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FTSE 250 movers: Bookies rally but Capita takes a hit
London's FTSE 250 was down 0.5% to 19,710.61 in afternoon trade on Monday, with bookies bucking the trend as the outcome of the UK gambling watchdog's triennial review was less harsh than expected.
Bookmakers William Hill and Ladbrokes Coral rallied on news that they will avoid the worst scenarios envisaged from the government's triennial review on fixed-odds betting terminals. The Gambling Commission has recommended that the maximum stake for fixed odds betting terminals be cut to £30 or less, assuaging fears that this could be cut to as little as £2.
Intu Properties was on the front foot as Hammerson, which it has agreed to be bought by in a £3.4bn deal, said it had recently rejected a £5bn bid from French shopping centre operator Klepierre.
Capital & Counties rallied following reports that property developer Berkeley Group has held preliminary talks with the company about buying its Earls Court site.
Moneysupermarket was also in the black as Numis upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'add', saying the shares are "very attractively valued" at current levels.
"We expect strong end market growth for the foreseeable future. Moneysupermarket is now uniquely positioned, has the ability to move to above market growth over time which will deliver double digit earnings growth," it said.
Going the other way, outsourcer Capita retreated following a report that it's planning to claw back former boss Andy Parker's £845,000 bonus. According to the Sunday Times, the company is ready to cancel a bonus entitling Parker to a payout worth 200% of his salary.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals was in the red as Barclays maintained its 'underweight' rating on the stock. It said that while the fourth-quarter results were slightly ahead of expectations thanks to better core EBIT margins in injectables, there really wasn't anything in the results that was markedly different versus its expectations, adding that it was "somewhat perplexed" by recent market enthusiasm.
Risers
William Hill (WMH) 336.70p 5.05%
Intu Properties (INTU) 213.50p 4.66%
Fenner (FENR) 482.40p 3.39%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 272.80p 2.94%
Workspace Group (WKP) 994.00p 2.47%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 525.50p 2.44%
Ladbrokes Coral Group (LCL) 174.40p 2.32%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 293.20p 2.30%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 183.00p 2.23%
Derwent London (DLN) 3,119.00p 2.13%
Fallers
Capita (CPI) 156.35p -5.44%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 471.92p -5.12%
Contour Global (GLO) 246.00p -4.65%
Investec (INVP) 570.40p -4.49%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 299.60p -4.28%
Marshalls (MSLH) 434.64p -3.88%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,080.00p -3.70%
Jupiter European Opportunities Trust (JEO) 717.01p -3.63%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 195.35p -3.48%
Kier Group (KIE) 966.50p -3.45%