Melrose Industries makes shareholders money by turning underperforming engineering businesses into well-oiled corporate machines. It’s been doing it since 2003, when current executive chairman Chris Miller listed the business on Aim, and has acquired quite a reputation since. Having last year sold most of FKI, which it bought in 2008, the company has created over £3bn of shareholder value.
A decade on, the big question, inevitably, is the same: 'when is your next acquisition?' When we spoke to management following annual results earlier this month, we were told nothing is imminent. So it's intriguing that Mr Miller and non-executive director John Grant have just bet big on further success, spending over £1m between them on Melrose shares at 300p each. Snapping up the lion’s share – about £888,000 of stock – Mr Miller now owns a stake worth a colossal £45m.
And few would bet against him. Last June, as global stock markets slumped on fears of Fed tapering, Harris & Sheldon Investments, part of Mr Miller’s business empire, spent £6.6m on Melrose shares. That proved to be a low point for the shares.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| AGA Rangemaster | William McGrath (ce) | 07 Mar 14 | 19,400 | 180.3 | 34,978 | 241,286 | 0.348 |
| AGA Rangemaster | Shaun Smith (fd) | 07 Mar 14 | 11,100 | 180.3 | 20,013 | 167,997 | 0.243 |
| Ferrex | David Reeves | 12 Mar 14 | 4,839,685 | 1.75 | 84,694 | 117,327,876 | 13.946 |
| G4S | Himanshu Raja (cfo) | 12 Mar 14 | 50,000 | 233.00 | 116,502 | 50,000 | 0.003 |
| Goldplat | Brian Moritz (ch) | 10 Mar 14 | 500,000 | 6 | 30,000 | 2,550,000 | 1.523 |
| Inmarsat | John Rennocks | 10 Mar 14 | 1,557 | 685 | 10,665 | 44,883 | 0.010 |
| Intertek | Dr Mark Williams | 10 Mar 14 | 2,000 | 3,043.1 | 60,861 | 2,000 | 0.001 |
| IXICO | T Sharpington | 11 Mar 14 | 12,750 | 78.5 | 10,009 | 15,150 | 0.101 |
| IXICO | Dr Andy Richards (ch) | 11 Mar 14 | 13,700 | 78 | 10,686 | 30,200 | 0.202 |
| Kerry | Philip Toomey | 12 Mar 14 | 1,000 | 5,658.10 | 56,581 | 1,000 | 0.001 |
| Laird | Dr Martin Read | 07 Mar 14 | 16,082 | 309.3 | 49,737 | 16,082 | 0.006 |
| Legal & General | Julia Wilson | 11 Mar 14 | 4,914 | 233.08 | 11,454 | 29,523 | <0.000 |
| Melrose Industries | John Grant | 06 Mar 14 | 46,125 | 300.5 | 138,606 | 296,431 | 0.028 |
| Melrose Industries | Christopher Miller (ch) | 06 Mar 14 | 295,534 | 300.5 | 888,109 | 14,934,285 | 1.393 |
| MS International | Nicholas Bell | 11 Mar 14 | 32,090 | 192 | 61,613 | 100,000 | 0.597 |
| Northern Investors Company | JC Barnsley | 07 Mar 14 | 12,500 | 410 | 51,250 | 70,078 | 0.803 |
| Ocado | Alex Mahon | 06 Mar 14 | 5,087 | 570 | 28,996 | 7,087 | 0.001 |
| Porta Communications * | EG Golembiewski (fd) | 12 Mar 14 | 769,230 | 13 | 100,000 | 769,230 | 0.356 |
| Pressure Technologies * | NA MacDonald | 06 Mar 14 | 5,200 | 575 | 29,900 | 5,200 | 0.036 |
| Reed Elsevier | Adrian Hennah | 10 Mar 14 | 5,345 | 930.5 | 49,735 | 10,508 | 0.001 |
| Sage Group (The) | Drummond Hall | 07 Mar 14 | 10,000 | 424.28 | 42,428 | 10,000 | 0.001 |
| Shaftesbury * | Jill C Little | 11 Mar 14 | 3,225 | 620 | 19,995 | 5,367 | 0.002 |
| Shaftesbury * | Hilary S Riva | 11 Mar 14 | 4,032 | 620 | 24,998 | 10,482 | 0.004 |
| Shaftesbury * | SJ Quayle | 11 Mar 14 | 10,000 | 620 | 62,000 | 873,533 | 0.314 |
| Shaftesbury * | B Bickell (ce) | 11 Mar 14 | 20,000 | 620 | 124,000 | 924,188 | 0.333 |
| Shaftesbury * | JS Lane (ch) | 11 Mar 14 | 10,000 | 620 | 62,000 | 1,075,000 | 0.387 |
| Shaftesbury * | CPA Ward (fd) | 11 Mar 14 | 1,613 | 620 | 10,001 | 8,724 | 0.003 |
| Sirius Minerals * | KEF Clarke | 11 Mar 14 | 416,666 | 12 | 50,000 | 416,666 | 0.022 |
| Sirius Minerals * ♥ | JH Murray (cfo) | 11 Mar 14 | 541,666 | 12 | 65,000 | 2,708,333 | 0.145 |
| Sirius Minerals * ♥ | RJ Scrimshaw (ch) | 11 Mar 14 | 1,666,666 | 12 | 200,000 | 37,319,218 | 2.003 |
| Standard Chartered | N Kheraj | 06 Mar 14 | 2,000 | 1,238.5 | 24,770 | 2,000 | <0.000 |
| Standard Chartered | J Paynter | 10 Mar 14 | 2,500 | 1,246.5 | 31,163 | 12,500 | 0.001 |
| Stobart | Ben Whawell (cfo) | 07 Mar 14 | 39,485 | 126.6 | 49,996 | 183,576 | 0.052 |
| Stobart | Iain Ferguson (ch) | 07 Mar 14 | 40,000 | 132.2 | 52,880 | 140,000 | 0.040 |
| Tungsten Corporation | Edi Truell | 07 Mar 14 | 9,400 | 279 | 26,226 | 14,762,684 | 14.763 |
| UDG Healthcare | Lisa Ricciardi | 06 Mar 14 | 16,000 | 369.5 | 59,112 | 16,000 | 0.007 |
| Unilever | P Polman (ce) | 12 Mar 14 | 2,113 | 2,374 | 50,163 | 270,988 | 0.021 |
| Vitesse Media * | DG Stewart | 07 Mar 14 | 1,059,488 | 2.2 | 23,309 | 5,000,000 | 9.996 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Advanced Medical Solutions | Chris Meredith (ce) | 06 Mar 14 | 47,056 | 114 | 53,644 | 1,095,219 | 0.529 |
| APR Energy | John Campion (ce) | 10 Mar 14 | 24,467 | 950 | 232,437 | 6,976,118 | 7.402 |
| Arden Partners | Jonathan Keeling | 07 Mar 14 | 25,000 | 98.5 | 24,625 | 2,459,334 | 10.980 |
| CML Microsystems ♥ | Nigel Clark (fd & cs) | 12 Mar 14 | 57,500 | 575 | 330,625 | 4,600 | 0.029 |
| Ebiquity | Sarah J Thomson | 07 Mar 14 | 7,603,787 | 120 | 9,124,544 | 145,921 | 0.194 |
| Gooch & Housego | Paul Heal | 10 Mar 14 | 4,400 | 712.682 | 31,358 | 17,085 | 0.074 |
| Mondi | Peter Oswald | 06 Mar 14 | 1,361 | 1,105 | 15,039 | 112,756 | 0.031 |
| Mondi | Peter Oswald | 06 Mar 14 | 28,639 | 1,104 | 316,175 | 114,117 | 0.031 |
| Moneysupermarket.com | Paul Doughty (cfo) | 07 Mar 14 | 250,000 | 192.6 | 481,500 | 215,501 | 0.040 |
| Moneysupermarket.com ♥ | Graham Donoghue | 07 Mar 14 | 150,140 | 192.7 | 289,320 | 300,000 | 0.055 |
| Origin Enterprises | Brendan Fitzgerald (cfo) | 11 Mar 14 | 50,000 | 630 | 315,000 | 557,321 | 0.441 |
| Origin Enterprises | Brendan Fitzgerald (cfo) | 06 Mar 14 | 80,000 | 617 | 493,600 | 607,321 | 0.481 |
| Restaurant Group (The) | Simon Cloke | 11 Mar 14 | 8,000 | 675 | 54,000 | 7,000 | 0.003 |
| Shire | Matthew Emmens (ch) | 07 Mar 14 | 36,375 | 3,283.1 | 1,194,224 | 38,015 | 0.006 |
| William Hill | Ralph Topping (ce) | 06 Mar 14 | 725,000 | 387.5 | 2,809,158 | 15,210 | 0.002 |
| * placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party | |||||||
