FTSE 250 movers: ITV surges on Britbox sale; Spectris slips

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,270.19 1.13%

ITV said on Friday that it has sold its entire 50% stake in streaming service BritBox International to its joint venture partner BBC Studios for £255m in cash.

The broadcaster said net proceeds of around £235m will be returned to shareholders through a share buyback which it expects to launch imminently after the full-year results on 7 March.

ITV said the sale reflects its strategy "of focusing on supercharging its UK advertiser-funded streaming service, ITVX and growing its global Studios division".

Under the terms of the agreement, ITV Studios will continue to receive an ongoing revenue stream from BritBox International similar to current levels for the use of ITV content under new extended licensing agreements.

BritBox UK is unaffected and will still feature BBC content as part of separate long-term agreements.

Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The move cements what has been a disappointing BritBox journey for the group. The decision will help to streamline ITV’s focus as it continues with efforts to offset the structural decline in broadcast with its ad-funded streaming service, ITVX and the Studios business.

"There are a lot of the right ideas circulating, and this cash injection will help steady the ship, but there isn’t quite enough proof in this pudding yet."

WAG Payment Solutions surged although there was no apparent reason for the 15% rise.

Precision instrumentation and controls company Spectris fell back after on Thursday reporting record adjusted profits for 2023 on the back of double-digit sales growth and improving margins, though sales came in slightly below forecasts.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 - Risers

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 84.00p 15.70%
ITV (ITV) 63.10p 12.80%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 376.20p 8.48%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 3,125.00p 5.57%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 4,960.00p 5.31%
Victrex plc (VCT) 1,289.00p 4.80%
Shaftesbury Capital (SHC) 129.40p 4.44%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 263.40p 4.36%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 179.80p 4.05%
OSB Group (OSB) 432.40p 3.94%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Spectris (SXS) 3,389.00p -3.31%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 470.40p -2.93%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,604.00p -2.44%
Mobico Group (MCG) 76.10p -2.44%
Genus (GNS) 1,755.00p -2.06%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 164.90p -1.73%
Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 632.00p -1.68%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 188.20p -1.62%
Abrdn (ABDN) 155.00p -1.52%
Tritax Eurobox (GBP) (EBOX) 53.30p -1.30%