Fears of a Brexit-related downturn for UK businesses have forced shares in UK-listed commercial property groups to trade at sharp discounts to net asset values (NAV) this year. CLS (CLS) – which operates across Germany, France and the UK – is no different, despite posting solid gains in the value of its portfolio and rising rental income in recent years.
That should provide some succour for investors questioning the sale of £1.3m shares by non-executive director Bengt Mortstedt via three transactions in recent weeks. Mr Mortstedt also retains a 6.4 per cent stake in the group. The office landlord's exposure to the German market has provided a fillip to slowing UK valuation and rental gains over the past 12 months.
A softening in yields and shortening of lease lengths on non-prime assets outside London weighed on the value of the UK portfolio during the first half of the year, which declined 0.3 per cent. In the capital, values rose thanks to a 1.1 per cent uplift to estimated rental values, still some way behind the 4.3 per cent recorded by the German portfolio.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| 1pm | Ron Russell | 18 Oct 19 | 41,018 | 28.915 | 11,860 | 10,598,242 | 12.099 |
| 1pm | Ron Russell | 18 Oct 19 | 69,130 | 28.915 | 19,989 | 10,667,372 | 12.178 |
| 1pm | Ron Russell | 18 Oct 19 | 69,049 | 28.96 | 19,997 | 10,736,421 | 12.257 |
| 1pm | Ron Russell | 18 Oct 19 | 103,744 | 28.915 | 29,998 | 10,840,165 | 12.375 |
| Audioboom | Michael Tobin (ch) | 18 Oct 19 | 10,000 | 172 | 17,200 | 178,336 | 1.273 |
| Audioboom | Michael Tobin (ch) | 21 Oct 19 | 7,140 | 175 | 12,495 | 185,476 | 1.324 |
| Chaarat Gold † | Martin Andersson (ch) | 17 Oct 19 | 33,614 | 37.4 | 12,583 | 145,935,848 | 33.064 |
| Chaarat Gold † | Martin Andersson (ch) | 18 Oct 19 | 86,838 | 37.6 | 32,612 | 146,022,686 | 33.084 |
| Chaarat Gold † | Martin Andersson (ch) | 22 Oct 19 | 20,010 | 37.8 | 7,564 | 146,042,696 | 33.088 |
| Chaarat Gold † | Martin Andersson (ch) | 23 Oct 19 | 30,000 | 38.1 | 11,420 | 146,072,696 | 33.095 |
| China New Energy | Richard Bennett | 23 Oct 19 | 300,000 | 2.72 | 8,160 | 1,137,747 | 0.260 |
| CIP Merchant Capital †† | Carlo Sgarbi/Marco Fumagalli | 18 Oct 19 | 300,000 | 56 | 168,000 | 4,261,527 | 7.750 |
| Devro | Malcolm Swift | 23 Oct 19 | 6,258 | 158.8 | 9,938 | 16,613 | 0.010 |
| Domino's Pizza | Ian Bull | 17 Oct 19 | 10,000 | 278.9 | 27,890 | 20,000 | 0.004 |
| EnQuest ♥ | Amjad Bseisu (ceo) | 18 Oct 19 | 2,154,756 | 18.5 | 398,630 | 176,165,821 | 10.389 |
| ICG Enterprise Trust | Gerhard Fusenig | 18 Oct 19 | 9,500 | 904 | 85,880 | 9,500 | 0.014 |
| ITV | Salman Amin | 18 Oct 19 | 8,079 | 136.33 | 11,014 | 50,674 | 0.001 |
| K3 Business Technology ♥ | PJ Claesson | 22 Oct 19 | 1,500 | 165 | 2,475 | 9,810,423 | 22.843 |
| K3 Business Technology ♥ | PJ Claesson | 23 Oct 19 | 1,500 | 175 | 2,625 | 9,811,923 | 22.847 |
| M&G | Michael Evans (ch) | 23 Oct 19 | 32,000 | 211.35 | 67,632 | 32,000 | 0.001 |
| M&G | John Foley (ceo) | 23 Oct 19 | 100,000 | 212.2736 | 212,274 | 387,536 | 0.015 |
| McBride ♥ | Igor Kuzniar | 22 Oct 19 | 35,000 | 66 | 23,100 | 42,569,814 | 23.283 |
| McBride ♥ | Igor Kuzniar | 23 Oct 19 | 765,943 | 69 | 528,501 | 43,335,757 | 23.701 |
| Minds + Machines ♥ | Henry Turcan | 23 Oct 19 | 135,000 | 6 | 8,100 | 114,981,652 | 12.492 |
| Quixant | Nicholas Jarmany | 23 Oct 19 | 25,400 | 190 | 48,260 | 11,201,163 | 16.860 |
| Renew | Andries Liebenberg | 18 Oct 19 | 5,450 | 367 | 20,002 | 38,821 | 0.052 |
| Renew | Paul Scott (ceo) | 18 Oct 19 | 5,450 | 367 | 20,002 | 52,862 | 0.070 |
| Renew | Sean Wyndham-Quin (fd) | 18 Oct 19 | 2,725 | 367 | 10,001 | 13,993 | 0.019 |
| Rotala * | John Gunn (ch) | 21 Oct 19 | 44,250 | 56 | 24,780 | 8,470,598 | 16.910 |
| Rotala ♥ * | John Gunn (ch) | 21 Oct 19 | 44,250 | 56 | 24,780 | 8,514,848 | 16.999 |
| Rotala ♥ * | John Gunn (ch) | 21 Oct 19 | 90,000 | 56 | 50,400 | 8,604,848 | 17.178 |
| S & U | Graham Coombs | 23 Oct 19 | 10,000 | 2100 | 210,000 | 1,591,457 | 13.174 |
| S4 Capital ♥ * | Daniel Pinto | 23/25 Oct 19 | 13,729,405 | 142 | 19,495,755 | 41,212,366 | 8.841 |
| S4 Capital * | Peter Rademaker (cfo) | 23/25 Oct 19 | 136,600 | 142 | 193,972 | 844,732 | 0.181 |
| S4 Capital * | Rupert Walker | 23/25 Oct 19 | 251,500 | 142 | 357,130 | 1,555,276 | 0.334 |
| S4 Capital * | Scott Spirit | 23/25 Oct 19 | 26,097 | 142 | 37,058 | 161,389 | 0.035 |
| S4 Capital * | Sue Prevezer | 23/25 Oct 19 | 34,494 | 142 | 48,981 | 261,766 | 0.056 |
| S4 Capital * | Martin Sorrell (ch) | 23/25 Oct 19 | 8,951,377 | 142 | 12,710,955 | 55,355,077 | 11.875 |
| S4 Capital * | Paul Roy | 25 Oct 19 | 307,266 | 142 | 436,318 | 1,900,129 | 0.408 |
| S4 Capital ♥ * | Victor Knaap/Wesley ter Haar | 23 Oct 19 | 2,862,153 | 142 | 4,064,257 | 33,670,378 | 7.223 |
| Schroder Japan Growth Fund | Anja Balfour (ch) | 18 Oct 19 | 5,000 | 185.74 | 9,287 | 14,000 | 0.011 |
| Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust (The) | Jeremy Whitley | 21 Oct 19 | 1,500 | 990 | 14,850 | 71,000 | 0.238 |
| Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust (The) | Jeremy Whitley | 21 Oct 19 | 2,000 | 995 | 19,900 | 69,500 | 0.233 |
| SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust * | Tony Roper (ch) | 21 Oct 19 | 5,000 | 103 | 5,150 | 50,000 | 0.019 |
| Surgical Innovations | Paul Hardy | 22 Oct 19 | 500,000 | 2.25 | 11,250 | 6,308,744 | 0.810 |
| Tremor International | Timothy Weller (ch) | 21 Oct 19 | 68,965 | 145 | 99,999 | 163,595 | 0.134 |
| Velocity Composites | Andy Beaden (ch) | 18 Oct 19 | 25,000 | 22.9 | 5,725 | 175,000 | 0.487 |
| Velocity Composites | Andy Beaden (ch) | 18 Oct 19 | 25,000 | 23.5 | 5,875 | 200,000 | 0.557 |
| Velocity Composites | Andy Beaden (ch) | 18 Oct 19 | 25,000 | 23.8 | 5,950 | 225,000 | 0.626 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Avast | Erwin Gunst | 21 Oct 19 | 1,000,000 | 399 | 3,990,000 | 0 | 0.000 |
| CLS Holdings | Bengt Mortstedt | 17 Oct 19 | 322,150 | 259 | 834,369 | 26,072,550 | 6.400 |
| Cora Gold ♥ | Geoffrey McNamara (ch) | 23 Oct 19 | 100,000 | 7.1 | 7,100 | 1,504,242 | 1.160 |
| Michelmersh Brick | Frank Hanna (co-ceo) | 22 Oct 19 | 500,000 | 108 | 540,000 | 550,000 | 0.595 |
| Michelmersh Brick ♥ | Martin Warner (ch) | 21 Oct 19 | 500,000 | 112.5 | 562,500 | 4,138,732 | 4.475 |
| * placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party | |||||||
| † Shares purchased by Labro Investments Limited, in which Martin Andersson is indirectly beneficially interested in the majority of shares | |||||||
| †† Shares purchased by Goldfinch SA, which is wholly owned in equal proportion by Carlo Sgarbi and Marco Fumagalli | |||||||
