FTSE 250 movers: Endeavour Mining shines on test results

Shares in Endeavour Mining spiked on Wednesday as the company said it would conduct a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on its Assafou-Dibibango gold project in Côte d’Ivoire after preliminary assessment confirmed its potential to be a tier one asset.

Chief executive Ian Cockerill said the first study had defined a “large, low-cost and long mine life project, capable of producing 330koz a year over the first 10 years, while remaining firmly in the lowest cost quartile”. Shares in the miner were up almost 7% in London.

The pre-feasibility study found defined maiden reserves of 72.8 million tonnes at 1.76 grammes per tonne for 4.1 million ounces of gold.

Indicated resources were 73.6Mt at 1.95g/t for 4.6Moz based on a drilling cutoff in October 2023, with more than 70,000 metres of drilling completed subsequently.

Further resource expansion and definition at Assafou and satellite deposits in close proximity to the project are expected to be incorporated into the DFS, the company said, adding that the study would start swiftly with completion expected between late 2025 and early 2026, "given the high-quality project and attractive economics".

IT provider Kainos said on Wednesday that it has re-appointed Brendan Mooney to the board as chief executive officer.

Mooney will succeed outgoing CEO Russell Sloan, who will step down from the role with immediate effect. Sloan previously took over from Mooney in September 2023.

Brendan started working for Kainos in 1989 and was CEO for 22 years before stepping down. He also led Kainos through a successful IPO in 2015 and turned the group into an international business.

AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth said: "A chief executive presiding over a gradually declining share price only has so long to fix the problem before shareholders or the board of directors push for change at the top. It looks like time ran out for Kainos' CEO, Russell Sloan, who has left with immediate effect. He was only in the top job for just over a year.

"Bringing back the previous CEO has gone down well with the market as Brendan Mooney is a known entity. He is seen as a trusted pair of hands who knows the business inside and out. The big unknown is whether Mooney has been brought back on a temporary basis as a 'Mr Fix It' or if he's in it for the long haul."

Kainos also stated expectations for the year ending 31 March 2025 were unchanged from the time of its H1 results on 11 November.

Close Brothers shares rallied after the Supreme Court agreed that it could appeal a landmark ruling on motor finance commissions.

In October, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of British consumers that motor dealers acting as credit brokers owe a fiduciary duty to their customers.

Close Brothers said at the time that it would appeal the decision and that it was temporarily pausing the writing of new UK motor finance business while it reviewed and implemented "any relevant changes to our documentation and processes to ensure compliance with these new requirements".

There were three complainants involved in the case: Amy Hopcraft, Marcus Johnson and Andrew Wrench. They argued that the car dealers owe a duty to be impartial in the information they provide.

Hopcraft’s case was against Close Brothers, while Johnson’s was against Firstrand Bank and Motonovo Finance. Wrench’s case was against Firstrand.

The Court of Appeal said at the time: "The dealers were the sellers of the cars, but they were also acting as credit brokers on behalf of the claimants. In the latter role, their task was to search for and offer the customer a finance deal from their panel of lenders which was suitable for their needs and competitive.

"In some cases they undertook to find the best deal or the one which was most suitable for the customer."

Market Movers

FTSE 250 - Risers

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,601.00p 6.73%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 852.00p 6.10%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 441.90p 5.11%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 238.00p 4.85%
SSP Group (SSPG) 192.90p 3.27%
Volution Group (FAN) 568.00p 3.09%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,130.00p 2.90%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 991.60p 2.86%
Hilton Food Group (HFG) 921.00p 2.33%
Man Group (EMG) 213.60p 2.20%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 320.20p -4.30%
NCC Group (NCC) 132.40p -3.78%
Future (FUTR) 995.50p -3.16%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,216.00p -2.81%
Spectris (SXS) 2,596.00p -2.33%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 223.50p -2.19%
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited Red (NESF) 67.55p -1.96%
Currys (CURY) 78.85p -1.68%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 82.80p -1.43%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 280.00p -1.41%