Pearson’s turnaround

ShaReS in Pearson surged 5pc higher after the education publisher said its switch to digital technology was finally paying off.

The struggling firm said it was on track to return to growth next year, although it reported sales of £1.8bn for the six months to June 30 compared with £1.9bn the previous year.

Under chief executive John Fallon, Pearson has been rolling out digital libraries of textbooks and academic course materials as it seeks to stem a loss of sales of physical textbooks. It also delivered £60m in cost savings in the first half of the year.

Fallon said: ‘ We’ve had a good first half as we start to benefit from accelerating our shift to digital.’