Service company shares fall as markets are disappointed

Shares in Danka Business Systems lost nearly 32 percent of their value on Wednesday, following news that the sale of its outsourcing division has collapsed.
The £207m deal to sell its outsourcing area to Schroder Ventures was called off when IBM, one of Danka's biggest clients, admitted there was a possibility it might end its contract with Danka at any time.

At 79p on Wednesday, down from a high point of 333p last year, Danka's shares are now one of the lowest-standing across the whole services sector.

But it's not just Danka that's suffering in the stock market. The much-publicised collapse in former market favourite Rentokil Initial shares still shows no sign of recovering, with the recent news that they would fail to meet their growth targets still holding their prices down.

Standing at a level of 450p six months ago, Rentokil's troubles have left shares struggling at around 250p for the past month.