Forth surges on talk of raised bid

SHARES in Forth Ports gained yesterday afternoon on reports that suitor Arcus European Infrastructure Fund would consider upping its 745 million bid for the company.

A source close to Arcus said it might pay more for the firm, which owns and manages six Scottish ports plus one on London's river Thames, if "the management prove that the market justifies it."

The source said Forth was "underleveraged" and Arcus - already the company's largest shareholder - was planning to raise the level of debt for the benefit of shareholders.

Forth Ports declined to comment, but shares were up 12p to 1,607 at yesterday's close.

Earlier this month, Forth said it had received an indicative offer at 1,630p per share from Arcus and had given it access to its books.

London's FTSE 100 Index closed 22 points higher at 5718.13 yesterday after ending a six-day losing streak on Thursday with a 1.7 per cent rally. America's Dow Jones Industrial Average added another 1 per cent in early trading, while key indices across Europe also remained in positive territory.

Markets were put on the front foot following intervention by central banks to bring the yen down from record highs seen this week. The move helped Japan's Nikkei rebound from huge losses on Monday and Tuesday, with markets worldwide following suit.

The Libyan regime's decision to declare a cease-fire in its weeks-long clashes with rebel forces added to the investor cheer, and sent oil prices sharply lower.

Brent crude fell to $114 a barrel, having earlier surged to near a 31-month high of $117 amid fears military strikes in Libya could prolong the current conflict and threaten oil exports.

The pound came under pressure against the euro after Nationwide's consumer confidence survey tumbled to a record low. Sterling fell to €1.143 at one stage - its lowest level since last November.

Footsie risers included B&Q owner Kingfisher, which climbed 4.7p to 241.8p ahead of full-year results next week.

But other retailers were under pressure after John Lewis reported a 3.8 per cent decline in sales excluding VAT last week.

The department store chain said the timing of Mother's Day a year earlier impacted on the result, but shares in Marks & Spencer and Next still fell 0.3p to 334.8p and 12p to 1,940p respectively.

In a quiet session for corporate updates, taxi maker Manganese Bronze lifted 4 per cent or 1.6p to 48p after it said it was on track to return to profitability.Operating losses reduced 73 per cent in 2010 as Manganese boosted margins with the recent transfer of parts production to China.

And housebuilder Berkeley rose more than 3 per cent after it said earnings for the year to the end of April would be at the high end of forecasts, with further growth in the next financial year should trading conditions hold.

The update prompted broker Numis to upgrade its profits estimate for 2012 by 14 per cent and said earnings were on track to double between 2010 and 2014. Shares in the company closed 36p higher at 1,040p.