Price-fix claims knock sports stocks

REVELATIONS of price-fixing in replica football kit sales sent shares diving in

Also implicated in the rip-off investigation by the Office of Fair Trading were Blacks Leisure, down 1 1/2p to 236p, and Debenhams, 9 1/2p cheaper at 373p.

Elsewhere, other retail stocks were out of fashion as disappointing trading news ignited fears of a High Street spending slowdown. Clothing retailer Next tumbled 51 1/2p to 1050p on like-for-like sales 5% up in the first 15 weeks. 'There has clearly been a slowdown since their previous trading statement,' said Teather & Greenwood's David Stoddart.

Adding to the sector woes was catalogue retailer N Brown, down 4 1/2p to 244p. It revealed only modest growth in current sales and profits at the low end of expectations.

Pick 'n' mix retailer Woolworths, down 3p to 49 3/4p, was also under pressure. Investment bank Merrill Lynch placed 50m shares, or 3% of the company, at 49 1/2p. Woolies blamed profit-taking after a good run since its low of 29 1/4p, soon after its demerger from Kingfisher, down 8p to 375p. The Kingfisher blues were despite a 'buy' recommendation from broker JP Morgan.

Sogginess in the retail sector weighed on the FTSE 100, down 10.6 points to 5248.5. Not even a positive opening on Wall Street could add a spark to a London market, where Punch Taverns' decision to pull its planned £680m flotation got the day off to a downbeat start. Sterling rose a fraction to $1.4577. The euro rallied against the pound at 62.5p and strengthened a third of a cent to 91.1 US cents.

Housebuilder Prowting went through the roof on confirmation of talks that may lead to a bid. The shares jumped 19 1/2p to 150 1/2p, valuing the firm at nearly £120m. Leslie Kent, of broker Seymour Pierce, says the finger of suspicion is pointing firmly at bigger rival Westbury, 6 1/2p cheaper at 342p. Westbury confirmed on Friday that it had made an agreed cash bid of 180p a share.

Prowting has been through the wringer. Profits have tumbled from £27.5m in 2000/1 to £3.7m last year. The shares have been changing hands for less than the value of assets - effectively its landbank. New chairman Richard Fraser has so far failed to find a replacement chief executive and finance director.

Westbury - where Fraser used to be in charge - has also admitted that it wants to speed up growth. But any hopes of a deal hinge entirely on Peter Prowting, son of the founder, and owner of 60% in family trusts. In the consolidating housebuilding sector, previous deals have been struck at a 50% premium to asset value, suggesting a bidder must offer at least 200p a share.

Reuters was making the news, 14p to the good at 507p. Its electronic trading business Instinet is reportedly in £345m talks to buy US rival Island ECN, creating a network that could pose a threat to Nasdaq.

British Land was 28 1/2p up at 628 1/2p after it revealed a £323m debt refinancing, bringing annual interest charges down. Property Fund Management is coming to market by way of a 150p-a-share placing, valuing it at £31m. Net new funds of £4.8m will be raised for this specialist in big industrial estates.

Gold Mines of Sardinia firmed another 1p to 16 3/4p. The prospector is quoted on Aim under the share code GMN.

Big names including Terry Venables and league star Harry Kewell were in the City to help raise the profile of Aim tiddler Digital Sport, up 0.17p to 0.89p. The firm, due to change its name to Base Group, acts as agents for both men and a number of soccer stars.