Companies: DES   

Desire has been left somewhat bereft by the failure of its Portuguese exploration interests, which it has decided to abandon, and the lack of wider oil industry appetite for drilling in the Falkland Islands, where discussions have so far failed to attract a farm-in partner due to the difficulty and remoteness of the terrain. The company remains committed to getting a partner, but says that it may need to raise further funds. Encouragingly, all of the members of the board have agreed to take shares in return for outsourced services provided to Desire by them and companies that they also represent, thereby cutting costs. Desire had £620,000 in cash at the end of June, having made a loss of £460,000 in the previous six months. It also wrote off £6.3m relating to its Portuguese assets. The shares languish out of favour, having once reached the heights of £4 and above.