Advanced Computer Software (ASW) has been quite a thriller recently. The healthcare and office IT services provider acquired education software business Compass Computer Consultants this month, and its shares are trading close to an all-time high.
Perhaps sensing an opportunity, chairman Michael Jackson sold about 42 per cent of his ACS shares at an average price of 110p, netting £1.1m. He hasn't beat it entirely, though - he still owns about 1.4m shares, or 0.3 per cent of the total available.
The move comes after ACS posted a strong performance for the half year ended August 31. Its revenues rose 74 per cent year on year, and profits at its business solutions unit jumped 128 per cent to £16.9m, primarily because of its £107m purchase of Computer Software Holdings last March. Compass should be another positive, albeit smaller, addition to the business - it boasted an impressive profit margin of 58 per cent on revenues of £5.7m in the year to July 2013.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Aberdeen Asian Income Fund | DAH Baxter | 4 Feb 14 | 5,714 | 175 | 10,000 | 30,714 | 0.016 |
| Albion Enterprise VCT | Lady Balfour of Burleigh | 31 Jan 14 | 1,711 | 97.4 | 1,667 | 24,837 | 0.077 |
| Albion Enterprise VCT | MG Packe (ch) | 31 Jan 14 | 61,601 | 97.4 | 59,999 | 260,116 | 0.805 |
| Albion Enterprise VCT† | Lady Balfour of Burleigh | 31 Jan 14 | 1,711 | 97.4 | 1,667 | 26,548 | 0.082 |
| APC Technology | Leonard Seelig (ch) | 5 Feb 14 | 41,153 | 56.8 | 23,375 | 86,975 | 0.150 |
| Ariana Resources* | William B Payne | 4 Feb 14 | 1,111,111 | 0.9 | 10,000 | 3,668,289 | 0.571 |
| Ariana Resources* | Michael de Villiers (ch) | 4 Feb 14 | 1,000,000 | 0.9 | 9,000 | 11,000,000 | 1.712 |
| Ariana Resources* | Kerim Sener | 4 Feb 14 | 1,888,888 | 0.9 | 17,000 | 10,187,979 | 1.585 |
| Arm | Stuart Chambers | 5 Feb 14 | 10,000 | 904 | 90,400 | 10,000 | 0.001 |
| Brewin Dolphin | Ian Dewar | 4 Feb 14 | 3,296 | 300.94 | 9,919 | 3,296 | 0.001 |
| Chaarat Gold | Richard Rae | 3 Feb 14 | 200,000 | 9.7 | 19,400 | 200,000 | 0.080 |
| Conviviality Retail | Martin Newman | 31 Jan 14 | 5,600 | 178 | 9,968 | 5,600 | 0.008 |
| Daily Internet* | Chris Evans | 31 Jan 14 | 344,290 | 1.65 | 5,681 | 7,907,026 | 1.940 |
| Diageo♥ | IM Menezes (ce) | 31 Jan 14 | 34,000 | 1,807.04 | 614,394 | 633,802 | 0.025 |
| Diageo♥ | IM Menezes (ce) | 31 Jan 14 | 836 | 1,452.09 | 12,139 | 634,637 | 0.025 |
| e2v technologies | Dr Krishnamurthy Rajagopal | 3 Feb 14 | 30,000 | 157.97 | 47,391 | 50,000 | 0.023 |
| e2v technologies | Neil Johnson (ch & ce) | 3 Feb 14 | 50,000 | 157 | 78,500 | 170,000 | 0.078 |
| Edinburgh Inv Trust (The) | Victoria Hastings | 30 Jan 14 | 5,000 | 583.73 | 29,187 | 5,000 | 0.003 |
| Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) | Hugh Mackay (ce) | 30 Jan 14 | 545,880 | 8.2 | 44,762 | 2,340,883 | 1.143 |
| Halma | Daniela B Soares | 5 Feb 14 | 583 | 599.6 | 3,496 | 1,319 | 0.000 |
| JPMorgan European Smaller † | A Gupta | 3 Feb 14 | 1,500 | 1,159.3 | 17,390 | 1,500 | 0.005 |
| JPMorgan Indian Inv Trust | Rosemary Morgan | 4 Feb 14 | 1,558 | 318.5 | 4,962 | 1,558 | 0.001 |
| Jupiter Green Inv Trust | MA Naylor | 4 Feb 14 | 5,570 | 142.32 | 7,927 | 5,570 | 0.021 |
| Lombard Risk Management | John McCormick | 3 Feb 14 | 3,835,000 | 13 | 498,550 | 9,176,756 | 3.484 |
| Nasstar | Nick Bate | 4 Feb 14 | 750,000 | 6.5 | 48,750 | 750,000 | 0.212 |
| New India Inv Trust | Rachel Beagles | 5 Feb 14 | 10,000 | 199.5 | 19,950 | 10,000 | 0.017 |
| Northern Petroleum | Keith Bush | 3 Feb 14 | 85,000 | 31.18 | 26,503 | 85,000 | 0.089 |
| Northern Petroleum | Stewart Gibson | 3 Feb 14 | 100,000 | 31 | 31,000 | 100,000 | 0.105 |
| Paragon Resources | Andrew Beveridge (ce) | 5 Feb 14 | 4,155,787 | 0.24 | 9,974 | 45,844,213 | 10.523 |
| Park | Michael De Kare-Silver | 3 Feb 14 | 5,000 | 55 | 2,750 | 5,000 | 0.003 |
| Park | Laura Carstensen | 3 Feb 14 | 9,000 | 55 | 4,950 | 9,000 | 0.005 |
| PZ Cussons | James Steel | 3 Feb 14 | 5,000 | 363 | 18,150 | 42,500 | 0.010 |
| Quintain Estates & Development | William Rucker (ch) | 2 Feb 14 | 3,040 | 98.67 | 3,000 | 425,140 | 0.082 |
| Rurelec* | Brian Rowbotham | 3 Feb 14 | 100,000 | 13.25 | 13,250 | 370,000 | 0.066 |
| Safestore* | AH Martin | 4 Feb 14 | 20,000 | 175 | 35,000 | 40,000 | 0.019 |
| Safestore* | I Krieger | 4 Feb 14 | 20,000 | 175 | 35,000 | 20,000 | 0.010 |
| Safestore* | KG Edelman | 4 Feb 14 | 25,000 | 175 | 43,750 | 25,000 | 0.012 |
| Safestore* | F Vecchioli (ce) | 4 Feb 14 | 300,000 | 175 | 525,000 | 1,451,331 | 0.701 |
| Safestore* | A Jones (cfo) | 4 Feb 14 | 30,000 | 175 | 52,500 | 30,000 | 0.014 |
| Safestore* | A Lewis (ch) | 4 Feb 14 | 200,000 | 175 | 350,000 | 400,000 | 0.193 |
| Sound Oil | Simon Davies | 5 Feb 14 | 1,866,667 | 4.6 | 85,867 | 10,000,000 | 3.068 |
| Sound Oil* | Tony Heath | 4 Feb 14 | 28,367 | 4.2 | 1,191 | 241,125 | 0.074 |
| Sound Oil* | Dr G Orbell | 4 Feb 14 | 153,466 | 4.2 | 6,446 | 1,304,466 | 0.400 |
| Sound Oil* | Simon Davies | 4 Feb 14 | 933,333 | 4.2 | 39,200 | 8,133,333 | 2.495 |
| Sound Oil* | James Parsons (ce) | 4 Feb 14 | 58,107 | 4.2 | 2,440 | 321,473 | 0.099 |
| Sound Oil* | Andrew Hockey (ch) | 4 Feb 14 | 33,970 | 4.2 | 1,427 | 76,470 | 0.023 |
| Telford Homes | David Campbell | 3 Feb 14 | 11,219 | 347 | 38,930 | 37,319 | 0.063 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Advanced Computer Software | Michael Jackson (ch) | 3 Feb 14 | 300,000 | 112.152 | 336,456 | 2,122,884 | 0.446 |
| Advanced Computer Software | Michael Jackson (ch) | 4 Feb 14 | 212,312 | 109.382 | 232,231 | 1,910,572 | 0.401 |
| Advanced Computer Software | Michael Jackson (ch) | 4 Feb 14 | 487,688 | 108.3 | 528,166 | 1,422,884 | 0.299 |
| Domino Printing Sciences | Nigel Bond | 5 Feb 14 | 9,789 | 793.4 | 77,666 | 73,180 | 0.065 |
| International Greetings | Dr. Elaine Bond | 5 Feb 14 | 10,000 | 70 | 7,000 | 0 | 0.000 |
| Lombard Risk Management | John Wisbey (ce) | 3 Feb 14 | 1,567,500 | 13 | 203,775 | 100,627,617 | 38.208 |
| Mattioli Woods | Mark Smith | 4 Feb 14 | 17,500 | 415.5 | 72,713 | 52,246 | 0.262 |
| Mattioli Woods | Bob Woods (ch) | 31 Jan 14 | 100,000 | 415 | 415,000 | 3,293,703 | 16.534 |
| Ocado | Robert Gorrie | 4 Feb 14 | 275,000 | 501.8 | 1,379,950 | 415,660 | 0.067 |
| Ocado | Jason Gissing | 4 Feb 14 | 3,050,000 | 498.75 | 15,211,875 | 14,933,800 | 2.415 |
*Placing/open offer †Spouse/connected party ♥Depositary receipt | |||||||
