But helping to support the group’s shares yesterday was news of a £100,000 director share purchase. Peter Clarke, Man’s finance director, bought 7,750p shares at 1,290p, taking his total holding to 665,000. UBS started coverage of Center Parcs, pegged at 84.75p, with a “buy” rating and an ambitious 104p price target. Man Group slumped 94p to 1,272p as investors worried about the performance of its flagship AHL hedge fund. The move follows better-than-expected figures from the group on Tuesday. According to the broker, cost savings at Reuters are running well ahead of target and this should enable the company to register an additional £10m of savings this year.

JP Morgan upgraded Reuters to “overweight” from “neutral”, helping the financial information provider gain 10p to 317p. Business seems to be booming for Royal Caribbean and Carnival. The two have been able to raise prices for all ship types and cabins and still enjoy rising demand. Royal Caribbean boasted that its earnings had more than doubled to $122m (£67m) and raised its annual profit estimate. The most recent of these came earlier this month, when Regent was forced to admit that intense competition in the sector had weighed heavily on sales at its branded bars and, as a result, it would be forced to slash its final dividend. In the FTSE 100, Carnival was the best performer, gaining 98p to 2,628p, following forecast-beating second-quarter results from its rival Royal Caribbean Cruises, the world’s second-biggest cruise company.

Meanwhile, Arbuthnot Securities was heard arguing that the high street pubs sector is ripe for consolidation. It believes that Regent Inns is a prime target given its lowly valuation. The group, which runs the Walkabout chain, found its shares trading at just four times this year’s estimated earnings after a series of profits warnings caused its shares to collapse. And they have good reason to believe that corporate action may soon be on the way at the group.

Earlier this week it emerged that someone has builtan 11.6 per cent stake in the company via Cantor Fitzgerald It is unclear on who’s behalf the broker holds the stake. City punters betting on a takeover of Regent Inns pushed its shares 3.5p higher to 35p. Is regent Inns about to become the next high street pub operator to find itself on the receiving end of a takeover approach, following the move on rival Yates by GI Partners? Well, those of you piled who into the stock yesterday certainly hope it is. If he is to do justice to his full-time job at the IoD, he might like to start by paring down his own list of directorships, which runs to six, including Eldridge Pope. In the interests of good communications with shareholders, he might also have clarified whether he will still have a role at the pubs company before allowing the IoD to trumpet his appointment Not the most auspicious of starts.. If he has a taste for it, then Mr Templeman needs to do much more of this kind of thing because the title “company director” has become a term of abuse, a byword for fat-cattery, greed and low moral standards.Mr Templeman says there is a worthwhile case for all board directors to hold a mandatory qualification in good corporate governance. So perhaps even a job with as moribund an organisation as the IoD will come as a welcome relief.Mr Templeman describes the posting as a challenge and, boy, he can say that again.