Watches of Switzerland surges on Betaville takeover speculation

Watches of Switzerland surged on Tuesday after markets blog Betaville said in an "uncooked alert" that the company was at the centre of takeover speculation.

Betaville said that people following the situation have heard rumours Watches of Switzerland has attracted takeover interest.

The identity of the company circling Watches of Switzerland is unclear, Betaville said, although there was some suggestion it could be a luxury goods giant.

Other people following the situation suggested a private equity firm may be interested in the business, which prior to listing on the London market was owned by US firm Apollo.

At 1155 BST, the shares were up 10% at 838.34p.