Punters hoping to make millions from oil and gas in Gatwick have been disappointed.
A group of wildcatters, led by serial AIM entrepreneur David Lenigas, have been working the Horse Hill project near Gatwick. The site was abandoned by Esso in the Sixties after it failed to find enough oil to make it worth extracting.
But Lenigas, whose UK Oil & Gas is involved, has championed the project, talking up the potential of reserves at untapped depths. Rob Wiegold of stockbroker Shard Capital said investors “flocked” for a slice of the action.
But today the group admitted that it has failed to find gas at the Triassic level which had been untouched until now and had been hoped to contain the motherload. It’s the second disappointment in recent weeks, with earlier drills uncovering oil reserves well short of expectations.
Lenigas said he’s “naturally disappointed”, but added the group are “delighted” at the oil finds.
Investors took a dimmer view, sending all those involved in Horse Hill tumbling — Regency Mines slipped 0.08p to 0.22p, Solo Oil fell 0.16p to 0.61p, UK Oil & Gas lost 0.35p to 0.52p, Stellar Resources declined 0.18p to 0.4p, Alba Mineral Resources slid 0.3p to 0.42p and Doriemus was off 0.06p to 0.07p.
A victory for the Republicans in the US mid-term elections provided a boost for the blue-chip index, which climbed 44.14 points to 6498.11.
Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: “The six-month period post mid-term elections has historically generated strong equity returns and with Republicans typically more pro-business, investors will be hoping to benefit.”
Poland and the Czech Republic’s biggest vodka maker Stock Spirits sank 69.9p to 230.45p after warning that full-year results could be up to €10 million (£7.86 million) below expectations.
The company blamed an increase in tax in Poland and aggressive pricing by competitors for squeezing margins.
The bevy of bankers working on Virgin Money’s stock market float are planning to price the challenger bank’s shares at between 283p and 333p, according to reports.
The range would give Virign Money, which hopes to raise £150 million, a market cap of between £1.25 billion and £1.45 billion.
