Yesterday's trading: Bid talk builds up Colliers CRE
Any quoted company chaired by Sir John Ritblat, the grand old man of British property, would never be sold on the cheap.
Shares of his property consultancy Colliers CRE soared 14p to 74½p for a two-day leap of 20p on above average turnover as punters continued to chase the stock higher amid hot gossip that the board has received a takeover approach which could lead to a cash offer north of 125p a share.
After a speculative run on the stock in December the board was forced then to deny that it was in discussions with any interested parties.
But dealers now hear that a potential buyer has been knocking on the door of its Marylebone Lane headquarters in London for weeks and has finally been given the come on by Ritblat & Co.
Sir John stepped down from the board of property giant British Land (7½p better at 972p) after 36 years at the helm. He bought the company from Jim Slater in 1970 for a nominal £1 and it is now worth over £5bn.
He owns 1.3% of Colliers CRE and would probably not be averse to selling out at the right price ahead of the punitive change in capital gains tax in April.
Colliers reported last month that a good performance from its professional consultancy division had offset a fall in investment income.
Its shares had retreated from a year's peak of 218½p to a low of around 50p last year thanks to investors' phobia with anything to do with the property market.
Entertainment Rights, the owner of rights to Basil Brush, Postman Pat and Rupert the Bear, jumped 1p to 12p on hefty turnover of 13m.
Word is broker Altium Securities sold a large lump of stock owned by fund manager Rathbones to leisure magnate Trevor Hemmings, which takes his shareholding to around 20%.
ERT is in takeover talks with Saban Capital, the investment vehicle of Israeli media entrepreneur Haim Saban, and Chorion. Hemmings is believed to be lining up a bid of his own.
Investment bank Evolution eased ¼p to 124¾p despite Credit Agricole Cheuvreux International's purchase of a 5.25% stake. This follows the recent acquisition by Banco Espirito Santo, one of Portugal's top five banks, of a 10% stake and intensifies speculation that a bid could soon be on the cards.
Speculative buying helped St James's Place touch 286¾p before closing 9¾p better at 269½p.
A jackanory did the rounds that HBOS (12½p up at 659p) is on the verge of selling its majority 60% stake in the life insurer for £800m-plus. HBOS reports annual results on Wednesday.
Bear closing and some brave buying ahead of today's full-year figures lifted Lloyds TSB 8¾p to 436¾p. The focus of the numbers will be the extent to which Lloyds increases the write-downs. It has flagged a £201m profit and loss charge in 2007.
Bank stocks
The latest news, charts, share tips and more...
Boosted by Wall Street's late 200-point turnaround overnight on lower US interest rate hopes, the Footsie proudly stood 110 points higher and above 6000 by lunch-time. It later boiled over to close 38.6 points up at 5932.2 after the Dow Jones failed to hold on to a 76-point improvement and traded 56 lower.
Miners were magnificent yet again on a combination of prevailing takeover speculation and record commodity prices. After the Brazilian press reported that Vale is lining up a £47-a-share offer, Xstrata soared to 4251p and closed 113p higher at 4060p. Sources in London again pooh-poohed the idea.
BHP Billiton added 33p at 1646p, while its bid target Rio Tinto advanced 102p to 5822p. Chinese stakebuilding gossip helped Lonmin add 71p at 3535p.
FTSE 250 miner Aricom added 7½p at 79½p following impressive maiden results. Aquarius Platinum retreated from 905p to close 38p dearer at 876p after hearing that director Nicholas Sibley had sold 235,000 shares at around 833p.
Industrial engineer and perennial takeover favourite Senior rose 5½p to 97p on revived bid chatter.
Software firm Imaginatik jumped 1.13p to 5½p. Customer Pfizer, the giant drugs company, whose research and development division has been using Imaginatik's software since 2005, has agreed to invest £500,000 in the company.
• Fox-Davies Capital, which has been raising funds for the natural resources sector since February 2001, has been busy gearing up by recruiting quality staff. It is obviously confident hoping that the mining boom continues. Following the recent signing of salesman Ken 'haystacks' Taylor from Canaccord, Russell 'the Jockey' Jackson is now joining from Landsbanki to head up market-making.
Most watched Money videos
- The new Volkswagen Passat - a long range PHEV that's only available as an estate
- Blue Whale fund manager on the best of the Magnificent 7
- 2025 Aston Martin DBX707: More luxury but comes with a higher price
- 'Now even better': Nissan Qashqai gets a facelift for 2024 version
- MailOnline asks Lexie Limitless 5 quick fire EV road trip questions
- Land Rover unveil newest all-electric Range Rover SUV
- BMW's Vision Neue Klasse X unveils its sports activity vehicle future
- Mercedes has finally unveiled its new electric G-Class
- Mini celebrates the release of brand new all-electric car Mini Aceman
- Mini Cooper SE: The British icon gets an all-electric makeover
- BMW meets Swarovski and releases BMW i7 Crystal Headlights Iconic Glow
- Tesla unveils new Model 3 Performance - it's the fastest ever!
- Anglo American to restructure operations as it rejects...
- BUSINESS LIVE: UK wage growth higher than forecast; Anglo...
- AJ Bell launches 'ready-made pension' to help savers find...
- Why 16 to 24-year-olds are putting their parents to shame...
- MARKET REPORT: Vodafone shares rally as investors cheer...
- De Beers eyes £4bn London float as Anglo bids to fend off...
- The new 5.05% limited access account that savers are...
- Currys shares surge after profit guidance upgrade as...
- Marston's losses narrow amid hopes of summer sporting...
- Greggs sales soar as baker's expansion plans roll on with...
- Hundreds of jobs at risk as Anglo slashes funding for...
- Royal Mail's future hanging in the balance as bid...
- Tesco boss pockets £10m in biggest ever pay deal at a UK...
- Cheaper energy deals could be back by winter as Ofgem...
- Car salespeople reveal their insider tips to buy and sell...
- Vodafone boss says 'more needs to be done' in...
- Headlam does not expect market growth 'until 2025'
- I don't want smart meters, so Eon is charging me £316 to...