Fayrewood, the European distie, says it is still in talks that could lead to an offer to all or part of the group. It says discussions are still at an early stage.

So not much movement then, since 26 August, when the company first announced that it was in discussions. What's new today is a trading update from the directors who "believe that the operational performance of the Group has been unaffected by these discussions and report that trading in the year to date has been in line with management expectations and normal seasonal patterns". ®