Mining and insurers strong; investors welcome airport deal

END-OF-DAY REPORT: Headline shares made strong broad-based gains, with mining shares heading the winners and insurers Aviva and RSA active, and with BA back in demand on news that an airport strike has been averted.

At the close of business, the FTSE100 was up 74.45 points at 5,350.55 with the FTSE250 ahead 137.62 points at 9,911.85 and the FTSE Smallcaps 16.7 points better at 2,796.59

In the Midlands, support services and fire prevention specialist Southern Bear was the major casualty of the day. Its shares dipped almost 40% after it announced plans to raise £3.16m via a deeply discounted placing, subscription and open offer.

The net proceeds are to be used to repay a £2.14m short-term loan from chairman Nigel Wray and provide additional working capital.

JSJS Designs also struggled after it announced plans for a general meeting to ratify the allotment of 20,000,000 ordinary shares to Kam Tong Poon. It is expected the proceeds of the placing will be used to fund working capital.

Islamic Bank of Britain struggled, shares dipping 11.24% at close. The bank had to be bailed out by the Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) to the tune of £20m last month. The bank has been given the go ahead to issue two million new shares, priced at 1p each and the proceeds will be used to provide sufficient regulatory capital to manage and grow the business.

Black cab manufacturer Manganese Bronze lost further ground, shares dipping a further 8%. The company is trying to convince investors it has long-term working capital following the decision last week by its Chinese joint-venture partner, Geely, to pull out of a share placing.

There was better news for Black Country aerospace group Hampson Industries , whose shares climbed almost 7%. The company is bidding to bolster confidence after it issued a profits warning last week.

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