A management clearout at the company behind Lara Croft this morning saw the top three executives forced out of the computer games business, as they paid the price for a sharp profits warning earlier this month.

Jane Cavanagh, chief executive of SCi Entertainment, and Bill Ennis and Rob Murray, the two divisional managing directors, have all left "with immediate effect". Shares in the company rose by 33.8 per cent, or 16¼p, to 64¼p.

Phil Rogers, who joined the company only last March, is to take over as chief executive. A Briton, he had previously worked in corporate development at SCi's larger rival Electronic Arts. He will begin an emergency "business review", although he is not inviting takeover bids.

It is dismal end for a trio who in 2005 pulled off a coup with the takeover of the far larger Eidos. Initially, Eidos, home to Lara Croft's Tomb Raider, stabilised, but the company has been slow to take advantage of the new generation of games consoles.

A delay to the release of the next version of Tomb Raider for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, announced earlier this month, left the company facing a £30 million cash shortfall for the current financial year.

SCi said it had "received proposals from potential partners" and it is thought to be looking at a range of debt and equity financing options.

Ironicially, SCi's financial problems come at a time when the computer games industry is nearing the top of its cycle.

Game Group, the largest retailer in the UK, improved revenues by 32 per cent over the Christmas period as people flocked to buy the Nintendo Wii and the handheld DS, as well as the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360.

The contrast between the health of the market and the company's performance has further frustrated investors, who include Time Warner and the entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz. In a series of meetings in the wake of this month's profit warning, they made it clear that dramatic changes were necessary.

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