Misys cuts 100 jobs as it closes two websites

Misys closed two online consumer financial service businesses yesterday, screentrade and theformula, at a cost of £10m and with the loss of more than 100 jobs, underlining the continuing crisis in internet commerce.

The software and systems provider said business-to-consumer internet activities were responsible for a £19m loss for the year to May, on total internet losses of £23m.

The Misys chairman Kevin Lomax said: "Although we established a strong foothold in the marketplace with screentrade, slower-than-anticipated consumer adoption of the internet for purchasing a broader range of financial services products has resulted in ongoing losses at a level which can no longer be justified by potential returns."

Misys led the FTSE 100 gainers, rising 24p to 484p.

Misys said the withdrawal from the consumer market followed six months of "extensive" talks aimed at finding a partner.

Meanwhile, Thomson Financial closed down MarketEye.com, a financial news website for retail investors.