- Capital & Counties Properties chief executive sells 73,781 shares
- Reach chief executive sells 320,926 shares
- Lindsell Train Investment Trust non-exec buys shares
- Lloyds Banking Group group chief executive buys shares
- Mitie Group chief financial officer sells shares
Capital & Counties Properties LON:CAPC chief executive Ian Hawksworth on 15 December sold 73,781 shares at 103p per share, worth £75,847, sufficient to cover tax and NI liabilities resulting from the exercise of 176,403 nil-cost options awarded as a deferred bonus. He also transferred an additional £20,000 worth of shares bought at 102.8p to his SIPP. CAPC said last month that it expects its merger with Shaftesbury to take effect in the first quarter of next year, as the UK regulator has yet to investigate the deal. At close of trading on 19 December, the stock was priced at 103.3p, a return of -38.7% YTD and -37.2% over 12 months.
The UK’s largest regional newspaper group Reach LON:RCH announced on 15 December that chief executive Jim Mullen had sold 320,926 shares at 99p each for £316,542 to cover withholding tax and other deductions after he exercised 1.01m shares awarded to him as part of the company’s long-term incentive plan. On 3 November, rival publishing group National World LON:NWOR confirmed it was exploring options for a possible take-over of Reach, though on 23 November National World’s chief executive David Montgomery announced his decision not to proceed with any discussions for now. Montgomery, former chairman of Local World, another publishing group that he sold to Reach, has repeatedly said he is looking to acquire assets. At close of trading on 19 December, the stock was priced at 92.4p, a return of -67.3% YTD and -64.7% over 12 months.
Lindsell Train Investment Trust [LON:LTI] non-executive director Michael Lindsell, a star fund manager with almost 30 years’ investment experience, on 16 December bought 61 shares at 1,008p for £61,488. The investment trust sector has disappointed this year, with declines across the board, including LTI, one of the most prominent. The top three absolute contributors to LTI’s performance in November were Lindsell Train Limited, London Stock Exchange Group LON:LSEG and Diageo LON:DGE, and the top three absolute detractors were PayPal NASDAQ:PYPL, LF Lindsell Train North American Equity Fund and RELX LON:REL. Other top 10 holdings in the fund are Nintendo, Unilever, LON:ULVR Mondelez and AG Barr LON:BAG. At close of trading on 19 December, the stock was priced at 1,025p, a return of -19.9% YTD and -16% over 12 months.
- Companies Reporting: Lloyds Banking Group, Sainsbury, Associated British Foods
- What to expect from UK banking sector results this week
- What were the top 10 shares with UK DIY investors in 2023?
Lloyds Banking Group LON:LLOY group chief executive Charlie Nunn on 16 December bought 305,970 shares at 45.47p per share for £139,124, and chief financial officer William Chalmers bought 146,866 shares at the same price, for £66,779. Five other directors each bought more than 100,000 shares. The shares, acquired after the settlement of income tax and national insurance contributions, were acquired under the terms of the Group’s Fixed Share Award. Shares in the banking group are expected to benefit from interest rate tailwinds, which are expected to continue through 2023. At close of trading on 19 December, the stock was priced at 45p, a return of -5.7% YTD and -2.3% over 12 months.
Outsourcing and energy services provider Mitie Group LON:MTO announced on 19 December that chief financial officer Simon Kirkpatrick sold 342,408 shares at 74p each, for £251,670. The transaction follows another sale the previous week of 6,332 shares at 73p, for £4,630. On 17 November, Mitie lifted its full-year operating profit guidance for six months to end September, posting a rise in interim revenues and a drop in profit on fewer Covid-related contracts. Mitie said it now expects to deliver operating profit of at least £145m for FY23. At close of trading on 19 December, the stock was priced at 72.3p, a return of 12.7% YTD and 21.1% over 12 months.
