Stockwatch

The week's winners Hardy up 4.1%Brit Insurance up 2.7%

The week's losersAtrium down 2.3%Culver down 10.3%Hardy shareholders are set to gain a special interim dividend of £8.8m (25p per share), following the disposal of its entire stake in Atrium Underwriting. The market applauded the move with Hardy's shareprice rising 4.1%. However, it had the opposite affect on Atrium - its shareprice went down by 2.3%.The sale price of 23.2% share was £20.7m (180p per share), more than double the price Hardy paid for the stake 18 months ago. It said the sale was conducted through KBC Peel Hunt.Hardy chief executive Barbara Merry said it was the right time to sell the stake after it benefited "terrifically" from buying it at a time when it was significantly undervalued. "We are now taking the opportunity to remove our exposure to this single investment to ensure that we meet the capital requirements of the FSA," she said.Last week we mentioned that Aquilo and Pavilion were set to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Well, joining them this week is Harrogate-based Broker Network. The company's chief executive Grant Ellis said he was "chuffed" with the company's debut on AIM and its share price increase of 9%, considering the market conditions for the week. Broker Network opened with a trading price of 71p and closed at 77.5p on its first day. Broker Network could also drag a possible 90 acquisitions along with it. Besides floating on AIM this week it made one certain acquisition in the form of Shropshire-based WEM Insurance brokers. The deal was expected to go through for between £200,000 and £300,000.