FTSE 250 movers: PPHE surges on takeover proposal; Hilton Foods among ex-divs

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was down 0.7% at 23,227.86 in afternoon trade on Thursday. PPHE Hotel Group surged after saying it had received a £22 per share takeover proposal from Israel's Fattal Hotel Group which it deems to represent fair value.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "PPHE Hotel is the latest UK-listed name to receive a takeover approach, and it is one which is getting a favourable hearing from the company in a tricky environment for the hospitality sector.

"PPHE effectively put a for sale sticker on itself last year as its stock market valuation continually lagged the worth of its hotel assets. Unlike some peers, PPHE typically owns its hotels rather than operating an asset-light franchise model.

"There are some regulatory hoops to jump through, and it is worth noting that, while the bid from Israel's Fattal Hotel Group is at a significant premium to the undisturbed share price, it is still at a chunky discount to the estimated value of PPHE's properties.

"However, it seems likely that shareholders, and most significantly the founders Eli Papouchado and Boris Ivesha who hold 44% of the stock, will come to an agreement."

On the downside, Hilton Foods, Breedon Group, Keller and Vesuvius all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Molten metal flow engineer Vesuvius was also in focus as it said revenue and trading profit over the first four months of the year were slightly ahead of last year on a constant currency basis, and backed its expectations for the full year.



FTSE 250 - Risers

PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,988.00p 23.33% Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 81.00p 2.53% Pagegroup (PAGE) 122.70p 2.09% QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 489.00p 1.96% The Schiehallion Fund Limited NPV (MNTN) 2.21p 1.84% Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 802.25p 1.74% WPP (WPP) 281.10p 1.66% Hays (HAS) 32.90p 1.60% GB Group (GBG) 230.50p 1.54% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 752.00p 1.48%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Hilton Food Group (HFG) 518.50p -5.98% Breedon Group (BREE) 287.60p -5.39% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 46.28p -4.25% C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 96.50p -4.16% Keller Group (KLR) 2,292.00p -3.62% Genus (GNS) 2,348.00p -3.61% B&M European Value Retail (BME) 173.20p -3.40% Vesuvius (VSVS) 455.20p -3.35% Harworth Group (HWG) 120.00p -3.23% IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 337.00p -3.17%