FTSE 250 movers: Britvic fizzes higher; Superdry slumps as co-founder sells stake

London's FTSE 250 was up 0.5% to 20.873.71 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.

Fizzy drinks maker Britvic was on the rise even as it said it was held back from fully capitalising on the hot weather in the third quarter due to the UK shortage of carbon dioxide, after it reported a 3.4% increase in revenues to £366.9m in the period from 16 April from 8 July.

On the downside, Superdry was under the cosh after ex chief executive officer and co-founder Julian Dunkerton sold a 6.7% stake in the company.

Dunkerton sold 5.5m shares in the group at 1,285p through a placing to institutional investors, which represents a discount of 6% to the closing price on Monday. He will pocket £71m from the sale, which takes his holding down to 18.5%. Still, Dunkerton will remain the biggest shareholder in the company.

Liberum said the sale is "not wholly a surprise" considering his departure from the board and a senior management role at Superdry earlier this year, but it also potentially raises the question of what the ex-CEO thinks about the value of the current share price.

The brokerage downgraded its stance on Superdry on Tuesday to 'hold' from 'buy' following the recent share price move and given no near-term visible catalyst.

Spectris was in the red after the precision instruments maker flagged up slowing sales growth and left investors guessing about the next phase of a delayed efficiency drive. Announcing half-year results, Spectris said its Project Uplift programme was on track for £3m of net gains in the current financial year. But it failed to publish hoped-for details of the plan’s next stage.

Just Group was on the back foot as its half-year results were overshadowed by a warning that proposed changes to rules around lifetime mortgages could hit its capital position.

"We, together with the industry, continue to work constructively with the PRA as part of the consultation and will update the market when appropriate," said chief executive Rodney Cook.

Power company Drax was on the slid after it reported a 16% in drop in first-half earnings, partly on the back of outages at its biomass plants.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 181.80p 5.67%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 831.20p 4.99%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 123.95p 4.56%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 523.00p 3.46%
Britvic (BVIC) 801.00p 2.95%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,571.00p 2.81%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 210.60p 2.78%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 526.80p 2.77%
Investec (INVP) 554.80p 2.55%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 572.00p 2.44%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Superdry (SDRY) 1,252.00p -8.28%
Spectris (SXS) 2,402.00p -7.62%
Just Group (JUST) 115.50p -7.32%
Drax Group (DRX) 338.00p -5.64%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,332.00p -4.17%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 92.20p -1.81%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,225.69p -1.79%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 214.20p -1.65%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,852.00p -1.59%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,064.00p -1.48%