ULE.L Share News (ULE)

(Sharecast News) - Britain's second-tier index incurred hefty losses, retreating by 3.87% to 14,516.34.

Stock in Aston Martin Lagonda raced to the top of the leaderboard after approximately 1.22m new shares from its recent heavily discounted rights issue began trading.

The 30.0p issue price represented an 86.0% discount to the shares' closing price on 12 March, the day before the terms of the rights issue were announced, and a 55% mark down to their theoretical ex-rights price of 67.0p.

Shares in doorstep lender Provident Financial were another top gainer, despite cautious commentary from analysts at Berenberg.

Berenberg believed that Provident's capital position was sufficient for now, and that arrears in Vanquis and Moneybarn would be tolerable.

However, it also warned that a long period of lockdown would mean home credit incurs "significant losses".

Berenberg maintained its 'hold' recommendation on Provident but axed its target price for the shares from 470.0p to 250.0p.



Going in the other direction, contracts-for-difference specialist Plus 500 was a notable gainer, with its shares hitting a fresh 52-week high.

Defence electronics specialist Ultra Electronics was also higher, after Berenberg upgraded their recommendation for the shares from 'hold' to 'buy'.

"Ultra delivered strong 2019 results that demonstrated excellent progress on the improvement story, including 7% organic revenue growth.

"We expect this momentum to continue, supported by attractive end-market exposure and a record-high order book, providing visibility over both the near and medium term."

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 14,576.86 -3.47%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 109.90p 72.64%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,030.00p 5.64%
Drax Group (DRX) 161.70p 5.20%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 119.80p 5.09%
Genus (GNS) 3,414.00p 4.72%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 294.60p 3.73%
Pantheon International (PIN) 1,742.00p 3.69%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 181.90p 3.65%
Ibstock (IBST) 157.50p 3.62%
Primary Health Properties (PHP) 165.80p 3.24%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Cineworld Group (CINE) 41.74p -15.90%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 216.40p -13.72%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 35.90p -12.69%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,003.00p -12.09%
Future (FUTR) 880.00p -12.00%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 294.60p -11.37%
Capita (CPI) 29.21p -10.70%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 55.54p -10.42%
Coats Group (COA) 38.25p -9.96%
UK Commercial Property Reit Limited (UKCM) 67.70p -9.73%