Online auctioneer QXL has seen its share price slump by over 22 per cent on the news that it needed to raise an extra £30 million to stay in business.

Tech stocks haven't been having an easy time of it recently but QXL has the unenviable moniker of being the worst performing European Internet stock this year. At the start of the year, its share price stood at 117.38. It currently rests at 1.19.

The money is being raised privately through Credit Suisse First Boston Equities. It will help QXL stay in business - the £45 million it has left will be used up next year - and push towards its planned profitability in 2003, but the City wasn't impressed and at one point the share price was down 30 per cent.

QXL also announced a pre-tax loss of £66.3 million for the quarter, compared with £11.7 million the previous quarter. This was down to a £53 million goodwill item. ®