THE planned departure of another high profile north west listed company provided the big news this week for the MEN/Brewin Dolphin Index.

Chairman John Whittaker tabled an offer at 1240p per share for Peel Holdings, the Manchester-based property giant which owns the Trafford Centre, Liverpool John Lennon Airport and the Manchester Ship Canal.

Peel is seeking to buy out its minority shareholders in a '55m deal that will take the company private.

If approved by shareholders, Peel will follow bars operator Yates - which is being bought by its management - into private ownership.

Peel was the star of the week on the index of local companies as shares soared 36 per cent from 902.5p to 1230p.

Inventive Leisure, the company behind the Revolution vodka bar chain, which has seen its share price halved in the last year, rose 19 per cent, from 52.5p to 62.5p, as the stock finally began to recover.

Glass giant Pilkington rose 4.58 per cent to 97p on the back of improved broker sentiment.

Broker upgrades also nudged aerospace and defence giant BAE Systems upwards as shares rose four per cent to 216.5p.

Share-buying by directors of troubled Lancashire conservatory maker Ultraframe helped it recover from a battering. Shares rose 3.88 per cent from 122.5p to 127.25p.

Solid and dependable United Utilities was the biggest faller of the week, sliding 7.12 per cent to 508.5p after the payment of its final dividend.

Bolton-based leisure group Yates fell 4.75 per cent to 140.5p after the Laurel Pub Co, owner of the Hogs Head chain, decided not to rival the '93m venture capitalist- backed buyout tabled by chief executive Mark Jones and his team.

Concerns over its new cholesterol- busting drug Crestor continued to drag Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca down. Shares fell 4.14 per cent to 2453p.

The rise in interest rates in the US spelled bad news for GUS, the owner of Argos and Homebase.

There were fears this would affect the company's Experian credit checking subsidiary in the US.

Shares slipped 313 per cent to 862.5p.

Overall the MEN/Brewin Index had a good week as it out-performed the FTSE 100, rising 0.57 per cent to 1481.31, compared with a fall of 1.74 per cent.

Of the 65 firms on the index, 35 saw their shares rise, 20 saw falls and 10 were unchanged.

Brewin Dolphin's Julian Hardiman said: "The US interest rate rise was fully expected and is thought to be the first of many." Tweet