SMALL COMPANIES FOCUS

The company named Pace chairman Mike McTighe as its new chairman but warned that trading conditions remain tough and that it has asked its banks to defer a covenant test as talks with lenders continue.

Eckoh, the voice recognition technology firm that gained notoriety during the premium rate phone-in scandal, jumped 0.88p to 71⁄2p after winning a major contract with a government transport body worth £1.5million over five years.

Phoenix IT dropped 131⁄2p to 2171⁄2p after its first-half results received a mixed response.

Rurelec, which is working on a refinancing, surged 2p to 18¾p.