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HALFORDS GROUP PLC (HFD.LN) said it has appointed Jill McDonald
as chief executive of the bike and car-parts retailer, replacing
Matt Davies who is leaving to head supermarket Tesco PLC's
(TSCO.LN) operations in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland.
At 1424 GMT, shares down 4.4 pence, or 1%, at 449.1 pence.
PREMAITHA HEALTH PLC (NIPT.LN) shares rose after the
biotechnology company said it has received a contract to provide
its non-invasive prenatal test to London's St. George's University
Hospitals.
Shares +7 pence, or 38%, at 25.3 pence.
SCS GROUP PLC (SCS.LN) doesn't expect to open further
concessions in department store House of Fraser, said its Chief
Executive David Knight, after the U.K. sofa and carpet retailer
posted a widened half-year loss due to higher advertising spending
and investment in concessions.
Shares -16.5 pence, or 7.5%, at 205 pence.
CITYFIBRE INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS PLC (CFHL.LN), the fiber
network provider, said it expects to win more business with EE's
rival mobile telecommunications groups if EE's proposed takeover by
telecoms giant BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) goes ahead.
Shares - 2 pence, or 3%, at 65.5 pence.
FIRSTGROUP PLC (FGP.LN), a U.K.-based transport operator, said
it signed an agreement with the U.K. government's department for
transport to extend its operation of running train services in
western England until April 2019.
Shares +3.5 pence, or 3.6%, at 98.5 pence.
GVC HOLDINGS PLC (GVC.LN) is on the lookout for possible
acquisitions and is in early talks with parties as part of its
expansion plans, the online sports betting and gaming company
said.
Shares +8 pence, or 1.8%, at 462 pence. .
CENTAMIN PLC (CEE.T) rose after the U.K.-listed gold miner
declared a maiden full-year dividend that beat expectations and
reaffirmed its guidance for higher gold output this year after it
completed the expansion of its flagship Sukari mine in Egypt.
Shares +8.2 pence, or 15%, at 61.9 pence.
CVC CAPITAL PARTNERS has sold Skrill Group, a U.K. payments
systems company, to London-listed peer Optimal Payments PLC in a
deal that values the company at 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion),
Optimal said.
VERONA PHARMA PLC (VRP.LN) rallied after the drug development
company announced encouraging results from the first part of a 120
subject clinical trial with RPL554, a treatment for acute
exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
patients.
Shares +0.5 pence, or 21%, at 3.1 pence.
AFREN PLC (AFR.LN), the debt-stricken Africa-focused oil company
in the midst of hammering out a financial restructuring package
with lenders, said it has notified the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office
that legal advisers brought in to review compliance have raised
concerns over certain expense payments.
Shares -0.02 pence, or 0.6%, at 3.5 pence.
SILENCE THERAPEUTICS PLC (SLN.LN) rose after the biotechnology
company reported "excellent" results from a study of its
Atu027-I-02 drug candidate in pancreatic cancer.
Shares +50.5 pence, or 21.3%, at 288 pence.
CLEAN AIR POWER LTD. (CAP.LN) shares dropped after the
fuel-industry component manufacturer said 2014 was a challenging
year, adding that there is a risk to its ability to continue as a
going concern if it cannot increase its financial headroom.
Shares -1 pence, or 35%, at 1.9 pence.
SPACEANDPEOPLE PLC (SAL.LN), a retail, promotional and brand
experience company, said 2014 was a challenging year for the
company with lower-than-expected business gains from the U.K. and
Germany.
Shares -11 pence, or 16%, at 56 pence.
EUROPA OIL & GAS (HOLDINGS) PLC (EOG.LN) dropped after the
AIM-quoted oil and gas company said it would plug and abandon the
Kiln Lane-1 conventional exploration well on License PEDL 181 in
northeast Lincolnshire.
Shares -0.8 pence, or 10.2%, at 6.6 pence.
FTSE Small-Cap +0.3%
AIM +0.5%
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Walker, Simon Zekaria, Ed Ballard and Rory Gallivan at
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