Stephen Stone, age 63, has been executive chairman of Crest Nicholson (CRST) since 1999 and, recently, he sold 250,000 shares. He still owns more than 3.5m shares in the housebuilder. In April next year, he will step back to become non-executive chairman. Crest Nicholson remains in rude health, with demand for new homes underpinned by rising employment and a continued supply and demand imbalance.
Affordability levels have also been helped by a more moderate pace in house price inflation. In a trading update in March ahead of the all-important spring selling season, the builder revealed that total forward sales were up 15 per cent from a year earlier at £620m. The group continues to expand its Chiltern and Midlands divisions, where sales outlets have risen to 55, some 12 per cent up from a year earlier. And plans are now in place to proceed with the £115m Brightwells regeneration of Farnham town centre. As well as retail outlets including Marks & Spencer, there will be 239 apartments around a new town square, and the scheme will include 72 shared ownership affordable homes.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| AA | Simon Breakwell (ceo) | 17 Apr 18 | 17,006 | 117 | 19,897 | 142,249 | 0.023 |
| AA | Simon Breakwell (ceo) | 17 Apr 18 | 125,243 | 119 | 149,039 | 125,243 | 0.020 |
| AIB♥ | Carolan Lennon | 13 Apr 18 | 5,700 | 516.5 | 29,441 | 7,700 | 0.000 |
| Amerisur Resources | Dana Coffield | 16 Apr 18 | 233,000 | 15.11 | 35,206 | 384,000 | 0.032 |
| Amerisur Resources | Dana Coffield | 18 Apr 18 | 216,000 | 15.82 | 34,171 | 600,000 | 0.049 |
| Amerisur Resources♥ | John Wardle (ceo) | 17 Apr 18 | 322,000 | 15.5 | 49,910 | 21,494,505 | 1.772 |
| Amerisur Resources | Chris Jenkins | 16 Apr 18 | 200,000 | 15.06 | 30,120 | 1,250,000 | 0.103 |
| Associated British Foods | Michael McLintock (ch) | 18 Apr 18 | 7,500 | 2,687.88 | 201,591 | 15,000 | 0.002 |
| Athelney Trust | S Moore | 13 Apr 18 | 8,000 | 235 | 18,800 | 40,000 | 1.854 |
| C4X Discovery | Clive Dix (ceo) | 16 Apr 18 | 20,000 | 101.5 | 20,300 | 1,344,936 | 2.889 |
| C4X Discovery | Clive Dix (ceo) | 17 Apr 18 | 10,000 | 108.5 | 10,850 | 1,354,936 | 2.910 |
| C4X Discovery | Clive Dix (ceo) | 17 Apr 18 | 60,000 | 113 | 67,800 | 1,414,936 | 3.039 |
| ClearStar | Barney Quinn (ch) | 18 Apr 18 | 33,660 | 44 | 14,810 | 278,215 | 0.766 |
| Computacenter | Peter Ryan | 13 Apr 18 | 900 | 1235.4 | 11,119 | 900 | 0.001 |
| Ebiquity | Michael Higgins (ch) | 12 Apr 18 | 16,000 | 69 | 11,040 | 80,500 | 0.109 |
| Ferguson | John Martin (ceo) | 18 Apr 18 | 5,523 | 5418 | 299,236 | 112,229 | 0.045 |
| Grafenia* | Conrad Bona | 13 Apr 18 | 250,000 | 12 | 30,000 | 865,000 | 1.819 |
| Grafenia* | Peter Gunning (ceo) | 13 Apr 18 | 175,000 | 12 | 21,000 | 1,625,000 | 3.417 |
| Midwich♥ | Andrew Herbert (ch) | 13 Apr 18 | 10,000 | 560 | 56,000 | 30,000 | 0.038 |
| NetScientific* | Barry Wilson | 17 Apr 18 | 30,952 | 5.5 | 1,702 | 67,310 | 0.086 |
| NetScientific* | Stephen Smith | 17 Apr 18 | 28,571 | 52.5 | 15,000 | 28,571 | 0.036 |
| NetScientific* | Richard Sykes (ch) | 16 Apr 18 | 30,952 | 52.5 | 16,250 | 93,452 | 0.119 |
| Old Mutual | Alan Gillespie | 16 Apr 18 | 835,000 | 233.9 | 1,953,065 | 848,000 | 0.017 |
| Old Mutual | Alan Gillespie | 17 Apr 18 | 835,000 | 236.16 | 1,971,936 | 1,683,000 | 0.034 |
| Personal Assets Trust | Iain Ferguson | 13 Apr 18 | 50 | 39,271.33 | 19,636 | 58 | 0.003 |
| Personal Assets Trust♥ | Iain Ferguson | 13 Apr 18 | 50 | 39,271.33 | 19,636 | 108 | 0.005 |
| Petropavlovsk♥ | Bektas Mukazhanov | 17 Apr 18 | 926,026 | 6.96 | 64,451 | 926,026 | 0.028 |
| Petropavlovsk | Adrian Coates | 16 Apr 18 | 142,255 | 6.995 | 9,951 | 142,255 | 0.004 |
| Primorus Investments | Jeremy Taylor-Firth (ch) | 16 Apr 18 | 12,500,000 | 0.1585 | 19,813 | 12,500,000 | 0.447 |
| Raven Russia | Anton Bilton | 18 Apr 18 | 1,250,000 | 42.5 | 531,250 | 43,867,676 | 6.641 |
| Rotala | Graham Peacock | 12 Apr 18 | 50,000 | 54 | 27,000 | 2,791,666 | 5.813 |
| Saga | Lance Batchelor (ce) | 12 Apr 18 | 15,629 | 127.32 | 19,899 | 178,854 | 0.016 |
| Saga♥ | Lance Batchelor (ce) | 12 Apr 18 | 15,711 | 126.66 | 19,900 | 194,565 | 0.017 |
| Schroder UK Growth Fund | Andrew Westenberger | 13 Apr 18 | 11,379 | 182 | 20,710 | 20,000 | 0.013 |
| Schroder UK Growth Fund | Carolan Dobson (ch) | 13 Apr 18 | 10,989 | 182 | 20,000 | 26,949 | 0.018 |
| Solid State | Tony Frere (ch) | 13 Apr 18 | 5,000 | 285 | 14,250 | 13,004 | 0.154 |
| Solid State | John Macmichael | 13 Apr 18 | 2,000 | 279 | 5,580 | 122,222 | 1.446 |
| Solid State | Matthews Richards | 13 Apr 18 | 2,400 | 282 | 6,768 | 4,800 | 0.057 |
| Solid State | Peter Haining | 13 Apr 18 | 1,736 | 285 | 4,948 | 54,237 | 0.642 |
| Solid State | Pete James (fd) | 13 Apr 18 | 684 | 285 | 1,949 | 684 | 0.008 |
| Standard Life Private Equity Trust | Calum Thomson | 18 Apr 18 | 3,700 | 322.3 | 11,925 | 13,700 | 0.009 |
| Tavistock Investments | Brian Raven (ceo) | 13 Apr 18 | 328,333 | 3.05 | 10,014 | 63,855,712 | 11.887 |
| Time Out | Julio Bruno Castellanos (ceo) | 18 Apr 18 | 21,500 | 116 | 24,940 | 92,124 | 0.069 |
| Walker Crips♥ | Lim Hua Min | 17 Apr 18 | 30,000 | 37 | 11,100 | 10,099,163 | 23.950 |
| XLMedia | Ory Weihs (ceo) | 17 Apr 18 | 32,258 | 155 | 50,000 | 4,215,187 | 1.913 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Crest Nicholson | Stephen Stone (ch) | 18 Apr 18 | 250,000 | 482.875 | 1,207,188 | 3,520,080 | 1.376 |
| Ergomed | Miroslav Reljanovic | 16 Apr 18 | 4,000,000 | 190 | 7,600,000 | 11,132,237 | 24.898 |
| Huntsworth | Neil Jones (cfo) | 16 Apr 18 | 144,590 | 96.87 | 140,064 | 255,410 | 0.077 |
| Ideagen | Jonathan Wearing (ch) | 16 Apr 18 | 150,000 | 109 | 163,500 | 4,189,066 | 2.067 |
| Independent Investment Trust (The) | D McDougall (ch) | 13 Apr 18 | 35,000 | 717.15 | 251,003 | 8,209,500 | 14.800 |
| Independent Investment Trust (The) | D McDougall (ch) | 18 Apr 18 | 50,000 | 727.5 | 363,750 | 8,159,500 | 14.710 |
| Mid Wynd International Inv Trust | Russell Napier | 12 Apr 18 | 4,100 | 470.5 | 19,291 | 175,225 | 0.506 |
| Mid Wynd International Inv Trust♥ | Russell Napier | 12 Apr 18 | 15,300 | 470.5 | 71,987 | 159,925 | 0.462 |
| Ubisense♥ | Oliver Scott | 16 Apr 18 | 1,600,000 | 45 | 720,000 | 19,045,493 | 26.062 |
| *Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party | |||||||
