Shares in Leed Petroleum tumbled 2.88p to 7p after the AIM-listed oil and gas explorer said that it would raise £20 million in a share placing.

The group will place 400 million shares at 5p and use the funds to develop its assets in the Gulf of Mexico and to pay down debt.

Galliford Try rose ½p to 345½p after the construction group said that an “encouraging start” to its financial year had continued into the autumn selling season, with sales up 7 per cent to £274 million.

Ceres Power fell 5½p to 175p despite winning its first international contract, with Bord Gáis, an Irish energy provider. The group will supply 16,000 of its combined heat and power boilers in a deal thought to be worth as much as £50 million.

Ocean Power Technology rose 25p to 432½p after the renewable energy group won a A$66.5 million (£36.7 million) grant from the Australian Government for a 19 megawatt project that will power 10,000 homes.

WH Ireland was unchanged at 59½p after the stockbroker reduced its stake in its Australian subsidiary, which runs a broker in Perth. It has sold a 39.35 per cent stake for A$1.3 million to its directors.

Xtract Energy fell 1.15p to 3¼p after Extrem Energy, the group’s Turkish joint venture, suspended testing on its Alasehir-1 well. Akers Biosciences eased 1¼p to 11¼p, despite Daniel Stewart advising clients to buy shares in the diagnostics group after a recent poor run. The company issued a warning about full-year profits this week but the broker said that a possible renewal and expansion of a military contract could give the group a boost.

Media Corporation rose ½p to 3p amid talk that its directors had been buying more shares in the group.

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