Shares in Plus500 (PLUS) have rebounded sharply since the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published proposals to tighten regulations around contracts for difference products last November. Therefore, the timing of non-executive director Michael Fairburn’s decision to sell some of his stake in the group would make sense. Mr Fairburn earned himself close to £1m by disposing of shares in the spread-betting specialist earlier this month. He later bought back shares to the tune of £130,000.
IC TIP:
Hold
at
948p
Investors have no doubt been encouraged by the rapid increase in customer numbers and revenue per user, up 8 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, during the first half. That helped double cash profit year on year. It also enabled a further share buyback of $27.2m (£20.6m) in August, in addition to the $10m scheme announced two months prior.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Augean♥ | Christopher Mills | 7 Nov 17 | 200,000 | 29 | 58,000 | 18,600,000 | 18.086 |
| BT♥ | Jan du Plessis (ch) | 7 Nov 17 | 200,000 | 252 | 504,000 | 200,000 | 0.002 |
| BT | Nick Rose | 6 Nov 17 | 100,000 | 251 | 251,000 | 300,000 | 0.003 |
| Footasylum | Brendan Hynes | 6 Nov 17 | 15,000 | 205 | 30,750 | 15,000 | 0.014 |
| Footasylum | Stephen Robertson | 2 Nov 17 | 11,933 | 209.5 | 25,000 | 11,933 | 0.011 |
| Grafenia | Conrad Bona | 6 Nov 17 | 25,000 | 10.2 | 2,550 | 565,000 | 1.244 |
| Grafenia | Conrad Bona | 6 Nov 17 | 25,000 | 10.388 | 2,597 | 590,000 | 1.299 |
| Grafenia | Peter Gunning (ceo) | 8 Nov 17 | 131,906 | 11.75 | 15,499 | 1,381,906 | 3.043 |
| Lancashire | Peter Clarke (ch) | 2 Nov 17 | 30,000 | 746 | 223,800 | 44,000 | 0.022 |
| Northern 2 VCT | Alastair Conn | 3 Nov 17 | 14,364 | 69.6 | 9,997 | 460,719 | 0.365 |
| Northern 2 VCT | David Gravells (ch) | 3 Nov 17 | 8,596 | 69.8 | 6,000 | 35,288 | 0.028 |
| Northern 2 VCT | Frank Neale | 3 Nov 17 | 35,818 | 69.8 | 25,001 | 140,848 | 0.112 |
| Northern 2 VCT | Cecilia McAnulty | 3 Nov 17 | 14,327 | 69.8 | 10,000 | 66,284 | 0.053 |
| Northern 3 VCT | Christopher Fleetwood | 3 Nov 17 | 20,000 | 100 | 20,000 | 75,305 | 0.087 |
| Northern 3 VCT | John Waddell | 3 Nov 17 | 7,500 | 100 | 7,500 | 21,840 | 0.025 |
| Northern 3 VCT | James Ferguson (ch) | 3 Nov 17 | 100,000 | 100 | 100,000 | 656,374 | 0.762 |
| Northern 3 VCT | Timothy Levett | 3 Nov 17 | 60,153 | 99.7 | 59,973 | 298,301 | 0.346 |
| Northern Venture Trust | David Mayes | 3 Nov 17 | 270,661 | 73.9 | 200,018 | 361,795 | 0.274 |
| Northern Venture Trust | Hugh Younger | 3 Nov 17 | 67,493 | 74.1 | 50,012 | 119,746 | 0.091 |
| Northern Venture Trust | Richard Green | 3 Nov 17 | 67,493 | 74.1 | 50,012 | 77,493 | 0.059 |
| Northern Venture Trust | Simon Constantine (ch) | 3 Nov 17 | 53,994 | 74.1 | 40,010 | 297,197 | 0.225 |
| Old Mutual | Jonathan Hemphill (ceo) | 8 Nov 17 | 46,300 | 195.9102 | 90,706 | 46,300 | 0.001 |
| Ortac Resources* | Brian McMaster | 2 Nov 17 | 2,000,000 | 2 | 40,000 | 2,000,000 | 0.855 |
| Ortac Resources* | Nick Von Schirnding (ch) | 2 Nov 17 | 2,000,000 | 2 | 40,000 | 2,593,333 | 1.109 |
| Plus500♥ | Michael Fairbairn | 2 Nov 17 | 3,000 | 1,038.71 | 31,161 | 114,000 | 0.100 |
| Plus500 | Michael Fairbairn | 2 Nov 17 | 5,000 | 1,039.71 | 51,986 | 111,000 | 0.097 |
| Plus500 | Michael Fairbairn | 2 Nov 17 | 7,500 | 1,040.33 | 78,025 | 106,000 | 0.093 |
| Reckitt Benckiser | Adrian Hennah (cfo) | 8 Nov 17 | 2,285 | 6,566.90 | 150,054 | 92,166 | 0.013 |
| Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust♥ | P Maxwell | 7 Nov 17 | 4,405 | 456.5 | 20,109 | 41,150 | 0.003 |
| Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust | P Maxwell | 7 Nov 17 | 4,465 | 456.5 | 20,383 | 36,745 | 0.003 |
| Sunrise Resources* | David Swan | 7 Nov 17 | 2,117,647 | 17 | 360,000 | 14,980,510 | 0.827 |
| Sunrise Resources* | Patrick Cheetham (ch) | 7 Nov 17 | 1,764,706 | 17 | 300,000 | 81,506,032 | 4.501 |
| Sunrise Resources* | Roger Murphy | 7 Nov 17 | 2,920,000 | 17 | 496,400 | 26,411,621 | 1.459 |
| Thruvision | Tom Black (ch) | 3 Nov 17 | 516,303 | 16 | 82,608 | 9,835,735 | 5.956 |
| UP Global Sourcing | Jim McCarthy (ch) | 7 Nov 17 | 109,375 | 93.25 | 101,992 | 500,000 | 0.608 |
| Ubisense* | Peter Harverson (ch) | 6 Nov 17 | 78,125 | 32 | 25,000 | 223,286 | 0.306 |
| Ubisense* | Paul Taylor | 6 Nov 17 | 78,125 | 32 | 25,000 | 191,459 | 0.262 |
| Ubisense* | Robert Sansom | 6 Nov 17 | 1,250,000 | 32 | 400,000 | 6,235,899 | 8.533 |
| Ubisense* | Richard Petti (ceo) | 6 Nov 17 | 78,125 | 32 | 25,000 | 78,125 | 0.107 |
| Ubisense* | Tim Gingell (cfo) | 6 Nov 17 | 46,875 | 32 | 15,000 | 86,875 | 0.119 |
| Velocity Composites | Peter Turner | 2 Nov 17 | 55,555 | 90 | 50,000 | 55,555 | 0.155 |
| Wilmington | Anthony Foye (cfo) | 2 Nov 17 | 100,000 | 237.5 | 237,500 | 929,690 | 1.064 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Action Hotels | Sheikh Mubarak A. M. Al Sabah (ch) | 3 Nov 17 | 5,000 | 35.5 | 1,775 | 97,300,616 | 65.905 |
| Comptoir | Tony Kitous | 3 Nov 17 | 333,333 | 15 | 50,000 | 58,412,503 | 47.619 |
| GVC | Norbert Teufelberger | 2 Nov 17 | 400,000 | 951.88 | 3,807,520 | 755,276 | 0.255 |
| Hilton Food | Robert Watson (ceo) | 8 Nov 17 | 100,000 | 870 | 870,000 | 3,029,865 | 3.725 |
| MJ Gleeson♥ | Christopher Mills | 7 Nov 17 | 10,000 | 735 | 73,500 | 10,045,000 | 18.402 |
| MJ Gleeson♥ | Christopher Mills | 7 Nov 17 | 145,000 | 735 | 1,065,750 | 9,900,000 | 18.136 |
| MJ Gleeson♥ | Christopher Mills | 7 Nov 17 | 1,345,000 | 735 | 9,885,750 | 8,555,000 | 15.672 |
| Old Mutual | Jonathan Hemphill (ceo) | 6 Nov 17 | 182,263 | 193.4523 | 352,592 | 0 | 0.000 |
| Plus500 | Michael Fairbairn | 2 Nov 17 | 15,000 | 1,032.83 | 154,925 | 159,000 | 0.139 |
| Plus500 | Michael Fairbairn | 2 Nov 17 | 15,000 | 1,038.53 | 155,780 | 174,000 | 0.153 |
| Plus500 | Michael Fairbairn | 2 Nov 17 | 60,500 | 1035 | 626,175 | 98,500 | 0.086 |
| Raven Russia | Colin Smith | 6 Nov 17 | 298,449 | 50.26 | 150,000 | 970,646 | 0.147 |
| *Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party | |||||||
