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William Hill PLC (LSE: WMH) (William Hill or the Group) announces its Interim Management Statement for the 13 weeks ended 27 March 2012 (the period or Q1). All comparisons are with the equivalent 13-week period in 2011 (Q1 2011). Key financial highlights · Group net revenue grew by 12% · Retail net revenue grew by 5% · Online net revenue grew by 33% · Group Operating profit1 was 19% higher Key operational highlights to date · Roll-out of Storm Plus to additional 500 shops underway · c190,000 Sportsbook mobile app downloads from launch in the Apple App Store, with 30% of customers being brand new to William Hill · Mobile gaming expanded with Bingo launch · Ground-breaking sponsorship deal for williamhill.com and the Football Association as first bookmaker to be an official England supporter and betting partner of the FA Cup

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204200700147152B

Peter Grant, Chief Executive Officer, SkyePharma, commented: "We are pleased that Pacira has launched EXPAREL® in the US, triggering a milestone payment to SkyePharma of $10 million. Under the agreement with Pacira, SkyePharma could earn substantial additional milestone payments and is entitled to 3% of net sales in the US. Pacira has a large sales force in place aimed at gaining good traction for EXPAREL® in the US as a new option in the control of pain during and after surgery."

SkyePharma announces receipt of $10 million milestone payment on U.S. launch of EXPAREL® LONDON, UK, 20 April, 2012 - SkyePharma PLC (LSE: SKP) today announces that the SkyePharma Group has received a milestone payment of U.S.$10 million (£6.2 million) from Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc, following the launch of EXPAREL® in the United States. The New Drug Application ("NDA") for EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration on 31 October 2011. Under the terms of the sale of SkyePharma's former Injectable Business, now called Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc, ("Pacira"), the Group is also entitled to receive further contingent milestone payments of up to an aggregate of U.S.$52 million (£32.5 million) and 3% of net sales of EXPAREL® in the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) is indicated for administration into the surgical site to produce postsurgical analgesia. The product combines bupivacaine with DepoFoam®, a proven product delivery technology that delivers medication over a desired time period. EXPAREL® represents the first and only multivesicular liposome local anaesthetic that can be utilised in the peri- or postsurgical setting in the same fashion as current local anaesthetics. By utilising the DepoFoam® platform, a single dose of EXPAREL® delivers bupivacaine over time, providing analgesia with reduced opioid requirements for up to 72 hours. Pivotal studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of EXPAREL® in patients undergoing bunionectomy or haemorrhoidectomy procedures and additional studies are underway to further demonstrate the safety and efficacy in other procedures.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204200740457412B

Shore Capital retained its "buy" rating for Unilever (ULVR) ahead of the conglomerate's first quarter update on 26th April, forecasting sales of 12 billion euros (9.8 billion pounds). The broker expects the group's performance to be boosted by its acquisitions, as well as favourable currency movements. Shore forecasts strong growth in the emerging markets of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, while trading in Western Europe should have remained resilient

Investec Securities kept its "buy" recommendation for Kier (KIE) but with a reduced target price of 1,500p, from 1,800p. As a result of the tough economic outlook, the broker downgraded its full year pre-tax profit forecasts for the construction firm by 2% for the 2012 financial year to 70 million pounds, and 2013 forecasts by 18% to 62.5 million pounds. The main cause for this is the company's UK operations, which Investec does not believe will be able to generate margins of over 2% in the near term.

Singer Capital maintained its "buy" stance on Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) with a target price of 792p. The financial magazine publisher announced plans to develop its emerging markets business, which the broker said accounted for 27% of revenues in the 2011 financial year (36% including emerging market products sold to non-emerging market customers). Singer's earnings forecasts put the shares on a prospective multiple of 12.6 times for 2012, falling to 11.4 times in 2013.

OUTLOOK Spectris has made a good start to 2012 although growth rates have, as expected, moderated following the strong recovery in 2011. Nevertheless, the Board is confident that, as a result of continued investment in new products and applications, together with the growth opportunities and resilience which our recent acquisitions provide, Spectris remains strategically well positioned for the remainder of the year. Spectris will publish its interim results on 27 July 2012. A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 07.45 (UK time) today to discuss this statement. To access the call, please dial +44 (0)203 140 0668, passcode 638392#.

SPECTRIS PLC: AGM AND INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT Spectris plc issues the following Interim Management Statement, covering the period from 1 January 2012 to date, ahead of its Annual General Meeting to be held later today. TRADING UPDATE Reported sales for the three months ended 31 March 2012 (the "period") were 21% higher than the comparable period last year, including a contribution from acquisitions of 15% and a positive currency effect of 1%. On a constant currency organic (like-for-like) basis, sales increased by 5%. Regionally, on a like-for-like basis, sales to Asia Pacific during the period increased by 7%, North America grew by 7% and Europe was up by 2%. ACQUISITIONS AND FINANCING UPDATE Integration of the Omega Engineering business, acquired in 2011, is on track and the business continues to perform well. There were no significant events or transactions during the period which had a material impact on the financial position of the group. Net debt reduced by £33 million to £323 million at 31 March 2012.

http://www.halifaxmarketwatch.co.uk/rns.cgi?username=&ac=&action=news&rns=1&view=full&story_id=20040234

CONT "Infrastructure security testing is critical to ensuring confidence in the use of globally-deployed networks and applications," said Bill Burns, CEO of Spirent. "Mu Dynamics brings additional market-leading expertise in cyber security, usability and application emulation to the Spirent solutions portfolio. Combining Mu's software-based applications and security testing capabilities with Spirent's market-leading performance test platforms will enable us to rapidly create best-in-class security test solutions with higher performance and greater scale than any other provider. This acquisition aligns with our strategy of delivering profitable growth through expanding our capabilities in growing and emerging technology markets." Spirent is committed to selling, supporting and enhancing Mu's existing product portfolio. Meaningful additional revenue will be achieved from Spirent's global reach, especially its strong customer relationships and sales channels in Europe and Asia. Further benefits will be realized through the integration of Mu's differentiated capabilities into Spirent's performance test platforms, accelerating the growth rate for Spirent's networks and applications product line. "Mu has built a powerful software solution set for our customers, enabling them to test security and application-aware networks." said Dave Kresse, CEO of Mu Dynamics. "We're excited that this transaction will accelerate the global deployment of our solutions, and enable their integration into Spirent's leading performance test solutions." Spirent expects to consolidate $9.0 to $10.0 million in revenue post-acquisition in 2012, with a positive return on sales. For the first full year post-acquisition in 2013, revenues are expected to be in the range of $17.0 to $19.0 million operating at Spirent's average return on sales, resulting in a positive enhancement to earnings and achieving an attractive return on investment, in line with Spirent's objectives. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to complete on or about 23 April 2012.

Spirent Communications plc Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Mu Dynamics, Inc. Combined Expertise to Serve the Market for High Performance, Secure Deployments of Cloud Services and Application-Aware Networks London, UK - 20 April 2012: Spirent Communications plc ("Spirent", the "Company" or the "Group") (LSE: SPT), a leading communications technology company, announces today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Mu Dynamics, Inc. ("Mu"), based in Sunnyvale, California, for a cash consideration of $40.0 million. Mu is a security testing pioneer, offering innovative solutions that enable faster, higher quality deployments of Cloud applications and applications-aware networks. The exponential growth in Cloud-based applications presents critical security risks for equipment manufacturers, service providers, governments, enterprises and end users, requiring them to protect themselves against sophisticated new threats, in order to avoid financial and reputational damage. To address this fast-growing opportunity, Mu developed the industry's first solution that emulates real application traffic while generating comprehensive security threats, addressing all phases of the development lifecycle. Mu also recently launched Blitz.io, a Cloud-based service that allows enterprise application and website developers to test users' quality of experience of "Software as a Service" deployments. This capability will enable Spirent to serve the high-growth Cloud-based Application Performance Management market.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204200700177373B

BMI DEAL COMPLETED International Airlines Group (IAG) has completed the purchase of bmi from Lufthansa. It is planned that bmi mainline will be integrated into British Airways and consultation has begun already with bmi mainline staff and their trade unions. bmibaby and bmi regional have not been sold prior to completion. Under the terms of the purchase agreement, IAG will also acquire these businesses and receive a significant price reduction. As previously stated, bmibaby and bmi regional are not part of IAG's long term plans and will not be integrated into British Airways. IAG will pursue options to exit these businesses and more details will be provided in due course. The costs associated with exiting these businesses, including the impact of operating them in the short term, are expected to be offset by the price reduction. IAG will update investors about the bmi integration plan at its Q1 results on May 11, 2012.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204200700367374B

Polymetal International plc Squeeze-out notice delivered to JSC Polymetal Polymetal International plc (LSE: POLY) (together with its subsidiaries - the "Company") announces that the demand notice to acquire the remaining JSC "Polymetal" shares ("JSC Shares") has been delivered to JSC "Polymetal" by PMTL Holding Limited, a wholly own subsidiary of the Company. On April 19, 2012, PMTL has delivered the demand notice to JSC "Polymetal" to acquire the remaining JSC Shares (the "Squeeze-Out Notice") in accordance with Clause 84.8 of the Russian Federal Law No. 208-FZ "On Joint Stock Companies" dated 26 December 1995. The price in the Squeeze-Out Notice is RUB 531.15 per one JSC Share. Under the terms of the Squeeze-Out Notice, 18 June 2012 is set as the record date (the "Record Date") to prepare the list of all JSC "Polymetal" shareholders whose JSC Shares will be acquired by PMTL. Payments for JSC Shares to their holders will be made by PMTL within 25 calendar days after the Record Date. Holders of JSC Shares may deliver their applications with correct and complete payment details for such payments (the "Applications") to PMTL at the following address: prospect Narodnogo Opolcheniya 2, St. Petersburg, 198216, Russia. In order for the Applications to be validly accepted they should be received by PMTL in original execution form (no facsimile or email copies may be accepted) on or before 18 June 2012. Payments to the holders of JSC Shares as of the Record Date whose Applications will not be received by PMTL or whose payment details under the Applications are not correct or accurate, will be deposited by PMTL with a Russian notary in accordance with the Squeeze-Out Notice and Russian law. The full text of the Squeeze-Out Notice document and information on the Russian notary, including its address and telephone number, are available on web-site of JSC "Polymetal" at http://www.polymetal.ru. The Company has also decided to extend the Squeeze-Out Notice to the holders of JSC "Polymetal" global depositary receipts ("GDRs") under the terms and conditions to be further circulated by Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, the depositary bank in respect of the GDRs. In case the holders of GDRs would like to sell JSC Shares underlying their GDRs directly, they would need to convert their GDRs into ordinary shares of JSC "Polymetal" in accordance with applicable terms and procedures under the existing GDR programme before the Record Date.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204200711037378B

Jefferies International upgrades Hiscox from hold to buy.

James Peters, Deputy Chairman of XP Power, the power controller manufacturer, has purchased 7,000 shares less than a week after the firm cautioned over its revenues. Peters, who founded XP in 1988, bought the shares for 1100p. The £77,000 transaction takes Peters' stake in the firm to 2,178,254 shares, equivalent to 11.32%. On April 12th the company announced that group revenues in the three months to March 31st declined by 10% over the same period in 2011, with the weakness most evident in the industrial sector. In constant currency the decline was 11%.