London’s FTSE 250 was down 0.5% at 22,223.47 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Mitchells & Butlers fell after the Harvester and All Bar One owner said interim losses widened as the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns shuttered its estate.
Media group Future jumped to the top of the index as it said annual results would be well ahead of market expectations after profit more than doubled in the first half.
Infrastructure group John Laing surged after saying it had agreed to a £2bn takeover by US buyout firm KKR.
Homeware retailer Dunelm rose as it said annual pre-tax profit was set to be “significantly” ahead of analysts’ expectations, and hailed a strong performance in the five weeks since reopening.
C&C Group fizzed higher after Berenberg upped its stance on the shares to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’, hiking the price target to 345p from 181p as it pointed to “catalysts galore” for the branded portfolio.
Industrial thread maker Coats Group gained after saying its full-year performance was set be “slightly ahead” of its previous expectations as it reported a return to organic growth. In an update for the period from 1 January to 30 April 2021, the company said group revenue grew 26% on the year on an organic basis.
FTSE 250 – Risers
Future (FUTR) 2,710.00p 13.20%
John Laing Group (JLG) 401.20p 11.14%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,554.00p 6.44%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,685.00p 5.50%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 309.20p 5.17%
Coats Group (COA) 62.00p 5.08%
Provident Financial (PFG) 257.80p 2.46%
LXI Reit (LXI) 139.00p 2.21%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,905.00p 1.75%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 467.60p 1.74%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 246.00p -4.65%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 195.40p -4.31%
Meggitt (MGGT) 476.10p -4.30%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 483.00p -4.05%
Carnival (CCL) 1,593.00p -4.00%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 279.00p -3.96%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 298.00p -3.87%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 84.78p -3.62%
Capita (CPI) 40.39p -3.58%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 473.40p -3.51%
