FTSE 250 round-up: three big losers and one on the rebound

A 48% slump for one of 2025’s best-performing FTSE 250 stock was today followed by the heavy selling of three more companies as the UK’s mid-cap index endured another reverse.

Bytes Technology Group Ordinary Shares (LSE:BYIT), Trustpilot Group (LSE:TRST) and Bellway (LSE:BWY) all posted double-digit percentage falls as the FTSE 250 index lost another 120 points to trade at levels not seen since last June.

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The trio’s weakness followed Monday’s big slide for Potteries-based Goodwin (LSE:GDWN) after the mechanical and refractory engineering group said it had been asked to delay the dispatch of valves on certain large Middle East contracts.

While these requests have not resulted in cancellations, Goodwin said they may affect the timing of revenues. Its mechanical engineering division has also been disappointed by the outcome of two significant tenders, including one at Sellafield with a bid value of £45 million.

The family controlled company is considering whether to revert to its previous dividend policy, which limits distributions to 38% of post‑tax profit. It may move to a lower level should this be appropriate given the escalating Gulf situation and the economic environment.

Strong cash generation and a zero net debt position previously led to November’s payment of a special one-off dividend of 532p a share, having earlier announced an 111% increase in the total for 2024-25 to 280p a share.

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The company, which has benefited from a pivot towards the defence and nuclear reactor markets, said overall trading remains in line with its October update. Goodwin added that its order book of £288 million at the end of February was also typical of procurement cycles in the capital goods markets it serves.

Shares fell as far as 12,000p yesterday, which compares with their peak of more than 27,000p in mid-February after a run from 7,500p at the end of July.

Buyers this morning returned to lift the shares to the top of today’s FTSE 250 risers board, although at 13,250p, they are back where they were in September.

At the bottom of the FTSE 250, Bytes Technology fell to a record low of 254p after the software and IT services company disappointed the City with its guidance for the new financial year.

Bytes, which helps organisations including the NHS and HMRC to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and to transform operations using Microsoft Copilot and other tools, expects high single-digit to low double-digit percentage growth in gross profit for the year to next February.

Chief executive Sam Mudd said: “While I remain mindful of the ongoing macro uncertainty, we see customers continuing to adopt AI and invest in their cloud infrastructure, cyber security and digital workspaces to drive efficiency and competitiveness.”

Broker Peel Hunt cut its price target to 375p from 638p previously but retained its Buy stance in the wake of today’s year-end trading update.

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Meanwhile, the strong run for Trustpilot shares following last week’s annual results was cut short today as shares retreated 32.6p to 203.2p. The reverse followed the disposal of a 5.6% stake by Advent Global Opportunities in a move that raised £46 million at 214p a share.

Last Tuesday, the shares of the consumer reviews platform jumped 43.7p to 219.8p after it posted a bigger-than-expected rise in annual earnings and said the AI opportunity meant it expected to reach an adjusted margin of 25% in 2028 and 30% in 2030.

Today’s fall of 270p to 1,868p by Bellway came as the housebuilder trimmed its margin guidance for the year to July from 11% to 10.5%. The share price decline came even though it upgraded its full-year volume estimate to between 9,300 and 9,500 homes.