Nixon nixes his dividend

And more recently, management at MoneySupermarket.com confirmed that revenue for the current year is expected to be up 10 per cent on a year earlier. A surfeit of cash has prompted the group to announce a special interim dividend payment of 12.92p, with an ex-dividend day of 12 June. However, founder Simon Nixon will miss out on £12.92m because on 5 June he sold a cool 100m shares at 200p each, although he still holds just over 159m, or 29.5 per cent of the company. And shareholders shouldn’t take fright because the sale comes as Mr Nixon scales back his day-to-day involvement, having stepped down as executive deputy chairman in April to become non-executive deputy chairman, although he will continue to play a key role on the board. Initially, he intended to sell 80m shares but increased this after noting strong demand from other investors. The share placing will allow him to diversify his personal holdings and improve liquidity levels, and he will be subject to a nine-month lock-up on his remaining stake. The placing will take place via an accelerated book build, and buyers through the placing will be eligible to receive the special dividend.

Jonas Crosland

Director at Finsbury gorges on more shares

If you’ve ever bought a Thorntons chocolate cake or eaten a supermarket-branded hot cross bun, chances are it was made by Cardiff baker Finsbury Food. The company also has a licence to make cakes, cupcakes and other delectable treats for Disney, Marvel, Weightwatchers and Nestle, and is the baker behind Cranks, Vogel’s and Village Bakery rye. It has been a steady performer in recent years, and since our buy tip last year (buy, 37p, 4 Oct 2012), the share price has risen 54 per cent.

Despite this uptick, Crawford Currie, a board member and finance director of Lightbody Group, a subsidiary of Finsbury, bought 41,000 shares in the company on 10 June as part of a long-term incentive plan. He bought the shares at 56p, totalling £22,960, bringing his total holding in Finsbury to 136,238 shares. This is a vote of confidence in Finsbury and supports our view that the shares have not yet reached their full potential. In the six months to 29 December, Finsbury slashed net debt by 27 per cent, sold its Free From business and raised £4m through a share placing to give it the capital to make badly-needed investments in its cake business and reintroduce a dividend. This investment should translate into lower costs and stronger growth. With a forward PE ratio of 8, the shares are still undervalued. Buy.

Julie Bradshaw

Directors gather shares at Moss Bros.

Maurice Helfgott and Zoe Morgan of Moss Brothers have been busy buying shares in their company and these transactions have caught the eagle eye of Simon Thompson - see his comment.

Buys

Sells

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