City File: Gardner Merchant buyout bid

EXPECT news either tomorrow or Tuesday of the long-awaited management buyout bid for Gardner Merchant, part of the Forte hotels group. Forte has been trying to sell the business for the best part of a year, and it now appears the deal is finally going through at a price of around pounds 400m. That should be received with some relief by the stock market, despite the suspicion that Forte could have got a better price for the business from rival caterers Granada or Compass Group.