FTSE 250 movers: Babcock loses chair, Just Group and Just Eat climb

London’s FTSE 250 was down 0.29% at 18,432.29 in afternoon trade on Thursday, with Babcock International pulling the index lower.

Engineering services provider Babcock International was the top faller after the defence contractor's chairman, Mike Turner, announced he was stepping down in July after a decade in charge. Turner, who has been on the board for twenty years, has felt impelled to leave due to UK corporate governance guidelines about the length of time chairmen should be in place. "The board has accepted his decision with regret," it said.

Following closely behind were gold miners Hochschild Mining and Acacia Mining as gold prices faced pressure. Hochschild also continued its drop after reporting earlier in the week that its output is set to fall in 2019 following a weak fourth quarter.

Retirement services specialist Just Group was the top riser as investors gained confidence about UK avoiding leaving the EU without a deal. The company is seen as being particularly susceptible to a no-deal Brexit, with a note from Deutsche Bank earlier this month saying: "Just is particularly sensitive to credit default risk and UK house price weakness/volatility (in turn subject to UK political risk - to the upside and downside)," analysts said, estimating that the gross valuation would fall 37% under the impact of no-deal.

Meanwhile Just Eat rallied after an upgrade to 'overweight' at Morgan Stanley, with the broker forecasting that the takeaway company would increase its investment budget again this year and arguing that the share price had already reflected the hit to operating earnings, leaving a limited downside.

Peer-to-peer lending marketplace Funding Circle climbed after it enjoyed a strong finish to 2018, with revenues topping guidance from the peer-to-peer business lender's initial public offer in October.

"We believe consistent and now improving returns in weak and volatile markets should work to attract investors to the group. While Funding Circle's update is strong with revenues ahead, at this point we are not increasing our forecasts for the group for 2019 and beyond but we do take increased confidence from the update," said a note from Numis.

Sanne Group recovered from the 52-week low it had reached earlier in the week, while Saga, which provides products and services for people aged 50 and over, edged upward after reporting that trading has continued to be in line with its expectations, with a good performance from the travel business.

JPMorgan reiterated its 'neutral' stance of the stock, commenting that Saga's trading had remained in line with expectations as broking weakness was offset by higher reserve releases.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,432.29 -0.29%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Just Group (JUST) 96.45p 5.41%
Just Eat (JE.) 661.00p 4.65%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 344.90p 4.52%
Sanne Group (SNN) 540.00p 4.05%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,854.00p 3.00%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 251.00p 2.66%
Saga (SAGA) 104.10p 2.56%
Savills (SVS) 763.00p 1.94%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,444.00p 1.92%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 4,062.00p 1.91%