Shares in Relax Group soared after the consumer debt management company said that it expected its 2009 results to exceed City expectations as demand for its services grows.

Paul Carter, chief executive, said that demand for debt management plans, individual voluntary arrangements and protected trust deeds was rising almost daily as the credit crunch bites.

The group, which reported better than expected annual results, said that current trading levels were 12 per cent higher than last year and that it was receiving about 10,000 customer inquiries a month, of which about 650 became new clients. Shares in Relax rose 5p, or 27 per cent, to 23½p.

Low & Bonar, the materials group, regained 6p to 30½p after reassuring investors that trading was in line with expectations and that it remained comfortably within its financing covenants. The company lost nearly half its market value on Tuesday amid rumours that it could breach covenants and that a shareholder wanted to sell a significant chunk of stock.

Faroe Petroleum climbed 10¼p to 58p after the oil and gas group agreed to double to NKr500 million (£47 million) its available credit facility for its Norwegian operations, on which it receives a 78 per cent rebate from the Government.

Ceres Power rose 8¼p to 100p after the energy group, which is developing a fuel cell with British Gas that can power an entire house, said that it had successfully designed and built a 1 kilowatt unit that meets all agreed performance specifications.

Castings fell 1½p to 144p after the iron castings supplier said that annual results would be below City forecasts and that it was cutting jobs because work had decreased. It is writing off £5.7 million it held in Icelandic banks.

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