InterX's ambitious plans to build a British software group capable of rivalling in size the giant technology corporations in the US appeared to be in tatters yesterday following the surprise resignation of its highly rated chief executive Philip Crawford.

Shares in InterX slumped 60% as a stunned stock market attempted to digest the news that the former head of Oracle's European operations had quit and that disappointing sales of its internet software had prompted a strategic review of the business. The stock closed down 305p at 220p, a year after InterX raised £50m in new funds at £33 per share.

Executive director and founder Simon Barker has taken over Mr Crawford's role and refused to deny suggestions that Mr Crawford had quit following a bust up that had split the board. "I have the full support of the board and they have accepted Philip's resignation," he said.

Mr Barker, who is one of a handful of entrepreneurs who founded the business and still own a majority of the shares, said InterX was not vulnerable to a takeover even though it is now valued at little more than the cash it has in the bank.

"There's no bloody way we're selling up because we know the value of what we have here," he said.

"No one likes having to hear that the chief executive has quit and we admit that we have yet to demonstrate our ability to scale the technology effectively. Every day that goes by I believe more and more passionately that we have a product that is completely next generation compared to what else is on the market."

InterX's Bladerunner technology has taken five years to develop and offers an opportunity to big companies, such as banks and media groups, that want to alter the route to their services or products through the internet. Bladerunner can work on any platform and with existing software if needs be.

Despite its promise, Bladerunner has not yet sold in large volumes. InterX believes that by moving away from a direct selling approach and linking up with big software firms to utilise their sales channels it could cut costs.

Mr Crawford took the helm at InterX last year after the company had decided to sell its core business of computer hardware distribution and concentrate on selling Bladerunner.

He bought with him an extensive relationships with many of the major players in the global software industry and those were expected to be pivotal to InterX's ability to sell its products.