You can always sell any time above 17c and apply to get SPP...

You can always sell any time above 17c and apply to get SPP shares back at 17c. This assumes that you can get them back. You have nothing to lose really if you can get them back. The question is whether you want them back at all. I contacted Automic and their IT system failed but they manually created a form for me allowing me to get on the SPP. I am still thinking. I guess if I wait until next week and if the share price holds above 17c, I can apply to get the shares but probably would not be able to get them! If I get them now, I may get them but the price may not stay above 17c. And if I get them while the price is above 17c, there is no guarantee that when the shares show up in my account the price is still over 17c There are many risks. I gut feeling is that the share price will hold over 17c by 18th Dec when they allot the shares. But I don't think it will be much above 17c. It may also sta above 17c for a week or so but after that, any guess is a good guess. I guess many people who are still in the money around that time will dump the shares.

If Regal dumps more shares, the news probably arrives on the market next week.

For you, the option is probably just to set a stop-loss order and use the SPP to get the shares back if you still want to play EXL. The problem with a stop-loss order is that they often fail due to a sharp drop in share price well below the trigger price. It will never get executed when this happens. This happened to me a few times.