William Sinclair Holdings PLC said today its shares had been suspended from trading on AIM “pending an announcement”.

The share price had plummeted by more than 85% over the past year to 9.73p.

The suspension follows the news in a statement at the end of June that the company was arranging meetings with investors to gauge demand for a significant share placing. Chairman Rupert King said at the time that progress on a funding solution was needed within a few weeks and “there can be no certainty as to the outcome of any of these discussions”.

Sinclair’s pretax loss increased to £8.6 million in the six months ended March 31, compared with £3.1 million in the corresponding period a year ago. Revenue fell by £3 million to £18.7 million.

Reasons given for the company’s worsening economic situation include the costs associasted with moving to the new £50 million manufacturing site at Ellesmere Port and poorer than expected trading.

It is not clear when a new funding announcement can be expected but some sources believe it could be later today.