Shares in UK defence technology company QinetiQ rose by 3.2% today after the UK Government sold its remaining stake in the business for £257m (€320m) yesterday despite the volatile equity environment.

A source at one of the banks that arranged the placing said: “It was a large volume to place in a volatile market – about 47 days worth of normal trading volume – but there was a very positive response from the market and most top shareholders participated.”