LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was 0.58% higher at 20,345.80 in afternoon trade on Monday, with Capital & Counties leading the index higher.
The property investment company jumped after a consortium led by luxury property developer Nicholas Candy said it is in the early stages of considering making a cash takeover offer for the business.

Rank Group followed close behind as analysts at Shore Capital stated that, following stronger than expected Q1 results, they believe the company is on the cusp of delivering sustainable growth and having a platform to build a meaningful digital operation.

"The Q1 statement highlighted significant momentum across the group, with LFL revenue ahead by 10%, against our (raised) full year expectations of 5.5%. With multiple on-going projects, we expect the transformation plan to provide further revenue enhancement opportunities across all divisions," the analysts said.

Copper miner Kaz Minerals rose ahead of the release of a trading statement scheduled for later in the same week.

CYBG was also in the green after stating it intends to change its name to Virgin Money UK PLC at the end of October after completing the integration of Virgin Money Holdings UK PLC's business.

Down at the other end of the index, Micro Focus slipped after the software and information technology rubbished reports that Canada-based enterprise software giant Open Text Corporation was considering a takeover bid.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,345.80 0.58%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 270.70p 8.37%
Finablr (FIN) 161.00p 6.20%
Rank Group (RNK) 228.00p 6.05%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 455.00p 4.81%
Elementis (ELM) 156.90p 4.46%
CYBG (CYBG) 139.05p 4.39%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 855.50p 4.01%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 385.60p 3.54%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 228.65p 3.32%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 456.60p 3.30%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,033.00p -5.02%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 3.37p -4.15%
Contour Global (GLO) 180.00p -2.17%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,580.00p -1.75%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 737.00p -1.67%
Cranswick (CWK) 3,352.00p -1.64%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 57.50p -1.63%
FirstGroup (FGP) 132.00p -1.57%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 1,482.00p -1.46%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 4,520.00p -1.44%

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