Trade was slow on the London equities markets on Tuesday with only 2.8 billion shares changing hands, but it was a positive day overall with both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 showing gains overall.

The biggest winner on the FTSE 250 was PHS Group, the workplace services company, which was up 11.7 percent to 98p after it announced that it had been approached with a bid offer.

Yell Group, a yellow pages publisher was up substantially with the announcement that it is expanding into the United States. Yell has purchased TransWestern Holdings, which publishes directories in California and Texas, in a deal worth £829 million. Yell was up 4.3 percent to 415p.

Asset management group Schroders was up even more, with a 5.6 percent rise to 727p on higher-than-expected first quarter data and the news that it was considering “external investment opportunities.”

Amvescap, another group in the asset management sector and also said to be looking for merger partners, was up 1.3 percent to 309 p.

The FTSE 100 closed 0.3 percent higher at 4,898.5 and the FTSE 250 ended the day up 0.4 percent at 6,830.7.