Airea surges as James Halstead in 'very early stages' of considering an offer

Shares in Airea surged on Thursday as James Halstead confirmed that it was in the "very early stages" of evaluating making an offer for the AIM-listed specialist flooring company.

Airea said it had not had any discussions with the Manchester-based flooring manufacturer and distributor regarding a potential offer, nor had it received any approach.

"Airea shareholders are strongly advised to take no action at this stage. There can be no certainty that any firm offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any firm offer might be made," it said.

Last month, Airea posted a pre-tax loss of £1.5m for the 18 months to 31 December 2017 compared with a profit of £1.4m for the 12 months to end of June 2016. The company also announced that it was closing its residential carpet business, Ryalux, which has been loss-making for several years.

At 1040 BST, the shares were up 23% to 62.70p.