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.
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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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||||
