Five-star gossip takes De Vere hotels higher

WE all know patience is a virtue. When you really want something, you don't care how long it takes to get it. Leisure group

De Vere yesterday touched 403p before closing 15 3/4p higher at 397 3/4p as rumours of a 480p-a-share cash bid did the rounds.

De Vere would fit snugly into Whitbread's Marriott hotel and David Lloyd leisure business, which badly needs an acquisition to increase earnings. Whitbread is only too aware that De Vere has an 'unstable' shareholder structure. Activist investor Guinness Peat (8%) would definitely be a seller at the right price.

It was GP which, a few years back, tried unsuccessfully to get De Vere to demerge its hotels and leisure interests and hand £50m back to shareholders. It could yet have the last laugh.

Punters also checked into Jarvis Hotels, 2 1/2p better at 145p, amid growing speculation that veteran property entrepreneur Jack Petchey is lining up an offer. He owns 29% via Trefick, his Isle of Man investment vehicle. Dealers hope that if he does, 4% shareholder Dawnay Day Properties may have something to say about it.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels shed 8p to 291 1/2p after broker UBS downgraded to neutral from buy.

The dollar was knocked by the Japanese Nikkei's overnight fall of 4.2% or 463 points following the unprecedented call at the G7 meeting for increased flexibility in exchange rates.

Rumours that Heizo Takanaka will soon be replaced as financial services and economics minister did not help.

That in turn hit the major overseas earners and they dragged the Footsie lower. It fell 58.8 points before rallying late to close 28.8 off at 4228.2. Wall Street traded 130 points down in the early exchanges. Fund manager Amvescap shed 28p to 520p, engineer Tomkins 6 1/2p to 247p and motor components group GKN 5 3/4p to 255 3/4p.

Hopes that it will emerge victorious from the nine-month Safeway (6p better at 303 1/4p) bid saga, William Morrison jumped 7 3/4p to 224 1/2p.

Tesco, which is rumoured to have discount retailer Matalan (1 1/2p dearer at 206p) on its shopping list, cheapened 2p to 240 1/2p.

Rumours of a pending bullish circular puffed up Imperial Tobacco 25p higher to 999p. Gallaher firmed 10p to 563p.

Filtronic buzzed 46 1/2p higher to 301 1/2p amid rumours of a big contract win.

Tullow Oil dropped 6 1/2p to 81p after announcing that drilling on the Gawain SE prospect in the southern North Sea has been plugged and abandoned.

Following an investment recommendation in Saturday's Mail, gold explorer Centamin Egypt jumped 2.13p to 13 1/2p in hefty turnover of 7.9m.

Buying on rumours of an imminent deal with a major mobile phone company helped mobile media specialist Incite Holdings touch 66 1/2p before closing 9p higher at 64p. The stock was placed at 25p by broker Christows earlier this month.

Invox, the Aim-listed provider of telephony-based promotional services, rang up a further gain of 42 1/2p in a thin market to 315p. Excellent annual results showed pretax profits of £6.1m before goodwill amortisation and a bumper final dividend of 16p.

Knowledge Technology Solutions improved 1p to 16p following a £950,000 institutional placing at 12 1/2p and the appointment of KBC Peel Hunt as its broker.

PM Group, the designer and manufacturer of on-board vehicle weighing systems for the waste management industries, edged up 1 1/2p to 171 1/2p on acquisition news. It has bought MDT Holland and MDT Germany, which supply and fit weighing equipment, for £575,000.