FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,947.32 0.44%
 

Independent oil and gas company Harbour Energy has agreed to acquire substantially all the subsidiaries of Waldorf Energy Partners and Waldorf Production, both of which were currently in administration.

Harbour Energy, which said the $170m deal would be financed from existing liquidity, stated that the acquisition was expected to be immediately accretive to free cash flow and would strengthen the competitiveness, resilience and longevity of its UK operations. Completion was expected to take place in the second quarter of 2026.

The FTSE 250-listed firm said the Waldorf acquisition was expected to add around 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production and 2P reserves of 35m barrels. It will also lift Harbour's interest in its operated Catcher field to 90% from 50%, strengthening the financial stability of the joint venture, while also providing a new production base in the Northern North Sea through a 29.5% non‑operated stake in the Kraken oil field.

Harbour Energy added that the integration of Waldorf's non‑operated portfolio into its UK business would unlock operational synergies, with financial benefits including the release of an estimated $350m of cash currently posted against decommissioning liabilities and the addition of Waldorf's UK ring‑fence tax losses.

Precious metal miner Hochschild shone as gold prices rose.

WH Smith lost ground after delaying the publication of its annual results to 19 December to give auditors more time to finish their work in the wake of an accounting error that wiped almost £600m from the company's stock market value in August and led to the departure of chief executive Carl Cowling.

Electricals retailer Currys slumped ahead of interim results next Thursday as gloomy economic data showed shoppers delayed discretionary spending ahead of the UK government budget last month.

 

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 474.20p 6.75%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,169.00p 5.13%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 209.20p 5.02%
Chemring Group (CHG) 476.50p 3.36%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,662.00p 3.33%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 101.00p 3.27%
Hays (HAS) 53.75p 3.27%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 212.00p 2.66%
Drax Group (DRX) 790.00p 2.40%
Senior (SNR) 188.80p 2.39%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 125.70p -3.83%
Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,095.00p -3.52%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 734.00p -2.52%
Future (FUTR) 531.50p -2.48%
WH Smith (SMWH) 651.50p -2.40%
Currys (CURY) 127.60p -1.85%
Pennon Group (PNN) 511.00p -1.83%
Genus (GNS) 2,520.00p -1.56%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,082.00p -1.55%
Trainline (TRN) 220.20p -1.52%