Intercontinental Hotels Group was in the spotlight today as the Barclay brothers increased their stake in the group again.
The brothers' Ellerman Corporation edged up their shareholding from 9.16% to 10%, the second time within a month they have bought more shares.
Earlier this week the group's shares dipped after the chief executive, Andrew Cosslett, said in New York he did not expect large hotel groups such as IHG to be bought up by private equity businesses. However he said nothing about property tycoons such as the Barclays.
The company met the brothers in January as part of a regular meeting with shareholders. But it has not seen them since, and has no specific plans to do so.
"We are not clear about their intentions," said a company spokesman.
IHG slipped 13p to £13.05, falling back from earlier gains amid another general market downturn during the afternoon.
The market had been jittery all day following yesterday's three-digit fall. After a burst of enthusiasm around lunchtime once the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged at 5.5%, shares soon drifted lower. Traders cited a whole raft of worries, ranging from the expectation that a UK rate rise was merely delayed to worries about North Korea test firing a number of missiles.
With Wall Street also heading south, by the close the FTSE 100 had fallen 17.6 points to 6505.1.
Property groups were under pressure after yesterday's news that hotel owner Vector Hospitality - a real estate investment trust - had postponed its planned flotation due to market conditions.
Land Securities lost 65p to £17.57 while Segro, which recently changed its name from Slough Estates, slipped 20.5p to 657p. Pubs group Enterprise Inns fell 13.5p to 690.5p as Evolution Securities said its shares could fall back in the wake of the Vector move.
"Investors taking profits on Enterprise should switch into Punch Taverns, Greene King or Marstons where there is better value," said Evo.
DSG International - the former Dixons group - edged down 1.3p to 163.5p as it appointed Tesco's John Browett as its new chief executive, to replace John Clare.
The water group Kelda lost 8p to 969.5p following disappointing figures. Collins Stewart said the company — which owns Yorkshire Water — was expensive compared to its sector peers, while Charles Stanley advised clients to sell.
Meanwhile the defence and aerospace group BAE Systems fell 10.25p to 428.25p after the Guardian reported allegations about the company's dealings in Saudi Arabia. BAE was also left out of a £14bn Ministry of Defence military vehicles contract.
Brewer Scottish & Newcastle lost 15.5p to 611p on talk Citigroup was placing 8m shares at 611p each.
The engineering business FKI fell 17.25p to 119.5p, awaiting more details of a possible takeover. The group said it was in discussions with one party after opening its books to a small number of possible suitors.
Among the risers, Vodafone was wanted, after the mobile phone giant said an activist investor, ECS Assets, had called for the company to return as much as £38bn to shareholders. ECS has drawn up resolutions to be put to Vodafone's annual meeting in July. Vodafone added 3.3p to 158.4p.
Citigroup noted: "There is every argument for shareholder activism and we'd support further restructuring at Vodafone. However, our initial reaction is that these suggested resolutions are weak."
Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline recovered 27p to £12.99 after its recent weakness on concerns that its diabetes drug Avandia could be linked to heart problems. A US congressional hearing on Wednesday produced no new evidence against Avandia, said analysts.
Miners were in demand as Morgan Stanley issued a positive note on the sector. BHP Billiton was the main beneficiary, up 23p to £12.86. The company was additionally buoyed by vague talk of Chinese interest.
Among the second liners, the car parts retailer Halfords rose 22p to 391p after better than expected full-year results, boosted by sales of iPod connectors. Seymour Pierce said the shares looked good value and repeated its outperform rating. Oriel Securities was also positive: "Halfords is doing everything right just now. It is essentially a defensive play, but there are plenty of growth initiatives underway. It's too cheap — buy in all weathers."
Lower down the market, Meridian Petroleum added 0.25p to 16.75p. Traders heard the company was sounding out investors about a fundraising at 10p a share.
Intellectual property business IP Group rose 7.75p to 147.5p. A spin off from the company, desalination business Modern Water, will be floated on AIM next week at 119p a share, giving it a market capitalisation of around £70m.
But the car components group Wagon was a major faller, down 27p to 93p as it slumped into a loss of £99m for the year, compared to a £14m profit. Analysts at Kaupthing said there were so many exceptional items it was difficult to get a clear picture, and added there seemed no compelling reason to own the shares in the short term.
Finally, Debt Advisor Group, which was formerly known as Compass Finance and deals in individual voluntary arrangements, among other things, was suspended at 8.5p. Later it said it had called in an insolvency practioner to establish its financial position and examine its options.