FTSE 250 movers: Newly-formed JRP surges while Sports Direct flounders

The FTSE 250 was in the green during afternoon trading on Thursday, as the Bank of England decided to keep policy measures unchanged.

Retirement service provider JRP Group, the newly merged Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance, was surging at the top of the leaderboard after it raised its target for synergies from the deal as it delivered benefits ahead of schedule.

The company said it expects to achieve yearly savings of at least £45m by the end of 2018, a 13% increase on its prior prediction having so far made £15m since April's £1.6bn merger.

Sales for the guaranteed income for life scheme increased by 52% to £321m in the six months ended 30 June, or a pro-forma increase of 17% to £397m, compared to the same period last year.

Also on the up was electronics distributor Electrocomponents, which earlier said it expects to post a significant increase in first-half pre-tax profit following stronger-than-anticipated trading.

In a trading update ahead of its half-year results in November, the company said it now expects pre-tax profit to be around £54m versus £31.3m in the first half of last year, partly lifted by the weaker pound.

Electrocomponents now expects underlying sales growth of around 2% in the first half, with a stronger performance in the second quarter driven by a return to growth in North America and better trading trends in Asia Pacific.

Redrow was also among the risers, having announced plans to buy back 10% of its shares.

The plans will be put to a shareholder vote.

On the downside, embattled retailer Sports Direct watched its shares plunge during the afternoon after it was the subject of a downgrade from its own house broker.

Goldman Sachs cut its earnings forecast for the current year by a further 20% on Thursday, the latest move following its May decision to remove its 'buy' rating on Sports Direct for the first time in four years.

Hochschild Mining was also on a serious slide, after analysts at JP Morgan Cazenove reiterated their recommendation of 'neutral' and set a target price of 190p on the stock, indicating a potential 27.9% downside from Thursday's opening price.

FTSE 250 - Risers

JRP Group (JRP) 115.40p 18.60%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 345.80p 14.58%
Circassia Pharmaceuticals (CIR) 96.00p 6.67%
RPC Group (RPC) 891.00p 4.33%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 265.60p 3.35%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 499.20p 3.14%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 268.00p 2.64%
Redrow (RDW) 399.50p 2.44%
Booker Group (BOK) 181.70p 2.19%
Diploma (DPLM) 876.00p 2.10%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Sports Direct International (SPD) 280.00p -8.56%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 254.30p -5.53%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 715.50p -3.11%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 187.40p -2.40%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 737.50p -1.99%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 69.70p -1.97%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 188.50p -1.93%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 265.00p -1.85%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 170.60p -1.84%
Computacenter (CCC) 718.00p -1.78%