STOCK WATCH

■ SHARES in PCI-PAL, a provider of digital payments software, slumped after it was hit by a patent infringement lawsuit.

One of the firm’s competitors, Guildford-based Semafone, said on Wednesday it had filed lawsuits against PCIPAL in both the UK and US, saying the company’s Agent Assist card payment technology violated Semafone patents in both countries.

However, PCI-PAL hit back on Thursday, saying the allegations were ‘unfounded’ and that it would defend itself ‘robustly’ against the claims.

Shares in PCI-PAL tumbled 12.4pc, or 11p, to 77.5p as a result of the news.