Saturday share tips

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated: 19:00 EST, 10 November 2000

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Here are the expert broker buys and sells from the City pages of today's newspapers. First from the Daily Mail:

Peel Hunt says buy Bett Bros at 190p. Recent end-year results for this Scottish construction and building materials group were off slightly because of an exceptionally large property profit a year before. Future growth prospects are undervalued.

Credit Lyonnais says buy World Travel Holdings at 58 1/2p. There is no competition for its technology in providing Internet services for travel agents globally.

CSFB says buy Carphone Warehouse at 191p. Recent interims were reassuring. Pre-tax profit forecasts for this year and next are unchanged but progress is on track.

Teather & Greenwood says add Heywood Williams at 157p. Three downgrades since the interims but parts are to be sold and capital returned to investors. Estimated break-up value is 237p.

Collins Stewart says buy Retail Decisions at 127p. With credit card fraud levels flying high, the company has a 'robust' solution that could lift profits from £800,000 this year to £7.8m in 2002.

Walker Crips Weddle Beck says long-term accumulate Intercare at 208p. After recent changes, Intercare is focused on generic drugs and pharmaceutical imports ñ major markets with very substantial margins and big opportunities.

WestLB says buy Robert Wiseman Dairies at 96 1/2p. Key player in consolidation of the dairy industry.

Here are the broker views from today's Daily Telegraph

ING Barings Charterhouse says buy Reuters at £13.30. Since the third quarter results, forecasts have been upgraded on the core operations of Reuters Financial and Instinet, due to an improved top line outlook and greater transparency of the group cost profile. Demand for financial market data appears robust, particularly at lower pricing points. The group is strongly cash generative and the US launch of Reuters Plus suggests a good gain in market share.

Henderson Crosthwaite says buy Coffee Republic at 23p. The interim results, due on 21 November will represent the first update on progress since July's £11m fundraising. The company is expected to confirm it is very much on schedule with like-for-like sales still in the teens and 30 new stores opening by the end of the year. An interim pre-tax loss of £1.35m is forecast, down from last year's loss of £1.5m, justifying a short term price target of 36p.

Seymour Pierce says buy Reflec at 13p. Reflec is really several companies in one. It has a solid manufacturing core, alongside which sits high margin, high fashion, and high tech businesses with potential for astounding organic growth. One side of the business lends stability, while the other gives the opportunity for high growth in the future.

Henderson Crosthwaite advises to buy Telewest at 121p. Telewest reports its third-quarter results on 16 November and the numbers should reflect the trading difficulties the company has endured during July, August and September. It is also the quietest quarter for the multi-channel television operators. The broker does not expect the third-quarter figures to rescue sentiment on their own and this remains very much a period of transition.

ING Barings Charterhouse Securities says buy Kleeneze at 188p. The company bought two display marketing groups, Dealerfield and Colour Library Direct for £37.6m plus an extra deferred payment. The groups have a combined network of more than 500 agents across Britain. This makes Kleeneze the market leader in display.

ING Barings Charterhouse Securities says add Whitbread at 503p. Interim results were as expected with sales from Marriott Hotels growing by 9%. Performances within the restaurant chains were mixed. The broker believes Whitbread is well positioned for short-term growth and is looking for pre-tax growth of 8.5% in 2002 and 7% in 2003. However, the broker is concerned for growth after 2003 because of increasing competition and difficulties in securing new sites for development.

Teather & Greenwood says sell Wolves and Dudley at 451p. The decision of the management to effectively put the pub and brewing company up for sale is likely to lead to a successful bud in due course, probably by Botts & Co. However, and premium to the current share price may be very modest. While remedial action to improve the retail performance is at hand, which will lift short-term performance, the underlying pattern of profitability from the managed estate will be modest.