FTSE 250 movers: Funding Circle rallies, Brewin loses ground

London's FTSE 250 was up 0.8% at 19,442.72 in afternoon trade on Friday.

Funding Circle was the top riser even as The Times reported that investors using the online lending marketplace had expressed frustration and concern over delays in getting their money back.

According to the Times, people seeking to sell their positions in loans arranged by Funding Circle, which links retail and institutional investors with small business borrowers, have experienced markedly increased waiting times in recent weeks.

On the downside, wealth manager Brewin Dolphin retreated as it confirmed that it has agreed to buy the Irish wealth management business of Investec for around €44m and announced a placing to raise approximately £60m to "maintain a strong regulatory capital level".

Brewin also released its first-half results, which showed that total funds rose to £42.4bn from £39.7bn in the first half of 2018. Meanwhile, total income for the period increased marginally to £162.3m from £161.8m, due to largely flat average funds over the period. Profit before tax and adjusted items was down 8.2% from H1 2018 to £35.6m.

Canaccord Genuity said: "In our view the transaction feels like it is driven by cost synergies (including regulatory capital efficiencies) rather than being purely strategic.

"We are encouraged to see EPS enhancement as a result of the transaction but feel a little underwhelmed by this trio of announcements."

Anti-virus software developer Avast lost ground after shares of US peer Symantec slumped in after-hours trading as its quarterly earnings missed expectations and the company's revenue guidance fell short.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 246.50p 4.45%
Ted Baker (TED) 1,563.00p 4.13%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 18.35p 3.97%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 4,165.12p 3.66%
Premier Oil (PMO) 88.45p 3.23%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 780.80p 3.23%
Playtech (PTEC) 402.30p 3.18%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 148.70p 2.98%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 297.40p 2.84%
Just Group (JUST) 65.35p 2.51%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 306.20p -4.61%
Avast (AVST) 304.00p -3.00%
Beazley (BEZ) 529.00p -1.76%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 508.80p -1.70%
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 144.76p -1.52%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 148.10p -1.27%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 212.30p -1.07%
NewRiver REIT (NRR) 231.00p -1.07%
CYBG (CYBG) 189.95p -1.07%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 171.00p -1.04%