Rockhopper Exploration, which has the rights to areas of the seabed north of the Falkland Islands, had its steepest drop in two years after announcing that it might have to issue new shares to finance drilling which would not start until at least 2009.

There was no news on potential partners with which it is trying to do the deal. It has £3.5 million cash but would need at least ten times this to fund its drilling programme. Rockhopper fell 12¾p to 76p. Its exploration partner in the region, Desire Petroleum, fell 11¾p to 68½p. Desire has still to reveal terms with its unnamed drilling partner, despite saying that it had agreed a deal at the end of February. There are fears that it, too, will need a big dilutive share issue.

Tim Heeley, an analyst with Daniel Stewart, who has a “sell” note and 25p price target on Rockhopper, said: “Time scales are continually being pushed outwards and drilling, or indeed a deal of any kind, is not in any way imminent.” Schroders, once the largest shareholder, sold its entire stake when Rockhopper raised funds in a share placing in May.

Financial Objects, the provider of software to the financial services industry, rose 26p to 57½p after agreeing a 60p share takeover from Temenos, its Swiss rival. Financial Objects issued a profit warning two months ago.

TMN, the online marketing company, fell 4½p to 39½p amid growing fears that the management buyout approach at 70p, backed by August Equity, would not materialise.

Regal Petroleum lost 8¾p to 234p after raising £20.5 million in a share placing at 245p to finance drilling in Ukraine. It is still awaiting a judgment from the AIM Disciplinary Committee over whether it misled shareholders two years ago over wells off Greece that turned out to be dry.

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