London pre-open: Static start seen

Not much change is anticipated in early deals as a lack of blue chip news and a mixed finish on Wall Street keep things light at the start of play. The Dow Jones had been trading near two-year highs when London closed, but ended with a lead of just 18 points.In UK company news, Go-Ahead, the company that operates the snow-affected Southeastern rail franchise, thinks it will make more money than expected in the first half, thanks mainly to its trains business. The Newcastle based firm, which also operates the Southern and London Midland rail franchises through its majority owned subsidiary Govia, said overall trading has been "good". Operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation for the six months ending 1 January 2011 is likely to be "slightly" ahead of previous expectations. It keeps full-year forecasts unchanged.Another booming quarter for its coffee chain Costa helped Whitbread lift sales by 13.6% over the past three months, with like-for-like revenue up 6.8%. The hotels and restaurants divisions also posted good numbers, but Costa is the star. Sales here in the 13 weeks to end November rose by 31% with like-for-like sales up 11%. Reports at the weekend had hinted that Whitbread might demerge its booming coffee business, but there was no mention today.Underwriter Beazley has dropped its bid for rival Hardy after failing to agree on a price. Beazley says it submitted a final proposal to the board of Hardy on Monday outlining a possible offer of up to 350p per share with some conditions. "Hardy's advisers confirmed that the Hardy board would only be prepared to recommend a price substantially in excess of the final proposal and, as a result, Beazley today announces the withdrawal of its interest," its statement said.