TONGUES WERE wagging in Dublin yesterday following the execution of a large trade in shares in Dublin-based electronic payments group Payzone.

Just under 22.6 million shares were traded in the London-listed company yesterday in one large transaction. This equated to 5.1 per cent of the shares.

No announcement was made to the stock market and it is not clear if the trade involved one of its investors cashing out of the heavily-indebted group or was the result of one of its institutional investors switching the shares from one fund to another.

The share price barely moved, closing at 1.63 pence.

Payzone’s large institutional investors are Artemis, JO Hambro and Cycladic. If the shares actually changed hands, then given the size of the stake involved, the stock market will have to be informed in the next day or two.

HAVING RECENTLY taken his leave of one Irish exploration company, Petroceltic, veteran natural resources executive John Craven this week emerged as the head of another.

Craven joined Lapp Plats – now to be known as Cove Energy – as chief executive with non-executive chairman Tom O’Gorman standing aside to allow Michael Blaha, country chairman for Shell in Algeria, take on the role. Craven is expected to hit the ground running. The company said its focus now would be on securing “early stage” oil and gas assets and Craven is believed to have a couple of potential prospects firmly in his sights.

He is also likely to tap investors for fresh funding. Cove has about £1 million in the bank but will need more firepower if it is to progress anything of significance.

Craven has also decided to ditch its listing on the ISX junior stock exchange in Dublin but will continue to be listed on London’s AIM market.