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3i's bosses snap up shares

Two of 3i's bosses are already in the money after having snapped up shares on the back of positive half-year figures earlier this month
November 26, 2014

Half-year results from 3i (iii) this month appear to have prompted a flurry of buying activity in the private equity group's top team. Chief executive Simon Borrows snapped up 500,000 shares - worth just over £2m - on the day the results appeared, while non-executive director David Hutchison spent nearly £204,000 buying 50,000 shares. They're already in the money: the shares have risen 7 per cent to 435p since those purchases.

IC TIP: Buy at 435p

The pair's confidence looks understandable. The figures revealed further progress with the group’s long-term strategy of refocusing the portfolio on its better performing assets. The book now comprises just 72 investments, down from an unwieldy 487 six years ago. Moreover, healthy-looking asset prices bolstered the group's book value. Net assets grew 10 per cent year on year to 358p a share, and broker Keefe, Bruyette & Woods expects that to reach 395p by end-March.

Buys       
CompanyDirectorDateNo of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Holding (shares)Holding (%)
3i  David Hutchison 13 Nov 1450,000407.2203,60050,9660.005
3i  Simon Borrows (ce)13 Nov 14500,000406.832,034,1399,409,3320.968
Atlantic Coal ♥Steve Best (see sale deal)19 Nov 14192,307,6920.13250,000758,914,29216.277
Belvoir Lettings Nick Leeming18 Nov 1415,500126.519,60815,5000.065
BlueRock Diamonds John Kilham14 Nov 14150,00011.417,100150,0000.476
Castings GB Wainwright17 Nov 147,000406.7528,47391,2610.209
Castings GB Wainwright18 Nov 145,000407.520,37596,2610.221
Castleton Technology *Tony Weaver18 Nov 14109,090,9091.11,200,000269,956,98923.362
Castleton Technology *Ian Smith (ce)18 Nov 14109,090,9091.11,200,000269,956,98923.362
Castleton Technology *Phil Kelly18 Nov 142,727,7231.130,0052,727,7230.236
CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings Sally Davis14 Nov 1421,99871.7215,777253,7790.241
Coal of Africa Peter Cordin14 Nov 14500,0003.3316,6381,371,0590.106
Elementis Steve Good14 Nov 1410,00026426,40010,0000.002
Energy XXI Scott Griffiths18 Nov 1410,00066366,30060,9670.065
Fenner ♥Richard Perry (fd)18 Nov 1410,000267.6726,767661,7010.341
Ferrum Crescent *Edward Nealon (ch)14 Nov 1410,871,5080.4448,23420,212,1154.141
Ferrum Crescent *Tom Revy (ce)14 Nov 142,717,8770.4412,0592,717,8770.557
Flybe  Saad Hammad (ce)13 Nov 1445,200110.549,946272,4720.126
Flybe  Liz McMeikan14 Nov 1410,000113.2511,32510,0000.005
Flybe  Philip de Klerk (cfo)13 Nov 1422,250110.524,58694,2500.044
Goals Soccer Centres Philips Burks17 Nov 1450,000218109,000471,2280.806
Golden Saint Resources David McDonald14 Nov 141,400,0000.9212,8801,420,0000.316
Hummingbird Resources Russell King (ch)17 Nov 1450,00038.519,25050,0000.059
ICAP ♥Michael Spencer (ce)19 Nov 14250,000395.95989,875109,619,54416.907
Interserve Nicholas Salmon17 Nov 145,000579.5928,9805,0000.003
Interserve Russell King18 Nov 143,00058417,5203,0000.002
Ithaca Energy IncJack Lee (ch)14 Nov 14100,00085.8185,8131,200,0000.364
KBC Advanced Technologies ♥Oliver Scott19 Nov 1415,0009013,5009,370,92811.488
Mears  Peter Dicks 13 Nov 1410,000387.738,77033,2980.033
Mears  Andrew Smith (fd)18 Nov 145,000365.218,260110,0000.109
Norcros ♥Martin Towers (ch)14 Nov 14187,96615.87429,8381,214,2080.204
Northbridge Industrial Services Peter Harris (ch)17 Nov 1410,000554.555,4501,120,0006.074
Panther Securities Peter Kellner17 Nov 145,00032016,00022,0000.126
Premier Foods David Beever (ch)13 Nov 1430,00038.511,550304,8810.037
Premier Oil R Rose (fd)13 Nov 1415,000244.9936,74816,2080.003
Punch Taverns Stephen Billingham (ch)13 Nov 1432,194154.549,74032,1940.015
PureCircle *Peter Lai Hock Meng13 Nov 145,50055030,250200,1000.118
PureCircle *Christopher Pratt 13 Nov 145,50055030,250692,4160.408
PureCircle *Magomet Malsagov (ce)13 Nov 1411,30055062,15014,866,9128.759
PureCircle *Oliver Maes13 Nov 147,20055039,600418,5100.247
PureCircle *Paul Selway-Swift (ch)13 Nov 145,50055030,250207,8000.122
PureCircle *William Mitchell (cfo)13 Nov 1412,00055066,000936,5400.552
Reed Elsevier †Linda Sanford18 Nov 143,1001,071.1433,2056,7000.001
Rio Tinto Paul Tellier14 Nov 141,0973,002.4832,93720,5750.001
SacOil Holdings SH Muller13 Nov 14478,0032.1010,0181,056,0060.032
SnackTime ♥ *Boris Belotserkovsky14 Nov 1412,000,000151,800,00015,800,00049.146
St Modwen Properties Ian Bull13 Nov 1415,000373.7556,06315,0000.007
UK Mail  Guy Buswell (ce)18 Nov 1418,31040574,156286,1170.523
Vedanta Resources Tom Albanese (ce)14 Nov 147,950791.8662,95373,2000.027
Volex Christoph Eisenhardt (ce)13 Nov 1445,80265.530,000143,1660.159
Volex Daren Morris13 Nov 1430,0006619,800150,9090.167

Sells       
CompanyDirectorDateNo of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Holding (shares)Holding (%)
Atlantic Coal ♥Steve Best19 Nov 1496,153,8460.13125,000397,553,2948.527
Cropper (James) ♥Martin Thompson19 Nov 143,50038513,47536,6930.401
EVRAZ Alexander Abramov (ch)13 Nov 14394,23612,76450,320,283328,170,15721.783
EVRAZ Alexander Frolov (ce)13 Nov 14196,82312,76425,122,488163,870,71010.877
Ted Baker Lindsay Page (fd)18 Nov 1445,0002,050.0922,50081,0390.186
WH Smith Robert Moorhead (fd)18 Nov 1497,7151,240.051,211,715402,6760.341
*placing/tender/open offer ♥spouse/connected party †Approved SIP