Car dealers are struggling in the face of a cyclical downturn exacerbated by a collapse in diesel car sales, as politicians crack down on polluting vehicles in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal. Amid a 25.6 per cent drop in diesel car sales – and despite growing registrations of petrol, electric and hybrid vehicles – a total of 163,615 new cars rolled out of UK showrooms last month, marking it as the worst January in three years.
Whether these industry sales pressures will translate into reduced re-marketing volumes for BCA Marketplace (BCA) – the owner of British Car Auctions – is debatable, although anecdotal accounts point to consumers and businesses keeping older cars running, where they might have once chosen to upgrade.
Against this backdrop, Avril Palmer-Baunack, who recently oversaw the auto services group’s move to a premium listing, has offloaded around £1.1m-worth of shares. However, we shouldn’t read anything into the deal at this juncture; BCA’s chair, who briefly ran haulier Stobart, has a hefty residual holding following a windfall for a group of senior directors at the end of last year.
Buys | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
3i | David Hutchison | 01 Feb 18 | 3,000 | 960 | 28,800 | 62,966 | 0.006 |
3i | Jonathan Asquith | 01 Feb 18 | 3,000 | 960 | 28,800 | 46,001 | 0.005 |
3i | Simon Thompson (ch) | 01 Feb 18 | 3,101 | 960 | 29,770 | 48,558 | 0.005 |
3i | Stephen Daintith | 01 Feb 18 | 3,000 | 960 | 28,800 | 4,241 | 0.000 |
3i | Caroline Banszky | 01 Feb 18 | 3,000 | 960 | 28,800 | 15,995 | 0.002 |
3i | Peter Grosch | 01 Feb 18 | 3,000 | 960 | 28,800 | 7,249 | 0.001 |
Aquila Services | Derek Joseph (ch) | 07 Feb 18 | 135,135 | 37 | 50,000 | 3,005,538 | 8.523 |
AstraZeneca | Philip Broadley | 02 Feb 18 | 415 | 4,846.36 | 20,112 | 2,715 | 0.000 |
Atlantis Japan Growth Fund | Richard Pavry | 01 Feb 18 | 16,000 | 241.75 | 38,680 | 40,000 | 0.078 |
Blancco Technology♥ | Tom Skelton | 06 Feb 18 | 15,000 | 69.33 | 10,400 | 27,500 | 0.043 |
Conviviality | Mark Moran (cfo) | 05 Feb 18 | 60,000 | 299 | 179,400 | 60,000 | 0.033 |
Conviviality | David Adams (ch) | 05 Feb 18 | 16,000 | 306 | 48,960 | 74,163 | 0.040 |
Conviviality | Steve Wilson | 05 Feb 18 | 48,500 | 305 | 147,925 | 173,500 | 0.095 |
Conviviality♥ | Diana Hunter (ceo) | 05 Feb 18 | 15,000 | 297 | 44,550 | 828,476 | 0.452 |
Conviviality | Diana Hunter (ceo) | 05 Feb 18 | 50,000 | 305 | 152,500 | 813,476 | 0.444 |
Ergomed | Peter George (ch) | 01 Feb 18 | 500,000 | 190 | 950,000 | 776,250 | 1.736 |
FirstGroup | David Robbie | 02 Feb 18 | 30,000 | 101.65 | 30,495 | 30,000 | 0.002 |
Fulcrum Utility Services | Wayne Hayes | 06 Feb 18 | 4,883,935 | 61.6 | 3,008,504 | 4,883,935 | 2.320 |
Greene King | Rooney Anand (ceo) | 07 Feb 18 | 10,000 | 503.4 | 50,340 | 616,947 | 0.199 |
Horizon Discovery♥ | Jonathan Milner | 05 Feb 18 | 260,000 | 178.8 | 464,880 | 10,050,680 | 6.742 |
Horizon Discovery♥ | Jonathan Milner | 07 Feb 18 | 90,492 | 165 | 149,312 | 10,141,172 | 6.802 |
Intermediate Capital | Rusty Nelligan | 05 Feb 18 | 5,000 | 1,094.45 | 54,723 | 106,042 | 0.037 |
Low & Bonar♥ | Martin Flower (ch) | 02 Feb 18 | 50,000 | 62 | 31,000 | 606,912 | 0.184 |
Metal Tiger | Charles Hall (ch) | 05 Feb 18 | 1,000,000 | 2.077 | 20,770 | 30,858,406 | 2.817 |
National Grid | Mark Williamson | 01 Feb 18 | 43,128 | 805.0513 | 347,203 | 47,460 | 0.001 |
Personal Assets Trust | Paul Read | 07 Feb 18 | 500 | 39,920 | 199,600 | 1,000 | 0.047 |
RPC | Kevin Thompson | 07 Feb 18 | 10,000 | 799 | 79,900 | 10,000 | 0.002 |
Rank Group | Clive Jennings (fd) | 01 Feb 18 | 56,571 | 226.5 | 128,133 | 119,071 | 0.030 |
Rank Group | Henry Birch (ceo) | 01 Feb 18 | 127,837 | 226.5 | 289,551 | 227,837 | 0.058 |
SQN Asset Finance Income Fund♥ | Paul Meader | 05 Feb 18 | 23,000 | 89.4 | 20,562 | 47,000 | 0.013 |
Stobart | Andrew Tinkler | 02 Feb 18 | 250,000 | 247.78 | 619,450 | 27,226,811 | 7.741 |
Stobart | Andrew Tinkler | 07 Feb 18 | 100,000 | 238.8 | 238,800 | 27,326,811 | 7.797 |
Taptica International | Hagai Tal (ceo) | 06 Feb 18 | 36,000 | 398.3 | 143,388 | 9,411,509 | 13.932 |
VPC Specialty Lending Investments♥ | Richard Levy | 07 Feb 18 | 70,885 | 79.8 | 56,566 | 2,664,896 | 0.723 |
Vietnam Enterprise Investments | Dominic Scriven | 02 Feb 18 | 36,423 | 482.1 | 175,595 | 36,423 | 0.017 |
XLMedia | Ory Weihs (ceo) | 02 Feb 18 | 26,737 | 186.8 | 49,945 | 4,058,557 | 1.842 |
XLMedia | Ory Weihs (ceo) | 02 Feb 18 | 27,322 | 181 | 49,453 | 4,085,879 | 1.854 |
XLMedia | Ory Weihs (ceo) | 05 Feb 18 | 23,250 | 171.5 | 39,874 | 4,109,129 | 1.865 |
Sells | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
Aquila Services | Steven Douglas | 07 Feb 18 | 135,135 | 37 | 50,000 | 3,144,305 | 8.916 |
BCA Marketplace | Avril Palmer-Baunack (ch) | 01 Feb 18 | 600,000 | 188.2 | 1,129,200 | 13,813,855 | 1.718 |
Colefax♥ | Robert Barker (fd) | 07 Feb 18 | 2,600 | 525 | 13,650 | 262,902 | 2.681 |
Colefax | Robert Barker (fd) | 07 Feb 18 | 2,600 | 525 | 13,650 | 265,502 | 2.707 |
Colefax♥ | Robert Barker (fd) | 07 Feb 18 | 5,000 | 525 | 26,250 | 252,902 | 2.579 |
Colefax♥ | Robert Barker (fd) | 07 Feb 18 | 5,000 | 525 | 26,250 | 257,902 | 2.630 |
Colefax | Wendy Nicholls | 07 Feb 18 | 10,000 | 525 | 52,500 | 87,350 | 0.891 |
Ergomed | Miroslav Reljanovic | 01 Feb 18 | 500,000 | 190 | 950,000 | 17,132,237 | 38.318 |
Ergomed | Miroslav Reljanovic | 01 Feb 18 | 2,000,000 | 190 | 3,800,000 | 15,132,237 | 33.845 |
Impax Asset Management♥ | Keith Falconer (ch) | 02 Feb 18 | 475,000 | 165 | 783,750 | 6,637,775 | 5.090 |
Impax Asset Management | Keith Falconer (ch) | 02 Feb 18 | 3,376,515 | 165 | 5,571,250 | 6,637,775 | 5.090 |
Joules | Colin Porter (ceo) | 02 Feb 18 | 750,000 | 325 | 2,437,500 | 1,519,822 | 1.737 |
Joules♥ | Neil McCausland (ch) | 02 Feb 18 | 20,000 | 329.91 | 65,982 | 475,375 | 0.543 |
Joules | Neil McCausland (ch) | 02 Feb 18 | 130,000 | 325 | 422,500 | 495,375 | 0.566 |
Latham (James) | Chris Sutton | 02 Feb 18 | 1,239 | 805 | 9,974 | 55,064 | 0.280 |
Patisserie Holdings | James Horler | 01 Feb 18 | 47,116 | 367.575 | 173,187 | 100,000 | 0.100 |
Rank Group | Michael Burke (ch) | 01 Feb 18 | 184,000 | 226.5 | 416,760 | 579,556 | 0.148 |
Telford Homes | Andrew Wiseman (ch) | 02 Feb 18 | 50,000 | 407.2 | 203,600 | 2,203,927 | 2.925 |
Telford Homes | Andrew Wiseman (ch) | 02 Feb 18 | 75,000 | 410.61 | 307,958 | 2,253,927 | 2.992 |
Titon | Nicholas Howlett | 05 Feb 18 | 10,250 | 177 | 18,143 | 38,500 | 0.353 |
* placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party |