It has been almost a year since Alent (ALNT) was born out of the break-up of industrial conglomerate Cookson, and in terms of share price performance we're pretty much back where we started. Demand from the consumer electronics industry has been weaker than expected and the performance materials company recently admitted the third quarter had missed targets. Alent shares slumped to their lowest since December last year, but it was too low for those on the inside who spotted a bargain.
Chief executive Steve Corbett, finance boss Mark Williamson and chairman Peter Hill spent more than £100,000 on shares at between 323p and 325p. The biggest deals, however, were struck by the co-founder of Swedish hedge fund Cevian Capital. Late last month, Lars Förberg, on behalf of his Cevian Capital II fund, bought over 5.3m shares worth £17.5m for as little as 311p. The activist investor now owns 61.1m Alent shares, almost 22 per cent of the company. Clearly, Mr Förberg thought the shares were too cheap at around the 320p level, and they have since nudged back toward 340p. Analysts expect double-digit growth next year, but visibility is limited and on 14 times forward earnings, dropping to 12.7 times next year, the shares look up with events. Hold.
Christmas bonus for Ted Baker boss
Shares in Ted Baker (TED) have risen 81 per cent in the year-to-date which might explain why finance director Lindsay Page felt it was time to part with a sizeable chunk of his holding. On 27 November, Mr Page sold 100,000 shares, or 45 per cent of his total stake, at 1,920p, giving him a windfall of £1.9m. This leaves him with 120,454 shares in the company. Mr Page didn't give a reason for the sell-off, but it certainly leaves you wondering what his relatives can be looking forward to under the Christmas tree this year.
Ted Baker's phenomenal growth has been underpinned by rapid international expansion and strong sales at home. Success here lies in the product offering. Be it clothes, bags or shoes, Ted's couture sets it apart from the high street. Often adorned with special features, the products are stylish and high-quality. The autumn/winter collection has been well received by the fashion press, and current trading is strong following a robust set of half-year results reported in October. But there's an eye-watering price tag to pay for this success. The shares trade on 30 times 2014's forecast earnings, a significant premium to other equally successful peers. Hold at 2,100p.
BUYS:
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AimShell Acquisitions | James Leek (ch) | 21 Nov 13 | 154,630 | 32.5 | 50,255 | 1,310,470 | 12.60 |
| Alent | PJ Hill (ch) | 22 Nov 13 | 13,000 | 325.43 | 42,306 | 60,000 | 0.02 |
| Alent | Steve Corbett (ce) | 22 Nov 13 | 10,000 | 323.41 | 32,341 | 122,392 | 0.04 |
| Alent | Mark Williamson | 22 Nov 13 | 8,000 | 324.5 | 25,960 | 8,000 | 0.00 |
| Alent | Lars Forberg | 22 Nov 13 | 1,048,154 | 324 | 3,396,019 | 61,088,726 | 21.94 |
| Alent | Lars Forberg | 21 Nov 13 | 41,521 | 321 | 133,282 | 60,040,572 | 21.56 |
| Asian Plantations † | David Melka | 25 Nov 13 | 14,999 | 198 | 29,698 | 2,416,000 | 5.17 |
| Assura | Jonathan Murphy (fd & cs) | 26 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 39.04 | 39,040 | 100,000 | 0.02 |
| Britvic | Simon Litherland (ce) | 26 Nov 13 | 31,342 | 638.11 | 199,996 | 31,618 | 0.01 |
| Close Brothers | Preben Prebensen (ce) | 26 Nov 13 | 10,000 | 1,331 | 133,106 | 482,950 | 0.33 |
| Coms | David Breith (ce) | 26 Nov 13 | 1,530,000 | 4.48 | 68,544 | 138,856,455 | 17.58 |
| DDD | Dr Sanji Arisawa | 22 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 6.57 | 6,570 | 1,989,200 | 1.38 |
| De La Rue | Andrew Stevens | 27 Nov 13 | 2,327 | 859.33 | 19,997 | 2,327 | 0.00 |
| Devro | Simon Webb (fd) | 27 Nov 13 | 8,250 | 289.6 | 23,892 | 18,250 | 0.01 |
| Devro † | Simon Webb (fd) | 27 Nov 13 | 5,750 | 289.6 | 16,652 | 24,000 | 0.01 |
| Enteq Upstream | Robin Pinchbeck | 21 Nov 13 | 19,248 | 51.95 | 9,999 | 356,452 | 0.60 |
| Essentra | Jeff Harris (ch) | 22 Nov 13 | 8,000 | 776.81 | 62,145 | 59,651 | 0.03 |
| Grafton | David Arnold (cfo) | 25 Nov 13 | 4,000 | 634.64 | 25,386 | 4,000 | 0.00 |
| Henderson | RD Gillingwater (ch) | 27 Nov 13 | 15,000 | 212.6 | 31,890 | 15,000 | 0.00 |
| HICL Infrastructure Company | Ian Russell | 21 Nov 13 | 37,880 | 132 | 50,002 | 37,880 | 0.00 |
| HICL Infrastructure Company | Susie Farnon | 22 Nov 13 | 19,000 | 131.44 | 24,974 | 19,000 | 0.00 |
| Hiscox Ltd | Richard Gillingwater | 27 Nov 13 | 5,000 | 683.5 | 34,175 | 5,000 | 0.00 |
| Hornby † | R Canham (ch) | 21 Nov 13 | 25,000 | 84.5 | 21,125 | 215,000 | 0.55 |
| Kofax | Mark Wells | 22 Nov 13 | 10,000 | 383 | 38,300 | 105,000 | 0.12 |
| Lonmin | Simon Scott (cfo) | 22 Nov 13 | 16,405 | 11.04 | 1,811 | 26,405 | 0.00 |
| M Winkworth | Dominic Agace (ce) | 27 Nov 13 | 3,000 | 163 | 4,890 | 541,128 | 4.27 |
| Mucklow (A&J) | Justin Parker | 25 Nov 13 | 1,434 | 501 | 7,184 | 71,565 | 0.12 |
| Mucklow (A&J) | David Wooldridge (fd & cs) | 25 Nov 13 | 1,434 | 501 | 7,184 | 71,017 | 0.12 |
| Mucklow (A&J) | Rupert Mucklow (ch) | 25 Nov 13 | 1,434 | 501 | 7,184 | 727,885 | 1.21 |
| Oxford BioMedica | Nick Rodgers (ch) | 22 Nov 13 | 208,000 | 2.4 | 4,992 | 842,829 | 0.06 |
| Record † | Dr Cees Schrauwers | 25 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 32 | 32,000 | 230,000 | 0.10 |
| Renewable Energy Holdings | David Weir (ch) | 25 Nov 13 | 500,000 | 3.13 | 15,625 | 500,000 | 0.72 |
| Renishaw | Carol Chesney | 26 Nov 13 | 500 | 1,858 | 9,289 | 500 | 0.00 |
| Rialto Energy Ltd | Andrew Bartlett (ch) | 22 Nov 13 | 470,000 | 2.1 | 9,870 | 2,136,667 | 0.19 |
| Rialto Energy Ltd | Gregory Stoupnitzky | 26 Nov 13 | 500,000 | 2.16 | 10,803 | 1,333,333 | 0.12 |
| Rialto Energy Ltd | Andrew Sinclair | 27 Nov 13 | 390,000 | 2.14 | 8,340 | 723,333 | 0.06 |
| Rio Tinto | Richard Goodmanson | 27 Nov 13 | 235 | 3,142 | 7,383 | 15,846 | 0.00 |
| Rio Tinto | Paul Tellier | 27 Nov 13 | 201 | 3,142 | 6,315 | 19,646 | 0.00 |
| Rurelec | Larry Coben | 22 Nov 13 | 400,000 | 13.25 | 53,000 | 900,000 | 0.16 |
| SABMiller | G Bible | 22 Nov 13 | 5,000 | 3,214 | 160,683 | 85,780 | 0.01 |
| SacOil Holdings Ltd | Steve Muller | 22 Nov 13 | 120,000 | 1.65 | 1,977 | 941,997 | 0.10 |
| Sarantel * | DA Lenigas (ch) | 26 Nov 13 | 73,333,334 | 0.03 | 22,000 | 73,333,334 | 12.01 |
| Sarantel * | D Strang | 26 Nov 13 | 73,333,334 | 0.03 | 22,000 | 73,333,334 | 12.01 |
| Sepura | Gordon Stuart | 25 Nov 13 | 15,000 | 126.9 | 19,035 | 15,000 | 0.01 |
| Severfield-Rowen | John Dodds (ch) | 26 Nov 13 | 77,500 | 63 | 48,825 | 228,833 | 0.08 |
| Severfield-Rowen | Ian Lawson (ce) | 27 Nov 13 | 3,182 | 62 | 1,973 | 82,431 | 0.03 |
| Severfield-Rowen | Ian Lawson (ce) | 26 Nov 13 | 40,309 | 62 | 24,992 | 40,309 | 0.01 |
| Severfield-Rowen † | Ian Lawson (ce) | 26 Nov 13 | 38,940 | 61 | 23,753 | 79,249 | 0.03 |
| Stanley Gibbons Group (The) * | D Duff | 22 Nov 13 | 16,950 | 295 | 50,003 | 66,950 | 0.15 |
| Stanley Gibbons Group (The) * | D Bralsford (ch) | 22 Nov 13 | 67,800 | 295 | 200,010 | 182,800 | 0.40 |
| Stanley Gibbons Group (The) * | M Hall (ce) | 22 Nov 13 | 33,894 | 295 | 99,987 | 181,259 | 0.39 |
| Stanley Gibbons Group (The) * | M Magee | 22 Nov 13 | 6,780 | 295 | 20,001 | 9,456 | 0.02 |
| Stanley Gibbons Group (The) * | J Byfield | 22 Nov 13 | 33,900 | 295 | 100,005 | 68,898 | 0.15 |
| Stanley Gibbons Group (The) * | S Perree | 22 Nov 13 | 33,900 | 295 | 100,005 | 52,400 | 0.11 |
| StatPro † | Mark Adorian | 26 Nov 13 | 10,500 | 83 | 8,715 | 2,961,048 | 4.39 |
| Tissue Regenix | John Samuel (ch) | 21 Nov 13 | 148,000 | 13.5 | 19,980 | 24,276,928 | 3.72 |
| Toumaz * | Jonathan Apps (cfo) | 26 Nov 13 | 250,000 | 4 | 10,000 | 250,000 | 0.02 |
| Toumaz * | Anthony Sethill (ce) | 26 Nov 13 | 2,500,000 | 4 | 100,000 | 2,500,000 | 0.16 |
| Toumaz * | Chris Batterham | 26 Nov 13 | 1,000,000 | 4 | 40,000 | 1,000,000 | 0.06 |
| Toumaz * | Dr Martin Knight | 26 Nov 13 | 1,250,000 | 4 | 50,000 | 1,250,000 | 0.08 |
| Toumaz * | Prof Chris Toumazou | 26 Nov 13 | 1,875,000 | 4 | 75,000 | 15,059,895 | 0.95 |
| Toumaz *† | Dr Richard Steeves (ch) | 26 Nov 13 | 6,250,000 | 4 | 250,000 | 6,250,000 | 0.39 |
| WH Smith | Annemarie Durbin | 26 Nov 13 | 1,000 | 969.78 | 9,698 | 1,000 | 0.00 |
| Whitbread | Stephen Williams | 22 Nov 13 | 1,000 | 3,498 | 34,975 | 10,822 | 0.01 |
| Zambeef Products | Carl Irwin | 27 Nov 13 | 85,000 | 34 | 28,900 | 4,411,445 | 1.78 |
SELLS:
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G4S | Grahame Gibson | 21 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 264.7 | 264,700 | 1,170,675 | 0.08 |
| GB | Richard Law (ce) | 26 Nov 13 | 200,000 | 135.33 | 270,660 | 1,720,940 | 1.56 |
| Judges Scientific | The Hon Alex Hambro (ch) | 26 Nov 13 | 17,500 | 1,775 | 310,625 | 92,500 | 1.58 |
| Judges Scientific | Ralph Elman | 26 Nov 13 | 50,000 | 1,775 | 887,500 | 32,429 | 0.55 |
| M Winkworth † | Simon Agace (ch) | 27 Nov 13 | 48,900 | 169 | 82,641 | 5,316,144 | 41.94 |
| Planet Payment Inc | Graham Arad (cs) | 25 Nov 13 | 40,000 | 154.05 | 61,618 | 963,489 | 1.76 |
| SABMiller † | EAG Mackay (ch) | 25 Nov 13 | 15,370 | 3,253 | 499,986 | 1,398,063 | 0.09 |
| Smurfit Kappa | Frits Beurskens | 26 Nov 13 | 10,000 | 1,753 | 175,300 | 2,500 | 0.00 |
| StatPro | Mark Adorian | 26 Nov 13 | 89,350 | 83 | 74,161 | 2,873,548 | 4.26 |
| StatPro † | Mark Adorian | 26 Nov 13 | 87,500 | 83 | 72,625 | 2,873,548 | 4.26 |
| Ted Baker | Lindsay Page (fd) | 27 Nov 13 | 100,000 | 1,920 | 1,920,000 | 120,454 | 0.28 |
*Placing †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
