In better times Martha Lane Fox might have spent yesterday morning surfing the Lastminute.com website for gifts for her staff to mark today's first anniversary of the e-commerce firm's stock market flotation.

Instead she was stuck in a taxi on an industrial estate on the outskirts of Paris, simultaneously trying to explain to her driver in her best French that Lastminute's local office was only a couple of blocks away and to the journalist on the other end of her mobile phone why better times were just around the corner.

But, as far as the London stock market is concerned, Lastminute is only going in one direction: south.

Yesterday the shares were on the way down again, ending 2p above their all-time low of 52p, as technology stocks across the board came under heavy selling pressure.

Exactly a year ago the rush to own a piece of what was Europe's hottest dot.com catapulted Lastminute shares to an all time high of 555p and a valuation of around £800m. It was briefly valued at more than the WH Smith retail chain - even though its turnover was less than an average WH Smith store.

Today, following a 90% fall in its share price, Lastminute's business is deemed to be worth £27m, after the £65m cash it has in the bank is stripped out.

Despite the torrent of negative personal publicity Ms Lane Fox and co-founder Brent Hoberman have endured since then, the 27-year-old refuses to be beaten. "We're more determined than ever," she said yesterday. "If you look in the flotation prospectus at where we said we'd be by now and at what the analysts were expecting, you'll see that we're way ahead of where we should be.

"It's just a great shame that there is such a huge disconnection between investor sentiment and customer satisfaction.

"Brent and I obviously would like to do something for the poor shareholders who bought in and now find themselves sitting on paper losses but we always said that this was a long-term vision and it was not for people looking for a quick gain in a month or so."

Lastminute has doubled in size since the float by buying French e-commerce firm Degriftour and brought a wise old head on to the board in the shape of former Asda boss Allan Leighton.

Yet that has counted for little in share price terms as technology shares across the board have come under heavy selling.

The Nasdaq and Techmark indices have more than halved in value since a year ago, with e-commerce firms particularly hard hit.

Analysts warn that the 200,000 private investors who bought shares in the Lastminute flotation should not expect any upside soon.

"The market is currently in a state of realism," said Phil Clarke, analyst at Goldman Sachs. "It is becoming clear only a small number of consumer e-commerce companies have sustainable long-term business models. The next 12 months for Lastminute will be all about getting their heads down, growing the business and consolidating the acquisition."

Mr Clarke does believe Lastminute will be one of the few survivors because with £65m in the bank it has enough to take it through to break-even, forecast for September 2003.

Others are less sure. They were disappointed by the company's decision to stop disclosing how each international division is performing.

Heidi Fitzpatrick, a Lehman Brothers analyst, said: "It is disappointing that their disclosure has become more cloudy. They have built a fabulous brand that has become very well known for very little money and I'm an admirer of the management team.

"But when a company stops disclosing certain figures it can often be a red warning flag. The next two quarters are very important." Ms ane Fox dismisses the fears. She said Lastminute would continue to broaden its offer beyond travel-related items, which account for around 60% of revenues.

"The question is how far can they diversify from their core offering and take their customers with them," said Mr Clarke.

Observers believe the slowdown in advertising spending, which accounts for about 25% of Lastminute's revenues, could force the company to cut costs and possibly lay off some of its 600 staff. Ms Lane Fox denies such suggestions.

She is aware that the company needs to convert more of its 2.8m subscribers into customers. So far only 234,000 have ever bought from the site.

Analysts see a takeover of Lastminute on the distant horizon. "I can easily envisage Lastminute forming part of a greater entity. I don't think they'll be independent for ever." Mr Clarke said. Possible buyers could be big portals looking to strengthen their commerce offerings, leading US players looking for a local presence in Europe or bricks and mortar travel agents.