Trio may tee off for Clubhaus bid

IN times of uncertainty, small can be beautiful. That certainly was the case on Monday as second - and third-line stocks - took most of the plaudits.

Blue-chips lacked any real direction because, with Wall Street shut for Martin Luther King Day, cagey fund managers were reluctant to commit fresh funds ahead of some imminent crucial fourth-quarter trading statements from US corporate giants including Lucent Technologies and Motorola. The FTSE 100 retrieved an early 40-point deficit to close an unconvincing 11.7 points higher at 5138.5. Sterling rose a shade to $1.4360, with the euro at 61.5p.

Golf is the favourite pastime of many City dealers, so events at debt-laden golf course operator Clubhaus, run by millionaire Robert Bourne, are of great interest. Market-makers could not give the shares away six weeks ago. They were buried in a bunker at 1 3/4p because every man and his caddie feared the company was going to drown in a sea of debt. Then along came entrepreneur Paul Davidson and 'friends' to drive the price higher.

Davidson, founder of Aim-listed Oystertech, has filled his golf bag with the stock. He has steadily increased his stake from 8.7% to 15.2%, helping the shares to soar. They closed 3 3/4p higher at 11 1/2p on turnover of 18m.

Davidson is rumoured to be formulating a £60m-plus offer for Clubhaus with the help of Today newspaper founder Eddy Shah and David Lloyd, the entrepreneur and former Davis Cup tennis star. Both head a bunch of miffed shareholders who have seen the price collapse from 104p in 2000.

Matters came to a head at Clubhaus in December after it failed to pay £3.8m interest due on its £60m bond. In a statement this morning, Clubhaus said that even if it could restructure its debts, such a deal was likely to 'significantly' dilute existing shareholders' interests.

Oil stocks were lively, with Edinburgh Oil & Gas leading the field. Strongly supported last week after the Buzzard field, where it has 5%, was confirmed as the biggest North Sea find in a decade with estimated reserves of 400m barrels, it touched 145p before closing 7p higher at 136p. Punters piled in amid reports of a possible bid from Pan Canadian Energy.

Ramco Energy gushed 10p to 4012 1/2p on talk of a gas find in Montenegro, once part of Yugoslavia. Ofex-listed Apple Oil & Gas edged forward 1/2p to 6 3/4p. Run by David McErlain, Apple has completed negotiations with Ecopetrol, the Colombian state oil company, to extend the first-year term of its Buganville block to end-March.

Stakebuilding speculation was behind a gain of 1 1/4p to 28 3/4p at exhibitions organiser ITE. Turnover swelled to 5m as the appearance of a big buyer suggested US merchant bank Veronis Suhler was adding to its 17% stake. There was also talk of a mystery Russian buyer mopping up stock. ITE rebuffed a bid approach at 100p over two years ago.

Drugs discovery minnow Antisoma rose 3 1/2p to 34 1/2p after positive pre-clinical results for the treatment of solid tumours with its DMXAA treatment in combination with chemotherapy agents.

Aero Inventory jumped 15p to 295p after winning a large contract with TAECO, the giant Chinese aircraft maintenance and repair company. IMS Group crashed 17 1/2p to 20 3/4p. The telecoms services company needs working capital.

Cautious comments from broker Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein left Thus 5p down at 39 1/2p. DKW warns that should Scottish Power (2 1/2p up at 421 1/2p) demerge, many SP shareholders would sell their shares in Thus. SP owns 50% of Thus. Margins at Thus will also come under pressure, says DKW.

BHP Billiton was top Footsie performer at 366p, up 13p. Vague talk of a US bid and an ABN Amro recommendation lifted Rolls-Royce 3p to 166 1/2p.

Ahead of the forthcoming bank reporting season, Barclays rose 44p to 2224p, Royal Bank of Scotland 30p to 1733p and Lloyds TSB 9 1/2p to 724 1/2p.