Tolent takes £950,000 hit

Shares in Tolent have dropped sharply after it announced that it has taken two hits worth £950,000.

It wrote off a £750,000 debt from a residential developer and made an accounting adjustment of £200,000 related to the Echo 24 residential development in Sunderland.

Most of the apartments at the development are currently rented - Tolent said that it expects to recoup the £200,000 once the buildings are sold.

It also warned that the first four months of trading have been "disappointing" due to difficult trading conditions in the construction sector.

Its current order book stands at £120m, with £40m worth of orders near signing and commencement on site.

It also cautioned that the first half slowdown, which has seen a number of project deferred or cancelled, "may have an impact" on annual results for the year to 31 December 2008.