Oil field concernsparks sell-off

Shares in the Irish exploration firm Providence Resources fell by nearly 17% at one point yesterday following a significant stock sale believed to be by a number of retail investors amid concern that it still faces challenges in getting its proposed development deal at Barryroe over the line.

It had been thought that the movement might have been triggered by ACC Bank selling its holding, but this is understood not to be so.

The movement — nearly 138,000 shares changed hands in Dublin, while 896,642 were sold on London’s AIM market — initially knocked €5m off Providence’s market value, which fell from €39m to €34m. Its share price was sent plummeting to a fresh annual low in Dublin of 50c, while it dipped by nearly 10%, to 38p, in London.