Shares in Anglo American (AAL) have risen 84 per cent base-to-apex within the past 12 months; a reflection of improved commodity pricing combined with cumulative rationalisation measures. Earlier this year, it was announced that the miner's chairman, Sir John Parker, had decided to call it a day after an eight-year tenure in which he oversaw the sale of numerous assets deemed surplus to requirements, the latest of which - an 88.2 per cent interest in the Drayton thermal coal mine in New South Wales - was announced earlier this month.
Not all of the sales met with universal shareholder approval, but no one pretends that it has been plain sailing for Sir John since he came on board, particularly given the weakness in underlying markets through 2014-16.
But prices for speciality metals and bulks, most notably iron ore, strengthened considerably through last year. The consequent rise in cash flows, along with the asset sales, enabled the embattled commodities giant to reduce net debt as a proportion of shareholder funds by around two-fifths since the end of 2015. So he leaves the group, if not in rude health, then certainly in better trim than he probably might have thought possible 18 months ago.
Buys | |||||||
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Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
Abcam | Gavin Wood (cfo) | 02 May 17 | 5,700 | 889.75 | 50,716 | 11,975 | 0.006 |
Aberdeen Latin American Income Fund | Martin Adams | 02 May 17 | 24,450 | 73 | 17,849 | 74,000 | 0.118 |
Alliance Trust | Anthony Brooke | 02 May 17 | 10,000 | 685.75 | 68,575 | 13,000 | 0.004 |
Alliance Trust | Karl Sternberg | 02 May 17 | 3,000 | 687 | 20,610 | 6,092 | 0.002 |
Barclays | Ian Cheshire | 02 May 17 | 50,000 | 210 | 105,000 | 50,000 | 0.000 |
Blue Prism | Charmaine Eggberry | 28 Apr 17 | 9,488 | 670 | 63,570 | 330,000 | 0.529 |
Character | Jeremiah Healy | 27 Apr 17 | 5,000 | 470 | 23,500 | 41,000 | 0.194 |
Character | Mark Dowding (cfo) | 27 Apr 17 | 8,000 | 470 | 37,600 | 108,000 | 0.511 |
Connect | David Bauernfeind (cfo) | 27 Apr 17 | 20,000 | 127.4 | 25,480 | 20,000 | 0.008 |
Connect | Gary Kennedy (ch) | 28 Apr 17 | 10,000 | 126.4 | 12,640 | 30,000 | 0.012 |
Crawshaw | Jim McCarthy | 27 Apr 17 | 190,000 | 26.5 | 50,350 | 190,000 | 0.241 |
Falanx* | Mike Read (ch) | 03 May 17 | 727,273 | 6.875 | 50,000 | 1,977,273 | 1.572 |
Frontier Developments | Charles Cotton | 27 Apr 17 | 10,000 | 335 | 33,500 | 84,339 | 0.247 |
Frontier Developments | Charles Cotton | 28 Apr 17 | 5,000 | 335 | 16,750 | 89,339 | 0.262 |
JPMorgan US Smaller Companies | Christopher Galleymore | 02 May 17 | 10,000 | 258.375 | 25,838 | 60,000 | 0.107 |
John Laing♥ | Olivier Brousse (ceo) | 27 Apr 17 | 6,873 | 289.35 | 19,887 | 168,929 | 0.046 |
KAZ Minerals | Charles Watson | 28 Apr 17 | 1,532 | 510.4 | 7,819 | 5,156 | 0.001 |
LoopUp | Barbara Judge (ch) | 27 Apr 17 | 10,000 | 155 | 15,500 | 33,754 | 0.082 |
Man Group | Katharine Barker | 03 May 17 | 40,000 | 153.95 | 61,579 | 40,000 | 0.002 |
Mobile Tornado* | Avi Tooba (ceo) | 03 May 17 | 3,000,000 | 5 | 150,000 | 3,000,000 | 1.106 |
Mobile Tornado* | Jeremy Fenn (ch) | 03 May 17 | 3,000,000 | 5 | 150,000 | 11,434,752 | 4.214 |
Mobile Tornado* | Peter Wilkinson | 03 May 17 | 6,000,000 | 5 | 300,000 | 34,146,141 | 12.584 |
Morses Club | Nigel Knowles | 27 Apr 17 | 12,000 | 134.25 | 16,110 | 35,148 | 0.027 |
Oakley Capital Investments | Peter Dubens | 28 Apr 17 | 100,000 | 152.19 | 152,190 | 2,048,167 | 1.000 |
Proteome Sciences♥ | Martin Diggle | 27 Apr 17 | 100,000 | 5 | 5,000 | 54,043,715 | 18.342 |
Proteome Sciences♥ | Martin Diggle | 02 May 17 | 100,000 | 5 | 5,000 | 54,143,715 | 18.376 |
Taylor Wimpey | Angela Knight | 27 Apr 17 | 5,000 | 198.87 | 9,944 | 5,000 | 0.000 |
Tesco | Alison Platt | 03 May 17 | 11,185 | 177.8 | 19,887 | 11,185 | 0.000 |
Thor Mining♥ | Paul Johnson | 03 May 17 | 500,000 | 0.879 | 4,395 | 8,002,649 | 2.145 |
Troy Income & Growth Trust♥ | David Garman | 03 May 17 | 30,000 | 79.25 | 23,775 | 100,000 | 0.035 |
Troy Income & Growth Trust♥ | David Warnock (ch) | 03 May 17 | 100,000 | 79.2 | 79,200 | 500,000 | 0.174 |
Troy Income & Growth Trust | Roger White | 03 May 17 | 200,000 | 79.25 | 158,500 | 300,000 | 0.104 |
Troy Income & Growth Trust♥ | Jann Brown | 03 May 17 | 62,563 | 79.5 | 49,738 | 87,563 | 0.030 |
Unilever | John Rishton | 27 Apr 17 | 2,000 | 3,965.97 | 79,319 | 2,000 | 0.000 |
Upland Resources♥ | Bolhassan Di | 27 Apr 17 | 1,000,000 | 1.29 | 12,900 | 11,096,160 | 2.896 |
Vesuvius | Holly Koeppel | 27 Apr 17 | 7,500 | 533.44 | 40,008 | 7,500 | 0.003 |
Westmount Energy* | Dermot Corcoran | 03 May 17 | 1,500,000 | 5 | 75,000 | 4,500,000 | 16.936 |
Westmount Energy* | Gerrard Walsh (ch) | 03 May 17 | 1,550,000 | 5 | 77,500 | 4,650,000 | 17.501 |
Westmount Energy* | Thomas O'Gorman | 03 May 17 | 1,550,000 | 5 | 77,500 | 4,650,000 | 17.501 |
WideCells* | David Bridgland (cfo) | 28 Apr 17 | 80,000 | 12 | 9,600 | 332,552 | 0.559 |
WideCells* | Graham Hine (ch) | 28 Apr 17 | 40,000 | 12 | 4,800 | 3,238,698 | 5.446 |
WideCells* | Marilyn Orcharton | 28 Apr 17 | 15,000 | 12 | 1,800 | 150,952 | 0.254 |
WideCells* | Lopes Gil | 28 Apr 17 | 15,000 | 12 | 1,800 | 8,035,000 | 13.512 |
WideCells* | João Andrade (ceo) | 28 Apr 17 | 20,000 | 12 | 2,400 | 8,040,000 | 13.521 |
Sells | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
AB Dynamics | Rob Hart (fd) | 03 May 17 | 1,985 | 575 | 11,414 | 17,347 | 0.091 |
AB Dynamics♥ | Tim Rogers (ceo) | 03 May 17 | 6,000 | 571 | 34,260 | 392,953 | 2.056 |
Anglo American | John Parker (ch) | 28 Apr 17 | 1,107 | 694,045 | 0 | 0.000 | |
Jupiter Fund Management | Edward Bonham Carter | 27 Apr 17 | 667,153 | 475 | 3,168,977 | 10,006,892 | 2.186 |
London Stock Exchange | Xavier Rolet (ceo) | 02 May 17 | 53,500 | 3,382 | 1,809,370 | 547,588 | 0.157 |
Mithras Investment Trust | David Shearer | 27 Apr 17 | 2,891 | 217.56 | 6,290 | 6,914 | 0.069 |
Mithras Investment Trust | John Mackie | 27 Apr 17 | 2,892 | 217.56 | 6,292 | 6,912 | 0.069 |
Mithras Investment Trust | Miriam Greenwood | 27 Apr 17 | 2,805 | 217.56 | 6,103 | 6,708 | 0.067 |
Taylor Wimpey | Michael Hussey | 28 Apr 17 | 50,000 | 199.8 | 99,900 | 100,000 | 0.003 |
*Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party |