SHARES mag say MBO @ 130p-price 77p to buy

Avoint....this is why............... all the best by the way...have a prosperous one!!!

LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares in Holmes Place, the UK health and fitness club operator, shot up today today on reports over the weekend of an "imminent" management bid.

A £140 million buy out bid has been put together by Bridgepoint Capital and is being led by Holmes Place chief executive Allan Fisher.

Bridgepoint, which was the company's original venture capital backer before it's flotation in 1997, is expected to launch the offer in the first two weeks of January.

Holmes investors have had a rough ride in the past year. They recently were warned that full-year forecasts will be missed, as the company has suffered a decline in membership at its prestigious London clubs.

Rival group Cannons scrapped its plan to takeover the company in October for £350 million. Industry sources at the time suggested a tie up between the two fitness companies would eventually lead to a merger with Esporta, another fitness group.