Indo stock still a rich pot of cash

The launch of Independent News & Media's iTouch subsidiary on the London stock market has not been a stellar one.

WAP-watchers accustomed to seeing the shares of any company with anything to do with mobile phones and the Internet go ballistic, have seen iTouch shares plummet from their 70p flotation price to a low of 57p this week.

Still, the chairman of iTouch Ivan Fallon - who used to head the Indo's South African business - has reason to be pleased with himself. Last week, he cashed in 200,000 share options and made a tidy profit of £392,000 (#498,000) in the process. He still holds options on just over a million shares.

Mr Fallon is not the only one who has been selling Indo shares recently. Former chief executive and deputy chairman Liam Healy made a profit of £2.25 million on 750,000 options a couple of weeks ago. John Meagher is another to boost his bank balance this week and trousered a handy £722,540 after selling 217,000 shares. Mr Meagher still holds 2.8 million shares.

Earlier this year, another Indo director David Palmer sold his entire holding of 500,000 shares for £1.7 million. Gerry McGuinness, Indo director and founder of the Sunday World, has sold more than £7 million worth in the past few years.