Just a week earlier, Brammer announced that sales in the first half were up 20.3 per cent to a record £331.1m, but analysts at Peel Hunt estimate that this represents a slowdown from 29.4 per cent growth in the first quarter to a second-quarter exit rate of 5 per cent.
Brammer is well placed to expand into the European marketplace and, because it is such a highly cyclical operator, we think the shares will fly if there is any agreement reached by European leaders on a stimulus package. But, for now, we'd rather invest elsewhere on fundamentals than wishful thinking. The shares are currently priced at 242p and, on a forecast PE ratio of 10, remain a sell.
John Ficenec
Directors buy on a low
Directors at surveying and estate agency company LSL Property Services (LSL) have been buying after a torrid set of half-year results at the end of last month sent the share price tumbling 13 per cent to the current price of 218p. LSL's interim statement was hit by both weak trading in the surveying division and a £17.3m provision to cover the cost of compensating banks for submitting over-optimistic valuations during the boom years. It hasn't all been bad news from the group, though. Its lettings business should help to provide a buffer against the cyclical chill and the group has high hopes for its recent acquisition of high-end London estate agency Marsh & Parsons. Chief executive Simon Embley has spent £360,000 on 180,000 shares at 200p, while the director in charge of the estate agency division, David Newnes, parted with £100,000 for 50,000 shares. The faith shown by the directors is to be welcomed, but recent events have rightly unsettled the market and the outlook for surveying shows few signs of improving.
Algy Hall
Taylorson gifts away
One of the more unusual entries in this week’s table is the transaction by Brian Taylorson of Elementis. It isn’t often a director sells a substantial number of shares for nothing but this is exactly what Mr Taylorson has done. The company confirmed that the sale “is due to the fact that the director gifted the shares away to charity”. The share price of Elementis is currently 219p which means the charity concerned has received nearly £110,000.
Robert Ansted
Director buys
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amec | Samir Brikho (ceo) | 10 Aug 12 | 20,000 | 1092 | 218,400 |
| Aquarius Platinum | Nicholas Sibley | 13 Aug 12 | 100,000 | A$0.565 | A$56,500 |
| Bank of Ireland | Archibold Kane (gvr) | 13 Aug 12 | 11,074 | E0.097 | E1,074 |
| Bank of Ireland | V Prem Watsa | 14 Aug 12 | 1,000 | E0.097 | E97 |
| Brammer | Paul Thwaite | 06 Aug 12 | 104,091 | 229 | 238,368 |
| British Empire Securities | Susan Noble | 09 Aug 12 | 3,402 | 437.55 | 14,885 |
| Byotrol | Ralph Kugler (ch) | 15 Aug 12 | 150,000 | 7.5 | 11,250 |
| Byotrol | Ralph Kugler (ch) | 16 Aug 12 | 250,000 | 7.625 | 19,063 |
| Centamin | Mark Bankes | 17 Aug 12 | 30,000 | 73.5 | 22,050 |
| Hammerson | Judy Gibbons | 10 Aug 12 | 4,000 | 462.28 | 18,491 |
| Independent Resources | Tim James | 17 Aug 12 | 167,433 | 8.5 | 14,232 |
| Invesco Perpetual Select Trust | Patrick Gifford | 07 Aug 12 | 30,000 | 95 | 28,500 |
| Ipso Ventures | Craig Rochford (ch) | 09 Aug 12 | 400,000 | 2 | 8,000 |
| Ladbrokes | Ian Bull | 15 Aug 12 | 5,900 | 168.2966 | 9,929 |
| Legendary Investment | Zafar Karim | 15 Aug 12 | 10,000,000 | 0.1 | 10,000 |
| Legendary Investment | Thomas Reuner | 16 Aug 12 | 10,000,000 | 0.11 | 11,000 |
| LSL Property Services | Simon Embley (ceo) | 15 Aug 12 | 180,000 | 200 | 360,000 |
| LSL Property Services | David Newnes | 15 Aug 12 | 50,000 | 200 | 100,000 |
| Maven Income & Growth VCT 2 | William Nixon | 20 Jun 12 | 100,000 | 47 | 47,000 |
| Media Corporation | Mark Butt | 16 Aug 12 | 3,000,000 | 0.6 | 18,000 |
| Meggitt | Peter Huber | 14 Aug 12 | 8,616 | 409 | 35,239 |
| Mithras Investment Trust | Miriam Greenwood | 08 Aug 12 | 25,000 | 101 | 25,250 |
| North Atlantic Smaller | Christopher Mills | 16 Aug 12 | 3,500 | 1020 | 35,700 |
| Ocean Wilsons | Chris Townsend | 15 Aug 12 | 5,000 | 890 | 44,500 |
| Picton Property | Nicholas Thompson (ch) | 08 Aug 12 | 25,226 | 39.59 | 9,987 |
| Premier Energy & Water | James Smith | 17 Aug 12 | 6,750 | 689.4 | 46,535 |
| Pressure Technologies | Philip Cammerman | 16 Aug 12 | 5,000 | 165 | 8,250 |
| Quercus Publishing | David Potter (ch) | 06 Aug 12 | 7,162 | 105 | 7,520 |
| Real Good Food | Peter Salter | 16 Aug 12 | 50,000 | 42.5 | 21,250 |
| StatPro | Mark Adorian | 17 Aug 12 | 100,000 | 95 | 95,000 |
| Synectics | John Shepherd (ceo) | 07 Aug 12 | 5,172 | 290 | 14,999 |
| TomCo Energy | Paul Rankin (ceo) | 08 Aug 12 | 1,295,301 | 1.543 | 19,986 |
| Victoria | Roger Hoyle | 17 Aug 12 | 10,000 | 255 | 25,500 |
Director sells
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquarius Platinum | Nicholas Sibley | 13 Aug 12 | 100,000 | A$0.565 | A$56,500 |
| Elementis | Brian Taylorson | 07 Aug 12 | 50,000 | 0 | 0 |
| Fidessa | John Hamer | 10 Aug 12 | 742 | 1,432.60 | 10,630 |
| First Derivatives | Adrian Toner | 18 Aug 12 | 10,000 | 472.50 | 47,250 |
| John Lewis of Hungerford | John Lewis | 13 Aug 12 | 5,000,000 | 0.63 | 31,250 |
| Legal & General | Elaine MacLean | 17 Aug 12 | 18,900 | 132.21 | 24,988 |
| Moneysupermarket.com | Paul Doughty (cfo) | 15 Aug 12 | 392,935 | 140 | 550,934 |
| Rightmove | Ed Williams | 10 Aug 12 | 465,182 | 1,615.16 | 7,513,425 |
| Tracsis | Raymond Kwan | 13 Aug 12 | 200,000 | 128.50 | 257,000 |
| Tracsis | Raymond Kwan | 17 Aug 12 | 200,000 | 125.00 | 250,000 |
| Travis Perkins | GI Cooper | 14 Aug 12 | 14,465 | 1,091.93 | 157,948 |
Table compiled by Robert Ansted.
Key to abbreviations: ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director
