LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 closed up 1.3% at 18,413.71 on Wednesday, with Ted Baker making strong gains after customers embraced festive deals.
The fashion chain, which was recently rocked by harassment claims against founder Ray Kelvin, rose sharply as it posted 12.2% jump in sales over the Christmas period thanks to strength in the online segment.

Softcat, a provider of IT infrastructure products and services, surged after saying in a very brief update that it is now "materially ahead" of where it expected to be at this stage of the year.

Independent oil and gas exploration and development company Cairn Energy rose after Berenberg reiterated its 'buy' rating of the stock, as the broker noted that the company may be in for a $1.3bn windfall if successful in an ongoing dispute with India's tax authorities but still cut its price target from 240p to 190p.

Bakery chain Greggs - which launched its vegan sausage roll last week - advanced as it bumped up its full-year profit guidance and hailed a strong finish to last year, boosted by hot drinks, breakfasts and seasonal ranges, together with investment in staff training and systems.

Barclays said it was a "very strong" update, even before the launch of the popular vegan sausage roll, which analysts have already tried and offered to give their "proprietary view" to any clients that wished to hear it. They didn't want to wait for their next one, adding: "A common sight at Greggs are large queues at busy day parts, so work at improving speed of service is critical, in our view, for asset turn, when we consider speed of service at other operators (for example touch screen ordering at McDonalds, app based ordering at Wetherspoon)."

Serco was boosted by upgrades to 'buy' at Shore Capital and Citigroup, which raised its target price from 95p to 130p, following the company's asylum services provision contract from the government.

"In our view, this allows us to consider fundamental valuation criteria for the first time since the group entered its major restructuring programme with the appointment of Rupert Soames as CEO in 2014," said broker ShoreCap.

The fallers were led by Just Group, the retirement income specialist. Deutsche Bank cut its price target on the company a day earlier to 100p from 130p.

TBC Bank also dropped after news that it has been fined and is being inspected by the Georgian regulator and Office of Public Prosecution over allegations that certain historical transactions broke conflict-of-interest rules.

Finally, Man Group fell after Kuwait's Public Institution for Social Security said on Wednesday it had filed a lawsuit against the UK asset manager and is seeking $156m (£122.4m) in compensation relating to secret contracts between Man Group and a former PIFSS executive between 1996 to 2013.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,412.61 1.30%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Ted Baker (TED) 1,921.16p 18.88%
Softcat (SCT) 695.00p 18.00%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 396.80p 6.10%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 168.60p 5.71%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,526.40p 5.50%
Greggs (GRG) 1,442.00p 5.49%
888 Holdings (888) 179.90p 5.39%
Serco Group (SRP) 114.37p 5.31%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,451.50p 4.84%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 334.40p 4.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Just Group (JUST) 95.45p -4.55%
Contour Global (GLO) 179.70p -2.86%
Assura (AGR) 54.65p -1.88%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,460.00p -1.88%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 365.40p -1.72%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 324.32p -1.72%
Man Group (EMG) 138.85p -1.70%
Charter Court Financial Services Group (CCFS) 265.00p -1.63%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 775.00p -1.52%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,575.50p -1.50%

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