Halfords Appoints CEO; Premaitha Wins Contract

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HALFORDS GROUP PLC (HFD.LN) said it has appointed Jill McDonald as chief executive of the bike and car-parts retailer, replacing Matt Davies who is leaving to head supermarket Tesco PLC's (TSCO.LN) operations in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland.

At 1424 GMT, shares down 4.4 pence, or 1%, at 449.1 pence.

PREMAITHA HEALTH PLC (NIPT.LN) shares rose after the biotechnology company said it has received a contract to provide its non-invasive prenatal test to London's St. George's University Hospitals.

Shares +7 pence, or 38%, at 25.3 pence.

SCS GROUP PLC (SCS.LN) doesn't expect to open further concessions in department store House of Fraser, said its Chief Executive David Knight, after the U.K. sofa and carpet retailer posted a widened half-year loss due to higher advertising spending and investment in concessions.

Shares -16.5 pence, or 7.5%, at 205 pence.

CITYFIBRE INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS PLC (CFHL.LN), the fiber network provider, said it expects to win more business with EE's rival mobile telecommunications groups if EE's proposed takeover by telecoms giant BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) goes ahead.

Shares - 2 pence, or 3%, at 65.5 pence.

FIRSTGROUP PLC (FGP.LN), a U.K.-based transport operator, said it signed an agreement with the U.K. government's department for transport to extend its operation of running train services in western England until April 2019.

Shares +3.5 pence, or 3.6%, at 98.5 pence.

GVC HOLDINGS PLC (GVC.LN) is on the lookout for possible acquisitions and is in early talks with parties as part of its expansion plans, the online sports betting and gaming company said.

Shares +8 pence, or 1.8%, at 462 pence. .

CENTAMIN PLC (CEE.T) rose after the U.K.-listed gold miner declared a maiden full-year dividend that beat expectations and reaffirmed its guidance for higher gold output this year after it completed the expansion of its flagship Sukari mine in Egypt.

Shares +8.2 pence, or 15%, at 61.9 pence.

CVC CAPITAL PARTNERS has sold Skrill Group, a U.K. payments systems company, to London-listed peer Optimal Payments PLC in a deal that values the company at 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), Optimal said.

VERONA PHARMA PLC (VRP.LN) rallied after the drug development company announced encouraging results from the first part of a 120 subject clinical trial with RPL554, a treatment for acute exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

Shares +0.5 pence, or 21%, at 3.1 pence.

AFREN PLC (AFR.LN), the debt-stricken Africa-focused oil company in the midst of hammering out a financial restructuring package with lenders, said it has notified the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office that legal advisers brought in to review compliance have raised concerns over certain expense payments.

Shares -0.02 pence, or 0.6%, at 3.5 pence.

SILENCE THERAPEUTICS PLC (SLN.LN) rose after the biotechnology company reported "excellent" results from a study of its Atu027-I-02 drug candidate in pancreatic cancer.

Shares +50.5 pence, or 21.3%, at 288 pence.

CLEAN AIR POWER LTD. (CAP.LN) shares dropped after the fuel-industry component manufacturer said 2014 was a challenging year, adding that there is a risk to its ability to continue as a going concern if it cannot increase its financial headroom.

Shares -1 pence, or 35%, at 1.9 pence.

SPACEANDPEOPLE PLC (SAL.LN), a retail, promotional and brand experience company, said 2014 was a challenging year for the company with lower-than-expected business gains from the U.K. and Germany.

Shares -11 pence, or 16%, at 56 pence.

EUROPA OIL & GAS (HOLDINGS) PLC (EOG.LN) dropped after the AIM-quoted oil and gas company said it would plug and abandon the Kiln Lane-1 conventional exploration well on License PEDL 181 in northeast Lincolnshire.

Shares -0.8 pence, or 10.2%, at 6.6 pence.

FTSE Small-Cap +0.3%

AIM +0.5%

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