- Non-executive director buys £16m-worth of shares
- Other senior management reap rewards of incentive plans
Ocado (OCDO) non-executive director Jörn Rausing – a member of the Swedish Tetra Pak dynasty - bought £16.3m-worth of shares last week, among a rush of alerts from the company that showed other members of senior management reaping the rewards of various incentive schemes.
Chief executive Tim Steiner sold £1.67m worth of shares that he received via the group’s long-term incentive plan, in order to settle “associated tax and national insurance liabilities.” The remaining shares awarded – which are currently worth around £2m – are in a restricted account in Steiner’s name, where they are subject to a two-year lockup. Luke Jensen, who is the head of the company’s software solutions business, took his pre-tax £1.6m reward in full.
A number of other c-suite executives received smaller benefits from Ocado’s various incentive plans this week. But Rausing’s transaction was independent. The Swedish businessman, who has been on the board since 2003, did not offer a comment on the huge purchase. But we think he could have been tempted by a prolonged dip in the share price, which has dropped by a quarter since its 2021 high last month.
That is despite the fact that it revealed that revenues from its retail business had grown by 40 per cent to £599m in the 13 weeks ended in February. But investors were still left wanting: the update did not include any meaningful detail on the B2B software product, which is viewed as one of the company’s key long-term growth drivers – and is largely responsible for Ocado’s super-charged, tech valuation.
Rausing’s big transaction may offer some comfort to shareholders, but we think caution is still warranted. The extent to which the online grocer’s online solutions product will be accepted by corporate clients is still not clear, and while the retail division is performing well, the omission of any new information on the software business was glaring. Hold at 2,080p.
Buys | ||||
Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
4imprint | John Gibney | 19 Mar 2021 | 3,000 | 69,600 |
Aviva | Jim McConville | 16 Mar 2021 | 395 | 49,997 |
CLS Holdings | Lennart Sten | 17 Mar 2021 | 234 | 93,580 |
Harworth Group | Lynda Shillaw (ce) | 18 Mar 2021 | 124 | 49,736 |
Hikma Pharmaceuticals | Mary Regina (Nina) Henderson | 17 Mar 2021 | 2,203 | 35,248 |
John Menzies | Alvaro Gomez-Reino (cfo) | 16 Mar 2021 | 299 | 119,600 |
Ocado | Jörn Rausing | 19 Mar 2021 | 1,989 | 16,279,292 |
Playtech | Andrew Smith (cfo) | 16 Mar 2021 | 421 | 26,102 |
Playtech | Moran Weizer (ce) | 16 Mar 2021 | 428 | 80,458 |
Reckitt Benckiser | Olivier Bohuon | 16 Mar 2021 | 6,316 | 31,580 |
Synthomer | Dato' Lee Hau Hian | 19 Mar 2021 | 465 | 225,321 |
Sells | ||||
Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
Aviva | Mark Versey (PDMR) | 16 Mar 2021 | 393 | 243,600 |
InterContinental Hotels | Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson (cfo) | 16 Mar 2021 | 5,200 | 93,600 |
Shanta Gold | Eric Zurrin (ce) | 18 Mar 2021 | 13 | 272,077 |
Shanta Gold | Luke Leslie (cfo) | 18 Mar 2021 | 13 | 372,636 |