Lastminute shares rally at err… last minute

Closes up on earlier fall

Update: It looked at one point today as though the unthinkable could be about to happen - and it still might. Despite rallying to close at 391p investors in lastminute.com are facing up to the reality that share prices - even in dotcoms - can go down as well as up. The over-hyped and over-subscribed float of Lastminute on Tuesday saw shares soar to a price of 532.5p well up on the offer price of 380p. The picture has changed since then. Yesterday, Lastminute shares closed at 387.5p and by this lunchtime had slipped to 382.5 – that's just two and a half pence away from the offer price and a massive fall from Tuesday's high point. Private investors in Lastminute are not able to sell until they have held on to their shares for at least a week. With the situation getting progressively worse (every day this week Lastminute's closing price has been lower than the day before) by the time they are able to sell, many small investors may find their dreams of instant and guaranteed e-profits have come to nothing. Perhaps it's just as well that no one got more than about £150 worth of shares in the first place. ® See also: Lastminute: What the Papers Say Lastminute jumps -- but punters get next to no shares 250,000 flock to register for Lastminute shares The wit and wisdom of Martha Lane Fox