May profit warning accelerated the decline in Crest Nicholson’s (CRST) share price, which has fallen almost 40 per cent over the past 12 months. As such, executive chairman Stephen Stone has chosen bow to increase his stake in the housebuilder, buying £454,350-worth of shares. Similarly, Domitille Van de Walle, wife of deputy chairman Leslie Van de Walle, spent £61,074 on adding 20,000 more shares.
IC TIP:
Hold
at
342p
In October, bosses cautioned that pre-tax profits for the year to the end of that month would land between £170m and £190m, down from £207m in FY2017. The market for new London homes and higher price points in the south of England has been more difficult than expected, with sales failing to pick up during the traditionally stronger early autumn selling period.
Management has tried to mitigate the loss of traditional sales by accelerating bulk deals with registered providers and PRS investors. Together with pricing pressures in London, that means operating margins are likely to fall short of previous 18 per cent guidance.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Allergy Therapeutics | Manuel Llobet (ceo) | 23 Oct 18 | 50,000 | 17.5 | 8,750 | 3,325,000 | 0.558 |
| Allergy Therapeutics | Nicolas Wykeman (fd) | 23 Oct 18 | 150,000 | 17.5 | 26,250 | 300,000 | 0.05 |
| Allergy Therapeutics | Peter Jensen (ch) | 23 Oct 18 | 20,000 | 18 | 3,600 | 170,000 | 0.029 |
| Altus Strategies | Steven Poulton (ceo) | 19 Oct 18 | 617,400 | 3 | 18,522 | 24,971,969 | 14.046 |
| Altus Strategies | Matthew Grainger | 18 Oct 18 | 105,014 | 3.85 | 4,043 | 9,097,500 | 5.117 |
| Altus Strategies | Steven Poulton (ceo) | 19 Oct 18 | 100,000 | 3.99 | 3,990 | 25,071,969 | 14.103 |
| Altus Strategies | Matthew Grainger | 19 Oct 18 | 50,000 | 4 | 2,000 | 9,147,500 | 5.145 |
| Altus Strategies | Steven Poulton (ceo) | 19 Oct 18 | 78,031 | 4 | 3,121 | 25,150,000 | 14.146 |
| Berkeley Group | Peter Sean Vernon | 23 Oct 18 | 609 | 3263 | 19,872 | 609 | 0 |
| Breedon | Peter Cornell | 23 Oct 18 | 25,910 | 0.713 | 185 | 25,910 | 0.002 |
| Breedon | Peter Cornell | 23 Oct 18 | 2,765 | 71.528 | 1,978 | 28,675 | 0.002 |
| Breedon | Peter Cornell | 23 Oct 18 | 11,109 | 71.9 | 7,987 | 39,784 | 0.002 |
| Breedon | Peter Cornell | 23 Oct 18 | 5,058 | 71.9 | 3,637 | 44,842 | 0.003 |
| Breedon | Peter Cornell | 23 Oct 18 | 15,000 | 71.9 | 10,785 | 59,842 | 0.004 |
| Breedon | Peter Cornell | 23 Oct 18 | 20,000 | 71.9 | 14,380 | 79,842 | 0.005 |
| Breedon | Peter Cornell | 23 Oct 18 | 25,000 | 71.9 | 17,975 | 104,842 | 0.006 |
| Breedon | Peter Cornell | 23 Oct 18 | 20,000 | 71.9 | 14,380 | 124,842 | 0.007 |
| Breedon | Peter Cornell | 23 Oct 18 | 15,158 | 71.9 | 10,899 | 140,000 | 0.008 |
| Crest Nicholson | Stephen Stone (ch) | 19 Oct 18 | 150,000 | 302.9 | 454,350 | 3,670,080 | 1.429 |
| Crest Nicholson♥ | Leslie Van de Walle | 19 Oct 18 | 20,000 | 305.37 | 61,074 | 32,000 | 0.012 |
| Elementis | Ralph Hewins (cfo) | 19 Oct 18 | 932 | 152 | 1,417 | 4,660 | 0.001 |
| Elementis | Dorothee Deuring | 19 Oct 18 | 3,250 | 152 | 4,940 | 16,250 | 0.003 |
| Elementis | Andrew James Duff (ch) | 19 Oct 18 | 13,900 | 152 | 21,128 | 69,500 | 0.012 |
| Elementis | Nicholas Salmon | 19 Oct 18 | 2,500 | 152 | 3,800 | 12,500 | 0.002 |
| Elementis | Paul Waterman (ceo) | 19 Oct 18 | 73,966 | 152 | 112,428 | 369,830 | 0.064 |
| Elementis | Steve Good | 19 Oct 18 | 2,500 | 152 | 3,800 | 12,500 | 0.002 |
| Elementis | Anne Philomena Hyland | 19 Oct 18 | 4,430 | 152 | 6,734 | 22,154 | 0.004 |
| Elementis | Sandra Boss | 19 Oct 18 | 3,125 | 152 | 4,750 | 15,625 | 0.003 |
| eServGlobal* | Stephen John Baldwin | 24 Oct 18 | 141,302 | 0.11 | 15,543 | 2,374,530 | 0.199 |
| Essentra | Ralf Wunderlich | 23 Oct 18 | 5,000 | 340.8 | 17,040 | 136,000 | 0.052 |
| Essentra | Ralf Wunderlich | 22 Oct 18 | 10,000 | 352.1 | 35,210 | 131,000 | 0.05 |
| InterContinental Hotels | Patrick Jean-Pierre Cescau | 19 Oct 18 | 3,795 | 3,955.65 | 150,117 | 3,795 | 0.002 |
| Invesco Asia Trust | Tom Maier | 19 Oct 18 | 4,200 | 251.1 | 10,546 | 12,280 | 0.017 |
| Invesco Asia Trust | Tom Maier | 19 Oct 18 | 1,965 | 252.5 | 4,962 | 14,245 | 0.02 |
| ITE Group | Mark Samuel Shashoua (ceo) | 22 Oct 18 | 80,000 | 60.55 | 48,440 | 1,226,521 | 0.167 |
| Kin and Carta | David Bell | 18 Oct 18 | 60,000 | 97.7466 | 58,648 | 60,000 | 0.039 |
| Kin and Carta | Helen Stevenson | 19 Oct 18 | 15,166 | 98.9 | 14,999 | 37,166 | 0.024 |
| Kingswood | Darryl Kaplan | 18 Oct 18 | 20,554 | 16.75 | 3,443 | 112,065 | 0.076 |
| Kingswood | Darryl Kaplan | 18 Oct 18 | 9,767 | 16.75 | 1,636 | 121,832 | 0.083 |
| Norish | Timothy Joseph O'Neill (ch) | 23 Oct 18 | 10,000 | 61.5 | 6,150 | 3,020,000 | 10.043 |
| Oakley Capital Investments | Peter Adam Daiches Dubens | 23 Oct 18 | 135,096 | 184.5 | 249,252 | 9,354,068 | 4.567 |
| Oxford BioMedica | Lorenzo Tallarigo (ch) | 22 Oct 18 | 353 | 753.76 | 2,661 | 47,133 | 0.071 |
| Persimmon | Roger Devlin | 18 Oct 18 | 12,575 | 2217 | 278,788 | 12,575 | 0.004 |
| Renishaw | William Ernest Lee (ceo) | 23 Oct 18 | 800 | 3727 | 29,816 | 1,800 | 0.002 |
| Renishaw | Carol Tredway Chesney | 19 Oct 18 | 500 | 3781 | 18,905 | 1,000 | 0.001 |
| Scotgold Resources | Nathaniel Le Roux (ch) | 18 Oct 18 | 50,000 | 25 | 12,500 | 22,368,223 | 49.011 |
| Scotgold Resources | Nathaniel Le Roux (ch) | 19 Oct 18 | 50,000 | 27 | 13,500 | 22,468,223 | 49.23 |
| Secure Trust Bank | Michael Forsyth (ch) | 18 Oct 18 | 1,000 | 1,486.50 | 14,865 | 3,000 | 0.016 |
| Shanta Gold | Luke Leslie (cfo) | 23 Oct 18 | 260,000 | 4.1 | 10,660 | 3,435,330 | 0.441 |
| Telit Communications | Paolo Dal Pino (ch) | 23 Oct 18 | 200,000 | 165.39 | 330,780 | 540,000 | 0.413 |
| Van Elle Holdings | David Hurcomb | 19 Oct 18 | 25,000 | 86 | 21,500 | 25,000 | 0.031 |
| Van Elle Holdings | Mark Cutler | 19 Oct 18 | 50,000 | 86 | 43,000 | 50,000 | 0.063 |
| Vast Resources* | Andrew Prelea (ceo) | 24 Oct 18 | 8,333,333 | 6 | 500,000 | 26,772,069 | 0.485 |
| Vast Resources* | Roy Tucker (fd) | 24 Oct 18 | 8,333,333 | 6 | 500,000 | 39,940,362 | 0.724 |
| Wandisco | Erik Edwin Miller (ceo) | 24 Oct 18 | 5,000 | 416.603 | 20,830 | 27,124 | 0.065 |
| Xpediator | Alex Borrelli | 18 Oct 18 | 20,000 | 55 | 11,000 | 20,000 | 0.015 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Close Brothers | Elizabeth Ann Lee | 22 Oct 18 | 12,000 | 1,525.46 | 183,055 | 14,611 | 0.01 |
| Close Brothers♥ | Elizabeth Ann Lee | 19 Oct 18 | 7,000 | 1,530.67 | 107,147 | 26,611 | 0.018 |
| *Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party | |||||||
