London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.3% at 24,255 in afternoon trade on Monday.
Auction Technology was the standout gainer on the index, having tumbled last week after TA Associates and ECI Partners sold around 12.6m shares in the company in a placing. The shares were sold to institutional investors by way of an accelerated bookbuild at a price of 1,500p each, raising around £189m.
Discoverie was in the red again, having fallen sharply on Friday after raising £55m in a discounted placing to help fund two acquisitions. The stock was hit by a downgrade to ‘hold’ at Stifel.
Veterinary drug maker Dechra Pharmaceuticals was also in the red despite reporting a surge in profits and lifting its dividend as people spent more on pet welfare during Covid-19 lockdowns. The company said underlying operating profit increased by 29.2% to £162.2m on the back of revenue growth of 21.0% to £608.0m. The full-year dividend rose 18.1% to 40.50p a share.
The losses came as Stifel cut its rating on Dechra to ‘hold’, noting little upside in the stock.
FTSE 250 – Risers
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 1,472.00p 4.10%
Biffa (BIFF) 411.50p 3.65%
Contour Global (GLO) 197.40p 3.03%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 550.00p 2.90%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 355.00p 2.60%
Hays (HAS) 165.70p 2.60%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 696.00p 2.50%
Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 1,076.00p 2.48%
Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon (BGS) 259.50p 2.37%
Redrow (RDW) 713.20p 2.35%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 1,182.00p -5.44%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 4,854.00p -4.54%
Hammerson (HMSO) 34.94p -3.19%
Trainline (TRN) 361.40p -2.85%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 2,610.00p -2.79%
AO World (AO.) 229.60p -2.63%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 186.40p -2.41%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 643.50p -2.35%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 21.54p -2.27%
Rank Group (RNK) 173.00p -2.26%
