Postman Pat firm fined 245,000

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The firm which owns the rights to TV shows such as Postman Pat and Basil Brush has been fined £245,000 the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Entertainment Rights was found guilty of delaying releasing information which could have affected its share price.

It followed a change in a distribution contract which reduced its estimated profits for 2008 by $13.9m (£10.2m).

The company took 78 days to make a stock market announcement, which then prompted shares to fall by 55%.

"Entertainment Rights considered that there would be future opportunities to reduce the impact of the variation and as such delayed making an announcement," the FSA said.

But it said that the development was "inside information and should have been disclosed to the market as soon as possible".

The fine comes days after City watchdog fined Wolfson Microelectronics £140,000 after it failed to give the market price sensitive as soon as possible.

Last year, Woolworths was fined £350,000 for failing to reveal that EUK, its distribution arm before it went into administration, had lost a major contract with Tesco.

In December Entertainment Rights, which also owns rights to Rupert Bear and The Lone Ranger said the collapse of Woolworths had left it around £800,000 out of pocket.