Investors left reeling as Monitise stakes its future on going it alone
TROUBLED tech firm Monitise pulled down its for sale sign yesterday as its founder Alastair Lukies resigned as joint chief executive of the embattled company.
The announcement sent shares in the company tumbling almost 28 per cent, heaping misery on investors who have seen the share price fall from a high of 80p a little over a year ago to a low of 13p yesterday.
The decision not to sell follows a two month strategic review by the Aim-listed mobile payments firm which had raised the prospect of Monitise seeking a buyer. Monitise said it had seen a number of prospective suitors, but felt they failed to offer a price reflecting the firm’s long-term prospects.
Lukies will be replaced by Elizabeth Buse as sole chief executive. However, he is widely expected to stay on as a strategic adviser to the firm.
The company has struggled to turn a profit as revenues have consistently disappointed despite seeing users of its apps grow to 33m by the end of last year.
Despite the latest setback, some analysts believe it is still too early to write the company off completely.
“In the developed world, we still think consumers will favour an app with direct access to their bank,” said Andrew Darley of Finncap.