Another high-flyer, Colt Telecom, slumped 83p to 1,070p as ABN Amro said “overvalued”.Fellow telecoms providers Telewest, down 20p to 252.75p, and Cable & Wireless Communications, 31.5p lower at 658.5p, felt the pinch of a regulatory probe. Reuters dug its own grave, falling 70.5p to 861.5p on poor first- quarter figures.CGU slumped 37p to 940p after warning that trading conditions in the general insurance market remain tough. Rival Sun Life & Provincial fell 36p to 529.5p.Kingfisher was another big loser, shedding 50p to 746p. The latest slump values the Woolworths-to-B&Q bid for Asda at a mere 169p per share. Asda was trading well above that yesterday, finishing at 183.75p despite a 10p fall.
When Kingfisher launched its all-paper bid, it valued each Asda share at 198p.Prudential lost 23p to 787.5p despite good new business figures, just like fellow insurer Legal & General, down 15p to 718.5p. NatWest had a 44p deficit at 1,522p despite an upbeat trading statement. Fears of a holiday price war sent Thomson Travel 16p lower to 159p, while Airtours, still mulling an offer for First Choice, nosedived 35p to 453.5pSt Ives, the paper group, inspired brokers with a positive set of figures and soared 49p to 530.5p. Hepworth was nearby in the FTSE 250 biggest risers’ chart; the boilermaker sparked 14p higher to 195p as old talk of a overseas bidder resurfaced. Hepworth could also bid for Polypipe, up 0.5 to 209.5p.Among the minnows, the crockery maker Denby posted a cracking 24.5p advance after announcing that it is in offer talks. Portmeirion, up 5p to 147.5p, and John Tams, flat at 17.5p, were dragged into the bid frenzy.Ivernia West, an Irish mining company, dug up a 6p advance to 44p after taking a stake in an Australian lead mine. Jurys Hotels rose 9p to 557.5p after launching a pounds 187.6m bid for fellow Irish host Doyle Hotel.
Vague talk of a bid for the chemical group Yorkshire left the shares unchanged at 112.5p.SEAQ VOLUME: 1.2 billionSEAQ TRADES: 96,676GILTS INDEX: 111.46 +0.51. DEBENHAMS, the department store group that was de-merged from Burton just over a year ago, will start selling goods on the Internet in the autumn as it steps up its interests in electronic commerce. Debenhams already has a web site and it plans soon to upgrade its wedding list service so that items can be ordered on the Internet. It will make more regular merchandise available for Internet ordering and is also planning to extend its Internet cafe concept, which is currently a single outlet in central London.
In addition, Terry Green, chief executive, said Debenhams was holding “initial discussions with third parties to set up joint ventures either related to the Internet or digital television.”The comments came as Debenhams reported a solid set of half-year results and said consumer confidence was gradually returning.Stripping out the effects of the demerger, which distorted the pre-tax figures, underlying profits rose by 3 per cent to pounds 79.4m in the six months to February.Though like-for-like sales were down by 2 per cent on the year before and are down by a similar figure in current trading, the company said its margin figures were more encouraging.Part of Debenhams’ success is that it has avoided the worst discounting on the high street.
It has improved its gross margin by 0.2 percentage points and has reaped the benefits of a gradual concentration of its supply base from 3,000 suppliers four years ago to 650 now.The company has also successfully integrated popular own-brands, such as Maine New England and Trader, with exclusive ranges from designer houses such as Ozwald Boeteng.Debenhams admits it must have benefited from the woes at Marks & Spencer and says it has increased its market share in both menswear and womenswear.Going forward, Debenhams is planning to open 15 new stores over the next four years, to take its chain to more than 100 outlets.The current weakness with Debenhams is that it is finding it difficult to drive sales forward significantly. But the keen cost control and margin improvement should keep earnings momentum going.The home shopping joint-venture with Freemans also looks promising. Two more catalogues should be produced later this year, with the first 600- page Debenhams Direct catalogue due next year.One potential cloud on Debenhams’ horizon is the M&S factor. With the wounded giant of Baker Street getting tougher on prices, this is likely to have a knock-on effect on rivals such as Debenhams and Storehouse, the Bhs group.Investors have seen a strong rally in the stock over the last six months from a low of 272p last autumn. Yesterday Debenhams shares closed 3p lower at 465.5p.On SG Securities’ full-year forecast of pounds 140m this puts them on a forward multiple of almost 19, a discount to rivals such as Next and M&S.This is a solid, well-managed business but the shares look up with events for now.. BRITAIN’S most profitable housebuilder, retirement specialist McCarthy & Stone, produced strong interim results yesterday, reflecting both the buoyant housing market and the group’s market-leading position in the retirement sector.
