Beyond the Footsie: Weds close

13 April 2012

SMALLER company shares had another good day, outperforming their blue chip peers, which were hit by renewed losses on Wall Street. At the close, the FTSE SmallCap index was up 11.7 points at 2,210.9.

GB Railways continued full steam ahead, up 28 1/2p at 301p, after FirstGroup made a recommended cash offer of 250p a share, with further payments totalling 250p depending on the tender processes for the Greater Anglia, Northern Rail and the Wales & Borders train franchises.

The bid by FirstGroup is seen as a tactical one because it would put them, through GB Railways, on the shortlist for the potentially lucrative new Greater Anglia franchise.

But, for the sceptics, FirstGroup's bid must be seen as something of a punt given that the result of the franchise bids will not be known until next year and the fact that FirstGroup was excluded from the Strategic Rail Authority's initial Greater Anglia shortlist.

Shares in FirstGroup ended down 3p to 26p.

XTL Biopharm climbed 0.87p to 11.37p after the sale of 14.45m shares equivalent to a 13% stake at 12p each. The buyer is Israel Healthcare Ventures.

AIM-listed Peel Hotels headed 8p higher at 91 1/2p, as Charlie Peel upped his stake in the company to 2.3 mln shares, equivalent to 18.98% of its issued capital.

IT resourcing and specialist services group Lorien plunged 10p lower to 51 1/2p. It warned full-year pretax profit will be materially below current expectations as it gave a trading update for the first six months of the year.

The group said trading conditions were the most challenging seen for over a decade last year, the first half has shown no improvement and Lorien said an imminent recovery is unlikely in any of the sectors in which it operates.

Reflec slipped 0.20p to 1.07p after what the group conceded were 'unsatisfactory' full-year losses. Chairman John Gilliatt also announced his resignation.

SRS Technology fell 0.50p to 6.50p as investors mulled news of a possible placing and its admission that it will post a pretax loss of around £1.59m for the year to end June. In addition, the tech group said that sales - although substantially ahead of last year - have grown at a slower rate than expected. Sales are now expected to reach £609,000 for the year, up from £274,000.

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