FTSE 250 movers: Savills slumps, Home REIT paddled by The Boatman

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250: 19,370.63, up 0.04% at 1515 GMT. Savills shares were on the slide on Monday after broker Peel Hunt downgraded the estate agent to 'add' from 'buy' on Monday as it pointed to "tougher times".

The broker said it was cutting forecasts, with its FY22 pre-tax profit estimate down 11% and FY23/24 estimates down 18% and 15%, respectively.

Peel Hunt said transaction activity is under pressure, particularly in commercial markets, as yields and values adjust to changed interest rate expectations.

The broker said longer-term prospects are unchanged. It believes that property market activity will normalise over the next couple of years, allowing Savills to resume its longer-term growth track record.

"We continue to believe Savills is a high-quality business that should deliver attractive long-term growth," it said.

"However, the current market softness and FY23E outlook see us cut our target price from 1,275p to 1,000p and we downgrade our recommendation."

National Express said on Monday that interim chief financial officer James Stamp will take on the role on a permanent basis with immediate effect.

Stamp joined the company in July 2017. Prior to his appointment as interim CFO on 1 November, he had served as CFO of the UK & Germany division and as group commercial and strategy director, where he led work on the Evolve strategy.

Stamp is a qualified chartered accountant with over 25 years' experience in finance and consulting, having previously been a Partner at KPMG, where he led the Transport Practice.

Chief executive Ignacio Garat said: "James' experience with the business, and the breadth of roles he has held within the company, give him a deep insight into our global operations and Evolve strategy.

"He brings a highly complementary skillset to the Executive team and will be central to the next phase of National Express' development. James landed very effectively as interim group CFO making an immediate impact which I am delighted is reflected in the board's swift decision and today's announcement."

Home REIT shares fell as activist investor The Boatman Capital called for new leadership of the social housing provider.

"We are ... concerned that the board has been over-optimistic in its assumptions and that the value of the company's property portfolio may, as a result, be significantly inflated. Our own estimates suggest that a typical property could be 39-51% lower in value," The Boatman wrote in an open letter to Home REIT's senior independent director Simon Moore.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Carnival (CCL) 734.20p 5.40% Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 235.00p 4.44% VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 460.00p 4.07% Hammerson (HMSO) 24.45p 3.82% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 156.90p 3.36% Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO) 434.00p 2.84% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 134.60p 2.63% Pets at Home Group (PETS) 278.60p 2.58% Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 131.70p 2.17% CMC Markets (CMCX) 237.50p 2.15%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Savills (SVS) 840.50p -10.49% Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,816.00p -6.15% Home Reit (HOME) 50.20p -5.10% Network International Holdings (NETW) 338.60p -4.89% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 720.00p -3.61% Ascential (ASCL) 218.20p -3.54% Synthomer (SYNT) 129.50p -3.00% International Distributions Services (IDS) 227.60p -2.94% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 989.00p -2.85% National Express Group (NEX) 167.40p -2.56%