Last time we wrote about Melrose Industries (MRO) it was because founder and executive chairman Chris Miller was stake-building. Now chief executive Simon Peckham has climbed on board. Mr Peckham has splashed out £0.5m on Melrose shares, buying in at 255.5p and taking his stake to 8.4m shares, worth around £22m currently. Non-executive Justin Dowley - former head of investment banking at Merrill Lynch Europe - also joined the party, snapping up 100,000 shares at a little over 263p.
IC TIP:
Sell
at
267p
The recent director buying is a vote of confidence in the shares, which are down almost a third from the 52-week high of 382p that they hit back in November. It suggests that the board believes Melrose will soon get back to doing what it does best: acquiring underperforming engineering businesses and turning them around, creating pots of value for shareholders in the process.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| 21st Century Technology | Russ Singleton (ce) | 27 Jun 14 | 600,000 | 6.1 | 36,648 | 2,700,000 | 2.896 |
| AstraZeneca | Pascal Soriot (ce) | 30 Jun 14 | 46,200 | 4,345 | 2,007,390 | 197,781 | 0.016 |
| Aviva | Michael Hawker | 26 Jun 14 | 10,000 | 506.5 | 50,650 | 20,000 | <0.001 |
| Blinkx | Subhransu Mukherjee (ce) | 02 Jul 14 | 250,000 | 34 | 85,000 | 400,000 | 0.100 |
| Chemring | Peter Hickson (ch) | 01 Jul 14 | 50,000 | 205 | 102,500 | 210,000 | 0.109 |
| Countrywide | Jane Lighting | 27 Jun 14 | 9,500 | 520 | 49,400 | 9,500 | 0.004 |
| Countrywide | Richard Adam | 30 Jun 14 | 8,076 | 520.25 | 42,015 | 10,000 | 0.005 |
| EG Solutions | Mark Brady | 01 Jul 14 | 60,000 | 52 | 31,200 | 60,000 | 0.364 |
| Empiric Student Property | Baroness Dean (ch) | 30 Jun 14 | 33,500 | 100 | 33,500 | 33,500 | 0.039 |
| Empiric Student Property | Paul Hadaway (ce) | 30 Jun 14 | 875,000 | 100 | 875,000 | 875,000 | 1.029 |
| Empiric Student Property | Tim Attlee | 30 Jun 14 | 875,000 | 100 | 875,000 | 875,000 | 1.029 |
| Empiric Student Property ♥ | Michael Enright (cfo) | 30 Jun 14 | 70,000 | 100 | 70,000 | 70,000 | 0.082 |
| European Wealth * | Buzz West | 01 Jul 14 | 68,346 | 90 | 61,511 | 322,429 | 2.243 |
| Glanbia ♥ | Donard Gaynor | 27 Jun 14 | 5,000 | 1,105 | 55,246 | 10,000 | 0.003 |
| Goals Soccer Centres | Keith Rogers | 27 Jun 14 | 19,000 | 217 | 41,230 | 4,011,986 | 6.862 |
| Gresham Computing ♥ | M Royde | 30 Jun 14 | 25,000 | 130.3 | 32,583 | 5,755,654 | 9.102 |
| Lamprell * | Peter Whitbread | 26 Jun 14 | 521,022 | 88 | 458,499 | 2,188,294 | 0.841 |
| Melrose Industries | Justin Dowley | 30 Jun 14 | 100,000 | 263.5 | 263,510 | 466,505 | 0.044 |
| Melrose Industries | Simon Peckham (ce) | 26 Jun 14 | 196,000 | 255.5 | 500,790 | 8,373,288 | 0.781 |
| NMC Health | Dr. Bavaguthu Shetty (ce) | 30 Jun 14 | 10,000,000 | 500 | 50,000,000 | 47,742,409 | 25.707 |
| Papua Mining * | Hugh McCullough (ce) | 27 Jun 14 | 150,000 | 20 | 30,000 | 504,571 | 1.062 |
| Petroceltic International * | Brian O'Cathain (ce) | 27 Jun 14 | 76,464 | 157 | 120,048 | 271,073 | 0.127 |
| Phaunos Timber Fund | William Vanderfelt | 26 Jun 14 | 1,000,000 | 24.7 | 247,000 | 4,790,000 | 0.892 |
| Porta Communications | David Wright (ce) | 27 Jun 14 | 272,727 | 11 | 30,000 | 2,743,727 | 1.200 |
| Porta Communications ♥ | Bob Morton (ch) | 27 Jun 14 | 1,000,000 | 10.5 | 105,000 | 32,942,552 | 14.404 |
| River and Mercantile | K Hayes (cfo) | 26 Jun 14 | 54,645 | 183 | 100,000 | 54,645 | 0.067 |
| Rose Petroleum * | Philip Jeffcock | 30 Jun 14 | 3,333,333 | 1.1 | 37,500 | 21,340,074 | 1.634 |
| Rose Petroleum * | Matthew Idiens (ce) | 30 Jun 14 | 3,333,333 | 1.1 | 37,500 | 20,139,213 | 1.542 |
| Ryanair Holdings | Michael O'Leary (ce) | 30 Jun 14 | 300,000 | 696 | 2,088,000 | 51,381,256 | 3.712 |
| SABMiller | DS Devitre | 27 Jun 14 | 1,125 | 3,360 | 37,795 | 31,125 | 0.002 |
| Sanditon Investment Trust | Christopher Keljik | 27 Jun 14 | 150,000 | 100 | 150,000 | 150,000 | 0.300 |
| Sanditon Investment Trust | Charles Harman | 27 Jun 14 | 100,000 | 100 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 0.200 |
| Sanditon Investment Trust | Hugo Dixon | 27 Jun 14 | 140,000 | 100 | 140,000 | 140,000 | 0.280 |
| Sanditon Investment Trust | Rupert Barclay (ch) | 27 Jun 14 | 50,000 | 100 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 0.100 |
| Symphony International Holdings | Anil Thadani | 26 Jun 14 | 200,000 | 73.0 | 145,974 | 55,616,950 | 10.623 |
| Symphony International Holdings | Anil Thadani | 27 Jun 14 | 200,000 | 76 | 152,000 | 55,816,950 | 10.661 |
| Symphony International Holdings | Sunil Chandiramani | 26 Jun 14 | 150,000 | 73.0 | 109,480 | 15,123,744 | 2.889 |
| Symphony International Holdings | Sunil Chandiramani | 27 Jun 14 | 150,000 | 76 | 114,000 | 15,273,744 | 2.917 |
| Telit Communications | Oozi Cats (ce) | 26 Jun 14 | 46,098 | 210 | 96,806 | 22,411,257 | 19.758 |
| Telit Communications | Oozi Cats (ce) | 02 Jul 14 | 100,000 | 215 | 215,000 | 22,611,977 | 19.935 |
| Telit Communications ♥ | Oozi Cats (ce) | 02 Jul 14 | 100,000 | 215 | 215,000 | 22,511,257 | 19.846 |
| Wolseley | John Daly | 26 Jun 14 | 1,500 | 3,202 | 48,030 | 1,500 | <0.001 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Afren | Shahid Ullah | 26 Jun 14 | 600,000 | 141 | 846,000 | 4,352,633 | 0.393 |
| British Assets Trust | Lynn Ruddick (ch) | 02 Jul 14 | 11,180 | 137.6 | 15,384 | 51,496 | 0.018 |
| EG Solutions | Elizabeth Gooch | 01 Jul 14 | 1,210,000 | 52 | 629,200 | 5,304,080 | 32.212 |
| Good Energy | Garry Peagam | 27 Jun 14 | 20,000 | 230.3 | 46,050 | 20,000 | 0.136 |
| GW Pharmaceuticals † ✯ | Justin Gover | 26 Jun 14 | 1,750,000 | 426.1 | 7,456,513 | 2,143,305 | 0.915 |
| GW Pharmaceuticals † ✯ | James Noble | 26 Jun 14 | 25,000 | 723.6 | 180,895 | 47,500 | 0.020 |
| GW Pharmaceuticals † ✯ | Dr Geoffrey Guy (ch) | 26 Jun 14 | 3,087,428 | 426.1 | 13,155,112 | 14,100,226 | 6.017 |
| GW Pharmaceuticals † ✯ | Dr Stephen Wright | 26 Jun 14 | 807,570 | 426.1 | 3,440,946 | 5,000 | 0.002 |
| GW Pharmaceuticals † ✯ | Thomas Lynch | 26 Jun 14 | 180,000 | 426.1 | 766,956 | 56,344 | 0.024 |
| Whitbread | Andy Harrison (ce) | 27 Jun 14 | 50,000 | 4,392 | 2,195,820 | 253,515 | 0.140 |
| * placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party † depositary receipts ✯sold pursuant to underwriting agreement | |||||||
