FTSE 250 movers: Sanne fights back, BCA Marketplace stalls

London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.17% at 18,614.86 in afternoon trade on Thursday, as Sanne's recovery spearheaded the upward charge.

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The fund administrator bounced back with force after slumping the previous day on on the back of full-year results and news that chief executive Dean Godwin was retiring.

Berenberg said in a note: "Despite numbers only coming down by 3-4% in 2018 and not moving in the outer years, the stock responded negatively to these developments, closing down c17%. While we think the business has a more complicated period to navigate and investors will need to become comfortable with the new management team, we believe that a lot of positives in the business are being overlooked."

Challenger bank Metro was also recovering from heavy losses on Wednesday, when it warned that changes to its treatment of property loans meant risk-weighted assets had leapt by 20% and said underlying pre-tax profit for 2018 grew by 138% to £50m, falling short of analysts' expectations.

Takeaway website Just Eat rallied after an upgrade to 'overweight' at JPMorgan, while Premier Oil gushed higher on the back of positive results from a well appraisal offshore Mexico.

BCA Marketplace was the top faller on the index after saying it was extending its existing £500m multi-currency financing facility through to 6 February 2022.

The vehicle auctioneer was closely followed by new Wagamama owner Restaurant Group, which was in the red as it reported a 2% dip in 2018 like-for-like sales on the back of weakened cinema attendance, but said it expects to deliver profit in line with market expectations.

Canaccord said: "As RTN only completed the acquisition of Wagamama on 24 December, we are none the wiser as to whether it can run the business successfully. However, we believe that the share price now discounts much of the risk and offers an interesting entry point for investors with a higher tolerance for risk."

Real estate investment trust Primary Health Properties also declined after the company said it was merging with MedicX Fund in a £2.3bn deal.

Countryside Properties lost ground as the housebuilder and urban regenerator posted a 28% increase in first-quarter completions, mostly thanks to a boost from affordable housing, while Games Workshop dropped as its stock went ex-dividend.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Sanne Group (SNN) 490.72p 9.05%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 642.50p 4.47%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 1,400.00p 4.09%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 161.80p 3.65%
Just Eat (JE.) 672.20p 3.13%
Premier Oil (PMO) 70.35p 3.08%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 396.20p 3.02%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 206.52p 2.75%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 734.00p 2.74%
Contour Global (GLO) 185.60p 2.65%