Pearson Shares Tumble 10% as Sales Slide

The full extent of the difficulties Pearson is facing following the sale of the Financial Times to focus on education has been laid bare, as jittery investors sent its share price tumbling 10% after the company reported worse than expected sales.

Pearson’s chief executive, John Fallon, sold the FT in 2015, as well as its 50% stake in the publisher of the Economist, for more than £1.3bn to focus on Pearson’s educational publishing business.