FTSE 250 movers: Crest Nicholson leads risers after reassuring update
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Thursday 20 Mar 2025
(Sharecast News) - Crest Nicholson, Shaftesbury Capital and Bloomsbury Publishing were among the best performers on Thursday after impressing investors with updates and results, while Investec disappointed.
Shares in Crest Nicholson rallied 7% after the housebuilder said it had seen an "encouraging" start to the year.
The company had unnerved investors last month when it flagged the possibility of breaching its loan terms as soon as April, blaming a slower pace of interest rate cuts and economic uncertainty. However, open market sales rates over the 10 weeks to 14 March were ahead of last year, and results are tracking with full-year guidance.
Also up 6% was Shaftesbury Capital after the real estate group raised £570m from the sale of a 25% stake in its Covent Garden portfolio to Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management.
Bloomsbury Publishing gained 3.5% on the update that full-year trading was ahead of expectations after a strong performance in the second half.
Wealth manager Rathbones Group was also higher on the news it has appointed former Man Group chief financial officer Jonathan Sorrell as its chief executive designate, while food company Cranswick rose after upgrading medium-term targets on the back of robust demand for its core pork and poultry products.
Shares in Investec dropped 5% after the international bank and wealth manager underwhelmed with its guidance for the year ending 31 March, with adjusted profits expected to rise by 5-12%.
Energean fell after saying that a $241m impairment charge limited net profit growth to just 2%, despite revenues rising 25%.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 162.80p 6.96%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,061.00p 6.53%
Shaftesbury Capital (SHC) 125.50p 6.45%
Great Portland Estates (GPE) 305.00p 4.10%
Alpha Group International (ALPH) 2,515.00p 3.93%
RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,470.00p 3.58%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 600.00p 3.45%
Just Group (JUST) 150.40p 3.16%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 270.60p 3.05%
Vistry Group (VTY) 645.50p 2.79%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Investec (INVP) 494.40p -4.28%
Softcat (SCT) 1,662.00p -3.88%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 74.30p -3.51%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 558.00p -2.96%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 43.30p -2.87%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 281.00p -2.60%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,410.00p -2.29%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 738.50p -2.25%
Chemring Group (CHG) 377.50p -2.20%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 3,835.00p -2.17%
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