UK Stocks-UK Factors to watch on June 25

June 25 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening largely flat on Wednesday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.03%.

BABCOCK: British defence engineering company Babcock BAB.L upgraded its medium-term guidance on Wednesday, expecting to benefit from the UK's plan to spend more on defence and energy security to counter the rising geopolitical instability.

HALFORDS: British bicycle and car products retailer Halfords Group HFD.L on Wednesday said it expects pre-tax profit for its fiscal year 2026 to be weighted to the second half of the year.

LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT: British wealth manager Liontrust Asset Management LIO.L on Wednesday reported a 28.3% fall in annual profit, following a year marked by 4.9 billion pounds ($6.68 billion) of outflows.

WAREHOUSE REIT: UK's Warehouse REIT WHRW.L agreed to a 485.2 million-pound ($661 million) takeover by Tritax Big Box REIT BBOXT.L on Wednesday, rejecting Blackstone's BX.N 470 million-pound offer, which it had accepted in early June.

CO-OP: British food retailer the Co-op Group 42TE.L will cease sourcing products and ingredients from 17 countries, including Israel, where there are "internationally recognised" human rights abuses and violations of international law, it said on Tuesday.

ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS: Associated British Foods ABF.L has extended its deadline for deciding the fate of its Vivergo bioethanol plant, which is under threat of closure, to Thursday, hoping the UK government will step in with a support package.

IAG: IAG's ICAG.L Iberia has cancelled its flight to Doha planned for Wednesday, a spokesperson for the airline told Reuters on Tuesday.

COMMODITIES: Oil prices climbed, copper prices on the London Metal Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange edged higher, and gold prices edged higher.

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