UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: Apollo Ups Proposal To Buy Brit Insurance

28th Jul 2010 09:30

Dow Jones smallcap news is now on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps BRIT INSURANCE HOLDINGS NV (BRE.LN), a U.K. insurer and reinsurer, Wednesday said New York-based Apollo Global Management LLC has made a revised indicative proposal to buy it for GBP10.75 a share in cash and it has opened its books to Apollo for due diligence. Earlier this month, Brit rejected an indicative bid of GBP10.50 a share in cash from Apollo, its second rejection in four weeks. At 0800 GMT, shares +96.5 pence, or 11%, at 1,010 pence. YELL GROUP PLC (YELL.LN), a directories firm, posted a drop in first-quarter pretax profit as sales fell, but said while revenue will likely remain pressured until there is a meaningful economic recovery, online sales continue to rise and print retention rates have improved. Yellow Pages publisher Yell said the anticipated economic recovery is "proving slower than expected." At 0801 GMT, shares -2.3 pence, or 7.6%, at 27.9 pence. ST. JAMES'S PLACE PLC (STJ.LN), a U.K. wealth management group, posted a 44% rise in new business in the first half and said it was positive on delivering further growth for rest of the year, albeit with tougher comparatives in the final quarter. At 0802 GMT, shares +10.3 pence, or 4%, at 266.7 pence. AVOCET MINING PLC (AVM.LN) said it swung to a first-half pretax profit following a jump in production and a rise in the gold price. Avocet, which has mines and exploration projects in west Africa and Asia, said it expects to increase production at its Inata mine in Burkina Faso to 140,000 troy ounces of gold by the end of the year. At 0802 GMT, shares +0.75 pence, or 0.6%, at 124.75 pence. GW PHARMACEUTICALS PLC (GWP.LN) said it has applied to market its cannabis-based multiple sclerosis treatment Sativex across the European Union after getting approval to begin selling it in Spain. At 0802 GMT, shares +1 pence, or 0.9%, at 117 pence. RATHBONE BROTHERS PLC (RAT.LN), a U.K. fund manager, posted an 11% rise in first-half pretax profit and said while market volatility experienced in the first half is likely to continue for the rest of this year, it is confident of further growth. At 0803 GMT, shares +2 pence, or 0.2%, at 832 pence. INDIVIDUAL RESTAURANT CO. PLC (IRC.LN), a restaurant chain, said subdued trading during the recent soccer World Cup tournament is expected to dent its 2011 fiscal-year pretax profit result by about GBP600,000. At 0804 GMT, shares -1.5 pence, or 12%, at 11.5 pence. MORGAN CRUCIBLE CO. PLC (MGCR.LN) said first-half profit more than doubled and it is cautiously optimistic about its prospects for the months ahead. The company, which makes ceramics and other advanced materials used in sectors including aerospace, electronics, power generation and oil and gas, said orders at most units have shown consistent month-on-month improvement since the fourth quarter of 2009. At 0804 GMT, shares +4.1 pence, or 1.9%, at 223.4 pence. MECOM GROUP PLC (MEC.LN), a European newspaper group, posted a much-narrowed first half pretax loss as it cut costs and improved operating earnings but said full-year revenue will fall from a year earlier. At 0804 GMT, shares +6 pence, or 2.8%, at 220 pence. XCHANGING PLC (XCH.LN), a business outsourcing company, said it will build a business process outsourcing centre in India, its fourth major processing centre in the country. At 0805 GMT, shares -1.4 pence, or 0.7%, at 204.6 pence. SYNERGY HEALTH PLC (SYR.LN), a healthcare services firm, reported a 2.9% fall in first-quarter revenue to GBP70.4 million as it wound up some of its non-core businesses but said it expects revenue to grow in the second half of the 2011 fiscal year due to investment in its commercial teams. At 0805 GMT, shares -33 pence, or 4.5%, at 700 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos +0.1% AIM +0.4% -By Rachael Gormley, Jason Douglas & Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 28, 2010 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)