FTSE 250 movers: Just Eat higher on Mexican acquisition, Brit boosted by takeover

Just Eat was trading higher following the acquisition of Mexican online delivery service SinDelantal. “We are delighted to be entering the thriving Mexican market, which offers exciting growth opportunities and strengthens our international portfolio,” said Just Eat chief executive David Buttress.

Just Eat also announced that it has increased its stake in Brazil’s iFood from 25% to 30%. “An increased stake... supports our commitment to building on our strategy to develop market leading positions and offer more consumers the benefits of a great online takeaway experience with Just Eat,” added Buttress.

Oil and gas engineer Wood Group was among the risers after revealing it grew sales and profits by double-digit rates last year, The company said its focus on operational expenditure should allow it to remain resilient and deliver growth despite the lower oil price environment.

Insurer Brit surged after accepting a £1.22bn cash takeover offer from Canadian rival Fairfax Financial. Joanna Parsons, analyst at Westhouse Research, said: “We had flagged the group as a likely takeover target given its PE ownership (73.3%) and hence an Offer makes an elegant exit for Apollo and CVC.”

Energy companies Soco International, Hunting and Ophir Energy were all trading lower, though Afren made gains.

Risers
Afren (AFR) 8.20p +17.23%
Brit (BRIT) 303.80p +10.79%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 539.50p +5.37%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 663.00p +5.24%
De La Rue (DLAR) 543.50p +4.42%
Man Group (EMG) 178.50p +3.60%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 332.00p +3.04%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 762.00p +2.97%
Just Eat (JE.) 365.60p +2.90%
ICAP (IAP) 495.40p +2.80%

Fallers
Soco International (SIA) 292.70p -4.66%
Game Digital (GMD) 249.10p -3.97%
Hunting (HTG) 500.00p -3.85%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 370.70p -3.79%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,524.00p -2.99%
Booker Group (BOK) 152.40p -2.37%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 121.10p -2.34%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 141.60p -2.34%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 925.00p -2.12%
IP Group (IPO) 259.60p -2.00%