FTSE 250 movers: Essentra slumps; John Laing rises
London’s FTSE 250 was down 1% at 17,563.93 in afternoon trade on Friday.
Essentra was in the red after it raised £100m in a placing and subscription to help fund the acquisition of US packaging business 3C!. The supplier of plastic and fibre products announced the placing late on Thursday alongside the acquisition, which will cost $65m (£50m). Essentra said the deal was both "strategically and financially compelling".
Airlines easyJet and Wizz Air flew lower amid concerns about rising Covid-19 cases and further travel restrictions. They also took a hit after Ryanair said it will cut its October capacity by another 20% as travel restrictions continue to dent bookings, and warned that cuts to the winter schedule are likely.
John Laing was the top performer on the index after saying said it would sell its 30% interest in Britain’s InterCity Express Programme Phase 2 to infrastructure investment platform AIP Management for £421m.
The infrastructure investor said the deal value on the rolling stock project for the East Coast Main Line represented a strong uplift on John Laing’s valuation of £333m at June 30. Shareholders will receive 5-10% of gross proceeds from the sale of investments on an annual basis.
Games Workshop was also up after the miniature wargames manufacturer appointed Elaine O’Donnell as non-executive chairman with effect from 1 January 2021.
FTSE 250 - Risers
John Laing Group (JLG) 301.80p 5.97%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 196.70p 5.30%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 63.00p 4.30%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 248.20p 3.85%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 166.80p 3.47%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,004.00p 2.87%
Future (FUTR) 1,896.00p 2.49%
Chemring Group (CHG) 264.50p 2.32%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 10,050.00p 2.03%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 586.80p 1.70%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Network International Holdings (NETW) 285.40p -15.91%
Essentra (ESNT) 260.00p -8.77%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 978.00p -8.43%
Hammerson (HMSO) 21.21p -7.74%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 82.88p -7.71%
easyJet (EZJ) 551.60p -7.17%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,490.00p -6.88%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 815.00p -6.21%
Trainline (TRN) 385.60p -5.21%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,386.00p -5.05%