NEWRY ENTREPRENEUR Brian Conlon has raised £3.6 million (€4.3 million) by selling shares in First Derivatives, the specialist financial software consulting company he founded in a spare bedroom 14 years ago.

In a regulatory statement to the London Stock Exchange, the board of First Derivatives confirmed that Mr Conlon, the company’s chief executive, sold 869,706 ordinary shares, which represent approximately 5.5 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.

Following the latest placing, Mr Conlon retains a beneficial holding of 7,853,953 ordinary shares or 49.6 per cent of the issued share capital of First Derivatives.

The majority of the shares placed, 764,706, were acquired by Ishtara Consulting Limited.

This is a company which lists First Derivatives non-executive director Paul Kinney as a director, and a company in which he holds a beneficial interest.

The remaining 105,000 ordinary shares have been placed with institutional investors at a price of 415 pence a share.

According to First Derivatives, Ishtara Consulting Limited has worked with the Newry company since 2008.