Scramble for Carphone shares swamps website

A last-minute rush to register for shares in Carphone Warehouse, the mobile phone retailer which is set for a £1.6bn flotation on Friday, has left some people unable to download the group's prospectus through its internet site.

A last-minute rush to register for shares in Carphone Warehouse, the mobile phone retailer which is set for a £1.6bn flotation on Friday, has left some people unable to download the group's prospectus through its internet site.

Investors who tried to access the site on Sunday, ahead of today's 5pm deadline for retail applications, were confronted with a message telling them it was too busy. Meanwhile, repeated attempts by The Independent to open the appropriate Web page yesterday also proved fruitless. A spokesman for Carphone Warehouse said he was "mystified" by the complaints, adding that the he was not aware of any widespread problems with the site.

Jeremy Batstone, head of research at NatWest Stockbrokers, said: "The indications are that the retail offer will be oversubscribed ... We think that in common with many of these over-hyped floats, the shares will start trading at well above their true value."