Shares in Phorm, the controversial advertising technology company which earlier this month appointed former Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont to its board, have jumped 82.5p to 282.5p after it announced the successful completion of a trial with BT.
The company said there would now be a period of assessing the results, but BT now expected to move towards deploying the Phorm technology.
Phorm has run into trouble with privacy campaigners who believe its technology gives too much information about consumers' buying habits to companies which use its services. Phorm's trials with BT were said by some to have breached the privacy of its customers if, as some allegedly, they were conducted without their knowledge.
Meanwhile Phorm, whose main offices are in New York, London and Moscow, is stepping up plans to expand in the lucrative Asian market.
It has just opened an office in South Korea - a country which is said to have 35m internet users - and is advertising for extra staff to beef up its operation there. The company is also seeking to build up its presence elsewhere in the region, taking advantage of the growth of broadband services in the area.
"Phorm is looking to set up a number of exploratory offices outside the UK and US," confirmed a spokesman.
The arrival of Norman Lamont on the board was accompanied by news of the departure of non-executive chairman Steven Heyer and chief operating officer Virasb Vahidi, after differences with chief executive Kent Ertugrul about the management and future strategy of the company.
Phorm's latest results showed a $25.6m loss for the six months to June, and in March it raised £32m from institutions. Apart from BT, it has also conducted trials with Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk.
