Not for the first time, the experienced chairman of regional property group Palace Capital (PCA) is putting his money where his mouth is. Stanley Davis, aged 75, plumped for nearly £500,000-worth of shares in a recent £20m placing priced at 310p a share. Three other directors followed suit and snapped up another £260,000 collectively.
The placing is part of a £32m deal to buy 17 properties from an unlisted property investment company that ran into difficulties after entering into costly interest rate swap arrangements just before the financial crisis. Palace’s strategy is to pick up regional and secondary property at a knock-down price - the portfolio was independently valued at £59m in March 2007 - and actively manage the portfolio to reduce vacancies and improve yields.
Mr Davis has form here. Palace has swiftly turned round a portfolio of mixed-use commercial property from Quintain Estates acquired in late 2013 for £39m; alongside a broadly rising UK property market, the company's book value per share increased by a whopping 54 per cent in just six months to 356p a share as of 31 March. If you had followed Mr Davis’ advice at the time of that acquisition and invested when he did - subscribing for £2.6m in a corresponding placing priced at 200p a share - you would be one happy shareholder indeed.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Aberdeen Asian Income Fund | PAK Arthur (ch) | 22 Aug 14 | 241 | 207.5 | 500 | 41,901 | 0.022 |
| AGA Rangemaster | Shaun Smith (fd) | 22 Aug 14 | 3,846 | 157 | 6,038 | 171,843 | 0.248 |
| AGA Rangemaster | William McGrath (ce) | 22 Aug 14 | 6,410 | 157 | 10,064 | 247,696 | 0.358 |
| APC Technology | Leonard Seelig (ch) | 27 Aug 14 | 39,496 | 37.9 | 14,969 | 128,649 | 0.220 |
| APC Technology ♥ | Leonard Seelig (ch) | 27 Aug 14 | 39,496 | 37.9 | 14,969 | 126,471 | 0.216 |
| BlackRock Throgmorton Trust | The Rt Hon L Latymer (ch) | 26 Aug 14 | 51 | 290.5 | 148 | 30,843 | 0.042 |
| BlackRock Throgmorton Trust | ESC Stobart | 26 Aug 14 | 170 | 290.5 | 494 | 21,335 | 0.029 |
| BlackRock Throgmorton Trust | SD Beart | 26 Aug 14 | 160 | 290.5 | 465 | 32,070 | 0.044 |
| BlackRock Throgmorton Trust | SD Beart | 26 Aug 14 | 176 | 290.5 | 511 | 32,246 | 0.044 |
| Braveheart Investment | TE Brown | 22 Aug 14 | 1,315,439 | 12.5 | 164,430 | 6,858,983 | 25.352 |
| Glencore | Patrice Merrin | 26 Aug 14 | 40,000 | 361.04 | 144,416 | 40,000 | <0.001 |
| Gresham Computing ♥ | M Royde | 21 Aug 14 | 37,500 | 116.992 | 43,872 | 5,913,154 | 9.351 |
| Imaginatik | Matt Cooper (ch) | 21 Aug 14 | 50,000 | 5 | 2,500 | 13,220,317 | 21.411 |
| Imagination Technologies | Kate Rock | 22 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 201.5 | 20,150 | 10,000 | 0.004 |
| Jersey Electricity | Geoffrey Grime (ch) | 22 Aug 14 | 3,000 | 328 | 9,840 | 10,000 | 0.086 |
| JPMorgan Russian Securities | A Easton | 27 Aug 14 | 2,018 | 443.13 | 8,942 | 12,018 | 0.023 |
| Martin Currie Pacific Trust | G Shenkman | 21 Aug 14 | 5,072 | 293.5 | 14,886 | 5,072 | 0.013 |
| Murray Income Trust ♥ | PAF Gifford (ch) | 22 Aug 14 | 128 | 776.5 | 994 | 41,173 | 0.061 |
| Palace Capital * | Neil Sinclair | 27 Aug 14 | 19,354 | 310 | 59,997 | 173,767 | 0.866 |
| Palace Capital * | Stanley Davis (ch) | 27 Aug 14 | 161,290 | 310 | 499,999 | 1,565,287 | 7.797 |
| Palace Capital * | Anthony Dove | 27 Aug 14 | 32,258 | 310 | 100,000 | 75,258 | 0.375 |
| Palace Capital * | Richard Starr | 27 Aug 14 | 32,258 | 310 | 100,000 | 82,258 | 0.410 |
| Partnership Assurance | Steve Groves (ce) | 22 Aug 14 | 100,000 | 117 | 117,000 | 9,601,534 | 2.400 |
| Primary Health Properties | Steven Owen | 27 Aug 14 | 883 | 347.68 | 3,070 | 8,474 | 0.008 |
| Primary Health Properties | Steven Owen | 27 Aug 14 | 886 | 346.75 | 3,072 | 7,591 | 0.007 |
| PZ Cussons | Brandon Leigh (cfo) | 27 Aug 14 | 18,069 | 371 | 67,036 | 118,297 | 0.028 |
| QinetiQ ♥ | Michael Harper | 27 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 214.81 | 21,481 | 30,000 | 0.005 |
| SABMiller | John Manser (ch) | 27 Aug 14 | 3,000 | 3,318.19 | 99,546 | 8,000 | <0.001 |
| SABMiller | Jan du Plessis | 01 Sep 14 | 30,000 | 3,312.50 | 993,750 | na | na |
| Standard Chartered | Andy Halford (fd) | 26 Aug 14 | 2,000 | 1,226.85 | 24,537 | 2,000 | <0.001 |
| SThree | Gary Elden (ce) | 22 Aug 14 | 33,614 | 0 | 0 | 3,217,733 | 2.587 |
| Tangent Communications | David Steyn | 27 Aug 14 | 250,000 | 8 | 20,000 | 550,000 | 0.198 |
| TT electronics | John Shakeshaft | 22 Aug 14 | 5,936 | 167 | 9,913 | 57,142 | 0.036 |
* placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party † In respect of voting rights held indirectly by ARCADIS N.V. | |||||||
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| BAE Systems | Paul Anderson | 21 Aug 14 | 50,000 | 442.2 | 221,100 | 10,000 | <0.001 |
| BHP Billiton | Andrew Mackenzie (ce) | 21 Aug 14 | 31,809 | 1,952 | 620,912 | 266,164 | 0.013 |
| Boot (Henry) | John Sutcliffe (fd) | 27 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 204 | 20,400 | 502,955 | 0.383 |
| First Quantum Minerals | Peter St George | 26 Aug 14 | 35,000 | 0 | 0 | 471,660 | 0.079 |
| Hyder Consulting † | Russell Down (fd) | 21 Aug 14 | 45,000 | 730 | 328,500 | 0 | 0 |
| Hyder Consulting † | Jeffrey Hume (ch) | 21 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 730 | 73,000 | 0 | 0 |
| Hyder Consulting † | Ivor Catto (ce) | 21 Aug 14 | 170,647 | 730 | 1,245,723 | 0 | 0 |
| Hyder Consulting † | Kevin Taylor | 21 Aug 14 | 7,490 | 730 | 54,677 | 0 | 0 |
| Hyder Consulting † | Paul Withers | 21 Aug 14 | 50,000 | 730 | 365,000 | 0 | 0 |
| PHSC | Stephen King (ce) | 26 Aug 14 | 30,000 | 30 | 9,000 | 3,203,100 | 25.248 |
| Ultra Electronics Holdings | Christopher Bailey | 22 Aug 14 | 2,500 | 1,815 | 45,375 | 0 | 0 |
* placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party † In respect of voting rights held indirectly by ARCADIS N.V. | |||||||
