Marlborough boss quits

LATE shenanigans involving shares of financial services software group

Dealers rightly feared the worst. A dire trading statement soon hit their screens along with news that chairman Paul Fullagar had resigned. Marlborough warned that short-term trading in life and pensions had been slower than anticipated and turnover for the year ending December 2004 will be slightly less than £100m.

Geoffrey Harrison Dees has become chairman and the group will now, with the help of its bankers, try to find potential partners wishing to enter into joint venture or acquisition discussions.

Earlier this month, analysts slashed their full-year forecasts after Marlborough revealed it had lost out on a potential outsourcing contract and warned that licensing deals could be delayed.

Outsourcing specialist Capita had London's Mayor to thank for an against-the-trend rise of 2¾p to 357p. Buyers stepped on the gas on hearing that Ken Livingstone is proposing to raise the congestion charge in London by £3 per car to £8. The charge for commercial fleet vehicles will rise to £7.

As well as collecting TV licences and looking after criminal records, Capita runs the congestion charge scheme. The London deal, which began in February 2003, is worth £250m-plus over five years which will bring in profits of up to £30m.

Business management software group Sage rose 3¾p to 193p on expectations-that today's full-year results will come up to scratch. October's trading statement said revenues were up 29% to £688m and pre-tax profits 20% higher at £181m. Dealers hope chairman Michael Jackson will be upbeat about the US market.

A disappointing drop in US consumer confidence in November - to the lowest level since March - and nervous selling ahead of Friday's US employment figures saw Wall Street trade 47 points lower in the early stages. Already dull on worries about the fresh rise in the oil price, the Footsie was dragged lower by New York and closed 46.6 points down at 4703.2.

Profit taking saw Cairn Energy touch 1,455p before closing 37p off at 1,500p. Investors cannot be blamed for trousering profits. Cairn has been one of the success stories of 2004. It has soared from 365p in January after finding the Mangala oil field in the deserts of Rajasthan. Cairn snapped up acreage rejected by Shell, paying about £10m for assets now valued by the stock market at about £1.5bn following a string of finds.

Burren Energy fell 19½p to 414¾p after announcing that exploration in Turkmenistan has been delayed for operational reasons. Analysts say the Burun South well could offer material share price upside of 80p.

After Merrill Lynch placed 10m shares at 176½p with institutional investors, Paladin Resources eased 3½p to 178p. Paladin has bought some Australian assets from BHP Billiton.

Ahead of an update by Pfizer on its new cholesterol treatment Torcetrapib, AstraZeneca lost 50p to 2,045p. The drug would rival AZ's Crestor.

Worries about Christmas trading left Marks & Spencer 4¾p down at 328¼p. Shareholders must be rueing the day that the M&S board showed entrepreneur Philip Green the door. His proposed offer was worth £4 a share. When will the M&S share price trade above £4 again? When Lord Nelson gets his eye back.

Clothes maker Marchpole collapsed 4p to 27½p. The company has started legal proceedings against designer Ozwald Boateng over alleged breach of contract.

The surprise 1% increase in average house prices in November reported by Nationwide, and the building society's forecast of a soft landing rather than a crash, helped housebuilders erect good gains. George Wimpey firmed 8¾p to 357½p, Persimmon 13½p to 618½p and Wilson Bowden 15p to 995p.

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MORE than 20% of private-client broker WH Ireland's equity changed hands but the shares closed unchanged at 99p. They recently touched 110p on news of a bid approach but after a few weeks talking turkey the interested party - believed to be Charles Stanley - walked away. Dealers believe the Manchester-based broker's days of independence are numbered and await more details of yesterday's 'nosey' transactions.