Betfair's share price (BET) has been notably lagging the field in the gaming sector, presenting an opportunity to cash in on longer odds.
That is exactly what the company's senior management team has done, with chief executive Breon Corcoran and chief financial officer Alexander Ghersh spending almost £300,000 between them on a total of 45,000 shares. Mr Corcoran's purchase made up the greater share, with 25,000 of the total and represents his first significant holding in the company. If he is to see any value from the shares, then Mr Corcoran must execute a turnaround plan that restores Betfair's place in its home market in the UK. The company had run into regulatory problems in its grey area markets in parts of Europe and is withdrawing in order to consolidate.
Julian Hofmann
Anderson sells GDRs in Eurasia Drilling
The chief financial officer for Eurasia Drilling (EDCL), Richard Anderson, sold global depositary receipts worth US$3.45m (£2.15m) in his company, which provides onshore and offshore drilling services in the CIS. This is the largest transaction this week but the financial officer sold pursuant to the requirements of his pending divorce settlement.
Robert Ansted
Buys
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Total shares held | Value (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associated British Engineering | Colin Weinberg | 9 Jan 13 | 4,000 | 125 | 5,000 | 115,916 | 5.657 |
| Associated British Engineering | David Brown | 9 Jan 13 | 4,000 | 125 | 5,000 | 93,312 | 4.554 |
| Betfair | Breon Corcoran (ceo) | 11 Jan 13 | 25,000 | 658.94 | 164,735 | 25,000 | 0.024 |
| Betfair | Alexander Gersh (cfo) | 11 Jan 13 | 20,000 | 657.45 | 131,490 | 20,000 | 0.019 |
| Capital & Regional | Kenneth Ford | 11 Jan 13 | 172,278 | 28.28 | 48,720 | 1,679,432 | - |
| Cluff Natural Resources | Algy Cluff (ch,ceo) | 14 Jan 13 | 500,000 | 4.479 | 22,395 | 10,500,000 | 12.07 |
| CVS | Nick Perrin (fd) | 10 Jan 13 | 3,000 | 171 | 5,130 | 3,000 | 0.005 |
| Dillistone | Mike Love (ch) | 9 Jan 13 | 178,485 | 81.5 | 145,465 | 450,622 | 2.48 |
| Eastern European Trust | Philippe Delpal | 10 Jan 13 | 12,000 | 270 | 32,400 | 12,000 | 0.03 |
| Falkland Islands | Jeremy Brade | 9 Jan 13 | 3,500 | 342 | 11,970 | 9,500 | 0.08 |
| Heath, Samuel | SB Heath (ch) | 14 Jan 13 | 500 | 305 | 1,525 | 491,581 | 19.4 |
| Llika | Jack Boyer (ch) | 11 Jan 13 | 30,000 | 25 | 7,500 | 394,009 | 0.86 |
| Mediterranean Oil & Gas | William Higgs (ceo) | 8 Jan 13 | 200,000 | 10.15 | 20,300 | 200,000 | 0.05 |
| Mediterranean Oil & Gas | Keith Henry (ch) | 8 Jan 13 | 250,000 | 10.22 | 25,550 | 1,250,000 | 0.29 |
| Office2office | Simon Moate (ceo) | 9 Jan 13 | 10,000 | 100 | 10,000 | 206,832 | 0.57 |
| Office2office | Steve McKeever (coo) | 9 Jan 13 | 5,364 | 101.79 | 5,460 | 12,111 | - |
| Pacific Assets Trust | Martin Lau | 7 Jan 13 | 300,000 | 142.2472 | 426,742 | 540,000 | 0.46 |
| Pittards | Stephen Boyd (ch) | 10 Jan 13 | 250,000 | 1.95 | 4,875 | 18,133,333 | 3.92 |
| President Energy | Peter Levine (ch) | 11 Jan 13 | 100,000 | 25 | 25,000 | 68,648,525 | 25.55 |
| Quintain Estates & Development | William Rucker | 9 Jan 13 | 5,462 | 54.92 | 3,000 | - | 0.07 |
| Sierra Rutile | Jan Castro (ch) | 11 Jan 13 | 460,000 | 53 | 243,800 | 1,351,000 | 0.26 |
| Sierra Rutile | Michael Barton | 11 Jan 13 | 35,000 | 53 | 18,550 | 87,000 | 0.017 |
| Sierra Rutile | Michael Brown | 11 Jan 13 | 105,000 | 53 | 55,650 | 250,000 | 0.049 |
| Terra Capital | Filip Montfort | 11 Jan 13 | 40,000 | US$0.79 | US$31,600 | 258,393 | 0.37 |
| Tower Resources | Peter Taylor | 9 Jan 13 | 2,300,000 | 2.12 | 48,760 | 101,319,105 | 6.24 |
| Universe | Robert Goddard | 11 Jan 13 | 134,000 | 3.75 | 5,025 | 1,184,000 | 0.63 |
| Universe | Stephen McLeod | 11 Jan 13 | 127,455 | 3.75 | 4,780 | 5,077,455 | 2.71 |
| Universe | Malcolm Coster | 11 Jan 13 | 186,500 | 3.75 | 6,994 | 936,500 | 0.5 |
| Universe | Robert Smeeton | 11 Jan 13 | 80,000 | 3.75 | 3,000 | 386,240 | 0.2 |
| W.H. Ireland | John Scott | 14 Jan 13 | 110,000 | 55 | 60,500 | 234,575 | 0.99 |
| W.H. Ireland | Alan Kershaw | 14 Jan 13 | 20,000 | 55.00 | 11,000 | 40,000 | 0.17 |
Sells
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Total shares held | Value (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afren | Galib Virani | 9 Jan 13 | 210,090 | 139.50 | 293,076 | 377,846 | 0.03 |
| Bankers Petroleum | Eric Brown | 9 Jan 13 | 5,000 | Can$2.98 | Can$14,900 | 81,166 | - |
| Bankers Petroleum | Eric Brown | 14 Jan 13 | 2,000 | Can$2.83 | Can$5,660 | 79,166 | - |
| CML Microsystems | Nigel Clark (fd) | 8 Jan 13 | 12,900 | 395 | 50,955 | 77,100 | 0.49 |
| Dillistone | Rory Howard | 9 Jan 13 | 224,433 | 81.50 | 182,913 | 3,300,000 | 18.13 |
| Eurasia Drilling (GDRs) | Richard Anderson (cfo) | 9 Jan 13 | 99,927 | US$34.48 | US$3,445,483 | 2,000 | - |
| Pennon | Stephen Bird | 10 Jan 13 | 2,588 | 653.00 | 16,900 | - | - |
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
