James Norris reviews directors buying and selling shares in their own company in his weekly column.
- Non-exec director buys Plus500 shares
- Shaftesbury non-exec director buys 10k shares
- Brickability Group non-exec director buys 24k shares
- Theworks.co.uk directors increase holdings
- Nanoco Group non exec sells 2m shares
Plus500 Ltd (LON: PLUS) independent non-executive director Tami Gottlieb yesterday bought 553 shares at 1,830p each, for £10,120. Plus500, the CFD broker, delivered an ‘outstanding performance in the first half of 2022’ and last week distributed US$120m to shareholders, promising further payments as the broker accumulates cash. CEO David Zruia said the decision reflected the board’s view of the current value of the company’s shares and its continued confidence in the company’s future. He further committed to paying at least half of the company’s net profits to shareholders, through buybacks and more ‘specials’. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 1,803p, a return of 33% YTD and 19% over 12 months.
Shaftesbury (LON: SHB) non-executive director Richard Akers last Friday bought 10,000 shares at 450p each, for £45,030. The value of the company’s shares fell 7.6% in June when it announced an all-share merger with Capital & Counties Properties (LON: CAPC), creating a group with a £5bn mixed-use property portfolio in London’s West End. Under the terms of the merger, Shaftesbury shareholders were given a 53% share of the enlarged group. The stock has continued to slide since the merger announcement and, at close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 441p, a return of -27.8% YTD and -28.6% over 12 months.
Brickability Group (LON: BRCK) non-executive director Susan McErlain last week bought 24,374 shares at 82p each, for £19,987. Brickability, a leading construction materials distributor, last month delivered a strong performance that exceeded Ebitda guidance and cash flow expectations, in part due to the ‘transformational’ acquisition last year of brick distributor Taylor Maxwell, but also to underlying organic growth in all divisions. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 81.4p, a return of -18.6% YTD and -20.9% over 12 months.
Theworks.co.uk (LON: WRKS), a retailer of arts, crafts, toys, books and stationery, has announced that non-executive director Catherine Glickman last week bought 103,789 shares at 29p each, for £29,850. Non-executive director Harry Morley, through Kate Morley, also bought 75,000 shares earlier this month, while chair of the board Carolyn Bradley bought 73,870 shares in July. Theworks.co.uk earlier in the month reported a strong performance and a better-than-expected profit, as well as reinstating the payment of a dividend, despite a challenging consumer environment. Shares have slumped more than 40% this month and, at close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 28.5p, a return of -45.6% YTD and -52.7% over 12 months.
Nanoco Group (LON: NANO) non-executive director Henry Turcan last week sold 1,951,153 shares over two days at 47p, for a total of £916.647. Turcan is a fund manager at Lombard Odier Asset Management (Europe), Nanoco’s largest shareholder, and a representative of the funds managed or sub-advised by Lombard Odier. Nanoco, a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other nanomaterials, is currently engaged in a patent litigation case with Samsung, which is due to be heard on 12 September. CEO Brian Tenner stated the company has made ‘strong progress’ on the litigation and that it is approaching the case ‘with confidence’. The group’s order book has more than doubled year-on-year, and it has cash to cover operations until 2025, beyond the point when the company will become self-financing. At close of trading yesterday, the stock was priced at 41.8p, a return of 107.4% YTD and 123.5% over 12 months.
