Shares in discount retailer Matalan have jumped more than 6 per cent amid renewed talk that US retail giant Wal-Mart is considering a bid for the company.
Shares in Matalan - which said last week that profit margins remained under pressure - were up 6.7 per cent at 229p in brisk turnover of more than three million shares, just under its average total daily volume.
Neither Wal-Mart nor Matalan could be reached for immediate comment.
Press reports said in August that Wal-Mart was considering a £1 billion bid.