whose shares slumped in early trading as it became clear that the results - already delayed once and scheduled to be released at the open - were nowhere to be seen. The company said in a statement that it was "still finalising" the preliminary results and expects that they will still be released on Friday, with another update due at midday.

Also on the downside were shares in Anglo American, which fell sharply as it emerged that Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal was selling his 20% stake in the company, having been the miner’s biggest shareholder for two years.