Industry analysts have been speculating for a while about the likelihood of a bid for Inmarsat by Harbinger Capital . The New York hedge fund, which is controlled by former junk bond salesman Philip Falcone, already has a 28 per cent stake in Inmarsat, along with significant wireless interests across the Atlantic.
Earlier this month, it emerged that Deutsche Telekom AG had been engaged in preliminary discussions with Harbinger with a view to gaining access to the latter’s proposed 4G network in the USA. Naturally, the prospect of Harbinger getting into bed with Europe’s biggest telecoms operator (by turnover) was enough to propel Inmarsat shares, but the company’s trading performance was also aided by an 11.8 per cent increase in first-quarter revenues. This was partially due to an upsurge in demand for emergency satellite phone services following the harrowing earthquakes in both Chile and Haiti.
Although the recent surge in the share price has abated a little, Inmarsat has still outperformed its sector by 17 per cent over the past year. But is this sufficient to explain the recent flurry of sales? Since 12 May, a total of nine Inmarsat directors and senior management figures have sold £18.8m worth of shares, but the company insists the sales are in no way connected to any prospective bid.
It’s not known whether Next’s chief executive and Tory tub-thumper Simon Wolfson is particularly enamoured with the idea of the new coalition government, but he may have just registered a vote of confidence in Next’s long-term prospects by pushing up his personal holdings by 19,231 shares at 2,080p.
A fellow board member Andrew Varley followed suit with an acquisition worth £194,845. Messrs. Wolfson and Varley clearly aren’t pursuing a trading strategy; the shares were bought barely a month after Next’s share price recorded a three-year high.
Mr Wolfson’s £400,000 outlay is all the more intriguing given speculation that he will shortly be appointed to the House of Lords as a working peer by David Cameron. In the lead-up to the election the Next boss voiced concern that failure to address the UK’s gaping current account deficit could set us on the same path as the Club Med countries. Well, if he’s looking for insight as to how our tax receipts are routinely squandered on inefficient, costly and opaque non-civil institutions then the Upper House is probably as good a place as any to start.
Director buys
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price p | Value £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegis | C Brady | 19 May 10 | 20,000 | 119.59 | 23,918 |
| Alpha Pyrenees Trust Ltd | DC Jeffreys | 17 May 10 | 145,000 | 31.4 | 45,530 |
| AorTech International | JP Pither (ch) | 18 May 10 | 5,000 | 170 | 8,500 |
| Aviva | RK Goeltz | 18 May 10 | 5,000 | 327.6 | 16,380 |
| Aviva | L Van de Walle | 18 May 10 | 15,000 | 326.6 | 48,990 |
| Axis-Shield | Prof. Wence Rolfsen | 20 May 10 | 3,050 | 295.25 | 9,005 |
| Axis-Shield | Dr Ian Gilham (ce) | 20 May 10 | 3,450 | 293 | 10,109 |
| Axis-Shield | Dr John Brown (ch) | 20 May 10 | 5,000 | 298.75 | 14,938 |
| Axis-Shield | Staffan Ek | 21 May 10 | 10,000 | 287.922 | 28,792 |
| Axis-Shield | R Hermansen (fd) | 20 May 10 | 10,000 | 297.6 | 29,760 |
| Baillie Gifford Japan | RA Barfield (ch) | 19 May 10 | 3,249 | 186.53 | 6,060 |
| BATM Advanced Comm's | Dr Z Marom (ce) | 18 May 10 | 450,000 | 22.92 | 103,127 |
| BATM Advanced Comm's | P Sheldon (ch) | 18 May 10 | 500,000 | 24.25 | 121,250 |
| BG | Sir Robert Wilson (ch) | 20 May 10 | 6,000 | 1,004 | 60,240 |
| Bramdean Alternatives Ltd | DS Copperwaite | 13 May 10 | 2,000 | 57 | 1,140 |
| British Polythene Industries | I McDarmaid | 20 May 10 | 20,000 | 230 | 46,000 |
| Burford Capital Ltd | H S Wilson | 19 May 10 | 40,000 | 104 | 41,600 |
| Camper & Nicholsons Marina Investments | N Maris | 16 Apr 10 | 100,000 | 25 | 25,000 |
| Capital & Counties Properties | S Dass (fd) | 18 May 10 | 13,200 | 117.54 | 15,515 |
| Capital & Counties Properties | S Dass (fd) | 18 May 10 | 26,800 | 115.43 | 30,934 |
| Capital & Counties Properties | G Yardley | 19 May 10 | 100,000 | 114.83 | 114,825 |
| Ceramic Fuel Cells | J Dempsey | 21 May 10 | 20,000 | 8.9 | 1,780 |
| Close Brothers | E Lee | 21 May 10 | 2,850 | 685.5 | 19,537 |
| Close Brothers | J Howell | 24 May 10 | 24,303 | 694.27 | 168,729 |
| Cove Energy | Dr Steve Staley | 19 May 10 | 9,500 | 52.5 | 4,988 |
| Cove Energy | F Moxon | 19 May 10 | 57,100 | 52.5 | 29,978 |
| Croda International | MS Christie | 20 May 10 | 10,000 | 904 | 90,400 |
| Cryo-Save | J Goossens (ch) | 14 May 10 | 25,000 | 492.07 | 123,018 |
| Datatec Ltd | IP Dittrich (fd) | 14 May 10 | 7,850 | 343.57 | 26,970 |
| Davis Service Group | PH Utnegaard | 18 May 10 | 50,000 | 399.64 | 199,820 |
| Edinburgh UK Tracker | C Purvis | 24 May 10 | 23,200 | 223.5 | 51,852 |
| Edinburgh Worldwide | D Reid | 20 May 10 | 10,000 | 255 | 25,500 |
| Edinburgh Worldwide | D Reid | 18 May 10 | 10,000 | 260 | 26,000 |
| Edinburgh Worldwide | D Reid | 21 May 10 | 20,000 | 245 | 49,000 |
| Edinburgh Worldwide | D Reid | 19 May 10 | 20,000 | 258 | 51,600 |
| EnQuest | Dr J Buckee (ch) | 17 May 10 | 100,000 | 95.65 | 95,650 |
| F&C Global Smaller Companies | AJ Adcock | 19 May 10 | 5,000 | 445 | 22,250 |
| Filtrona | JR Purcell | 24 May 10 | 26,315 | 190 | 49,999 |
| GoIndustry-DoveBid | D Bailey | 21 May 10 | 1,416,666 | 0.7 | 9,917 |
| Graphite Enterprise Trust | M Fane (ch) | 20 May 10 | 9,700 | 270 | 26,190 |
| Hampden Underwriting | J Evans | 21 May 10 | 6,000 | 85 | 5,100 |
| Hardy Underwriting Bermuda | A Walker | 18 May 10 | 5,000 | 240 | 12,000 |
| Henderson EuroTrust | DM Tapley (ch) | 14 May 10 | 10,000 | 480 | 48,000 |
| ICAP | J Sievwright | 21 May 10 | 20,000 | 367 | 73,400 |
| Independent News & Media | L Gaffney | 20 May 10 | 1,000,000 | 10.335 | 103,350 |
| Independent News & Media | P Connolly | 20 May 10 | 1,000,000 | 10.335 | 103,350 |
| JPMorgan Elect | NGN Sidebottom | 19 May 10 | 13,500 | 73 | 9,855 |
| LMS Capital | DJ Verey | 17 May 10 | 209,000 | 50 | 104,500 |
| M Winkworth | D Agace (ce) | 21 May 10 | 12,000 | 82 | 9,840 |
| Majedie Investments | GP Ahearne | 21 May 10 | 6,740 | 177.12 | 11,938 |
| Manx Financial | A Banks | 20 May 10 | 100,000 | 9.25 | 9,250 |
| Manx Financial | AFA Banks | 17 May 10 | 50,000 | 9.25 | 4,625 |
| Manx Financial | AFA Banks | 19 May 10 | 100,000 | 9 | 9,000 |
| Mecom | DJ Montgomery (ce) | 21 May 10 | 10,000 | 175.5 | 17,550 |
| Mecom | G Aherne | 21 May 10 | 10,000 | 183.25 | 18,325 |
| Mecom | DJ Montgomery (ce) | 19 May 10 | 10,000 | 192.09 | 19,209 |
| Mecom | DJ Montgomery (ce) | 19 May 10 | 10,000 | 194.65 | 19,465 |
| Melrose Resources | DH Thomas | 20 May 10 | 6,900 | 264.12 | 18,224 |
| Melrose Resources | DH Thomas | 21 May 10 | 7,961 | 264.41 | 21,050 |
| Melrose Resources | RFM Adair | 21 May 10 | 20,000 | 264.12 | 52,824 |
| Mothercare | D Williams | 20 May 10 | 1,025 | 518.35 | 5,313 |
| Mothercare | D Williams | 20 May 10 | 1,925 | 518.35 | 9,978 |
| Next | A Varley | 21 May 10 | 9,500 | 2,051 | 194,845 |
| Next | S Wolfson (ce) | 20 May 10 | 19,231 | 2,080 | 400,005 |
| Northacre | Mohamed Al Rafi | 20 May 10 | 2,340,000 | 28 | 655,200 |
| Petrocapital Resources | R Armstrong† | 19 May 10 | 3,900,000 | 7.2 | 280,800 |
| Petrofac | TT Andersen | 19 May 10 | 1,000 | 1,060 | 10,600 |
| Pinewood Shepperton | IP Dunleavy (ce) | 17 May 10 | 10,000 | 139.25 | 13,925 |
| Redrow | PN Hampden Smith | 19 May 10 | 8,071 | 123.9 | 10,000 |
| Regus | U Ogiermann | 19 May 10 | 53,988 | 92.425 | 49,898 |
| Renovo | D Blain (cfo & cs) | 21 May 10 | 40,000 | 25.45 | 10,180 |
| Robert Wiseman Dairies | NL Murray | 18 May 10 | 2,100 | 483.14 | 10,146 |
| Schroder Income Growth | D Causer | 19 May 10 | 23,750 | 172 | 40,850 |
| Scotgold Resources Ltd | EW Edwards | 17 May 10 | 87,843 | 5.52 | 4,853 |
| Southern Cross Healthcare | J Buchan (ce) | 19 May 10 | 20,268 | 49 | 9,931 |
| Spirax-Sarco Engineering | CG Watson | 14 May 10 | 1,000 | 1,495.9 | 14,959 |
| Standard Life | DT Nish (ce) | 18 May 10 | 50,000 | 188.44 | 94,220 |
| The Conygar Investment Co. | P Rabl | 13 May 10 | 30,000 | 116.71 | 35,013 |
| Thomas Cook | Dawn Airey | 18 May 10 | 10,000 | 219 | 21,900 |
| Thomas Cook | ME Beckett (ch) | 18 May 10 | 20,001 | 216 | 43,202 |
| Tullett Prebon | S Duckworth | 21 May 10 | 70,000 | 300.5 | 210,350 |
| Tullett Prebon | P Mainwaring | 21 May 10 | 97,656 | 300.5 | 293,456 |
| Tullett Prebon | T Smith | 21 May 10 | 400,000 | 300.5 | 1,202,000 |
| Vertu Motors | DM Forbes | 18 May 10 | 100,000 | 36.5 | 36,500 |
| Wolfson Microelectronics | RK Graham | 13 May 10 | 22,217 | 160.92 | 35,751 |
| Wolfson Microelectronics | RK Graham | 17 May 10 | 21,984 | 175.64 | 38,613 |
| Wolseley | JW Whybrow (ch) | 14 May 10 | 442 | 1,719 | 7,598 |
| Wolseley | FW Roach | 14 May 10 | 596 | 1,719 | 10,245 |
| Wolseley | IK Meakins (ce) | 14 May 10 | 951 | 1,719 | 16,348 |
| Yell | T Coppel | 20 May 10 | 27,772 | 36.5 | 10,137 |
| Yell | JB Coghlan | 19 May 10 | 30,000 | 35.6 | 10,680 |
| Yell | RCW Wigley (ch) | 19 May 10 | 146,627 | 34.1 | 50,000 |
| Yell | C de los Monteros | 19 May 10 | 141,242 | 36 | 50,847 |
| Yell | J Condron (ce) | 19 May 10 | 290,000 | 33.9 | 98,310 |
| † Acquired from Mr Emmanuel Olympitis | |||||
Director Sales
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price p | Value £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diploma | JL Rennocks (ch) | 18 May 10 | 150,000 | 236.7 | 355,050 |
| Enterprise Inns* | GE Tuppen (ce) | 14 May 10 | 150,000 | 130.1792 | 195,269 |
| Enterprise Inns* | DC George (cfo) | 14 May 10 | 195,511 | 130.1792 | 254,515 |
| Enterprise Inns* | WS Townsend | 14 May 10 | 84,258 | 130.1792 | 109,686 |
| Euromoney Institutional Investor | SM Brady | 21 May 10 | 64,509 | 586 | 378,023 |
| Hill & Smith Holdings | D Muir | 21 May 10 | 35,000 | 333 | 116,550 |
| Hiscox Ltd | BE Masojada (ce) | 17 May 10 | 116,891 | 342.1892 | 399,988 |
| Informa | D Mapp (ch) | 14 May 10 | 2,304 | 399.9631 | 9,215 |
| Informa | D Mapp (ch) | 14 May 10 | 2,305 | 400.2 | 9,225 |
| Informa | D Mapp (ch) | 14 May 10 | 3,498 | 399.808 | 13,985 |
| Informa | D Mapp (ch) | 14 May 10 | 3,504 | 400.2 | 14,023 |
| Informa | D Mapp (ch) | 14 May 10 | 50,953 | 397.4 | 202,487 |
| Inmarsat | R Medlock (cfo) | 21 May 10 | 211,500 | 751.6 | 1,589,634 |
| Inmarsat | A Sukawaty (ch & ce) | 21 May 10 | 432,000 | 751.6 | 3,246,912 |
| Inmarsat | J Rennocks | 18 May 10 | 43,104 | 770.57 | 332,146 |
| Inmarsat | A Horrocks (cs) | 21 May 10 | 300,000 | 751.6 | 2,254,800 |
| Monks Investment Trust | DCP McDougall | 19 May 10 | 17,500 | 302 | 52,850 |
| Robert Wiseman Dairies | RT Wiseman (ce) | 18 May 10 | 420,000 | 480 | 2,016,000 |
| Rolls-Royce | Sir John Rose (ce) | 17 May 10 | 400,000 | 597.38 | 2,389,520 |
| RPS | Dr AS Hearne (ce) | 17 May 10 | 470,000 | 209.588 | 985,064 |
| RPS | PB Dowen | 19 May 10 | 300,000 | 202.57 | 607,710 |
| SABMiller | MQ Morland | 20 May 10 | 40,000 | 1,928.96 | 771,583 |
| Serco | G Leach | 21 May 10 | 118,588 | 606 | 718,649 |
| *Sold in part to raise funds following the settlement of incentive tax liabilities | |||||
Source: Morningstar UK. ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director
