LONDON (ShareCast) - James Fisher and Sons, which provides marine services to a range of industries, jumped after giving an upbeat outlook for 2014, saying it expects 'further growth'.

Expectations for the full-year remain unchanged at Go-Ahead Group, prompting the transport group higher. The group said trading in the year-to-date had been "solid" and it remained in a good financial position, with strong cash generation and a robust balance sheet.

Online clothing retailer N Brown fell after it delivered full-year results below market market consensus, with profit coming in at £100.1m compared to expectations of £102.5m. Cantor Fitzgerald retaining its 'hold' rating and kept its "low end of therange" forecast for 2015 of £108.0m. Fellow broker Shore Capital downgraded its 2015 forecasts, reflecting the lower base of earnings, an anticipated £1m cost and trading losses associated with a flagship store on Oxford Street in London that is due to open in September, plus around £1m of annual double running costs as management has now chosen to maintain investment in existing websites through the period of the infrastructure improvement programme.

Office space group Regus also fell to its 200-day moving average.

Insurance group Lancashire Holdings saw a strong increase in gross premiums written in the first quarter and reported an absence of major losses, but profits slipped year-on-year, sending its share price into the red.

Pub, restaurant and hotel operator Greene King also declined after it agreed to sell 275 of its tenanted and leased pubs in the UK to Hawthorn Leisure, backed by Avenue Capital Group and May Capital.

Embattled government outsourcing group Serco managed to edge higher despite last night announcing that it planned to raise around £170m to strengthen its balance sheet. The group also received the resignation of its long-standing Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Andrew Jenner, who has been in the role since 2002. He will remain as CFO until a successor is appointed.


FTSE 250 - Risers
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,400.00p +8.44%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 170.70p +4.79%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,380.00p +3.76%
Partnership Assurance Group (PA.) 136.40p +3.33%
Dixons Retail (DXNS) 46.41p +3.18%
Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 106.00p +3.01%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 2,680.00p +2.96%
IP Group (IPO) 177.00p +2.91%
Alent (ALNT) 326.40p +2.64%
BTG (BTG) 546.00p +2.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 490.80p -4.33%
Regus (RGU) 201.70p -3.49%
Polymetal International (POLY) 546.50p -3.45%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 677.50p -3.21%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 918.00p -2.96%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 242.20p -2.46%
CSR (CSR) 561.50p -2.26%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 192.00p -2.14%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 142.90p -1.85%
Greene King (GNK) 874.50p -1.80%

NR

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