Hammerson’s near-8% share price increase today took it almost to the top of the FTSE 250 risers – it ended second only to security services company G4S, which was up by 9.2%.

Hammerson’s shares closed the session at 79.18p. The company has lost three-quarters of its equity value so far this year.

Also rising among the REITs were Empiric Student Property, up by 5.75%, and RDI REIT, which gained 4.9%.

Savills saw the sharpest fall in the FTSE 250, losing 3.7% to finish trading at 770p.

The FTSE 100 closed at 6,176, up by 1.3%, while the FTSE 250 stood at 17,385, up by 1.2%.