Market Report: Investors up their stakes in GVC after tip

Investors upped their stakes in Sportingbet owner GVC after a tip which suggested they could double their money in just four years.

Panmure Gordon’s Karl Burns was the man behind the bold call that sent it up 27.5p to 400p. The analyst said he was initially sceptical about the takeover of larger rival Bwin.party, but some totting up on his abacus has revealed GVC’s stock “holds limited downside risk at the current share price” – implying that backing GVC is a no-brainer. He estimates shareholders will, by 2020, pocket 171p in dividends and see a 220p rise from the shares.

The deal still requires shareholder approval – two of Bwin’s largest investors already signalled they would back it – and it could also face opposition from the competition watchdog, but GVC doesn’t expect this to be an issue, owing to the fact the pair are both relatively small.

Tentative trading saw the FTSE 100 creep up 3.29 points higher to 6,348.42 ahead of Thursday’s European Central Bank decision on whether or not to extend its bond-buying programme.

Arm Holdings, up 63p at 1,026p, was the biggest blue-chip riser as the iPhone chip maker hailed a 37 per cent rise in royalties in the third quarter, reassuring investors about slowing smartphone growth in China, which is now the world’s largest market.

South Africa-born hedge fund manager Nick Roditi raised his stake in FTSE 250 grocery delivery firm Ocado, up 11.2p at 349.7p, to more than 13 per cent, through his vehicle London & Amsterdam Trust Company.

Mr Roditi, who used to manage George Soros’s Quota Fund, also owns 27 per cent of London office landlord Workspace Group, and 5.3 per cent of online white goods retailer AO World.

Investors snapped up shares in FTSE 250 trading software group Fidessa, which gained 89p to 1,949p, on the prospect of another special dividend.

Evgen Pharma ended its debut on AIM down at 35.13p after floating at 37p a share. The company, whose flagship product Sulforadex is a synthetic version of sulforaphane, an anti-cancer agent found in broccoli, had initially planned to float last year.