FTSE 250 movers: SSP boosted by upgrade; Unite Group falls

London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.4% at 20,762.38 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Upper Crust owner SSP was high riser after an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Berenberg, which highlighted "compelling" longer-term growth opportunities, despite the near-term risks. The bank said the company continued to face "significant headwinds in the near term".

However, this does not change the fact that it remains a well-run company with compelling growth opportunities, it said.

"With the shares now trading close to 300p, and at a discount to historical PE, we believe the recent weakness provides an opportunity to own what is ultimately a quality company with strong medium-term growth characteristics."

Wizz Air flew higher even as it said January passenger numbers plunged 81.8% year-on-year as new variants of the coronavirus and travel bans battered demand.

Redrow gained after JPMorgan said the housebuilder’s first-half results will help the shares narrow the gap with the rest of the UK sector.

Unite Group fell after it announced a three-week extension to its 50% student discount and said the move would cost it £6m in lost revenue. It was also hit by a downgrade to ‘underweight’ at Barclays.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 153.70p 8.24%
SSP Group (SSPG) 323.60p 5.75%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,289.00p 5.74%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 450.00p 5.66%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 317.50p 5.13%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,840.00p 4.85%
Capita (CPI) 38.17p 3.86%
Redrow (RDW) 555.00p 3.74%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 257.50p 3.62%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 461.60p 3.08%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 2,118.00p -6.82%
Unite Group (UTG) 928.50p -5.69%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 229.70p -3.16%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,240.00p -3.13%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,460.00p -2.67%
Derwent London (DLN) 3,104.00p -2.27%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 114.05p -2.19%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 290.00p -2.09%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 28.30p -1.74%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 92.00p -1.60%