The FTSE 100 gained 0.56%, or 34.31 points, to 6,138.5.
Tesco shares rose as its annual report revealed that chief executive Dave Lewis has been awarded a Â£3m bonus for meeting sales and profit targets.
There was little market response to comments by the IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, that Brexit would be "pretty bad, or very, very bad".
Inmarsat was down 4%  after its rival Eutelsat warned on its growth prospects, sending its own shares down 30%.
Inmarsat itself issued quarterly results that included a profits warning last week, leaving it with a cumulative share price fall of 20%.
Coca-Cola HBC shares fell 3.5% after adverse currency movements hit its revenue.
Broadcaster ITV lost 3%, also among the top five fallers extending its losses from the previous session after Deutsche Bank, Barclays, JP Morgan, Citigroup and UBS cut their price targets on the shares.
On Thursday, ITV cut its advertising revenue forecast, saying the EU referendum vote was causing companies to delay booking advertising.
The pound was down 0.65% against the dollar at $1.4356 but was up slightly against the euro at â‚¬1.2719.
(Close): The FTSE 100 reverses losses to close higher on Friday, led by a rebound in Tesco shares.