The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Friday.
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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS
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Metro Bank Holdings PLC, up 5.4% at 39.90 pence, 12-month range 28.30p-123.00p. Metro says it has agreed to sell a £2.5 billion mortgage book to NatWest Group PLC. The portfolio will be sold for £2.4 billion in cash. Metro Bank Chief Executive Officer Daniel Frumkin said: ‘The sale is in line with Metro Bank’s strategy to reposition its balance sheet for higher risk adjusted returns on regulatory capital. The additional lending capacity provided by this sale will enable us to continue our shift into high yielding assets in niche and underserved markets and become a specialist lender of choice.’ The transaction is earnings, net interest margin and capital ratio accretive
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Record PLC, up 3.6% at 68.87 pence, 12-month range 56.20p-88.40p. The currency and asset manager says it has made a ‘solid start to the year’. Assets under management increased to $102.7 billion at its June 30 first-quarter end, from $102.2 billion in March. It suffered a total net outflow of $500 million, but got a $100 million boost from foreign exchange movements, and a $900 million tailwind for movements in global stock and other markets.
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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS
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Avon Protection PLC, down 1.0% at 1,302.48p, 12-month range 582.00p-1,408.00p. The stock returns some progress after a 2.8% rise on Thursday. It climbed on Thursday after receiving a follow-on delivery order worth around $19.5 million from the US Defense Logistics Agency. The deal is part of the Advanced Combat Helmet framework contract. It also noted trading is strong so far in the second half of the year to September 30. It now expects 11% revenue growth for the year, raising its outlook from 10%.
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