HEALTH software firm iSoft has put itself up for sale after managers admitted delays in its National Health Service contract will have a major impact on its business.

The company, which last month switched its HQ from Manchester to Banbury where it employs more than 200 people, said it had received a number of contacts from parties interested in acquiring the company, taking a large shareholding or creating a strategic alliance.

iSoft chairman John Weston said: "Recent events, including delays to the rescheduling of deliveries under the National Programme for IT and media and market comment on a number of issues surrounding iSoft, have had a negative impact on the company's new business revenues."

He added that expressions of interest had come from both financial investors and companies with interests in the healthcare market.

iSoft said it had appointed advisers to help any deal go through, adding the fall-out from well-publicised delays to the NHS project to provide a centralised database of medical records had impacted its business.

The NHS venture is running over schedule and the Government was recently urged to rethink the plan after it emerged there had been 110 glitches in the last four months.

The company, which held its annual general meeting last week, now expects revenues for this financial year to show a drop of between ten and 15 per cent. Its market value has slumped from nearly £1bn to just over £100m this year.

iSoft expects to return to bigger profits in 2008, but warned that the cost of new financing arrangements agreed with lenders in August would become "progressively more onerous through 2007".

iSoft is also currently the subject of an inquiry by the Financial Services Authority into possible accounting irregularities.