Of the Christmas retail trading updates currently flooding the market, numbers from clothing chain Next (NXT) were, in fact, a pleasant surprise. Even though management saw it prudent to revise down full-year profit expectations by 0.6 per cent following higher sales of lower-margin, seasonal products and taking into account increased costs associated with online growth, the overall picture was better than feared.
Full-price sales over Christmas rose 1.5 per cent, with good growth also reported in the three-week lead-up to the big day. Year-to-date online sales are up 15 per cent, too, which helped offset a 7 per cent squeeze across retail stores.
On the same day as Christmas numbers hit the market, chairman Michael Roney added a total of 3,577 shares to his holding at an average price of 4,360p, spending close to £156,000.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Aberdeen Asian Income Fund | Nicky McCabe | 07 Jan 19 | 5,000 | 195.05 | 9,753 | 5,000 | 0.003 |
| Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon | Jamie Skinner | 09 Jan 19 | 17,500 | 171.96 | 30,093 | 17,500 | 0.006 |
| Chaarat Gold♥ | Martin Andersson (ch) | 03 Jan 19 | 75,000 | 27.3194 | 20,490 | 150,748,966 | 38.148 |
| Chaarat Gold♥ | Martin Andersson (ch) | 03 Jan 19 | 50,000 | 27.9904 | 13,995 | 150,598,966 | 38.110 |
| Chaarat Gold | Artem Volynets (ceo) | 03 Jan 19 | 72,000 | 28.0694 | 20,210 | 72,000 | 0.018 |
| Chaarat Gold♥ | Martin Andersson (ch) | 04 Jan 19 | 75,000 | 28.1623 | 21,122 | 150,898,966 | 38.186 |
| Chaarat Gold♥ | Martin Andersson (ch) | 03 Jan 19 | 75,000 | 28.1625 | 21,122 | 150,673,966 | 38.129 |
| Chaarat Gold♥ | Martin Andersson (ch) | 04 Jan 19 | 50,000 | 28.4004 | 14,200 | 150,823,966 | 38.167 |
| Chaarat Gold♥ | Martin Andersson (ch) | 04 Jan 19 | 25,000 | 28.4555 | 7,114 | 150,773,966 | 38.154 |
| Eagle Eye Solutions | William Currie | 07 Jan 19 | 150,000 | 101 | 151,500 | 3,413,322 | 13.415 |
| Eagle Eye Solutions | Terence Leahy | 07 Jan 19 | 150,000 | 101 | 151,500 | 2,420,970 | 9.515 |
| Eight Peaks | Nicholas Monson | 03 Jan 19 | 700,000 | 10 | 70,000 | 720,000 | 4.003 |
| Eight Peaks | Zafarullah Karim (ch) | 03 Jan 19 | 1,000,000 | 10 | 100,000 | 1,412,861 | 7.854 |
| Fidelity Special Values | Nicky McCabe | 03 Jan 19 | 8,639 | 230.22 | 19,889 | 31,635 | 0.012 |
| Gear4music | Dean Murray | 07 Jan 19 | 3,000 | 214 | 6,420 | 197,520 | 0.943 |
| Gear4music | Christopher Scott (cfo) | 07 Jan 19 | 4,400 | 228 | 10,032 | 104,840 | 0.501 |
| Gear4music | Gareth Bevan | 07 Jan 19 | 4,400 | 228 | 10,032 | 114,760 | 0.548 |
| Gear4music | Eric Ford (ch) | 07 Jan 19 | 10,000 | 240 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 0.143 |
| GETECH | Peter Stephens | 03 Jan 19 | 55,000 | 31.75 | 17,463 | 1,943,500 | 5.174 |
| Good Energy | William Whitehorn | 04 Jan 19 | 9,000 | 100 | 9,000 | 42,000 | 0.253 |
| IMImobile | John Allwood (ch) | 04 Jan 19 | 10,000 | 215.199 | 21,520 | 20,000 | 0.030 |
| Immunodiagnostic Systems | Peter Kaspar | 04 Jan 19 | 3,000 | 188 | 5,640 | 18,100 | 0.063 |
| Minds + Machines | Henry Turcan | 03 Jan 19 | 250,000 | 6 | 15,000 | 7,125,000 | 0.770 |
| Minds + Machines | Henry Turcan | 07 Jan 19 | 220,000 | 6 | 13,200 | 7,345,000 | 0.794 |
| Next | Michael Roney (ch) | 03 Jan 19 | 1,720 | 4358.66 | 74,969 | 38,275 | 0.027 |
| Next | Michael Roney (ch) | 03 Jan 19 | 1,857 | 4361.32 | 80,990 | 36,555 | 0.026 |
| Odyssean Investment Trust | Jane Tufnell (ch) | 09 Jan 19 | 5,187 | 95.199 | 4,938 | 14,616 | 0.017 |
| Odyssean Investment Trust | Arabella Cecil | 09 Jan 19 | 5,199 | 95.2 | 4,949 | 14,717 | 0.017 |
| Polar Capital Technology Trust | Tim Cruttenden | 03 Jan 19 | 1,000 | 1102.16 | 11,022 | 1,000 | 0.001 |
| Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Tr | Charlie Ricketts | 03 Jan 19 | 5,000 | 678.75 | 33,938 | 5,000 | 0.002 |
| The Property Franchise | Paul Latham | 08 Jan 19 | 25,000 | 115 | 28,750 | 50,000 | 0.194 |
| TT Electronics | Michael Baunton | 03 Jan 19 | 5,000 | 198 | 9,900 | 104,598 | 0.064 |
| U and I | Richard Upton | 07 Jan 19 | 17,156 | 204 | 34,998 | 3,280,105 | 2.615 |
| UIL | David Shillson | 03 Jan 19 | 4,721 | 175 | 8,262 | 84,284 | 0.094 |
| UIL | Warren McLeland | 03 Jan 19 | 4,721 | 175 | 8,262 | 66,673 | 0.075 |
| UIL | Alison Hill | 03 Jan 19 | 4,721 | 175 | 8,262 | 42,794 | 0.048 |
| Utilico Emerging Markets Trust | Anthony Muh | 03 Jan 19 | 7,914 | 206 | 16,303 | 166,378 | 0.072 |
| Utilico Emerging Markets Trust | Garry Madeiros | 03 Jan 19 | 4,945 | 206 | 10,187 | 221,601 | 0.096 |
| Utilico Emerging Markets Trust | Garth Milne | 03 Jan 19 | 3,188 | 206 | 6,567 | 787,506 | 0.341 |
| Utilico Emerging Markets Trust | John Rennocks (ch) | 03 Jan 19 | 2,964 | 206 | 6,106 | 135,095 | 0.059 |
| Utilico Emerging Markets Trust | Susan Hansen | 03 Jan 19 | 3,991 | 206 | 8,221 | 89,494 | 0.039 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Haydale Graphene Industries | Raymond Gibbs | 03 Jan 19 | 16,000 | 31.85 | 5,096 | 376,453 | 1.377 |
| *Pacing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party | |||||||
