Frontier Developments (FDEV) non-executive chairman David Gammon has sold 100,000 shares owned by family investment company Rockspring, of which he is a director. The transaction was disclosed hours after a trading update revealed Frontier had obtained an exclusive licence with Games Workshop (GAW) to make a computer game version of the retailer’s Warhammer fantasy war game. The update sent Frontier shares up by more than 8 per cent.
Mr Gammon, who banked £1.6m from the share sale, retains a 0.9 per cent stake in the company. This isn't the first time the Rockspring founder has taken the opportunity to cash in on his stake after a company announcement – last year, following the release of Frontier’s 2019 annual results, Rockspring sold £825,600 in shares after exercising options awarded in 2013 in connection with Frontier’s initial public offering (IPO). The video games developer declined to comment on Mr Gammon’s latest sale.
The company aims to eventually release more than six titles per year, according to Berenberg analysts. In recent years, the company has invested in its own capacity and sought to add partnerships and licensing opportunities. In March, it announced a four-year exclusive agreement to publish Formula 1 management games. Lockdown has prompted a surge in demand for its products, while its foray into Formula 1 is timely as e-sports enter the mainstream and occupy the vacuum left by sports cancellations.
Frontier will develop a real-time strategy Warhammer game for PC and consoles, due for launch in its 2023 financial year. Peel Hunt analysts predicted that taking Warhammer to consoles “would broaden the audience to the more casual gamer, and would enable [Games Workshop] to potentially reach people it has never reached before”.
| Buys | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Chesnara | Luke Savage | 29 Apr 20 | 20,000 | 335.935 | 67,187 | |
| Supermarket Income REIT | Nick Hewson (ch) | 30 Apr 20 | 68,925 | 103 | 70,993 | |
| Supermarket Income REIT | Jon Austen | 30 Apr 20 | 24,270 | 103 | 24,998 | |
| Everyman Media Group | Adam Kaye | 30 Apr 20 | 100,000 | 100 | 100,000 | |
| Everyman Media Group | Paul Wise (ch) | 30 Apr 20 | 200,000 | 100 | 200,000 | |
| Sigma Capital | Mike McGill (cfo) | 30 Apr 20 | 31,000 | 94.4 | 29,264 | |
| John Laing | Ben Loomes | 30 Apr 20 | 82,702 | 363 | 300,208 | Becomes CEO on 8 May |
| Calisen | Bert Pijls (ceo) | 30 Apr 20 | 26,387 | 188.075 | 49,627 | |
| Hunting | John F. Glick | 30 Apr 20 | 22,500 | 183.38 | 41,261 | |
| Sells | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Blackbird | Stephen Streater | 30 Apr 20 | 1,825,714 | 14.02 | 255,965 | Beneficial interest of 18.69% |
| BP | Emma Delaney | 30 Apr 20 | 67,140 | 331 | 222,233 | |
| Learning Technologies | Leslie-Ann Reed | 30 Apr 20 | 1,300,000 | 125 | 1,625,000 | Beneficial interest of 0.72% |
| Tesco | Tony Hoggett | 30 Apr 20 | 20,000 | 238.10 | 47,260 | Sold shares after exercising options |
| Frontier Developments | David Gammon | 1 May 20 | 100,000 | 1,588.75 | 1,588,750 | Beneficial interest of 0.9% |
| John Laing | Justin Bailey | 1 May 20 | 47,500 | 357 | 169,575 |
