FTSE 250 movers: Crest Nicholson hit by reports of major shareholder sale

21st Mar 2014 14:00

Crest Nicholson dropped after Bloomberg reported that the housebuilder's largest publicly disclosed shareholder, Deutsche Bank, is disposing of as many as 16.5m shares. The German bank is thought to have a 10 per cent stake in the company.Pharmaceuticals firm Hikma was also trading in the red today after Jefferies cut the stock from 'buy' to 'hold'.Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, also fell despite announcing that it has been awarded a contract in downtown Dubai to its Dubai-based joint venture (JV), Dutco Balfour Beatty. The £214m deal is for expansion works to the Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping centre, six years after the JV completed its original construction. Meanwhile, Xaar topped the leaders following its strong results published earlier this week which prompted a round of positive broker comment. Second in line was Investec following an upgrade from Numis Securities after the specialist banking group and asset manager reported an "improved performance" in its pre-close trading update this week. "The business appears to have some positive momentum now and we believe Investec is one of the few significant recovery plays amongst the specialist UK lenders."Essar Energy tracked the wider energy sector higher, while retailers such as Ted Baker also moved firmly into positive territory. FTSE 250 - RisersXaar (XAR) 893.50p +8.30%Investec (INVP) 467.90p +4.54%Essar Energy (ESSR) 68.45p +3.71%Ted Baker (TED) 2,309.00p +3.17%AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 947.50p +2.88%Evraz (EVR) 64.85p +2.85%Interserve (IRV) 684.50p +2.85%Savills (SVS) 654.50p +2.51%RPS Group (RPS) 332.00p +2.47%Polymetal International (POLY) 629.00p +2.44%FTSE 250 - FallersCrest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 383.00p -4.25%Cairn Energy (CNE) 158.10p -3.60%Ocado Group (OCDO) 459.30p -3.55%St James's Place (STJ) 849.00p -3.47%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,618.00p -3.17%PZ Cussons (PZC) 339.30p -2.33%Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,362.00p -2.16%Perform Group (PER) 242.70p -2.14%Foxtons Group (FOXT) 374.80p -1.99%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 373.90p -1.97%