Regus tackles share price woe

DIRECTORS of troubled office renting firm Regus plan to stop shorting of its shares by making further representations to the Financial Services Authority and seeking advice from NM Rothschild and Merrill Lynch.

Chairman John Matthews told shareholders at today's annual meeting in London he had already referred 'malicious lies' to the FSA but that 'it is not for us to decide how the market operates'.

Bear trader Simon Cawkwell, known as Evil Knievil, admitted last month that he is short of six million Regus shares, having sold stock he does not own in the hope of buying it back at a lower price.

The share price gyrated between 45 1/2p and 35 1/2p during June. Today, it rallied 1 1/2p to 36 3/4p as Matthews told the meeting that trading in the US during June had been the best since last September. He is still hopeful of the US arm emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the autumn.