Two directors of Phaunos Timber Fund purchased significant numbers of shares on 4 September. Chairman Sir Henry Studholme bought 195,000 ordinary shares at $0.555, taking his total holding to 290,000 shares, while Richard Hills, appointed non-executive director of the company on 29 August, bought an initial holding of 50,000 ordinary shares, also at $0.555.
The Phaunos Timber Fund aims to achieve long-term total return appreciation with income through a diversified portfolio of timberland and timberland-related investments.
Although the investment trust is invested in areas with strong growth potential and trades at a substantial discount to the net asset value at 42 per cent, it has failed to make positive returns for several years now and charges high fees in comparison to what you would pay on an exchange traded fund that tracks the global timber market.
Moira O'Neill
Staffline director sells on three-year high
An otherwise quiet trading period was notable for the disposal of more than 1m Staffline shares at an average price of 217p by operations director Marshall Evans to raise more than £2.36m. Mr Marshall’s sale came in the wake of solid interim results for the recruiter, with the share price close to a three-year high. True, house broker Liberum only expects flat adjusted EPS of 33.4p this year, but it also forecasts a 20 per cent rise in 2013. On a prospective PE ratio of less than six, the shares, at 225p, continue to rate a buy.
Julian Hofmann
Meeting institutional demand
EMIS's finance director and chairman, along with a member of the group's senior management team, sold 2.04m shares between them. This netted them a total sum of £14.3m, but the transactions that took place were purely to meet institutional demands.
The chairman of Belvoir Lettings, Mike Goddard, also sold 600,000 ordinary shares in his company in order to help satisfy significant institutional demand. Mr Goddard still owns 9.2m shares in Belvoir, which is one of the UK's largest lettings franchises and is listed on Aim.
Robert Ansted
Director buys
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACM Shipping | Tim Jaques | 10 Sep 12 | 6,450 | 154 | 9,933 |
| Aseana Properties | Gerald Ong Chong Keng | 06 Sep 12 | 500,000 | $0.3975 | $198,750 |
| Ashtead | Chris Cole | 04 Sep 12 | 30,000 | 315 | 94,500 |
| Best of the Best | William Hindmarch | 03 Sep 12 | 24,147 | 19.5 | 4,709 |
| Best of the Best | Rupert Garton | 03 Sep 12 | 24,147 | 19.5 | 4,709 |
| Best of the Best | Michael Hindmarch | 03 Sep 12 | 24,147 | 19.5 | 4,709 |
| Best of the Best | Colin Hargrave | 03 Sep 12 | 24,147 | 19.5 | 4,709 |
| Carclo | Michael Derbyshire | 06 Sep 12 | 10,000 | 436 | 43,600 |
| City of London Group | David Cardale | 05 Sep 12 | 53,125 | 325 | 172,656 |
| City of London Group | Doug Allison (ceo, fd) | 05 Sep 12 | 100,000 | 325 | 325,000 |
| Compass | Susan Murray | 04 Sep 12 | 3,000 | 701.29 | 21,039 |
| Craneware | Keith Neilson (ceo) | 05 Sep 12 | 5,270 | 375.962 | 19,813 |
| Dexion Trading | CP Spencer | 07 Sep 12 | 24,900 | 121 | 30,129 |
| HR Owen | Mike Warren (fd) | 03 Sep 12 | 10,000 | 58 | 5,800 |
| Hansa Trust "A" | Alex Hammond-Chambers | 07 Sep 12 | 3,000 | 706 | 21,180 |
| Henderson Fledgling Trust | RA Birkett | 10 Sep 12 | 3,000 | 316 | 9,480 |
| Imperial Tobacco | Iain Napier (ch) | 07 Sep 12 | 437 | 2269.9 | 9,919 |
| Innovation | Jane Hall (fd) | 04 Sep 12 | 125,000 | 20 | 25,000 |
| Innovation | David Thorpe | 04 Sep 12 | 250,000 | 20.15 | 50,375 |
| IPPlus | William Catchpole (ceo) | 03 Sep 12 | 25,000 | 10.75 | 2,688 |
| IPPlus | William Catchpole (ceo) | 04 Sep 12 | 25,000 | 11.5 | 2,875 |
| IPPlus | Stuart Gordon (cfo) | 04 Sep 12 | 25,000 | 11.5 | 2,875 |
| IPPlus | Stuart Gordon (cfo) | 03 Sep 12 | 25,000 | 10.75 | 2,688 |
| IPPlus | William Catchpole (ceo) | 05 Sep 12 | 12,500 | 12.75 | 1,594 |
| IPPlus | Stuart Gordon (cfo) | 05 Sep 12 | 12,584 | 12.75 | 1,604 |
| IPPlus | William Catchpole (ceo) | 06 Sep 12 | 73,645 | 15 | 11,047 |
| Ironveld | Giles Clarke | 06 Sep 12 | 2,500,000 | 1.96 | 49,000 |
| Ironveld | Nick Harrison | 06 Sep 12 | 2,000,000 | 2 | 40,000 |
| JPMorgan European Smaller | Stephen White | 07 Sep 12 | 5,000 | 659 | 32,950 |
| Ladbrokes | Ian Bull | 03 Sep 12 | 12,200 | 170.45 | 20,795 |
| McBride | Chris Bull | 07 Sep 12 | 20,000 | 119.5 | 23,900 |
| NCI Vehicle Rescue | Paul Barrett | 05 Sep 12 | 20,000 | 36 | 7,200 |
| NCI Vehicle Rescue | Richard Jackson | 07 Sep 12 | 40,000 | 36 | 14,400 |
| NCI Vehicle Rescue | Paul Barrett | 07 Sep 12 | 7,100 | 36 | 2,556 |
| Northacre | Ken MacRae (ceo, fd) | 06 Sep 12 | 10,000 | 59 | 5,900 |
| Paddy Power | William Reeve | 31 Aug 12 | 1,000 | €55.87 | €55,870 |
| Phaunos Timber Fund | Sir Henry Studholme (ch) | 04 Sep 12 | 195,000 | $0.555 | $108,225 |
| Phaunos Timber Fund | Richard Hills | 04 Sep 12 | 50,000 | $0.555 | $27,750 |
| Plant Impact | John Brubaker (ceo) | 07 Sep 12 | 535,000 | 13.85 | 74,098 |
| Rolls-Royce | Iain Conn | 07 Sep 12 | 296 | 835.5 | 2,473 |
| Standard Life Equity Income | Richard Burns | 10 Sep 12 | 20,000 | 287.375 | 57,475 |
| TalkTalk Telecom | Brent Hoberman | 03 Sep 12 | 12,882 | 194.07 | 25,000 |
| Tracsis | John Nelson | 29 Aug 12 | 15,287 | 130 | 19,873 |
| Trakm8 | J Watkins (ceo) | 07 Sep 12 | 481,994 | 17 | 81,939 |
| Trakm8 | J Hedges (fd) | 07 Sep 12 | 299,783 | 17 | 50,963 |
| Trakm8 | P Wilson | 07 Sep 12 | 35,000 | 17 | 5,950 |
| UK Select Trust | David Warr | 05 Sep 12 | 80,000 | 125.25 | 100,200 |
| UK Select Trust | Jimmy West | 05 Sep 12 | 23,900 | 125.25 | 29,935 |
| Ukraine Opportunity Trust | Gordon Lawson (ch) | 05 Sep 12 | 35,000 | $1.98 | $69,300 |
| Witan Investment Trust | A Watson | 30 Aug 12 | 5,036 | 471.7 | 23,755 |
Director sells
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belvoir Lettings | Mike Goddard (ch) | 10 Sep 12 | 600,000 | 88.50 | 531,000 |
| EMIS | Philip Woodrow (fd) | 04 Sep 12 | 1,000,000 | 700 | 7,000,000 |
| EMIS | Tony Jones | 04 Sep 12 | 286,000 | 700 | 2,002,000 |
| Euromoney Institutional Investor | DC Cohen | 05 Sep 12 | 25,000 | 752 | 188,000 |
| Pennon | Monica Read | 04 Sep 12 | 5,000 | 740.64 | 37,032 |
| Qatar Investment Fund | David von Simson | 05 Sep 12 | 75,000 | $0.9 | $67,500 |
| Qinetiq | Duane Andrews | 05 Sep 12 | 50,000 | 171 | 85,615 |
| Staffline | Marshall Evans | 06 Sep 12 | 1,090,400 | 217 | 2,366,168 |
| Trakm8 | Cary Knapton | 07 Sep 12 | 816,777 | 17 | 138,852 |
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
