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(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was 0.5% higher at 24,624.19 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
Vistry Group surged to the top of the index as the housebuilder said it had appointed Helen Miles - the current chief financial officer of water company Severn Trent - as its new CFO.
Miles is expected to take up the role and join the board next year. She joined Severn Trent in November 2014 as chief commercial officer, and in 2020 became the capital and commercial services director, before being appointed CFO in July 2023.
Previously, Miles was CFO for HomeServe and Openreach, part of the BT Group. Prior to BT, she worked in a variety of organisations including Bass Taverns, Barclays Bank, and Compass Group.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said Vistry "has secured an experienced individual to help put the business back on track after a troublesome period".
"Investors have given the appointment a big thumbs up, with the shares jumping on the news," he said.
Coatsworth said Miles "must relish a mountainous challenge given problems at Vistry which include a string of profit warnings in recent years".
"New CEO Adam Daniels has already laid the groundwork for a big strategic overhaul and clearly wants a dependable numbers person at his side to help execute the new strategy. It is also a brave move to switch from a FTSE 100 company to a fallen angel.
"Vistry said in September that it didn't expect to have to raise any new equity, despite a sharp jump in net debt amid weaker trading and ongoing infrastructure investments. However, it did flag a need to operate with 'greater focus, discipline and control', and that's where Miles will have to hit the ground running as soon as she starts. Expect a big review of costs and no stone left unturned.
"Robert Allen, formerly of The Crown Estate and Crest Nicholson, has been appointed as interim CFO until Miles joins next year."
Cybersecurity specialist NCC Group fell as it announced the appointment of Guy Ellis as chief executive and said full-year adjusted earnings were expected to exceed market expectations.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Vistry Group (VTY) 274.00p 6.58%
Partners Group Private Equity Limited. (EUR) (PEY) 7.24p 4.34%
Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 648.00p 3.85%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 279.40p 3.38%
Amaroq Ltd. Npv (DI) (AMRQ) 101.50p 3.15%
Hill and Smith (HILS) 3,000.00p 3.10%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 334.80p 2.97%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,748.00p 2.94%
Volution Group (FAN) 645.00p 2.88%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 468.00p 2.59%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
NCC Group (NCC) 168.60p -3.44%
THG (THG) 39.84p -2.97%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 736.00p -2.64%
Trainline (TRN) 210.80p -2.59%
B&M European Value Retail (BME) 274.00p -2.57%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 248.00p -2.13%
WH Smith (SMWH) 422.80p -1.95%
SSP Group (SSPG) 181.80p -1.52%
Great Portland Estates (GPE) 332.00p -1.48%
Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 178.00p -1.44%
