FTSE 250 movers: Afren plummets on funding update, Zoopla and Rightmove shrug off Onthemarket.com

The share price of oil group Afren collapsed after the company said it needs to restructure its debts or receive an equity injection due to the “significant dislocation” in the oil market. Investors are still waiting on Nigerian producer Seplat to see if it makes a firm offer for the company. The stock was down over 61.5%.

Sector peer Ophir Energy also slipped as oil prices continued to falter, trading at its lowest for almost six years on Tuesday. Prices may drop as low as $30 a barrel, according to Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn in an interview with CNBC on Monday.

Online housing-market portal Zoopla surged as investors shrugged off the launch of Onthemarket.com, a new property site set up by estate agents hoping to break Zoopla’s and Rightmove’s control of the market.

Ashmore Group was bolstered by an upgrade from Berenberg on from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’. The broker also upgraded its price target from 310p to 340p.

Britvic was rising despite a slight dip in first-quarter revenue, due to encouraging projected savings and increased sales in Ireland and France. Britvic maintained guidance for strong full-year operating profit of between £164-173m and Shore capital labelled the results “better than expected”.

Risers
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 188.00p +10.91%
Britvic (BVIC) 681.50p +5.50%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 410.10p +4.86%
Card Factory (CARD) 268.10p +4.60%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 68.80p +4.56%
Game Digital (GMD) 263.00p +3.14%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 290.00p +2.95%
Rightmove (RMV) 2,419.00p +2.94%
NMC Health (NMC) 492.40p +2.80%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 382.50p +2.74%

Fallers
Afren (AFR) 6.80p -61.52%
Serco Group (SRP) 155.60p -5.41%
Hunting (HTG) 421.90p -4.85%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 130.30p -4.40%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,323.00p -4.06%
Just Eat (JE.) 356.90p -3.96%
FirstGroup (FGP) 102.00p -3.68%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,313.00p -3.46%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 188.50p -3.18%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 276.20p -3.05%