Leisure and hospitality companies saw their share prices stumble on Monday ahead of an expected announcement by prime minister Boris Johnson that the UK’s lockdown will be ended later than hoped.
Johnson is expected to delay the final lifting of restrictions by four weeks from the initial plan of 21 June, given the rise in cases of Covid-19.
In the FTSE 350, the steepest falls were posted by The Restaurant Group, which owns chains including Wagamama and Chiquito. Its shares dropped by 4.3% to 123.4p, a two-and-a-half-week low.
There were also sizeable drops for pub operator Wetherspoon, down almost 4% to a three-month low of 1,237p, and hotel and restaurant group Whitbread, which fell 1.8% to 3,255p.
The FTSE 100 closed at 7,146, up 0.2%, while the FTSE 250 stood at 22,744, up 0.05%.
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