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The soaring oil price fuelled the market's continuing ascent this week. The FTSE 100, dominated by Shell and BP, improved 28.1 points to 5086.3. AIM, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this week, rose an impressive 18.2 to 1003.4.

Technology-led recruiting outfit hotgroup was one of the week's top performers, putting on 3p, or 24 per cent, to 14.25p, after confirming that it had received a preliminary approach that could lead to an offer.

The company has made numerous acquisitions over the past two years but had seen its shares hit a record low of 11.25p prior to the takeover talk. The group also unveiled a plan to restructure its online business into two separate brands, hotonline.com and workthing.com, to 'escalate earnings growth'.

Bingo clubs operator Top Ten firmed 0.12p to 5.12p, after announcing profits up 29.5 per cent to £1.6 million for the year to March and the acquisition of rival Westvale for £5.35 million. Top Ten, already Britain's third largest bingo group with 37 clubs, mostly in the north of England, will add 13 more clubs across the North and Midlands, thanks to the acquisition.

Top Ten is paying £4 million cash and £1.3 million in shares at 5p to Westvale's two vendors. One of these, managing director Graham Kerr, will also join Top Ten's board. The transaction gives Kerr a 5.85 per cent stake in the enlarged group.

Victory march

Victory Corporation, which distributes Virgin-branded cosmetics and jewellery, sparked up 47.5p to 222.5p, despite reporting a drop in profits for the year to March. Though pre-tax profits fell from £2.1 million to £1.2 million - on turnover 10.5 per cent higher at £71 million - the market focused on news that overall sales were up 30 per cent in the first ten weeks of the current year.

Less encouraging trading news came from Floors 2 Go. The specialist laminate and wooden flooring retailer warned that like-for-like sales in the second quarter are likely to be 20 per cent below last year's. The group blamed lower household discretionary spending. Investors took fright and the shares plunged 23p, or 43 per cent, to 30.5p.

Media moves

Marketing counter Media Square reversed 2.25p to 24.75p, despite unveiling a fourfold sales increase to £29 million and pre-tax profits of £1.37 million (£406,000) for the half to 30 April.

Fellow media player Avesco, the provider of services to the corporate presentation and broadcast markets, fell 1p to 99p, against a 52-week high of 119.5p, despite delivering an emphatic turnaround for the year to March. Losses of £7.6 million were converted to pre-tax profits of £500,000.

Media Steps, which provides advertising space on staircases in public places, made an encouraging debut on AIM, edging up 0.75p from its 6p issue price, following a £1.5 million placing arranged by Corporate Synergy. The company has designed a trademarked form of advertising display called the 'Posterstep', and has agreements with train operators.

Looking forward

Stem Cell Sciences will become the only quoted stem cell research company in Europe when it floats on AIM. The Scottish outfit focuses on the use of stem cells in research, drug discovery and cell therapy, and has ties with the Institute for Stem Cell Research at Edinburgh University, The group is looking to raise £10 million.

Also worth watching out for is Asian Citrus, China's largest operator of orange plantations. Chairman Tony Tong hopes to bring the company to AIM this summer with a £15 million placing that will give the company an £80 million price tag. Evolution Securities China is adviser and broker to the issue.