Shares in listed legal services provider Quindell plummeted in value this afternoon after founder Rob Terry sold a huge chunk of his shareholding.

The company told the London Stock Exchange today that Terry (pictured) had disposed of so many shares that a disclosure threshold was crossed yesterday. 

The announcement stated that Terry’s current interest is around 13m shares, representing 2.99% of the total, taking him just below the 3% disclosure threshold. 

Last month the company reported that Terry held 8.73% of the shares – 38.1m in total.

The announcement sent the already-volatile share price tumbling throughout the afternoon. From a daily high of 47.92p, the value had fallen 32% by 3.15pm to 30.75p per share.

The announcement about Terry was swiftly followed by a fresh update, saying that Quindell has renewed its contract with insurance broker Swinton Group.

The renewal will see Quindell continue to handle all aspects of the motor claims process for Swinton, including accident management, hire, repair services, legal services and rehabilitation.

Steve Chelton, head of claims at Swinton, said: ‘We have enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Quindell over the past two years, providing our customers with an unparalleled service when they most need it following an accident.

‘Quindell continues to exceed expectations in all aspects of their service throughout the supply chain and we look forward to continuing this relationship.’

The company has also signed a contract renewal with telematics insurer Insurethebox and signed a new contract with motorcycle insurer ICE.

Earlier this week Quindell commissioned big-four accountant PwC to review its business operations after a tumultuous year’s trading.

Last month Terry and former finance director Laurence Moorse terminated share agreements made with US firm Equities First Holdings.

Three directors had agreed to transfer cash or shares to EFH if the share price fell more than 20% from the discounted value at which they were acquired. This duly happened as the share price more than halved to less than 50p per share.

Robert Fielding, chief executive at Quindell, commented: 'Sales of shares by Robert Terry have no impact on the day to day operations of the business. As we announced in the trading update, the group's business remains robust and we continue to work hard to deliver excellent service to our customers.'