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The smaller pub retailing companies continued to suffer last week following fears that competition for new pub sites would make growth harder.

Hardest hit was Grosvenor Inns, with its share price down by almost 8% in the week.

But analysts at Kleinwort Benson Securities believe the downgrading of the shares has been overdone. They argue that the problem with finding sites can be easily overcome by expanding the teams responsible for the search.

Granada Group saw its share price tumble by 3.36% as press speculation mounted that it might bid for Yorkshire Tyne-Tees Television, described by some commentators as a bid too far.

The share price of Jarvis Hotels continued to languish below its offer price of 175p, ending the week at 172p. The price suffered partly because 43 million shares were placed at 170p as a major investor sold its stake.