There was a flurry of selling activity at workwear and hotel linen cleaner Berendsen (BRSN) as chief executive Peter Ventress sold 47,218 shares at 774p, David Lawler, company secretary, offloaded 17,042 shares at 774p, and three weeks earlier Peter Haveus, managing director of workwear, sold 50,000 shares at 770p.
This doesn't look like management exiting at the top, though, more a result of the 2009 management share incentive scheme vesting on 15 April. In the most recent trading update, growth in the core business was up 3 per cent and management said operating margins had continued to improve, with a 10-year high of 14.8 per cent reported in the full-year results.
Cash-flow generation remained strong, with trading in line with expectations, management said. Broker Investec expects adjusted pre-tax profits of £132m, giving EPS of 56.6p, for the year ahead. And with shares at 767p on a reasonable PE ratio of 13.5 times, we retain our recommendation. Buy.
Topping's windfall at William Hill
William Hill chief executive Ralph Topping celebrated the confirmation of two more years at the helm at the high-street bookmaker by selling 400,000 shares at an average price of 452p, raising £1.8m in the process. That will be useful spending money for the flat horseracing season, but it also represents a turnaround in sentiment compared with this time last year when 48 per cent of shareholders rebelled against a proposed £1.2m “retention bonus” for the chief executive. This year the remuneration report went through virtually unopposed after Mr Topping guided the company through a whirlwind of corporate activity. The end result is that William Hill now has full control of its highly successful online betting arm, William Hill Online, after buying gaming software specialist Playtech's share. The purchase underlines William Hill’s currently dominant position in the UK betting market and, on balance, Mr Topping has earned his windfall. We'd hang on to the shares, though. Hold.
Buys
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Total shares held | Value (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AfriAg | David Lenigas (ch) | 21 May 13 | 500,000 | 0.65 | 3,250 | 104,000,000 | 12.67 |
| Altus Resource Capital | David Gelber | 22 May 13 | 3,000 | 99.75 | 2,993 | - | - |
| Aseana Properties | David Harris | 17 May 13 | 25,000 | 27 | 6,750 | 145,000 | 0.07 |
| Avanti Communications | Paul Walsh | 28 May 13 | 12,572 | 261 | 32,813 | 130,000 | 0.1 |
| Aviva | Sir Adrian Montague | 20 May 13 | 540 | 340.35 | 1,838 | 16,090 | - |
| Bailey, CH | Charlie Bailey | 23 May 13 | 12,192 | 200 | 24,384 | 5,277,686 | 69.4 |
| BlackRock Commodities Inc Inv | Michael Merton | 22 May 13 | 17,000 | 118.25 | 20,103 | 17,000 | 0.02 |
| Corac | Julia Henderson | 22 May 13 | 100,000 | 12.85 | 12,850 | 100,000 | 0.03 |
| Dods | Henrietta Marsh | 23 May 13 | 375,000 | 4.2 | 15,750 | 375,000 | 0.1 |
| Genus | Stephen Wilson | 23 May 13 | 3,000 | 1450 | 43,500 | 3,000 | 0.005 |
| Glanbia | Donard Gaynor | 22 May 13 | 5,000 | E10.85 | E54,250 | - | - |
| Greencore | John Maloney | 23 May 13 | 25,000 | 125 | 31,250 | 25,000 | 0.006 |
| Greggs | Allison Kirkby | 22 May 13 | 600 | 416 | 2,496 | 600 | 0.0006 |
| Halfords | Dennis Millard | 24 May 13 | 10,000 | 319.6 | 31,960 | 50,000 | 0.03 |
| Halfords | Matt Davies | 24 May 13 | 10,000 | 319.6 | 31,960 | 174,056 | 0.09 |
| Halfords | Andrew Findlay | 24 May 13 | 7,704 | 322.7 | 24,861 | 12,604 | 0.006 |
| Hays | Alan Thomson (ch) | 22 May 13 | 50,000 | 95 | 47,500 | 175,000 | - |
| Intu Properties | Adèle Anderson | 23 May 13 | 7,500 | 346.7 | 26,003 | 13,500 | 0.001 |
| LMS Capital | Martin Knight | 22 May 13 | 15,000 | 74 | 11,100 | 28,724 | 0.01 |
| LMS Capital | Neil Lerner | 21 May 13 | 13,254 | 74.85 | 9,921 | 41,516 | 0.02 |
| New Britain Palm Oil | Alan Chaytor | 21 May 13 | 10,000 | 375 | 37,500 | 6,729,000 | 4.48 |
| Paddy Power | Cormac McCarthy | 22 May 13 | 1,000 | E63.75 | E63,750 | - | - |
| Paragon | Fiona Clutterbuck | 23 May 13 | 3,214 | 311.1 | 9,999 | - | - |
| PureCircle | William Mitchell | 23 May 13 | 30,000 | 335 | 100,500 | 887,000 | - |
| RM | John Poulter (ch) | 23 May 13 | 100,000 | 71 | 71,000 | 100,000 | 0.11 |
| Sainsbury, J | Angela Risley | 23 May 13 | 5,235 | 381.935 | 19,994 | 5,235 | - |
| Sierra Rutile | Richard Lister | 24 May 13 | 110,000 | 50 | 55,000 | 310,000 | 0.06 |
| Steppe Cement | Malcolm Brown | 21 May 13 | 75,000 | 30.75 | 23,063 | 647,120 | 0.3 |
| Steppe Cement | Malcolm Brown | 22 May 13 | 50,000 | 31.5 | 15,750 | 697,120 | 0.32 |
| Steppe Cement | Malcolm Brown | 23 May 13 | 50,000 | 31.5 | 15,750 | 747,120 | 0.34 |
| Steppe Cement | Malcolm Brown | 24 May 13 | 252,880 | 31.5 | 79,657 | 1,000,000 | 0.46 |
| Symphony | Anil Thadani | 22 May 13 | 250,000 | US$0.7982 | US$199,550 | 49,632,337 | 9.63 |
| Terra Capital | Dirk Van den Broeck | 22 May 13 | 120,000 | US$0.725 | US$87,000 | 754,068 | 0.97 |
| Tiger Resources | Colin Bird | 20 May 13 | 50,000 | 1.375 | 688 | 7,445,000 | 5.38 |
| Tiger Resources | Colin Bird | 21 May 13 | 125,000 | 1.6 | 2,000 | 7,570,000 | 5.48 |
| Tiger Resources | Colin Bird | 23 May 13 | 200,000 | 1.6 | 3,200 | 7,770,000 | 5.62 |
| ZincOx Resources | Andrew Woollett (ch) | 22 May 13 | 1,288,244 | 15.525 | 200,000 | 3,773,643 | 3.65 |
Sells
| Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Total shares held | Value (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beazley | Jonathan Gray | 22 May 13 | 250,000 | 236.10 | 590,250 | 759,549 | 0.15 |
| Berendsen | Peter Ventress (ceo) | 24 May 13 | 47,218 | 774.40 | 365,656 | 195,586 | - |
| Berendsen | David Lawler | 24 May 13 | 17,042 | 774.40 | 131,973 | 130,855 | - |
| Bloomsbury Publishing | Nigel Newton | 24 May 13 | 131,792 | 126.63 | 166,882 | 1,374,863 | 1.86 |
| Experian | Alan Jebson | 22 May 13 | 17,597 | 1,274.68 | 224,305 | - | - |
| Fidessa | Chris Aspinwall | 22 May 13 | 1,500 | 2,020 | 30,293 | 109,101 | 0.29 |
| Hikma Pharmaceuticals | Said Darwazah | 23 May 13 | 188,445 | 988 | 1,861,837 | 190,000 | 0.1 |
| ITE | Edward Strachan | 21 May 13 | 70,000 | 300 | 210,000 | 1,914,029 | 0.77 |
| Kofax | Chris Conway | 22 May 13 | 30,000 | 325.00 | 97,500 | 285,000 | 0.31 |
| Next | Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise | 24 May 13 | 20,000 | 462.40 | 92,480 | 1,514,128 | 0.9435 |
| Next | John Barton | 24 May 13 | 1,000 | 4,595 | 45,950 | 7,000 | 0.0044 |
| Optimal Payments | Joel Leonoff (pres,ceo) | 24 May 13 | 346,500 | 175.35 | 607,588 | 2,516,216 | 1.69 |
| Prudential | M Coltman | 22 May 13 | 23,160 | 1,193.08 | 276,317 | 94,767 | 0.0037 |
| Prudential | R Devey | 22 May 13 | 30,000 | 1,193.08 | 357,924 | 189,022 | 0.0074 |
| Prudential | J Foley | 22 May 13 | 120,000 | 1,193.08 | 1,431,696 | 237,962 | 0.0093 |
| Prudential | M McLintock | 22 May 13 | 300,000 | 1,193.08 | 3,579,240 | 449,847 | 0.0176 |
| Prudential | N Nicandrou | 22 May 13 | 200,000 | 1,193.08 | 2,386,160 | 299,314 | 0.0117 |
| Prudential | B Stowe | 22 May 13 | 78,767 | 1,196.45 | 942,408 | 198,633 | 0.0156 |
| Prudential | Tthiam | 22 May 13 | 400,000 | 1,193.08 | 4,772,320 | 881,753 | 0.0345 |
| TT Electronics | John Molloy | 22 May 13 | 600,000 | 175.00 | 1,050,000 | 1,320,677 | 0.84 |
| William Hill | Ralph Topping (ceo) | 22 May 13 | 400,000 | 452.11 | 1,808,440 | 178,772 | - |
| YouGov | Stephan Shakespeare (ceo) | 21 May 13 | 300,000 | 70.50 | 211,500 | 9,139,110 | 9.4 |
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
