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Hibernia boss lightens the load

Demand for shares in the Irish property developer is as strong as ever
February 1, 2018

There has been steady institutional demand for shares in Hibernia REIT (HBRN), and chief executive Kevin Nowlan has added some liquidity by selling off 3.4m shares, although he still owns over 5m shares.

IC TIP: Buy at 1.48€

And it’s not hard to see why Hibernia REIT is attracting attention. Dublin’s property market is performing very strongly right now, as demand for decent office space is accelerating after a period following the financial crash where there was little or no investment in new stock.

The Dublin government has not been slow to recognise this, and last October it pushed stamp duty on commercial property transactions up from 2 per cent to 6 per cent. However, this seems unlikely to dampen demand, especially with some lettings coming as a result of the UK’s planned exit from the EU. Hibernia has an extensive development arm, but operating with long leases and securing pre-let agreements suggest that the growth story has further to run.

Buys
CompanyDirectorDateNo of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Holding (shares)Holding (%)
Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Peter Arthur (ch)22 Jan 18453220.771,00058,6340.032
Aukett Swanke  Nicholas Thompson (ceo)23 Jan 18125,0002.53,12516,802,41110.170
Benchmark  Kevin Quinn23 Jan 1835,92969.5524,98960,9290.012
Brave Bison  Claire Hungate (ceo)18 Jan 181,248,5060.89,9881,248,5060.217
Brave Bison  Paul Campbell-White (cfo)18 Jan 18628,9300.7955,000628,9300.110
Brave Bison  Paul Marshall18 Jan 181,346,1530.7810,5001,346,1530.234
Brave Bison  Robin Miller (ch)18 Jan 181,900,0000.815,2003,593,2430.626
Cabot Energy*Jon Murphy (ch)18 Jan 18300,462515,0232,704,1600.417
Cabot Energy*Iain Lanaghan18 Jan 1853,37952,669480,4110.074
Cabot Energy*Keith Bush (ceo)18 Jan 18140,04757,002940,4260.145
Cabot Energy*Nick Morgan (fd)18 Jan 18111,02955,551999,2660.154
Cabot Energy*Paul Lafferty18 Jan 18100,00055,000671,2690.104
Carclo Chris Malley (ceo)24 Jan 18100,00083.8783,870259,7260.354
Carclo Mark Rollins24 Jan 1835,0008429,40070,0000.096
Connect  Gary Kennedy (ch)23 Jan 1830,00075.9922,79760,0000.024
Dunelm  Andy Harrison (ch)18 Jan 1877,449640.77496,270280,3810.139
FFI♥James Terlizzi (ch)18 Jan 18225,00077173,25010,308,1846.564
FFI  Timothy Trankina (cfo)19 Jan 18225,00077173,250225,0000.143
Franchise Brands David Poutney19 Jan 18490,00059.5291,5502,750,7913.539
GCP Infrastructure Investments Clive Spears23 Jan 1825,000120.8230,20551,9420.006
Hollywood Bowl♥Ivan Schofield23 Jan 189,65020519,78375,0000.050
Hollywood Bowl♥Ivan Schofield23 Jan 1815,35020531,46865,3500.044
Hotel Chocolat  Matt Pritchard (cfo)24 Jan 189,50033231,54026,3920.023
Keystone Investment Trust Katrina Hart19 Jan 181,0911,809.5019,7421,0910.008
Lakehouse Derek Zissman23 Jan 18100,00039.539,500100,0000.063
New Century AIM VCT Michael Barnard22 Jan 183,223772,4821,877,34221.494
Oxford BioMedica Lorenzo Tallarigo (ch)22 Jan 1823,94111.12,6572,197,0280.071
Palace Capital Stanley Davis (ch)18 Jan 18100,000330330,0001,665,2873.633
Shoe Zone Jonathan Fearn24 Jan 183501675853500.001
Shoe Zone♥Nick Davis (ceo)24 Jan 1811,00016718,37033,7000.067
Staffline  Christopher Pullen (cfo)24 Jan 185,043991.3749,99512,0000.043
Touchstar*Ian Martin (ch)22 Jan 18333,33360200,000668,5839.634
Touchstar*John Christmas22 Jan 1833,3336020,00033,3330.480
Touchstar*Mark Hardy22 Jan 1833,0006019,80033,0000.476
Velocity Composites Mark Mills (ch)24 Jan 1850,0009547,5001,934,0245.403
Volex Adrian Chamberlain24 Jan 1824,9868019,98924,9860.028
XLMedia Ory Weihs (ceo)18 Jan 1831,58018859,3704,031,8201.830
Sells
CompanyDirectorDateNo of sharesPrice (p)Value (£)Holding (shares)Holding (%)
Clipper Logistics Antony Mannix (ceo)24 Jan 18498,2374302,142,419860,3760.858
Clipper Logistics David Hodkin (cfo)24 Jan 18498,2374302,142,419860,3760.858
Clipper Logistics Steven Parkin (ch)24 Jan 184,872,00043020,949,60025,128,00025.055
Cranswick John Bottomley (fd)24 Jan 189083,112.0828,25885,9650.169
Globalworth Real Estate InvestmentsIoannis Papalekas (ceo)24 Jan 181,000,000832.28,322,00024,129,18718.241
Hibernia REIT Kevin Nowlan (ceo)24 Jan 183,407,251132.64,518,9325,002,9180.723
Hilton Food  Robert Watson (ceo)19 Jan 1824,850835207,4983,005,0153.694
Park GroupGary Woods18 Jan 18206,13984.5174,1871,000,0000.539
Taptica International♥Hagai Tal (ceo)22 Jan 181,650,0004507,425,0009,375,50913.879
*Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party