Martin Gilbert has sold 500,000 shares in Aberdeen Asset Management (AAM), valued at £1.54m, in a move explained as portfolio diversification. And it's not hard to see why. Currently group chief executive, Mr Gilbert joined AAM in 1983 and is a founder shareholder. Over the years, he has accumulated a significant shareholding, which still stands at 2.267m shares after the latest sale.
However, Mr Gilbert also has an unconditional entitlement to 3.01m shares in respect of awards made as part of the group's deferred bonus arrangements covering the four years from 2007 to 2010. These have reached their earliest vesting dates and take Mr Gilbert's unconditional interest up to 5.28m shares. On top of this, there are conditional entitlements in relation to deferred bonus arrangements covering 2009, 2010 and 2011, which will vest over the period to December 2014, and amount to a further 2.7m shares. Disposal of the entire conditional and unconditional entitlement, as well as his existing holding, would amount to £25.38m. Aberdeen Asset Management continues to trade strongly, with assets under management in the two months to the end of August rising £1.6bn to £184.3bn. Gross new business wins in that time amounted to £6.1bn and, while there was a £100m net outflow, most of the new business has been flowing into higher-margin mandates.
Jonas Crosland
Confident Hopkins buys into Workspace
Workspace's new chief executive Jamie Hopkins has bought just under £300,000 worth of shares - a vote of confidence in the small business landlord after six months at the helm. It’s also a vote of confidence in our recent tip (Buy, 252p, 16 Aug 2012), in which we argued that Workspace’s shares were lowly rated for a company that clearly benefits from the strong London economy.
Since then, Workspace has entered the FTSE 350 and raised £57.5m by issuing an eye-catching retail bond. Boasting a 6 per cent coupon and a number of covenants to protect investors, the bond looks a good deal for those too risk-averse to buy the equities. It also helps to resolve the company’s funding problems.
Workspace owns a lot of period industrial properties on the fringes of central London, and announced an ambitious refurbishment and extension programme to increase their value last year. The business plan required £98m of capital expenditure, much of which the retail bond has now supplied. Three schemes are due to complete and a further six should start during the current financial year (ending next March). Eventually, the extensions should boost the company’s book value by about £55m, reckons broker Peel Hunt, which will support the extra debt.
Peel Hunt upgraded its advice from hold to buy on 25 September, increasing its price target to 300p. Analyst Keith Crawford noted the potential of the company's properties for residential conversion as well as the current refurbishment projects.
Stephen Wilmot
Director buys
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advance Frontier Markets | Richard Hotchkis | 25 Sep 12 | 15,000 | 41.55 | 6,233 |
| Amphion Innovations | Richard Morgan (ceo) | 28 Sep 12 | 125,000 | 2.75 | 3,438 |
| Ariana Resources | Dr Kerim Sener (md) | 2 Oct 12 | 150,000 | 1.77 | 2,655 |
| Athelney Trust | Robin Boyle (md) | 1 Oct 12 | 5,000 | 115 | 5,750 |
| Avesco | Richard Murray (ch) | 1 Oct 12 | 10,000 | 158 | 15,800 |
| Barclays | Sir David Walker (ch) | 26 Sep 12 | 25,000 | 216.26 | 54,065 |
| Byotrol | Till Medinger | 28 Sep 12 | 100,000 | 7.75 | 7,750 |
| Clinigen | Ian Nicholson | 25 Sep 12 | 10,000 | 164 | 16,400 |
| Communisis | John Wells | 27 Sep 12 | 10,000 | 35.4 | 3,540 |
| Dexion Trading | CP Goodwin | 26 Sep 12 | 20,000 | 121.96 | 24,392 |
| Elektron Technology | Keith Daley (ch) | 1 Oct 12 | 250,000 | 18 | 45,000 |
| Environmental Recycling Technologies | Lee Clayton (coo) | 26 Sep 12 | 1,375,000 | 2.15 | 29,563 |
| Environmental Recycling Technologies | Ken Brooks (ch) | 26 Sep 12 | 916,667 | 2.15 | 19,708 |
| Environmental Recycling Technologies | Roger Baynham (md) | 26 Sep 12 | 458,333 | 2.15 | 9,854 |
| Havelock Europa | Eric Prescott | 2 Oct 12 | 30,000 | 14 | 4,200 |
| Helical Bar | Richard Grant | 27 Sep 12 | 15,000 | 187 | 28,050 |
| Hiscox | Ernst Jansen | 28 Sep 12 | 3,663 | 482.1486 | 17,661 |
| Hiscox | Andrea Rosen | 28 Sep 12 | 3,966 | 482.1486 | 19,122 |
| Homeserve | Jonathan King | 28 Sep 12 | 10,921 | 212 | 23,153 |
| Invesco Leveraged High Yield | Michael Lombardi | 24 Sep 12 | 100,000 | 60.5 | 60,500 |
| JPMorgan Brazil Investment Trust | Victor Bulmer-Thomas | 1 Oct 12 | 13,000 | 83.6 | 10,868 |
| Ladbrokes | Ian Bull | 25 Sep 12 | 46,000 | 185.2 | 85,192 |
| Land Securities | Stacey Rauch | 28 Sep 12 | 1,750 | 769.5 | 13,466 |
| Manx Financial | David Gibson | 28 Sep 12 | 250,000 | 5 | 12,500 |
| MCB Finance | Philippe Duleyrie | 24 Sep 12 | 209,750 | 38 | 79,705 |
| Mytrah Energy | Russell Walls | 1 Oct 12 | 20,000 | 55.6 | 11,120 |
| National Grid | Nora Brownell | 28 Sep 12 | 5,000 | $11.1143 | $55,572 |
| North Atlantic Smaller | Christopher Mills | 27 Sep 12 | 1,500 | 1050 | 15,750 |
| Panmure Gordon | Lesley Watkins | 26 Sep 12 | 46,500 | 10.75 | 4,999 |
| PureCircle | Olivier Maes | 28 Sep 12 | 15,000 | 210 | 31,500 |
| Quintain Estates | William Rucker | 28 Sep 12 | 5,678 | 52.83 | 3,000 |
| Real Estate Investors | William Wyatt | 19 Sep 12 | 25,000 | 40 | 10,000 |
| Rio Tinto | Richard Goodmanson | 27 Sep 12 | 251 | 2889.425 | 7,252 |
| Rio Tinto | Ann Godbehere | 27 Sep 12 | 34 | 2889.425 | 982 |
| Rio Tinto | Paul Tellier | 27 Sep 12 | 219 | 2889.425 | 6,328 |
| SIG | Douglas Robertson | 26 Sep 12 | 30,000 | 99.84 | 29,952 |
| Soco | Dr Mike Watts | 29 Sep 12 | 1,532 | 331 | 5,071 |
| Thor Mining | David Thomas | 28 Sep 12 | 1,000,000 | A$0.018 | A$17,775 |
| Workspace | Jamie Hopkins (ceo) | 28 Sep 12 | 112,525 | 266 | 299,317 |
Director sells
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen Asian | Alan Kemp | 2 Oct 12 | 6,000 | 835.00 | 50,100 |
| Aberdeen Asset Management | Martin Gilbert | 26 Sep 12 | 500,000 | 308 | 1,541,000 |
| Berkeley | AW Pidgley | 25 Sep 12 | 500,000 | 1,455.00 | 7,275,000 |
| BrainJuicer | James Geddes | 26 Sep 12 | 15,000 | 353.00 | 52,950 |
| BrainJuicer | Simon Godfrey | 26 Sep 12 | 10,000 | 353.00 | 35,300 |
| Domino's Pizza UK & Ireland | Patricia Thomas | 26 Sep 12 | 100,000 | 537.00 | 537,000 |
| Hambledon Mining | Nicholas Bridgen | 26 Sep 12 | 88,448,936 | 2 | 1,592,081 |
| Helical Barr | Michael Slade | 26 Sep 12 | 200,000 | 183.70 | 367,400 |
| Numis Corporation | Oliver Hemsley (ceo) | 27 Sep 12 | 1,500,000 | 99.00 | 1,485,000 |
| Pennon | Michael Hellings | 25 Sep 12 | 10,633 | 747 | 79,435 |
| Personal | Kenneth Rooney (d ch) | 25 Sep 12 | 62,944 | 357.00 | 224,710 |
| Scotgold Resources | Phillip Jackson | 28 Sep 12 | 1,000,000 | A$0.055 | A$55,000 |
| Share | Richard Stone (fd) | 27 Sep 12 | 25,000 | 24.25 | 6,063 |
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
