It's no secret that Debenhams (DEB) had a far better Christmas trading period than the market expected. Shares in the high-street department chain rose nearly 14 per cent the day it revealed that like-for-like sales rose 3.7 per cent over the seven weeks ended 9 January 2016. That's the second consecutive year of growth over the Christmas period, and online sales are also booming.
Now, recent share purchases by chief financial officer Matthew Smith and non-executive director (and former head of the British Retail Consortium) Sir Ian Cheshire suggest things at Debenhams are looking up. Mr Smith handed over less than £20,000 to top up his holding, but Mr Cheshire shelled out more than £300,000 for 400,000 new shares. So far, the group says it's on track to meet expectations when it reports first-half results.
Buys | |||||||
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Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
3i Infrastructure ♥ | Richard Laing (ch) | 18 Jan 16 | 20,000 | 170.89 | 34,178 | 20,000 | 0.003 |
AB Dynamics | Tim Rogers | 18 Jan 16 | 3,400 | 287 | 9,758 | 271,601 | 1.567 |
Aberdeen Asset Management | Richard Mully | 15 Jan 16 | 10,000 | 223.9 | 22,390 | 70,000 | 0.005 |
Aberdeen Asset Management | Simon Troughton | 15 Jan 16 | 10,000 | 224.2 | 22,420 | 70,000 | 0.005 |
Adamas Finance Asia | Conor MacNamara | 15 Jan 16 | 195,000 | 63.5 | 123,825 | 195,000 | 0.102 |
Aquatic Foods | Jonathan Quirk | 14 Jan 16 | 25,000 | 22.5 | 5,625 | 75,000 | 0.066 |
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) | Diana Brightmore-Armour | 19 Jan 16 | 1,000 | 3,464 | 34,640 | 1,000 | 0.001 |
Big Yellow ♥ | Richard Cotton | 14 Jan 16 | 5,000 | 751 | 37,550 | 73,485 | 0.047 |
Braveheart Investment ♥ ★ | Trevor Brown (ce) | 15 Jan 16 | 265,701 | 7.5 | 19,928 | 7,805,934 | 28.852 |
Caledonia Mining Corp | David Henderson | 18 Jan 16 | 17,200 | 53.33 | 9,172 | 17,200 | 0.033 |
Caledonia Mining Corp | James Johnstone | 20 Jan 16 | 12,000 | 52.02 | 6,243 | 28,000 | 0.054 |
Cropper (James) | MAJ Cropper (ch) | 20 Jan 16 | 1,850 | 642.5 | 11,886 | 1,229,593 | 13.328 |
Cropper (James) ♥ | MAJ Cropper (ch) | 20 Jan 16 | 2,000 | 642.5 | 12,850 | 1,227,743 | 13.308 |
Curtis Banks | Jules Hydleman | 15 Jan 16 | 12,500 | 320 | 40,000 | 51,973 | 0.097 |
De La Rue | Dr. Sabri Challah | 14 Jan 16 | 3,400 | 439.75 | 14,952 | 3,400 | 0.003 |
Debenhams | Matthew Smith (cfo) | 14 Jan 16 | 25,000 | 77.29 | 19,321 | 53,000 | 0.004 |
Debenhams | Sir Ian Cheshire | 14 Jan 16 | 400,000 | 78.3 | 313,200 | 400,000 | 0.033 |
Dillistone | Dr. Mike Love (ch) | 20 Jan 16 | 60,000 | 69.5 | 41,700 | 989,754 | 5.032 |
Evgen Pharma | John Bradshaw (fd) | 18 Jan 16 | 40,000 | 22.25 | 8,900 | 40,000 | 0.055 |
Evgen Pharma | Barry Clare (ch) | 18 Jan 16 | 40,000 | 22.25 | 8,900 | 940,108 | 1.285 |
Evgen Pharma | Dr. Stephen Franklin (ce) | 18 Jan 16 | 56,000 | 22.25 | 12,460 | 1,375,200 | 1.880 |
Fidelity China Special Situations Ω | The Hon P Pleydell-Bouverie | 20 Jan 16 | 12,700 | 119.8 | 15,215 | 71,924 | 0.013 |
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust | David Hunt | 19 Jan 16 | 3,000 | 555.38 | 16,661 | 35,000 | 0.027 |
Finsbury Growth & Income Ω | Neil Collins | 18 Jan 16 | 2,000 | 544.68 | 10,894 | 50,842 | 0.040 |
Gulfsands Petroleum * | Andrew Morris | 14 Jan 16 | 240,800 | 4 | 9,632 | 320,800 | 0.068 |
Gulfsands Petroleum * | Joe Darby | 14 Jan 16 | 75,250 | 4 | 3,010 | 100,250 | 0.021 |
Gulfsands Petroleum * | James Ede-Golightly | 14 Jan 16 | 60,200 | 4 | 2,408 | 80,200 | 0.017 |
Gulfsands Petroleum * | Andrew West | 14 Jan 16 | 421,833 | 4 | 16,873 | 561,977 | 0.120 |
Henderson High Income Trust | Margaret Littlejohns | 18 Jan 16 | 6,000 | 167.86 | 10,072 | 20,000 | 0.018 |
Lowland Investment Co | Peter Troughton (ch) | 18 Jan 16 | 1,000 | 1,160 | 11,600 | 20,660 | 0.076 |
M&C Saatchi | Lord Dobbs | 14 Jan 16 | 4,850 | 310 | 15,035 | 4,850 | 0.007 |
Menhaden Capital | Sir Ian Cheshire (ch) | 14 Jan 16 | 20,000 | 66.3 | 13,260 | 45,000 | 0.056 |
North Atlantic Smaller Companies | Christopher Mills (ce) | 18 Jan 16 | 45,000 | 2,275 | 1,023,750 | 3,619,000 | 25.059 |
Private & Commercial Finance Ω | David Bull (fd) | 14 Jan 16 | 165,038 | 23 | 37,959 | 165,038 | 0.107 |
Rosslyn Data Technologies | Hugh Cox | 15 Jan 16 | 30,000 | 13.5 | 4,050 | 9,695,090 | 12.796 |
Rotala | Dr. John Gunn (ch) | 20 Jan 16 | 113,000 | 76 | 85,880 | 9,169,348 | 24.158 |
Rotala | Simon Dunn (ce) | 20 Jan 16 | 5,013 | 75.55 | 3,787 | 1,413,170 | 3.723 |
Rotala | Simon Dunn (ce) | 18 Jan 16 | 3,331 | 76 | 2,532 | 1,408,157 | 3.693 |
RPC * | Simon Kesterton (fd) | 20 Jan 16 | 800 | 460 | 3,680 | 4,800 | 0.002 |
RPC * | James Pike (ch) | 20 Jan 16 | 22,858 | 460 | 105,147 | 311,524 | 0.103 |
RPC * | Martin Towers | 20 Jan 16 | 4,333 | 460 | 19,932 | 25,999 | 0.009 |
RPC * | Dr. Petrus Vervaat (ce) | 20 Jan 16 | 20,000 | 460 | 92,000 | 240,000 | 0.079 |
Scottish Investment Trust (The) | MIck Brewis | 19 Jan 16 | 10,000 | 566 | 56,600 | 10,000 | 0.010 |
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust | Dr. Paola Subacchi | 15 Jan 16 | 6,077 | 249.5 | 15,162 | 14,805 | 0.001 |
Ted Baker Ω | Lindsay Page (fd) | 18 Jan 16 | 190 | 2,637 | 5,010 | 81,229 | 0.185 |
ULS Technology | Geoff Wicks | 15 Jan 16 | 22,000 | 45 | 9,900 | 52,000 | 0.080 |
ULS Technology | Peter Opperman (ch) | 15 Jan 16 | 45,000 | 45 | 20,250 | 2,704,625 | 4.178 |
Verona Pharma | Dr. David Ebsworth (ch) | 20 Jan 16 | 400,000 | 2.5 | 10,000 | 4,599,774 | 0.455 |
Witan Pacific Investment Trust | Andrew Robson | 14 Jan 16 | 4,000 | 222.75 | 8,910 | 12,000 | 0.018 |
Sells | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
Boot (Henry) | John Sutcliffe (ce) | 14 Jan 16 | 5,000 | 215.25 | 10,763 | 505,445 | 0.383 |
Braveheart Investment ★ | Andrew Burton | 15 Jan 16 | 265,701 | 7.5 | 19,928 | 659,460 | 2.437 |
Cropper (James) | Patrick Willink (ch) | 20 Jan 16 | 2,000 | 642.5 | 12,850 | 50,210 | 0.544 |
First Derivatives | David Anderson | 19 Jan 16 | 5,000 | 1,541 | 77,050 | 120,000 | 0.502 |
Inspired Energy | Bob Holt (ch) | 15 Jan 16 | 5,000,000 | 13.25 | 662,500 | 2,500,000 | 0.528 |
Inspired Energy | Janet Thornton | 15 Jan 16 | 11,600,017 | 13.25 | 1,537,002 | 52,764,983 | 11.147 |
Inspired Energy | Matthew Thornton | 15 Jan 16 | 11,600,018 | 13.25 | 1,537,002 | 52,764,983 | 11.147 |
LivaNova | Daniel Moore (ch) | 15 Jan 16 | 1,000 | 5,264 | 52,640 | 67,437 | 0.138 |
PJSC Lukoil † | Ivan Pictet | 14 Jan 16 | 65,000 | 2,837.83 | 1,844,587 | 8,000 | 0.001 |
PJSC Lukoil † ♥ | Ivan Pictet | 14 Jan 16 | 8,000 | 2,848 | 227,840 | 0 | 0.000 |
ULS Technology | Nigel Hoath | 15 Jan 16 | 10,000,000 | 45 | 4,500,000 | 7,628,414 | 11.785 |
* placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party Ω ISA/SIPP/Trust † depositary receipts ★ inter-company deal |