FTSE 250 movers: Ladbrokes rallies while Spectris trips

Bookmaker Ladbrokes was rallying in afternoon trading, as investors breathed a sigh of relief over competition concerns.

It had long been known that its merger with fellow bookie Gala Coral would result in the forced sale of some outlets, but in its provisional findings released before markets opened, the Competition and Markets Authority said 350 to 400 stores would likely need to be sold.

Analysts said this was a significantly lower figure than previously thought, and laid out the path forward for the merger of the UK’s second and third largest betting shop chains by location numbers.

“Ladbrokes [and] Coral will only need to sell around 350 to 400 betting shops - much less than feared - if the merger is to be conditionally cleared,” said independent retail analyst Nick Bubb.

Financial services group Close Brothers was also on the up, after it delivered an improved third quarter performance with positive loan book growth, tighter cost control and better market conditions for its market making unit Winterflood.

Its board said it was confident of “delivering a satisfactory outcome for the full year”.

Close Brothers’ banking division’s loan book was up 4.0% during the quarter, and was up 8.2% in the year-to-date to £6.2bn.

The rate of growth in expenses was lower than the first half as we continue to tighten cost control whilst maintaining investment in the business and in new growth initiatives,” Close said.

Centamin received a boost as well, as Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the stock at ‘overweight’ with a 130p price target, adding it was its top pick in the Europe gold sector.

“Sukari provides a solid foundation from which to grow the business with a 7% free cash flow yield in 2017,” the report said.

“This can be invested either at Sukari, or outside of Egypt, or alternatively returned to shareholders if no viable project is identified. Valuation does not reflect this optionality in our view.”

The bank was careful to point out that absolute upside remained largely dependent on the outlook for gold prices - though such a caveat wasn’t deterring investors on Friday afternoon.

Among the bottom of the pile was precision instruments maker Spectris, which was under pressure after it reported a drop in like-for-like sales in a trading update for the year to 30 April - even though overall sales grew thanks to acquisitions.

Reported sales increased by 2%, while like-for-like sales were down 4%.

“Trading conditions in the period continued to be challenging. Within this environment we remain focused on implementing our targeted restructuring programmes,” said chief executive John O’Higgins.

He added that the outlook for the year remained unchanged, and said Spectris was well-positioned for the future.

Investment company Riverstone Energy was also among the biggest fallers, after reporting a fall in net asset value in the first quarter to $1.33bn from $1.34bn, though it tried to offset the numbers by claiming a “fertile” investment environment amid the oil price slump.

The energy-focused firm booked an $8.2m pre-tax loss for the period, and a loss per share of 9.65 US cents.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ladbrokes (LAD) 127.50p 6.69%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 113.90p 5.56%
Henderson Group (HGG) 258.90p 5.29%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,282.00p 4.65%
NCC Group (NCC) 295.50p 4.49%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 583.00p 4.48%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 231.90p 4.37%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 349.70p 4.26%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 989.50p 4.05%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,150.00p 3.70%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Spectris (SXS) 1,699.00p -4.01%
Allied Minds (ALM) 340.90p -2.91%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 115.50p -2.86%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,265.00p -2.16%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 855.00p -1.95%
Homeserve (HSV) 415.70p -1.86%
Debenhams (DEB) 74.00p -1.33%
John Laing Infrastructure Fund Ltd (JLIF) 121.40p -1.30%
AO World (AO.) 170.50p -1.22%
Marshalls (MSLH) 317.00p -1.18%