Hogg looking at bid targets: Three 'firm proposals' in financial services sector, says chairman

BRIAN PERRY, chairman of Hogg Robinson, disclosed yesterday that he had several firm takeover opportunities lined up.

Announcing the business services group's interim results, he said: 'We have three firm proposals in the financial services area, inluding one really juicy one. We would certainly hope to have done something by the end of the financial year.'

Hogg is sitting on a pounds 52m cash pile following the disposal of its leisure travel business to Airtours in June for pounds 29m. The sale helped Hogg to record a pounds 4m jump in pre- tax profits in the six months to September after taking a net exceptional profit of pounds 6.7m on the deal.

But operating profits on continuing businesses were ahead only marginally, from pounds 5.47m to pounds 5.55m on turnover that declined pounds 2m to pounds 69.3m. The shares fell 9p to 225p.

Mr Perry said he was particularly pleased with the business travel division, which lifted profits 80 per cent to pounds 1.6m. He added: 'New sales only started to bike from August, so there are only two months of real growth in these figures, which bodes well for the second half.'

The group was seeing a bigger surge in travel business from City institutions than from industry.

The financial services division maintained profits at pounds 2.35m but the transport businesses suffered a decline from pounds 3.2m to pounds 2.5m.

The interim dividend rises to 2.75p (2.6p) on earnings per share of 17.28p (9.35p). Mr Perry said: 'We are buoyant at the moment and we will have a pretty good year.'