Takeover speculation is lifting leisure group Rank again today. Shares in the casino, bingo and betting company are 6% higher at 96.5p as two stakebuilders increased their holdings.
Yesterday Guoco, the Asian owner of Thistle Hotels, announced it had raised its stake from 5.05% a week ago to 6.05%. Then today, Malaysian group Genting disclosed it now held 11.03%, up from 10%. Property entrepreneurs the Richardsons are also said to have built up a 9% holding.
Commenting after the Guoco news but before the Genting announcement, Evolution Securities said: "We believe this further increases the probability that Rank will receive a bid approach. There has also been press comment that the government will announce its casino policy this month. It is expected that there will be no 'supercasino' in Manchester (mildly good for Rank which has licences there) and 16 small and large casinos will go ahead. Overall, we see this as positive news for Rank as it will define the competitive environment for casinos for many years."
Overall the market has recovered from its worst levels but the FTSE 100 is still 104.4 points lower at 5771.0.
