New world for PlaneStation if Cosmos talk is true

FORMER penny dreadful Wiggins Group, the property developer and airport operator renamed

Colourful chief executive Oliver Iny has been striving to create a worldwide network of a dozen or more regional airports linked to its Manston airport in Kent and all his hard work could be about to pay off.

Word is PlaneStation is locked in talks with Cosmos, which should eventually lead to the UK's largest independent holiday operator agreeing to ship at least three aeroplane loads of tourists through Manston every week.

If true, it would be a breakthrough. Manston is primarily used as a cargo airport, shipping an annualised rate of 44,000 tonnes. There are also plans to build a border inspection post at the airport that will allow it to accept meat and fish products from outside the European Union, but tourism is the game the group wants to play.

One of the leading European low-cost airlines would love to create a passenger service from Manston and is waiting to see if Cosmos signs on the dotted line.

With heavyweight fund manager Prudential sitting on 14% following the recent £47m refinancing and UBS Investment Bank recently buying 39m shares - or 3.78% - the shares, at 4 1/4p, could soon take off.

Property group Development Securities rose 3 1/2p to 360p after increasing its shareholding in private shoe retailer Stead & Simpson from 20% to 38%. It said it was not planning to add to its holding.

Overnight news of JP Morgan's £33bn purchase of Bank One to create the second-biggest banking franchise in the US prompted an early gain of 43 points on Wall Street before profittakers moved in. As it drifted to trade 60 points lower, London followed suit. The Footsie ended 5.3 points off at 4456.1.

Taking the view that the recent fall on dollar weakness had been overdone, buyers chased ICI 13 1/4p higher to 219 3/4p and Rolls-Royce 5p to 174 1/2p.

As the Queen Mary 2 super-liner continued on its inaugural trip to Fort Lauderdale in Florida, cruise ship giant Carnival steamed 52p ahead to a record 2372p.

Heart FM owner Chrysalis sang out with a rise of 14 3/4p to 233 3/4p. When Chris Tarrant leaves rival Capital Radio (7p dearer at 522p) later this year, Heart FM is expected to take many of its listeners.

Internet bank Egg sizzled 10p higher to 179p for a mouthwatering two- day gain of 54p. Prudential (7 3/4p better at 498 1/4p) has been approached for its 79% stake in Egg and US credit card giant MBNA is the rumoured buyer.

Aim- quoted Names.co Internet closed sharply higher to 49 1/2p following an egm called to agree the reverse takeover by Vietnamese gold miner Larchmont, a vehicle of Ian Gowrie-Smith, the former boss of SkyePharma. A one-for-10 share consolidation will take place next week.

NetB2B2 firmed 0.43p to 1.05p after its wholly-owned subsidiary cScape launched a tool called The CMS Wizard which will be given worldwide marketing support by Microsoft. The agm was told that trading has been in line with expectations.

ZI Medical jumped 3p to 14p on confirmation Baxter Healthcare has launched its intravenous drip monitor Red-Eye to the UK hospital market. It is in discussions with two other medical devices companies for the potential exploitation of its medication delivery system.

Property owner and developer Terrace Hill advanced 4 3/4p to 29 1/2p after excellent results and plans to hike the dividend by 15%.

Online retailer ASOS advanced 1/4p

to 7 3/4p on hopes for a bullish trading statement today.

Biotech company Protherics jumped 4 3/4p to 59p. Abbott Laboratories has applied for a veterinary biological product licence application to market and distribute Enfer Scientific's BSE test in the US.

Protherics has licensed to Enfer its intellectual property rights in the diagnosis of BSE.

LAST year Alkane Energy, which sells methane gas tapped from abandoned coal mines to electricity generators, closed its unprofitable UK coal mine assets and expanded into coal mine methane in Germany. The shares firmed 1 1/4p to 11 3/4p yesterday on hearing that its Pro2 operation in Dusseldorf is starting 2004 with its strongest-ever order book.