Market report: Monday close

TOP HAT and tails supplier Moss Bros rose 2p to a four-and-a-half year high of 82p as investors learned a big chunk of the company is set to change hands.

Word is that Kevin Stanford, the man who helped set up the Karen Millen fashion chain which has just been sold to Icelandic retailer Baugur for £120m, is set to buy the 22.5% stake in Moss Bros currently held by Shami Ahmed of Joe Bloggs jeans fame.

The bulk of his stake is held via contracts for difference (CFDs). The physical stock is held by spread-bet firm Cantor Fitzgerald and it is unclear if Stanford intends buying this or the CFDs.

Stanford already owns 5.6%, so whichever route he takes will stretch his holding to 28.1%, just below the threshold of 29.9% at which he would be required to make a full bid.

Starting three years ago, Ahmed made a number of doomed bid moves on Moss Bros, which includes the Cecil Gee and Hugo Boss brands.

Moss Bros returned to the black last year after three years of losses that saw its shares slump to a low of 22p. Moss Bros has a pricetag of some £75m and the Moss family continue to hold around one-third of the shares.

The rest of the market drifted in thin trading ahead of a busy week for corporate results. The FTSE 100 index fell 39.30 points to 4287.30. The Abbey deal helped sentiment in New York, where the Dow rose 21.97 to 9,984.19 in early trading. The Nasdaq composite index gained 6.93 to 1,856.02.

Back in Britain, GlaxoSmithKline fell 16p to 1071p ahead of interim results tomorrow. A line of 25m shares went through at 1097p. There was also a 24.4m batch in Premier Foods, down 2 1/2p at 215p, relating to over-allotment in last week's float.

Broker UBS has been making a few adjustments to its recommendations among insurers. It has upgraded Prudential, 2 1/2p lower at 433p, from neutral to buy and repeated its 510p target. It has also raised Royal & SunAlliance, down 1/2p at 75p, from reduce to neutral, and is sticking with its 75p forecast, but has downgraded HHG, down 1/4p at 47 1/2p, from buy to neutral with a 54p target.

Restaurant and hotel chains operator Whitbread slipped 14 1/2p to 819 1/2p as brokers continued to reflect on its move to buy budget hotels group Premier Lodge for £505m. Goldman Sachs has given a thumbs-up to the deal. It says fair value of 1000p is achievable and has an outperform rating. Smith Barney is not so impressed and rates Whitbread a sell.

Software supplier iSoft tumbled 41p to 350p after questions about its accounting procedures relating to the Government's £6bn programme to overhaul the NHS. The firm says recent Press reports on the subject were based on confidential information which was taken out of context.

It was first day of dealings on AIM for copper and gold explorer Zambezi Resources. Broker WH Ireland placed 20.8m shares at 12p with more than a dozen institutions, valuing the business at £7.6m. The price touched 14 1/4p.

North Sea oil and gas company Venture Production, 2 1/2p dearer at 206p, has taken 100% control of the Annabel field after buying out the 11.11% interest held by the last remaining partner in the project, Italy's ENI. The £3.3m acquisition also raises Venture's stake in the neighbouring Saturn field, run by US giant ConocoPhillips, to 22%.

What does BSCH's takeover of Abbey National mean for small shareholders?
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