FTSE 250 movers: Rightmove beats Brexit blues; Dignity down on lower death rates

Shares in online estate agent Rightmove surged on Wednesday as it posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit and expressed confidence over the full year despite the impact of Brexit.

For the six months ended 30 June, pre-tax profit increased to £80.6m from £66.6m in 2015 as revenue grew to £107.9m from £93.1m.

Shares in wealth management company Brewin Dolphin Holdings rose as it reported an increase in funds under management despite “challenging” investment markets.

In an interim management statement for third quarter ended 30 September the company’s total funds increased by 2.1% to £33.5bn and total core funds increased by 3.1% to £30.4bn.

House builder Bellway gained support from a jump in the sector led by FTSE 100 heavweight taylor Wimpey which earlier reported that it had not suffered any impact from the Brexit vote last month.

Shares in funeral company Dignity led the FTSE fallers as it reported first half results slightly ahead of expectations, boosted by a stronger second quarter, but added that it expected death rates to return to 2014 levels after an “abnormally high” 2015 helped produce an “exceptional result”.

Pre-tax profits fell 7.8% to £41.5m while revenues fell slightly to £158m from £158.7m, as Dignity said it expected full year numbers to be in line with expectations.

Shares in Bermuda-based insurance company Lancashire Holdings were down, despite profits falling less than feared in the first half as it skirted most of the significant industry losses in recent months.

Profit before tax in the second half of the year fell sharply to $56.6m in the six months ended 30 June, ahead of the $54m market consensus but down just over a third from the $88.6m last year.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,246.27 1.04%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Rightmove (RMV) 4,095.00p 8.05%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 255.80p 7.93%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 272.50p 7.75%
Renishaw (RSW) 2,601.00p 7.48%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 2,065.00p 6.99%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 428.80p 6.77%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 369.00p 5.22%
Bellway (BWY) 2,046.00p 5.19%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 418.20p 4.76%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 345.70p 4.41%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Dignity (DTY) 2,615.00p -4.35%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 953.50p -2.95%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 152.30p -2.68%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 1,822.00p -1.57%
Murray International Trust (MYI) 1,066.00p -1.48%
Drax Group (DRX) 341.90p -1.44%
CYBG (CYBG) 252.60p -1.41%
Essentra (ESNT) 635.50p -1.40%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 612.50p -1.37%
Ibstock (IBST) 155.10p -1.34%