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Melrose co-founder incentivised

Directors are rewarded for successful execution of strategy
July 10, 2017

Last month it emerged that three co-founders and the finance chief of Melrose Industries (MRO) were to receive scrip bonuses equivalent to around £40m apiece in one of the biggest executive pay-days of recent times. This was made up of cashed-in share options and the issue of new ordinary shares, admitted to trading on 1 June.

IC TIP: Hold at 240p

Following that, executive vice-chairman and co-founder David Roper hived off 2m shares at the end of June, pocketing just north of £5m in the process. Earlier in the month the group's finance director, Geoffrey Martin, netted around £14.2m from a sale of 6m shares.

Although pay revolts are the order of the day, this feeding frenzy is unlikely to faze shareholders given that they approved the terms of the five-year incentive plan back in 2012. Management is now in clover simply because it has consistently delivered value for shareholders under the business model. Trough-to-peak, shares are up fivefold since the start of last year, registering a total return of 213 per cent on an annualised basis.

 

 

Buys
CompanyDirectorDateNo of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Holding (shares)Holding (%)
BH Macro Huw Evans (ch)28 Jun 172,6271,902.6349,9823,3370.024
BT  Anthony Ball22 Jun 17100,000282282,000193,8710.002
Card Factory Karen Hubbard (ceo)26 Jun 1713,456296.139,84365,2530.019
Challenger Acquisitions Mark Gustafson (ceo & ch)28 Jun 17150,0002.33,4501,150,0001.968
Chemring♥Michael Flowers (gceo)22 Jun 1720,000196.939,380185,9820.067
Comptoir  Tony Kitous27 Jun 17502,50020100,50050,502,50052.607
Comptoir  Chaker Hanna (ceo)27 Jun 17502,50020100,50014,502,50015.107
Comptoir  Richard Kleiner (ch)27 Jun 17100,0002020,000160,0000.167
Concepta Erik Henau (ceo)22 Jun 1780,00012.1759,740293,3330.268
CyanConnode  John Cronin (ch)22 Jun 1743,500,0000.11550,025429,590,6622.402
CyanConnode  Harry Berry22 Jun 1714,000,0000.1419,600110,559,2920.618
CyanConnode  Simon Smith (cfo)26 Jun 1713,333,3330.1520,000223,967,0141.252
Ironveld*Giles Clarke DL (ch)26 Jun 172,000,000240,00011,148,5802.507
Ironveld*Nick Harrison26 Jun 17250,00025,0004,397,8400.989
Jubilee Platinum Colin Bird (ch)22 Jun 171,250,0003.8347,87510,366,5120.927
Lekoil Gregory Eckersley28 Jun 1750,00016.358,1752,953,0500.550
Lionsgold*Cameron Parry (ceo)22 Jun 173,000,0001.133,0003,000,0001.180
Nature  Berend van Straten (ch)28 Jun 1715,0002.6390865,0001.091
Nature  Berend van Straten (ch)28 Jun 17100,0002.82,800600,0000.757
Nature  Berend van Straten (ch)28 Jun 17250,0002.756,875850,0001.072
Premier Oil Tony Durrant (ceo)22 Jun 17226,86843.7599,2551,462,0360.286
Premier Oil Richard Rose (fd)26 Jun 1725,00044.8011,19982,3910.016
ScotGems*♥Angus John Tulloch26 Jun 179,9961009,9961,012,0962.007
ScotGems*♥Angus John Tulloch26 Jun 179,9961009,9962,009,9963.986
ScotGems*Angus John Tulloch26 Jun 171,002,1001001,002,1001,002,1001.987
ScotGems*Angus John Tulloch26 Jun 171,002,1001001,002,1003,012,0965.974
ScotGems*♥Angus John Tulloch26 Jun 172,000,0001002,000,0002,000,0003.967
ScotGems*James Anthony Findlay26 Jun 17500,000100500,000500,0000.992
ScotGems*William Henry Salomon (ch)26 Jun 17250,000100250,000250,0000.496
ScotGems*♥Anne West26 Jun 17125,000100125,000125,0000.248
ScotGems*Anne West26 Jun 17125,000100125,000125,0000.248
ScotGems*Anne West26 Jun 17125,000100125,000250,0000.496
ScotGems*♥Anne West26 Jun 17125,000100125,000250,0000.496
Symphony International  Anil Thadani22 Jun 172,000,00083.251,665,00063,820,60212.468
Symphony International  Anil Thadani26 Jun 17228,76060137,25661,820,60211.982
Symphony International  Sunil Chandiramani26 Jun 17171,57060102,94218,104,4803.537
Thor Mining♥Paul Johnson23 Jun 17500,0000.9354,67510,502,6492.816
Thor Mining♥Paul Johnson26 Jun 17500,0000.894,45011,002,6492.950
W Resources*Byron Pirola22 Jun 1717,857,1420.2850,000296,638,3186.126
W Resources* Michael Masterman (ch)22 Jun 1717,857,1420.2850,0001,054,398,98221.773
dotDigital  Richard Kellett-Clarke23 Jun 1770,0007049,000390,0000.132

 

 

Sells
CompanyDirectorDateNo of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Holding (shares)Holding (%)
Blue Prism  Alastair Bathgate (ceo)28 Jun 17650,0008005,200,0005,658,4629.062
Clinigen  John Bacon28 Jun 17200,000842.51,685,000530,7670.461
Clinigen  Peter George22 Jun 17500,0008754,375,0002,814,2422.444
Escher   Fionnuala Higgins22 Jun 17910,0001851,683,500895,1604.778
Escher   Liam Church (ceo)22 Jun 17910,0001851,683,500895,1604.778
Franchise Brands Robin Auld28 Jun 17100,0008787,000846,1951.089
Investec Stephen Koseff (ceo)23 Jun 17200,000575.641,151,2765,245,7750.787
Investec Stephen Koseff (ceo)26 Jun 17100,000579.49579,4865,145,7750.772
Melrose Industries David Roper (vch)27 Jun 172,000,000250.915,018,20017,730,1300.913
Nakama  Ken Ford (ch)26 Jun 179,500,0001.8171,0003,999,9973.396
Nakama  John Higham (dch)26 Jun 177,430,0001.8133,7401,838,0781.560
Polar Capital  Brian Ashford-Russell28 Jun 17115,000433497,9505,825,0006.369
Polar Capital  Tim Woolley (ceo)28 Jun 17150,000433649,5005,000,0005.467
SolGold Robert Weinberg26 Jun 17375,00037.4140,2504,651,0910.308
SolGold Robert Weinberg27 Jun 17355,00036.9130,9954,296,0910.284
SolGold John Bovard26 Jun 17375,00037.4140,2504,213,8130.279
SolGold John Bovard27 Jun 17355,00036.9130,9953,858,8130.255
* placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party