FTSE 250 movers: B&M boosted by acquisition as Provident Financial drops
London's FTSE 250 index was down 0.1% to 18,783.75 in afternoon trade on Monday.
Budget retailer B&M was on the front foot after announcing late on Friday that it had bought French retail chain Babou for a total enterprise value of €91.2m.
The company said that the acquisition of Babou - whose stores are located mainly at out of town sites - will provide a base that will enable B&M to develop and grow in France its "proven and profitable" value retail model.
Liberum said: "There appears to be a good opportunity to refine Babou's offer by leveraging B&M's supply chain strength to move towards the limited assortment discount offer that has proved successful for B&M in the UK. The deal appears to have been struck at a good price and is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing."
Man Group was boosted after the company was upgraded to 'buy' from 'neutral' at UBS with a target price of 190p, with the broker noting a 23% drop in the fund management company's share price despite third quarter results falling in line with expectations.
"We believe the negative share performance has been driven by concerns about H2:18 performance fees given the recent market turbulence and the impact to its AHL funds. However, we argue these concerns are more than priced into the shares at these levels," said UBS.
Commodity trader and iron ore miner Ferrexpo was higher as metals prices rallied after Chinese officials promised to support the country's economy.
Provident Financial fell as Barclays cut its price target on the stock, but Shore Capital upgraded its stance on the doorstep lender.
Barclays cut the price target to 753p from 770p but said it reckons Provident is not an earnings story but rather a recovery story, and the operational recovery remains on track. With 35% upside to its revised price target, the bank reiterated its overweight rating.
Cairn Energy was weaker after a downgrade to 'underperform' at Jefferies, as the broker reasoned that it favoured stocks with clear de-risked projects rather than prospects that are undeveloped yet highly valued.
Meanwhile, medical products and technologies company Convatec lost ground after it was downgraded to 'hold' by HSBC.
William Hill was under the cosh following a report over the weekend that Chancellor Philip Hammond will clamp down on offshore gambling companies in the Budget next week.
Reports from the Financial Times that cited government aides said offshore gambling outfits face a tax increase in order to raise around £1bn over five years and claw back lost revenue after the government's crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals, which saw the machines' maximum legal stake slashed from £100 to £2.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Contour Global (GLO) 183.20p 7.20%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 407.40p 5.71%
Man Group (EMG) 148.60p 4.80%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 42.46p 4.68%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 3,180.00p 3.75%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 225.70p 3.72%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 200.00p 3.68%
Avast (AVST) 291.40p 3.48%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 197.80p 3.34%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,464.00p 3.27%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,564.05p -4.86%
Inchcape (INCH) 491.80p -4.69%
Provident Financial (PFG) 522.60p -4.46%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 204.80p -4.39%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,256.00p -3.26%
FirstGroup (FGP) 84.90p -3.25%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 434.20p -2.99%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 151.20p -2.77%
William Hill (WMH) 220.40p -2.74%
Just Group (JUST) 73.35p -2.65%