At the beginning of this month, Petroceltic (PCI) chief executive Brian O'Cathain took advantage of a sharp fall in the company’s share price to snap up additional shares worth £123,512. The transaction was finalised at the same time as Dublin-based peer Dragon Oil (DGO) announced it was backing out of plans to make an offer for Petroceltic at 230p a share.
Mr O'Cathain's worries didn't end with the collapse of the Dragon deal. Subsequent to the news, Worldview Capital Management, Petroceltic's biggest shareholder, said it had issued legal proceedings against Petroceltic for breach of corporate governance. The activist investor, which also engineered a boardroom cull back in July, has called for the resignation of Mr O'Cathain. It alleges that Petroceltic has no intention of carrying out a corporate review that was agreed earlier this year in return for its support of a $100m placing.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Augean | Jim Meredith (ch) | 03 Dec 14 | 175,000 | 56 | 98,000 | 500,000 | 0.496 |
| Better Capital | Jonathan Moulton | 02 Dec 14 | 3,600,000 | 82.85 | 2,982,600 | 23,123,809 | 11.183 |
| Better Capital | Jonathan Moulton | 04 Dec 14 | 1,000,000 | 80.1 | 801,000 | 35,761,905 | 10.320 |
| Better Capital | Richard Battey | 08 Dec 14 | 30,000 | 86 | 25,800 | 60,000 | 0.029 |
| Eden Research * | Tom Lupton (ch) | 28 Nov 14 | 333,333 | 7.5 | 25,000 | 403,333 | 0.262 |
| Eden Research * | Ken Brooks | 28 Nov 14 | 333,333 | 7.5 | 25,000 | 2,319,269 | 1.505 |
| Energy XXI | Hill Feinberg | 01 Dec 14 | 25,000 | 330 | 82,500 | 189,751 | 0.202 |
| Energy XXI | John Schiller (ch & ce) | 01 Dec 14 | 25,000 | 345 | 86,250 | 1,381,485 | 1.469 |
| EnQuest | Dr Jim Buckee (ch) | 28 Nov 14 | 100,000 | 52.8 | 52,800 | 3,288,424 | 0.410 |
| EnQuest | Dr Jim Buckee (ch) | 02 Dec 14 | 100,000 | 44.98 | 44,980 | 3,155,903 | 0.393 |
| EnQuest ♥ | Neil McCulloch | 26 Nov 14 | 15,122 | 65.7 | 9,935 | 15,122 | 0.002 |
| Filtronic * | Alan Needle (ce) | 03 Dec 14 | 440,910 | 22 | 97,000 | 2,687,052 | 2.514 |
| Filtronic * | Graham Meek | 03 Dec 14 | 25,000 | 22 | 5,500 | 114,722 | 0.107 |
| Filtronic * | Howard Ford (ch) | 03 Dec 14 | 13,578 | 22 | 2,987 | 120,000 | 0.112 |
| Filtronic * | Reg L Gott | 03 Dec 14 | 52,270 | 22 | 11,499 | 154,429 | 0.144 |
| Filtronic * | Rob Smith (cfo) | 03 Dec 14 | 45,454 | 22 | 10,000 | 57,656 | 0.054 |
| Fisher (James) & Sons ♥ | Nick Henry (ce) | 27 Nov 14 | 3,858 | 1,042 | 40,200 | 139,657 | 0.279 |
| Fisher (James) & Sons † | Stuart Kilpatrick (fd) | 28 Nov 14 | 250 | 1,046 | 2,615 | 15,289 | 0.031 |
| HSBC Holdings | Rona Fairhead | 27 Nov 14 | 53,600 | 631.17 | 338,307 | 76,300 | <0.001 |
| Informa | Stephen Carter (ce) | 28 Nov 14 | 31,324 | 475.3 | 148,883 | 36,324 | 0.006 |
| ITE | Marco Sodi (ch) | 08 Dec 14 | 6,096 | 155 | 9,449 | 120,699 | 0.060 |
| ITE | Marco Sodi (ch) | 08 Dec 14 | 18,904 | 155 | 29,301 | 150,000 | 0.060 |
| KBC Advanced Technologies ♥ | Oliver Scott | 02 Dec 14 | 100,000 | 87.57 | 87,570 | 9,470,928 | 11.611 |
| KEFI Minerals * | Harry Anagnostaras-Adams (ch) | 02 Dec 14 | 20,000,000 | 1 | 200,000 | 33,966,667 | 3.018 |
| KEFI Minerals * | Ian Plimer | 02 Dec 14 | 1,250,000 | 1 | 12,500 | 4,366,668 | 0.388 |
| KEFI Minerals * | John Leach (fd) | 02 Dec 14 | 1,250,000 | 1 | 12,500 | 2,250,000 | 0.200 |
| KEFI Minerals * | Jeffrey Rayner | 02 Dec 14 | 2,600,000 | 1 | 26,000 | 7,383,333 | 0.656 |
| MS International ♥ | Michael O'Connell (fd) | 03 Dec 14 | 2,795 | 151 | 4,220 | 1,529,285 | 9.130 |
| Omega Diagnostics † | Andrew Shepherd (ce) | 28 Nov 14 | 30,974 | 17 | 5,266 | 2,708,180 | 2.490 |
| Petroceltic International | Brian O'Cathain (ce) | 01 Dec 14 | 106,660 | 115.8 | 123,512 | 377,733 | 0.176 |
| Rio Tinto | Ann Godbehere | 01 Dec 14 | 100 | 2,979.50 | 2,980 | 6,431 | <.001 |
| Rio Tinto | Ann Godbehere | 01 Dec 14 | 1,000 | 2,979.82 | 29,798 | 8,561 | 0.001 |
| Rio Tinto | Ann Godbehere | 01 Dec 14 | 1,130 | 2,979.76 | 33,671 | 7,561 | 0.001 |
| Rio Tinto | John Varley | 01 Dec 14 | 6,700 | 2,952.48 | 197,816 | 9,685 | 0.001 |
| Safestyle UK ♥ | Christopher Davies | 02 Dec 14 | 7,500 | 178 | 13,350 | 120,000 | 0.154 |
| Spirax-Sarco Engineering ♥ | James Whalen | 27 Nov 14 | 858 | 2928 | 25,122 | 8,635 | 0.011 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Avon Rubber | Stella Pirie | 01 Dec 14 | 21,000 | 725.5 | 152,355 | 52,000 | 0.168 |
| Croda International ♥ | Dr Keith Layden | 28 Nov 14 | 634 | 2,456.5 | 15,574 | 75,514 | 0.056 |
| Ebiquity | AW Beach (fd) | 28 Nov 14 | 60,280 | 105 | 63,294 | 20,000 | 0.026 |
| Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings | Dr Patrick Dahlen (ce) | 03 Dec 14 | 44,751 | 323 | 144,546 | 0 | 0.000 |
| ITE | Russell Taylor (ce) | 02 Dec 14 | 500,000 | 151 | 755,000 | 1,500,000 | 0.601 |
| Merlin Entertainments ** | Andrew Carr (cfo) | 03 Dec 14 | 945,000 | 383.9 | 3,627,855 | 2,835,123 | 0.280 |
| Rotala | Dr John Gunn (ch) | 02 Dec 14 | 100,000 | 53.5 | 53,500 | 9,457,447 | 24.581 |
| Solid State | Tony Frere (ch) | 28 Nov 14 | 50,000 | 650 | 325,000 | 56,000 | 0.672 |
| Solid State | Gordon Comben | 28 Nov 14 | 250,000 | 650 | 1,625,000 | 1,650,000 | 19.804 |
| Solid State | Gary Marsh (ce) | 28 Nov 14 | 100,000 | 650 | 650,000 | 443,439 | 5.322 |
| Solid State | John Lavery | 28 Nov 14 | 400,000 | 650 | 2,600,000 | 69,827 | 0.838 |
| Solid State | Bill Marsh | 28 Nov 14 | 150,000 | 650 | 975,000 | 1,150,000 | 13.803 |
| Young & Co's Brewery ♥ | Peter Whitehead (fd) | 02 Dec 14 | 2,900 | 1,030 | 29,870 | 1,253,988 | 4.281 |
| *Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party †Sipp **Share plan as nominee | |||||||
