The FTSE 250 gets 5 new stocks this month! Should I get in early?

FTSE Russell, the company that manages the FTSE indices, has announced a list of five new shares to join the FTSE 250 this month. These regular reshuffles can catapult an otherwise unknown company into the spotlight, leading to lucrative gains.

So should I take this opportunity to dive in before they hit the big time? I decided to take a closer look.

What’s changing?

Stocks being upgraded to the index include GB Group (LSE: GBG), Pan African Resources, Princes Group and Shawbrook Group. WPP will also join the index after being demoted from the FTSE 100.

British Land will be upgraded from the FTSE 250 to the FTSE 100. Meanwhile, European Opportunities Trust, Foresight Solar Fund, PayPoint and Pinewood Technologies Group will drop from the mid-cap index.

All this will happen pre-Christmas (22 December). But which stocks are worth considering?

Since WPP’s being demoted, that clearly isn’t a top choice. The canned goods and drink company Princes Group is well-known but not exactly exciting, and Shawbrook Group’s a newly-listed challenger bank with little history to speak of.

GB Group, however, looks like an interesting up-and-comer. It provides identity data intelligence products, which sounds like a business with growth potential. Similarly, gold miner Pan African Resources is already up 210% this year and doesn’t look like it’s slowing.

Those two piqued my interest.

Diversified investments

Both Pan African Resources and GB Group present contrasting investment propositions ahead of their FTSE 250 inclusion. While the former offers dividend-driven value in gold mining, the latter represents a growth-stage software-as-a-service play, each carrying distinct risk profiles suited to different portfolio objectives.

This means they could appeal separately to individual investment styles, or add diversification to a single portfolio.

Pan African’s case is fairly simple — so long as the price of gold continues to rise, so will its profits. Able to process gold at an all-in cost below $1,000 per ounce, anything above this is profit. With gold currently trading at around $4,000 an ounce, future cash flow visibility is excellent.

Of course, if the price of gold dips, the share price will likely follow suit.

GB Group presents a more complex investment case. The company provides identity intelligence and fraud prevention solutions across financial services, e-commerce, and gaming verticals, serving over 10,000 clients globally.

Its growth credentials are clear: recurring subscription revenues, high gross margins and 97.8% net revenue retention. In its full-year 2025 results, revenue reached Â£283m, with adjusted operating profit at Â£67m and earnings per share up 14%.

But the identity verification market faces evolving cybersecurity threats, including KYC document fraud schemes and deepfake attacks. Such failures can be financially and reputationally devastating, requiring continuous technology investment to stay ahead of threats.

My verdict

I think both these stocks are worth considering, particularly GB Group. Aside from its growth prospects, it also has a 1.77% dividend yield and recently extended its share buyback programme by Â£10m.

But don’t just take my word for it — analysts following the stock expect growth of 50% on average in the next 12 months. Overall, it sounds like a compelling opportunity, so I plan to buy the shares before the listing date.

The post The FTSE 250 gets 5 new stocks this month! Should I get in early? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Mark Hartley has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Foresight Solar Fund and Pinewood Technologies Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.