Focus turns to Photo-Me

PHOTO-ME International, the photo booths business, saw its shares jump after one of the company's longest-standing directors sold his 8% stake for £31m.

The move by Philippe Wahl eased speculation it would be chief executive Serge Crasnianski offloading his stock, and the shares gained
9 1/4p to 116 1/2p. Crasnianski bought some of the shares, although most were placed with institutional investors.

Wahl, 68, also announced his resignation as a non-executive director. He joined the board in 1969, soon after Photo-Me's fortunes were transformed when it won the approval of the Passports Office for its black and white snaps.

Crasnianski bought one million of Wahl's shares, taking his stake up to 19.3%.

However, the sale of the remaining 28m shares to outside investors means the directors who previously held 52% of the stock now own just 44%.