Swann-song at WHSmith?

WH Smith's bosses took advantage of the sharp rise in the retailer's share price from December's lows to offload shares worth £3.1m in aggregate. By far the biggest seller was highly-regarded chief executive Kate Swann, who sold 425,000 shares - more than a third of her holding - for £2.34m.

Ms Swann still holds another 639,337 shares and continues to oversee steady trading at the stationer. Last month's Christmas statement for WH Smith proved relatively upbeat, with tight cost control meaning profits continue to rise despite falling high street sales. The travel division, meanwhile, grew total sales by 2 per cent thanks to ongoing international expansion, and is expected to benefit from a recovery in airport passenger numbers this year. At 530p, the shares trade on a forecast PE ratio of less than 10 and yield 4.7 per cent - so we're not too worried yet, and retain our buy recommendation.

- John Hughman

Synergy in rude health

Synergy Health chief executive Richard Steeves has been selling shares like they are going out of fashion in order to cover what looks like a sizeable tax liability on offshore holdings. This time he unloaded a total of 664,000 shares at an average price of 860p, making for total sale proceeds of £5.71m. That comes on top of 1.25m shares sold before Christmas at 865p a share which netted a further £10.7m. As things stand, Mr Steeves retains a 1 per cent share of the company. Synergy's recent update showed it to be in rude health, with reported sales for the first nine months up 8.1 per cent at £232.5m, and savings measures stripping about £2m out of its cost base.

- Julian Hofmann

A safe buy for Safestore's shares

Shares in self-storage leader Safestore settled into a 100-110p trading range after the property market rout last August. But they seem to have escaped since a good set of annual results on 27 January. Non-executive director Alan Lewis clearly thinks the company is now on an upward trajectory, having just paid £238,000 for his first batch of shares in the company. It may be significant that he waited for two and a half years before buying.

We agree the shares look reasonably cheap at current levels. The dividends give a yield approaching 5 per cent, with more growth potential than elsewhere in the property sector. Profits were up around 3 per cent for the year to 31 October, but that was affected by higher administration charges as new chief executive Peter Gower invested in marketing. The top line actually grew by nearly 7 per cent, paving the way for strong profit growth in future periods. Self-storage is still an immature market in the UK, and as the market leader Safestore should benefit as it gradually seeps into public awareness.

- Stephen Wilmot

Director buys

Director sells

Table compiled by Robert Ansted.

Key to abbreviations: ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director

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