Six Serica Energy (SQZ) directors have spent a total of £4.15m bolstering their shareholdings in the company ahead of major drilling results next month. Serica has an 8.33 per cent interest in the exciting Foum Draa licence offshore Morocco, where partner Cairn Energy (CNE) spud a high-impact exploration well in late October. Results from the well, which is targeting a 142m barrel prospect known simply as the F Prospect, are expected later in December.
Serica's directors bought their shares as part of a £12.1m capital-raising completed at 18p a share. Jeffrey Harris - who joined the board last year after acquiring a 14 per cent stake in Serica through his oil and gas investment company, Global Reserve - was the biggest spender. He splashed out a hefty £3.7m.
The company's portfolio of assets includes exploration and development projects in Namibia, Ireland and the North Sea, but Serica's Moroccan plays could turn out to be the most valuable. After the F Prospect, the company will join Genel Energy (GENL) in drilling a high-impact well on another licence, Sidi Moussa, in which Serica holds a 5 per cent interest.
The wells are estimated to have somewhere between a one-in-five and a one-in-10 chance of success - so this investment isn't for the faint-hearted. But the speculative potential is, nonetheless, tempting. Buy at 17.25p.
Don't be spooked by WH Smith disposals
WH Smith's (SMWH) chief executive Stephen Clarke and finance director Robert Moorhead recently sold a significant chunk of shares in the business - but don't let the news spook you into doing the same.
Mr Clarke sold 88,304 shares, at 983p each on 18 November, which generated £868,426 for him, and he also sold another 106,751 shares on the same day, at 973p each - that raised £1.04m. As for Mr Moorhead, he sold 485,687 shares, at 983p each, which netted a chunky £4.8m. But the reason for these significant disposals reflects remuneration arrangements and, in both cases, the shares had been awarded as part of salary-related incentive plans. Indeed, 80 per cent of the pair's salaries are performance-related. It's also worth noting that Mr Clarke still retains over 290,000 shares in the company and that Mr Moorhead has more than 500,000 - not insignificant holdings.
WH Smith's shares have actually risen 14 per cent since we recommended buying them at 850p on 12 September - but, at 969p, they are still trading on a forward PE ratio of around 13, which is fairly cheap for the retail sector. Throw in the added benefit of a rising dividend, and the prospect of further share buy-backs, and we stick with that advice.
BUYS:
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alent | Lars Foerberg | 19 Nov 13 | 35,000 | 316 | 110,600 | 55,784,570 | 20.03 |
| Alent | Lars Foerberg | 18 Nov 13 | 49,000 | 311 | 152,390 | 55,749,570 | 20.02 |
| Anglo American ** | Jack Thompson | 18 Nov 13 | 4,350 | 716.24 | 31,156 | 11,450 | 0.00 |
| Ariana Resources | Michael de Villiers (ch) | 19 Nov 13 | 1,000,000 | 1.1 | 11,000 | 9,050,000 | 1.63 |
| Aviva | Sir Adrian Montague | 18 Nov 13 | 269 | 443.5 | 1,193 | 16,359 | 0.00 |
| Big Yellow | Georgina Harvey | 19 Nov 13 | 10,000 | 470 | 47,000 | 10,000 | 0.01 |
| Biotech Growth Trust (The) † | PS Keen | 18 Nov 13 | 5,000 | 415 | 20,750 | 50,000 | 0.07 |
| BlackRock World Mining Trust | Ian Cockerill | 15 Nov 13 | 17,630 | 474 | 83,566 | 17,630 | 0.01 |
| Bowleven | Ed Willett | 18 Nov 13 | 50,000 | 40 | 20,000 | 388,113 | 0.12 |
| Bowleven | Kevin Hart (ce) | 13 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 45 | 45,000 | 2,662,364 | 0.82 |
| bwin.party digital entertainment | Norbert Teufelberger (ce) | 13 Nov 13 | 150,000 | 123.28 | 184,920 | 12,652,427 | 1.55 |
| Canaccord Genuity Inc | Paul Reynolds (ce) | 14 Nov 13 | 5,300 | 372.91 | 19,764 | 1,191,797 | 1.17 |
| Canaccord Genuity Inc | Charles Bralver | 13 Nov 13 | 10,000 | 373.27 | 37,327 | 50,500 | 0.05 |
| Canaccord Genuity Inc † | Paul Reynolds (ce) | 14 Nov 13 | 3,500 | 373.62 | 13,077 | 1,195,297 | 1.17 |
| Caracal Energy Inc * | Peter Dey | 13 Nov 13 | 1,384 | 450 | 6,228 | 1,384 | 0.00 |
| Caracal Energy Inc * | Dr. Carol Bell | 13 Nov 13 | 2,306 | 450 | 10,377 | 2,306 | 0.00 |
| Caracal Energy Inc * | John Bentley | 13 Nov 13 | 2,306 | 450 | 10,377 | 2,306 | 0.00 |
| Conroy Gold and Natural Resources | David Wathen | 14 Nov 13 | 176,500 | 2.05 | 3,618 | 400,000 | 0.13 |
| Conroy Gold and Natural Resources † | David Wathen | 14 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 2.05 | 2,050 | 500,000 | 0.17 |
| Daily Internet * | Michael Edelson (ch) | 19 Nov 13 | 3,666,667 | 1.5 | 55,000 | 7,566,666 | 2.05 |
| Daily Internet * | Abby Hardoon Adulayavichit (md) | 19 Nov 13 | 11,064,400 | 1.5 | 165,966 | 31,298,027 | 8.46 |
| Dialight | Roy Burton (ce) | 15 Nov 13 | 2,000 | 916 | 18,320 | 365,888 | 1.13 |
| Dialight | Bill Ronald (ch) | 15 Nov 13 | 2,500 | 913 | 22,825 | 18,350 | 0.06 |
| Dialight | Richard Stuckes | 13 Nov 13 | 10,870 | 915 | 99,461 | 37,853 | 0.12 |
| Essentra | Peter Hill | 19 Nov 13 | 10,000 | 775 | 77,500 | 10,000 | 0.00 |
| Highcroft Investments | John Hewitt (ch) | 19 Nov 13 | 1,500 | 695 | 10,425 | 14,485 | 0.28 |
| Highcroft Investments | Roberta C Miles (fd & cs) | 15 Nov 13 | 2,250 | 696 | 15,660 | 2,250 | 0.04 |
| Highcroft Investments † | John Hewitt (ch) | 19 Nov 13 | 1,500 | 695 | 10,425 | 15,985 | 0.31 |
| IG Seismic Services ** | S Generalov (ch) | 14 Nov 13 | 2,709,109 | na | 25,084,343 | 2,709,109 | 13.00 |
| IPPlus | Stuart Gordon (fd & cs) | 14 Nov 13 | 16,747 | 27.3 | 4,572 | 968,180 | 3.07 |
| IPPlus | William Catchpole (md) | 14 Nov 13 | 24,668 | 27.3 | 6,734 | 2,585,538 | 8.19 |
| IXICO | John Bradshaw | 18 Nov 13 | 35,517 | 56 | 19,890 | 35,517 | 0.24 |
| Ladbrokes | Peter Erskine (ch) | 15 Nov 13 | 28,000 | 177.07 | 49,580 | 118,095 | 0.01 |
| Lancashire Holdings | Samantha Hoe-Richardson | 19 Nov 13 | 1,640 | 794 | 13,022 | 3,947 | 0.00 |
| LMS Capital | Dr Martin Knight (ch) | 15 Nov 13 | 67,184 | 74 | 49,716 | 95,908 | 0.05 |
| Norcros | David McKeith | 14 Nov 13 | 150,000 | 21.25 | 31,875 | 150,000 | 0.03 |
| One Delta * | Roger Maddock (ch) | 18 Nov 13 | 1,875,000 | 0.53 | 9,999 | 2,873,556 | 9.10 |
| PureCircle | William Mitchell (cfo) | 13 Nov 13 | 20,000 | 365.5 | 73,100 | 907,000 | 0.55 |
| Serica Energy * | Neil Pike | 15 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 18 | 18,000 | 505,000 | 0.20 |
| Serica Energy * | Ian Vann | 15 Nov 13 | 134,000 | 18 | 24,120 | 267,935 | 0.11 |
| Serica Energy * | Mtrchell Flegg | 15 Nov 13 | 166,666 | 18 | 30,000 | 296,465 | 0.16 |
| Serica Energy * | Christopher Hearne (fd) | 15 Nov 13 | 225,000 | 18 | 40,500 | 1,046,615 | 0.57 |
| Serica Energy * | Antony Walker (ch & ce) | 15 Nov 13 | 1,859,680 | 18 | 334,742 | 7,829,916 | 3.13 |
| Serica Energy * | Jeffrey Harris | 15 Nov 13 | 20,588,840 | 18 | 3,705,991 | 46,090,576 | 18.42 |
| Shire | Dr. Fleming Ornskov (ce) | 13 Nov 13 | 22,000 | 2,819 | 620,180 | 22,000 | 0.00 |
| Spirax-Sarco Engineering | Nicholas Anderson | 15 Nov 13 | 1,550 | 2,902 | 44,981 | 3,160 | 0.00 |
| Standard Life Equity Income Trust | MBE White | 18 Nov 13 | 10,000 | 403 | 40,300 | 10,000 | 0.03 |
| Tethys Petroleum | J Hammond (ce) | 19 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 34.45 | 34,450 | 125,000 | 0.04 |
| Tethys Petroleum | Dr. David Robson (ch) | 19 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 34.88 | 34,880 | 1,120,747 | 0.39 |
| Vmoto * | SJ Farrell (ch) | 14 Nov 13 | 2,272,727 | 1.27 | 28,864 | 2,272,727 | 0.19 |
| Vmoto * | YHI Teo (fd) | 14 Nov 13 | 2,272,727 | 1.27 | 28,864 | 5,783,727 | 0.48 |
| Vmoto * | YT Chen (md) | 14 Nov 13 | 2,272,727 | 1.27 | 28,864 | 41,937,305 | 3.48 |
| Vmoto * | O Cairns | 14 Nov 13 | 2,727,273 | 12.7 | 346,364 | 12,216,161 | 1.01 |
| W.H. Ireland | Richard Killingbeck (ce) | 14 Nov 13 | 65,000 | 70.5 | 45,825 | 870,000 | 3.67 |
| Wentworth Resources * | JWS Bentley | 19 Nov 13 | 45,393 | 37.72 | 17,122 | 368,202 | 0.26 |
SELLS:
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust | Robert Jenkins | 14 Nov 13 | 5,000 | 350 | 17,500 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Bankers Petroleum | Robert Cross (ch) | 14 Nov 13 | 250,000 | 239.66 | 599,157 | 1,081,466 | 0.42 |
| Baronsmead VCT | Godfrey Jillings | 19 Nov 13 | 97,013 | 75.02 | 72,779 | 328,620 | 0.40 |
| Baronsmead VCT † | Peter Lawrence (ch) | 19 Nov 13 | 29,615 | 75.12 | 22,247 | 741,279 | 0.91 |
| Baronsmead VCT † | Peter Lawrence (ch) | 19 Nov 13 | 29,615 | 75.12 | 22,247 | 770,894 | 0.95 |
| Boot (Henry) † | John Sutcliffe (fd) | 15 Nov 13 | 5,000 | 202.23 | 10,111 | 430,001 | 0.33 |
| Cropper (James) | Nigel Read | 13 Nov 13 | 2,795 | 352 | 9,838 | 21,738 | 0.24 |
| Datatec | J McCartney | 14 Nov 13 | 4,000 | 327.50 | 13,100 | 729,371 | 0.37 |
| Datatec | J McCartney | 15 Nov 13 | 9,371 | 324.63 | 30,421 | 720,000 | 0.37 |
| Euromoney Institutional Investor | B Al-Rehany | 14 Nov 13 | 22,485 | 1123 | 252,507 | 14,791 | 0.01 |
| Glanbia | P Gleeson | 14 Nov 13 | 2,500 | 886 | 22,150 | 23,171 | 0.01 |
| Personal Group Holdings | Dr John Barber (fd & cs) | 19 Nov 13 | 3,200 | 440 | 14,080 | 348,653 | 1.16 |
| Quadrise Fuels International † | Hemant Thanawala (fd) | 19 Nov 13 | 500,000 | 30.4 | 152,000 | 8,863,400 | 1.15 |
| Smurfit Kappa | Frits Beurskens | 13 Nov 13 | 12,500 | 1749 | 218,625 | 12,500 | 0.01 |
| WH Smith | Stephen Clarke (ce) | 18 Nov 13 | 88,304 | 983.45 | 868,426 | 169,731 | 0.13 |
| WH Smith | Stephen Clarke (ce) | 18 Nov 13 | 106,751 | 972.97 | 1,038,655 | 290,064 | 0.22 |
| WH Smith | Robert Moorhead (fd) | 18 Nov 13 | 485,687 | 983.45 | 4,776,489 | 500,391 | 0.38 |
*Placing/subscription
**Depositary receipts
†Spouse/connected party
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
