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.
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 | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
3i | David Hutchison | 13 Nov 14 | 50,000 | 407.2 | 203,600 | 50,966 | 0.005 |
3i | Simon Borrows (ce) | 13 Nov 14 | 500,000 | 406.83 | 2,034,139 | 9,409,332 | 0.968 |
Atlantic Coal ♥ | Steve Best (see sale deal) | 19 Nov 14 | 192,307,692 | 0.13 | 250,000 | 758,914,292 | 16.277 |
Belvoir Lettings | Nick Leeming | 18 Nov 14 | 15,500 | 126.5 | 19,608 | 15,500 | 0.065 |
BlueRock Diamonds | John Kilham | 14 Nov 14 | 150,000 | 11.4 | 17,100 | 150,000 | 0.476 |
Castings | GB Wainwright | 17 Nov 14 | 7,000 | 406.75 | 28,473 | 91,261 | 0.209 |
Castings | GB Wainwright | 18 Nov 14 | 5,000 | 407.5 | 20,375 | 96,261 | 0.221 |
Castleton Technology * | Tony Weaver | 18 Nov 14 | 109,090,909 | 1.1 | 1,200,000 | 269,956,989 | 23.362 |
Castleton Technology * | Ian Smith (ce) | 18 Nov 14 | 109,090,909 | 1.1 | 1,200,000 | 269,956,989 | 23.362 |
Castleton Technology * | Phil Kelly | 18 Nov 14 | 2,727,723 | 1.1 | 30,005 | 2,727,723 | 0.236 |
CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings | Sally Davis | 14 Nov 14 | 21,998 | 71.72 | 15,777 | 253,779 | 0.241 |
Coal of Africa | Peter Cordin | 14 Nov 14 | 500,000 | 3.33 | 16,638 | 1,371,059 | 0.106 |
Elementis | Steve Good | 14 Nov 14 | 10,000 | 264 | 26,400 | 10,000 | 0.002 |
Energy XXI | Scott Griffiths | 18 Nov 14 | 10,000 | 663 | 66,300 | 60,967 | 0.065 |
Fenner ♥ | Richard Perry (fd) | 18 Nov 14 | 10,000 | 267.67 | 26,767 | 661,701 | 0.341 |
Ferrum Crescent * | Edward Nealon (ch) | 14 Nov 14 | 10,871,508 | 0.44 | 48,234 | 20,212,115 | 4.141 |
Ferrum Crescent * | Tom Revy (ce) | 14 Nov 14 | 2,717,877 | 0.44 | 12,059 | 2,717,877 | 0.557 |
Flybe | Saad Hammad (ce) | 13 Nov 14 | 45,200 | 110.5 | 49,946 | 272,472 | 0.126 |
Flybe | Liz McMeikan | 14 Nov 14 | 10,000 | 113.25 | 11,325 | 10,000 | 0.005 |
Flybe | Philip de Klerk (cfo) | 13 Nov 14 | 22,250 | 110.5 | 24,586 | 94,250 | 0.044 |
Goals Soccer Centres | Philips Burks | 17 Nov 14 | 50,000 | 218 | 109,000 | 471,228 | 0.806 |
Golden Saint Resources | David McDonald | 14 Nov 14 | 1,400,000 | 0.92 | 12,880 | 1,420,000 | 0.316 |
Hummingbird Resources | Russell King (ch) | 17 Nov 14 | 50,000 | 38.5 | 19,250 | 50,000 | 0.059 |
ICAP ♥ | Michael Spencer (ce) | 19 Nov 14 | 250,000 | 395.95 | 989,875 | 109,619,544 | 16.907 |
Interserve | Nicholas Salmon | 17 Nov 14 | 5,000 | 579.59 | 28,980 | 5,000 | 0.003 |
Interserve | Russell King | 18 Nov 14 | 3,000 | 584 | 17,520 | 3,000 | 0.002 |
Ithaca Energy Inc | Jack Lee (ch) | 14 Nov 14 | 100,000 | 85.81 | 85,813 | 1,200,000 | 0.364 |
KBC Advanced Technologies ♥ | Oliver Scott | 19 Nov 14 | 15,000 | 90 | 13,500 | 9,370,928 | 11.488 |
Mears | Peter Dicks | 13 Nov 14 | 10,000 | 387.7 | 38,770 | 33,298 | 0.033 |
Mears | Andrew Smith (fd) | 18 Nov 14 | 5,000 | 365.2 | 18,260 | 110,000 | 0.109 |
Norcros ♥ | Martin Towers (ch) | 14 Nov 14 | 187,966 | 15.874 | 29,838 | 1,214,208 | 0.204 |
Northbridge Industrial Services | Peter Harris (ch) | 17 Nov 14 | 10,000 | 554.5 | 55,450 | 1,120,000 | 6.074 |
Panther Securities | Peter Kellner | 17 Nov 14 | 5,000 | 320 | 16,000 | 22,000 | 0.126 |
Premier Foods | David Beever (ch) | 13 Nov 14 | 30,000 | 38.5 | 11,550 | 304,881 | 0.037 |
Premier Oil | R Rose (fd) | 13 Nov 14 | 15,000 | 244.99 | 36,748 | 16,208 | 0.003 |
Punch Taverns | Stephen Billingham (ch) | 13 Nov 14 | 32,194 | 154.5 | 49,740 | 32,194 | 0.015 |
PureCircle * | Peter Lai Hock Meng | 13 Nov 14 | 5,500 | 550 | 30,250 | 200,100 | 0.118 |
PureCircle * | Christopher Pratt | 13 Nov 14 | 5,500 | 550 | 30,250 | 692,416 | 0.408 |
PureCircle * | Magomet Malsagov (ce) | 13 Nov 14 | 11,300 | 550 | 62,150 | 14,866,912 | 8.759 |
PureCircle * | Oliver Maes | 13 Nov 14 | 7,200 | 550 | 39,600 | 418,510 | 0.247 |
PureCircle * | Paul Selway-Swift (ch) | 13 Nov 14 | 5,500 | 550 | 30,250 | 207,800 | 0.122 |
PureCircle * | William Mitchell (cfo) | 13 Nov 14 | 12,000 | 550 | 66,000 | 936,540 | 0.552 |
Reed Elsevier † | Linda Sanford | 18 Nov 14 | 3,100 | 1,071.14 | 33,205 | 6,700 | 0.001 |
Rio Tinto | Paul Tellier | 14 Nov 14 | 1,097 | 3,002.48 | 32,937 | 20,575 | 0.001 |
SacOil Holdings | SH Muller | 13 Nov 14 | 478,003 | 2.10 | 10,018 | 1,056,006 | 0.032 |
SnackTime ♥ * | Boris Belotserkovsky | 14 Nov 14 | 12,000,000 | 15 | 1,800,000 | 15,800,000 | 49.146 |
St Modwen Properties | Ian Bull | 13 Nov 14 | 15,000 | 373.75 | 56,063 | 15,000 | 0.007 |
UK Mail | Guy Buswell (ce) | 18 Nov 14 | 18,310 | 405 | 74,156 | 286,117 | 0.523 |
Vedanta Resources | Tom Albanese (ce) | 14 Nov 14 | 7,950 | 791.86 | 62,953 | 73,200 | 0.027 |
Volex | Christoph Eisenhardt (ce) | 13 Nov 14 | 45,802 | 65.5 | 30,000 | 143,166 | 0.159 |
Volex | Daren Morris | 13 Nov 14 | 30,000 | 66 | 19,800 | 150,909 | 0.167 |
Sells | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
Atlantic Coal ♥ | Steve Best | 19 Nov 14 | 96,153,846 | 0.13 | 125,000 | 397,553,294 | 8.527 |
Cropper (James) ♥ | Martin Thompson | 19 Nov 14 | 3,500 | 385 | 13,475 | 36,693 | 0.401 |
EVRAZ | Alexander Abramov (ch) | 13 Nov 14 | 394,236 | 12,764 | 50,320,283 | 328,170,157 | 21.783 |
EVRAZ | Alexander Frolov (ce) | 13 Nov 14 | 196,823 | 12,764 | 25,122,488 | 163,870,710 | 10.877 |
Ted Baker | Lindsay Page (fd) | 18 Nov 14 | 45,000 | 2,050.0 | 922,500 | 81,039 | 0.186 |
WH Smith | Robert Moorhead (fd) | 18 Nov 14 | 97,715 | 1,240.05 | 1,211,715 | 402,676 | 0.341 |
*placing/tender/open offer ♥spouse/connected party †Approved SIP |