TAKING STOCK

o Mosaic Investments, stripped down to a modest trading operation but with around pounds 6m cash and a pounds 3m stake in Copyright, a character licensing agency, is thought to be near clinching a significant acquisition. It is known that David Williams, the chairman who returned last year to revamp the group, is keen to expand Mosaic's activities. At 29p the company is valued at pounds 10m.

o Cortecs International, the biotech baby floated last year, is attracting increasing attention. It is, as befits such a fashionable investment, still loss-making, but its shares hit a new high, up 7p at 85p. Yamaichi has already made supportive noises and there is talk that Dr Andrew Clark, pharmaceutical analyst at Baring Securities, is preparing a buy note that should appear next week.