UPDATE 2-Earnings boost lifts London mid-caps, Unilever slides

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* Unilever top FTSE 100 loser, cuts margin guidance

* FirstGroup jumps on increase in shareholder returns

* Workspace jumps on strong office space demand outlook

* FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 adds 1.1%
(Adds analyst comment; updates prices)

By Shashank Nayar

July 22 (Reuters) - British mid-caps rose on Thursday as
positive corporate results helped allay concerns over rising
COVID-19 cases, while Unilever was the top blue-chip loser after
it cut its full-year margin forecasts.

The domestically focussed mid-cap index rose for the
third straight session, up 1.1%, helped by upbeat quarterly
results from Howden Joinery Group and IG Group.

However, losses in Unilever along with weakness in peer
Reckitt Benckiser weighed on the blue-chip FTSE 100
index, which only inched 0.2% higher.

Unilever Plc fell 4.5% and was the worst performer
on the index after it cut annual operating margin forecast due
to rising commodity prices, while posting higher-than-expected
underlying sales growth for the second quarter.

"Unilever’s first half results followed a similar pattern to
a lot of recent corporate updates. Yes they are enjoying a surge
in demand but their ability to fully benefit from this surge in
terms of profit is being compromised by rising costs," said Russ
Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Britain's retailers could open thousands of local
high-street stores over the next 12 months as people start to
step out again after months of coronavirus curbs, according to
research from Barclays.

The retailers sub-index jumped 1.3%

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index has gained 8.5% so far this
year, helped by government stimulus, but is nearly 11% away from
its all-time high. It is still underperforming the mid-cap
index, which is just 1.2% away from its record high.

Among stocks, transport firm FirstGroup jumped 4.6%
after it increased its planned shareholder returns by 135
million pounds ($185.29 million) after closing the sale of its
U.S. bus assets to private equity firm EQT Infrastructure.

Workspace Group Plc gained 2.2% after it said it
expected strong signs of businesses in London returning to work
with easing of pandemic-related restrictions.

(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by
Uttaresh.V and Arun Koyyur, William Maclean)