Queen is another dot gone

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated:

 

The Queen became the latest casualty of the dotcom crash when an Internet company she invested in saw its shares collapse. More than £160,000 was wiped off the value of her investment when shares in getmapping.com nearly halved in value, plunging 38.5p to 53.5p after it revealed hefty losses and admitted it is struggling to generate sales online.

Getmapping is compiling a complete aerial photographic map of England, to be called 'The Millennium Map'. It hopes to sell sections to estate agents and others. Although the photography is now 95% complete, Old Etonian chief executive Tristram Cary admits to 'difficulties developing the website and loading the data'.

The firm has lost £695,000 before tax in six months. Getmapping has £9m cash left. The Queen bought £50,000 of shares nearly a year ago, when Internet mania was just beginning. Earlier this year her 1.5% stake was valued at a thumping £950,000.

Last night the shares were worth just £227,000. That still leaves her in profit, because she took her stake during a private fundraising, well before the shares became generally available. Those who bought when the shares floated have lost 73% of their money.

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