The challenges in the UK auto retail market are well established by this point, with falling sales of both new and used cars, combined with fears over a no-deal Brexit and faltering consumer confidence. The whole sector has been in an unenviable position, but none more so than Lookers (LOOK), which has seen its share price more than halve since early February, helped on the way down by the announcement of a Financial Conduct Authority investigation into historical sales processes, and a profit warning, which preceded a 27.5 per cent drop in adjusted pre-tax profits in the first half of the year.
But a number of the group’s directors are capitalising on the current turmoil to top up their holdings – or at least to signal confidence to the wider market. Finance director Mark Raban and non-executive director Stuart Counsell bought 50,000 and 216,213 shares respectively in mid-August, but their purchases pale in comparison with non-executive director Tony Bramall. Mr Bramall bought more than 4.1m shares in July, 2.7m shares between 14 and 16 August, more than 1.7m between the 20th and 21st, 50,000 on the 23rd and more than 1.3m from 27-29 August, all through Guernsey Investments, a company he controls.
Buys | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
Amigo Holdings | Hamish Paton (ceo) | 30 Aug 19 | 6,282 | 79 | 4,963 | 6,282 | 0.001 |
Amigo Holdings | Hamish Paton (ceo) | 30 Aug 19 | 43,718 | 79.72 | 34,852 | 50,000 | 0.011 |
Amryt Pharma* | Raymond Stafford | 30 Aug 19 | 918,273 | 90 | 826,446 | 1,301,001 | 2.582 |
Amur Minerals | Thomas Bowens | 02 Sep 19 | 7,527,604 | 2.165 | 162,973 | 7,527,604 | 1.022 |
Anglo Pacific | Robert Stan | 04 Sep 19 | 250 | 190.5 | 476 | 235,765 | 0.130 |
Anglo Pacific | Patrick Meier (ch) | 02 Sep 19 | 10,200 | 190.99 | 19,481 | 242,127 | 0.133 |
Anglo Pacific | Julian Treger (ceo) | 02 Sep 19 | 40,000 | 191.5 | 76,600 | 5,691,454 | 3.136 |
Anglo Pacific | Robert Stan | 04 Sep 19 | 15,250 | 192 | 29,280 | 251,015 | 0.138 |
Anglo Pacific | William Blyth | 02 Sep 19 | 12,100 | 192 | 23,232 | 151,350 | 0.083 |
Anglo Pacific | Robert Stan | 03 Sep 19 | 9,500 | 193 | 18,335 | 235,515 | 0.130 |
Asiamet Resources* | Bruce Sheng | 30 Aug 19 | 3,371,686 | 3.5 | 118,009 | 73,904,720 | 7.969 |
Audioboom | Michael Tobin (ch) | 29 Aug 19 | 7,143 | 209 | 14,929 | 168,336 | 1.202 |
Bermele | Anthony Reeves | 02 Sep 19 | 1,750,000 | 1.25 | 21,875 | 1,800,000 | 0.900 |
Bermele | Anthony Reeves | 02 Sep 19 | 50,000 | 1.5 | 750 | 50,000 | 0.025 |
Brickability | David Simpson | 29 Aug 19 | 151,500 | 66 | 99,990 | 151,500 | 0.066 |
Chesnara | Mark Hesketh | 29 Aug 19 | 5,000 | 302.2 | 15,110 | 5,000 | 0.003 |
Feedback* | Lindsay Melvin (cfo) | 30 Aug 19 | 416,667 | 1.2 | 5,000 | 1,016,667 | 0.188 |
Feedback* | Rory Shaw | 30 Aug 19 | 4,166,667 | 1.2 | 50,000 | 4,166,667 | 0.772 |
Inchcape | Gijsbert de Zoeten | 03 Sep 19 | 17,500 | 578.8476 | 101,298 | 17,500 | 0.004 |
International Personal Finance | Gerard Ryan (ceo) | 04 Sep 19 | 150,000 | 98.1 | 147,150 | 1,176,576 | 0.526 |
International Personal Finance | Gerard Ryan (ceo) | 04 Sep 19 | 100,000 | 99.8 | 99,800 | 1,276,576 | 0.571 |
Legal & General | George Lewis | 02 Sep 19 | 471 | 221.5 | 1,043 | 24,409 | 0.000 |
Legal & General | Henrietta Baldock | 02 Sep 19 | 836 | 221.5 | 1,852 | 7,561 | 0.000 |
Legal & General | John Kingman (ch) | 02 Sep 19 | 1,934 | 221.5 | 4,284 | 321,557 | 0.005 |
Legal & General | Toby Strauss | 02 Sep 19 | 1,242 | 221.5 | 2,751 | 32,397 | 0.001 |
Lookers | Tony Bramall | 29 Aug 19 | 550,000 | 50.1348 | 275,741 | 73,533,051 | 18.892 |
Macau Property Opportunities Fund | Thomas Ashworth | 02 Sep 19 | 121,352 | 123.5 | 149,870 | 11,463,312 | 18.538 |
Marlowe | Alexander Dacre (ceo) | 03 Sep 19 | 5,100 | 387 | 19,737 | 3,521,334 | 8.633 |
Oxford BioDynamics | Christian Millar (ceo) | 30 Aug 19 | 4,000 | 85 | 3,400 | 12,348,303 | 13.341 |
Oxford BioDynamics | Christian Millar (ceo) | 30 Aug 19 | 4,000 | 85.135 | 3,405 | 12,344,303 | 13.337 |
Oxford BioDynamics | Christian Millar (ceo) | 30 Aug 19 | 2,000 | 85.135 | 1,703 | 12,350,303 | 13.343 |
Oxford BioDynamics | Christian Millar (ceo) | 30 Aug 19 | 4,000 | 86.58 | 3,463 | 12,354,303 | 13.347 |
Oxford BioDynamics | Stephen Diggle | 02 Sep 19 | 10,000 | 90 | 9,000 | 11,751,455 | 12.696 |
Oxford BioDynamics | Paul Stockdale (cfo) | 30 Aug 19 | 2,186 | 91.25 | 1,995 | 10,000 | 0.011 |
Oxford BioDynamics | Stephen Diggle | 30 Aug 19 | 6,730 | 92 | 6,192 | 11,741,455 | 12.685 |
Photo-Me International | John Lewis (ch) | 30 Aug 19 | 25,000 | 101 | 25,250 | 25,000 | 0.007 |
RM2 International SA | Charles Duro | 04 Sep 19 | 2,500,000 | 0.02 | 50,000 | 2,660,242 | 1.898 |
Rolls-Royce Holdings | Lewis Booth | 29 Aug 19 | 5,000 | 757 | 37,850 | 65,000 | 0.003 |
Rolls-Royce Holdings | Lewis Booth | 29 Aug 19 | 1,930 | 758 | 14,629 | 70,000 | 0.004 |
Rolls-Royce Holdings | Lewis Booth | 29 Aug 19 | 3,070 | 760 | 23,332 | 68,070 | 0.004 |
Rolls-Royce Holdings | Irene Dorner | 03 Sep 19 | 2,000 | 769.8 | 15,396 | 12,370 | 0.001 |
Scotgold Resources* | Peter Hetherington | 03 Sep 19 | 857,143 | 35 | 300,000 | 4,088,961 | 8.354 |
Scotgold Resources* | Ian Proctor | 03 Sep 19 | 428,571 | 35 | 150,000 | 1,155,844 | 2.361 |
Scotgold Resources* | William Styslinger | 03 Sep 19 | 928,571 | 35 | 325,000 | 5,646,400 | 11.535 |
Titon Holdings | Bernd Ratzke | 30 Aug 19 | 14,924 | 134 | 19,998 | 14,924 | 0.135 |
Tlou Energy | Colm Cloonan (fd) | 29 Aug 19 | 100,000 | 4.54 | 4,540 | 1,181,112 | 0.262 |
Tlou Energy | Anthony Gilby (ceo) | 02 Sep 19 | 287,791 | 0.088 | 25,326 | 21,989,580 | 4.885 |
Total Produce | Seamus Taaffe | 30 Aug 19 | 50,000 | 1.28 | 64,000 | 100,000 | 0.026 |
Total Produce | Michael Meghen | 29 Aug 19 | 15,190 | 1.308 | 19,869 | 15,190 | 0.004 |
Ultra Electronics | William Rice (ch) | 29 Aug 19 | 2,687 | 2151.65 | 57,815 | 5,000 | 0.007 |
Vela Technologies* | Antony Laiker (ceo) | 02 Sep 19 | 25,000,000 | 0.1 | 2,500,000 | 60,190,000 | 4.070 |
VPC Specialty Lending | Richard Levy | 04 Sep 19 | 65,433 | 77 | 50,383 | 3,993,009 | 1.237 |
Wood Group (John) | Jeremy Wilson | 29 Aug 19 | 10,000 | 359 | 35,900 | 20,000 | 0.003 |
Wood Group (John) | Robin Watson (ceo) | 29 Aug 19 | 10,000 | 362 | 36,200 | 318,482 | 0.047 |
Sells | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
AB Dynamics | Anthony Best (ch) | 04 Sep 19 | 100,000 | 2750 | 2,750,000 | 5,947,107 | 26.765 |
AB Dynamics♥ | Anthony Best (ch) | 04 Sep 19 | 30,000 | 2750 | 825,000 | 5,917,107 | 26.630 |
Anglo Pacific | William Blyth | 02 Sep 19 | 7,500 | 191 | 14,325 | 143,850 | 0.079 |
Frontier Smart Technologies | Anthony Sethill (ceo) | 30 Aug 19 | 150,000 | 25 | 37,500 | 0 | 0.000 |
IQGeo | Oliver Scott | 30 Aug 19 | 7,323,246 | 46 | 3,368,693 | 11,671,617 | 15.969 |
IQGeo | Robert Sansom | 30 Aug 19 | 2,404,185 | 46 | 1,105,925 | 3,831,714 | 5.243 |
* placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party |