FTSE 250 movers: Watches of Switzerland ticks along on bid talk

Watches of Switzerland surged on Tuesday after markets blog Betaville said in an "uncooked alert" that the company was at the centre of takeover speculation.

Betaville said that people following the situation have heard rumours Watches of Switzerland has attracted takeover interest.

The identity of the company circling Watches of Switzerland is unclear, Betaville said, although there was some suggestion it could be a luxury goods giant.

Other people following the situation suggested a private equity firm may be interested in the business, which prior to listing on the London market was owned by US firm Apollo.

Quilter said on Tuesday that assets under management and administration (AuMA) edged up in the first quarter, as it hailed "good momentum" in the business.

From the end of December 2022 to the end of March 2023, AuMA rose 2% to £101.9bn. This reflected net inflows and a modest pick-up in equity markets and slightly lower bond yields in the quarter, Quilter said.

The company said net inflows of £313m were below the previous year, which reflected the period prior to the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

Chief executive Steven Levin said: "I am pleased with the trends we have seen in our first quarter flows. From a low base around the end of the year, each subsequent month has demonstrated an improvement on the prior period.

"There is good momentum in our business. In-flows in the Quilter channel remain strong, with continued double digit net flows as a percentage of opening AuMA in both our high net worth and affluent segments. The pleasing improvement in IFA flows onto our UK Platform was supported by modestly higher activity around tax-year end.

"We remain cautiously optimistic that, over the course of 2023, we will continue to see a gradual return of investor confidence and improving market levels. Our expectation is that this will support an improvement in flows over the course of the year."

Builders merchant Travis Perkins held annual guidance despite a tough first quarter as the house building market stalled and property renovation and maintenance was deferred.

The company, which also supplies large infrastructure projects, said merchanting sales price inflation moderated from the second half of 2022 but remained elevated at 9%, driven by the rollover of price increases from prior year but also reflective of pass-through of further manufacturer increases on some key product lines in 2023.

Overall, merchanting total sales were down by 4.7% in the quarter.

“Longer term social and economic infrastructure projects continue as planned across areas such as social housing, road, rail, schools and hospitals with investment in these strategically important markets largely underpinned by legislation and regulation, which continue to evolve at pace,” the company said.

Travis said it expects to post annual adjusted operating profit of £272m, according to its own compilation analyst forecasts, down 8% year on year.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 835.00p +9.65%

TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 534.60p +3.64%

PureTech Health (PRTC) 216.00p +2.37%

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 2,300.00p +2.22%

Quilter (QLT) 83.85p +2.19%

Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO) 449.50p +2.16%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 158.60p +1.93%

NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,530.00p +1.73%

National Express Group (NEX) 124.00p +1.64%

Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 156.00p +1.56%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Balanced Commercial Property Trust Limited (BCPT) 79.00p -4.24%

Synthomer (SYNT) 118.30p -3.90%

Travis Perkins (TPK) 929.80p -3.09%

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 231.00p -2.12%

Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) 74.20p -2.11%

ASOS (ASC) 733.60p -2.08%

Urban Logistics Reit (SHED) 135.20p -2.03%

Marshalls (MSLH) 301.00p -1.89%

Investec (INVP) 432.70p -1.88%

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 376.80p -1.82%