Baltimore Technologies chief executive Mr Fran Rooney has realised £5.8 million sterling after selling one million shares last Friday at £5.80 sterling each. After the sale, Mr Rooney's stake has fallen to 6.15 million shares - 1.5 per cent of the total - which are worth more than £35 million sterling.

The sale by Mr Rooney comes just more than six months after Baltimore shares took a listing on the Nasdaq market and a week after the shares split 10-for-one in London and five-for-one on Nasdaq. Mr Rooney has sold the one million shares after a period when Baltimore shares have taken a hammering, as the market for technology stocks turned sour. Baltimore shares peaked earlier this year at £15 sterling, more than 2 1/2 times the price at which Mr Rooney sold.

Mr Rooney holds his Baltimore shares through Lagae Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, described in the Stock Exchange disclosure as a "Madeiran private limited company ultimately controlled by a Cypriot trust of which Mr Rooney and members of his family are among the beneficiaries".

Baltimore chairman Mr Henry Beker has also been in the market selling shares. Mr Beker realised £5.8 million after selling one million shares. After the sale, Mr Beker's stake in Baltimore stands at 4.4 million shares of 1.1 per cent of the total.

Two other Baltimore directors, Mr Bijan Khezri and Mr Peter Morgan, have each realised £580,000 sterling after selling 100,000 shares at the same £5.80 price. Mr Khezri now holds just 50,000 Baltimore shares while Mr Morgan holds 135,900 shares.