18 January 2011 – statement re takeover
The news that Ashtead Group has dropped its bid for Lavendon has seen shares in the company drop back from around the 110p level. The bid was conditional on receiving the backing of the Lavendon board and this was not forthcoming, with the offer being rejected as opportunistic. Year end results for 2010 should be announced in March, with earnings per share of around 5.9p expected – these are forecast to imcrease significantly in 2011 though with 9.0p being the consensus of analysts. On that basis the shares are a FIRM HOLD.