D1 Oils, the grower of Jatropha plants for biofuel, which is scrapping its expensive British refinery, fell 2p to close at 35½p as worries over its future gathered weight.

Deep in its results last week, which were overshadowed by the terms of a deeply discounted rights issue, it said that it was writing off some of its Jatropha plantations because of poor management and the failure of seeds to germinate. Goldman Sachs calculates that the company is removing about 50,000 hectares from its books.

D1, founded by Karl Watkin, who left it recently, is also cutting its yield per hectare prediction by about 20 per cent. Goldman still has a “buy” rating, but D1’s credibility, already low, can only be damaged even further.

Circle Oil rose another 1¾p to 32¼p, giving it a 70 per cent gain since the start of the month, when it announced the start of drilling at its well in Tunisia.

Food and Drink, the owner of Jamies Wine Bars, issued its second profit warning since mid-January. It dived 29½p to 32p.

Norcros, the maker of Triton showers and ceramic tiles in Britain and South Africa, fell 2p to 30½p after giving warning of rising energy costs and a consumer slowdown in both countries. Altium Securities, the house broker, retained a “buy” but cut its profit forecast.

European Minerals, a Kazakhstan goldminer, suspended its shares at 42½p and announced the all-share acquisition of the Canadian-listed Lero Gold, run by the Russian exile Sergey Kurzin, who used to run Oriel Resources. Mr Kurzin will take the helm and use the merged company to consolidate miners across the former Soviet Union.

GNE Group, the petrol station operater, jumped 40p to 137½p after it said that it was in discussions that might lead to a takeover bid.

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