New issues generate millionaire boffins

A computer software company with only 25 staff was valued on the stock market at pounds 30m yesterday after its shares rose to a 60 per cent premium on their first day of dealings.

Shares in Recognition Systems, which develops software used in database marketing, closed at 110p against the placing price of 70p. The placing raises pounds 3.3m of new money which will be used for expansion

The deal makes rich men of the two founders, David Bounds and Paul Gregory, who formed the company in 1989 and control 44 per cent of the stock. Though neither is selling shares, their combined stake is worth around pounds 14m on paper. Professor Bounds, a former professor of computer science and applied mathematics at Aston University, is a world authority on neural computing.

Paul Gregory is a former head of product development at Vickers, the defence group.

The sparkling debut continues the trend of academics turning their companies into stock market successes. The directors of City Technology, a gas sensors company that issued its pathfinder prospectus yesterday, formed the company at City University in London.

The directors of Vanguard Medica working on a migraine treatment are all eminent scientists. All made paper fortunes this month when the company's shares soared to a big premium on their first day of dealings.