Eight of TalkTalk’s (TALK) directors – including chief executive Tristia Harrison and chief financial officer Kate Ferry – have contributed £40.8m to the group’s equity placing. The group raised £200m for the reduction of debt and investment in the group’s own platform of fibre optic broadband cables.
Founder and executive chairman Charles Dunstone – who returned to the company in February 2017 to help return it to growth – was the biggest buyer, spending £35m on 32.7m new shares, and yet he's been criticised for not digging deep enough. Mr Dunstone’s investment was 17.5 per cent of the total placing, meaning he contributed less than his current stake in the company.
Some believe £200m isn't enough for the group’s expensive fibre optic broadband investment strategy. TalkTalk plans to contribute £100m in cash to its collaboration with M&G Prudential, but the remainder of the £1bn project will be funded by debt – concerning as the net debt figure creeps uncomfortably closer to the group’s banking covenants.
Buys | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
AFH Financial | Mark Chambers | 9 Feb 18 | 3,217 | 341 | 10,970 | 38,217 | 0.101 |
AFH Financial♥ | Mark Chambers | 9 Feb 18 | 5,857 | 341 | 19,972 | 44,074 | 0.117 |
Accrol | Dan Wright (ch) | 8 Feb 18 | 50,000 | 33.5 | 16,750 | 250,000 | 0.194 |
Accrol | Dan Wright (ch) | 8 Feb 18 | 65,168 | 37 | 24,112 | 315,168 | 0.244 |
Accrol | Dan Wright (ch) | 8 Feb 18 | 100,000 | 36.5 | 36,500 | 415,168 | 0.322 |
BP Marsh & Partners | Campbell Scoones | 8 Feb 18 | 5,000 | 255 | 12,750 | 51,000 | 0.175 |
BP Marsh & Partners | Pankaj Lakhani | 8 Feb 18 | 5,000 | 255 | 12,750 | 35,000 | 0.120 |
BP Marsh & Partners | Nicholas Walker | 8 Feb 18 | 9,804 | 255 | 25,000 | 9,804 | 0.034 |
BP Marsh & Partners♥ | Nicholas Walker | 8 Feb 18 | 9,804 | 255 | 25,000 | 19,608 | 0.067 |
Cineworld | Dean Moore | 12 Feb 18 | 15,000 | 222.6 | 33,390 | 15,000 | 0.005 |
Halma | Roy Twite | 9 Feb 18 | 2,000 | 1,181 | 23,620 | 4,000 | 0.001 |
Henderson International Income Trust | Aidan Lisser | 13 Feb 18 | 6,350 | 159.15 | 10,106 | 26,148 | 0.015 |
Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust | Mary Sieghart | 8 Feb 18 | 1,500 | 855 | 12,825 | 9,038 | 0.012 |
Intermediate Capital | Stephen Welton | 12 Feb 18 | 25,000 | 1,022 | 255,500 | 40,000 | 0.014 |
JPMorgan Japan Smaller Companies Trust | Alexa Henderson | 13 Feb 18 | 4,692 | 419 | 19,659 | 4,692 | 0.009 |
NEX | Anna Ewing | 8 Feb 18 | 2,500 | 646 | 16,150 | 5,000 | 0.001 |
National Grid♥ | Peter Gershon (ch) | 13 Feb 18 | 6,500 | 742.55 | 48,266 | 90,000 | 0.003 |
North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust | Christopher Mills (ce) | 14 Feb 18 | 2,000 | 2,655 | 53,100 | 3,666,000 | 25.413 |
Polymetal International | Marina Grönberg | 8 Feb 18 | 3,000 | 741 | 22,230 | 31,400 | 0.007 |
Polymetal International | Marina Grönberg | 8 Feb 18 | 5,000 | 731 | 36,550 | 28,400 | 0.007 |
QinetiQ | David Smith (cfo) | 9 Feb 18 | 10,188 | 196.3 | 19,999 | 63,441 | 0.011 |
Shaftesbury | Richard Akers | 12 Feb 18 | 3,000 | 949.01 | 28,470 | 5,000 | 0.002 |
SigmaRoc | Garth Palmer (fd) | 8 Feb 18 | 94,594 | 37 | 35,000 | 109,594 | 0.080 |
St Modwen Properties | Rob Hudson (fd) | 8 Feb 18 | 24,666 | 403.34 | 99,488 | 76,985 | 0.035 |
St Modwen Properties | Rob Hudson (fd) | 8 Feb 18 | 24,794 | 401.26 | 99,488 | 52,319 | 0.024 |
TalkTalk Telecom* | Charles Bligh | 8 Feb 18 | 65,256 | 107 | 69,824 | 859,516 | 0.075 |
TalkTalk Telecom* | Ian West | 8 Feb 18 | 18,691 | 107 | 19,999 | 364,714 | 0.032 |
TalkTalk Telecom* | Kate Ferry (cfo) | 8 Feb 18 | 139,835 | 107 | 149,623 | 139,835 | 0.012 |
TalkTalk Telecom* | John Gildersleeve | 8 Feb 18 | 46,728 | 107 | 49,999 | 291,866 | 0.025 |
TalkTalk Telecom* | Nigel Langstaff | 8 Feb 18 | 186,915 | 107 | 199,999 | 299,736 | 0.026 |
TalkTalk Telecom* | Roger Taylor | 8 Feb 18 | 4,672,896 | 107 | 4,999,999 | 9,826,688 | 0.857 |
TalkTalk Telecom* | Charles Dunstone (ch) | 12 Feb 18 | 32,710,280 | 107 | 35,000,000 | 326,769,676 | 28.507 |
TalkTalk Telecom* | Tristia Harrison (ceo) | 8 Feb 18 | 279,671 | 107 | 299,248 | 1,762,282 | 0.154 |
Tate & Lyle♥ | Gerry Murphy (ch) | 13 Feb 18 | 10,000 | 571.1953 | 57,120 | 20,000 | 0.004 |
U and I♥ | Peter Williams (ch) | 12 Feb 18 | 25,000 | 199.58 | 49,895 | 100,000 | 0.080 |
UP Global Sourcing | Jim McCarthy (ch) | 12 Feb 18 | 300,000 | 33.4 | 100,200 | 800,000 | 0.974 |
Volex | Dean Moore | 12 Feb 18 | 15,000 | 67.8 | 10,170 | 15,000 | 0.017 |
Sells | |||||||
Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
AB Dynamics | Tim Rogers (ceo) | 9 Feb 18 | 150,000 | 785 | 1,177,500 | 192,953 | 0.995 |
BP Marsh & Partners♥ | Brian Marsh (ch) | 8 Feb 18 | 215,820 | 255 | 550,341 | 17,768,581 | 60.869 |
Bango* | Gianluca D'Agostino | 8 Feb 18 | 18,000 | 177.5 | 31,950 | 19,500 | 0.028 |
Central Asia Metals | Kenges Rakishev | 9 Feb 18 | 10,605,876 | 275 | 29,166,159 | 0 | 0.000 |
Cranswick | John Bottomley (fd) | 12 Feb 18 | 875 | 3,054 | 26,723 | 86,139 | 0.169 |
Cranswick♥ | John Bottomley (fd) | 12 Feb 18 | 7,125 | 3,054 | 217,598 | 79,014 | 0.155 |
Entertainment One | Darren Throop (ceo) | 13 Feb 18 | 1,170,005 | 293.12 | 3,429,519 | 8,854,003 | 1.971 |
Entertainment One | Darren Throop (ceo) | 14 Feb 18 | 183,862 | 291.21 | 535,425 | 8,670,141 | 1.931 |
Euromoney Institutional Investor | Patrick Sergeant (p) | 12 Feb 18 | 13,265 | 1150 | 152,548 | 152,039 | 0.139 |
Euromoney Institutional Investor♥ | Patrick Sergeant (p) | 13 Feb 18 | 3,828 | 1,146 | 43,869 | 101,476 | 0.093 |
Euromoney Institutional Investor♥ | Patrick Sergeant (p) | 13 Feb 18 | 20,000 | 1,140 | 228,000 | 105,304 | 0.097 |
Euromoney Institutional Investor | Patrick Sergeant (p) | 13 Feb 18 | 26,735 | 1,140 | 304,779 | 125,304 | 0.115 |
Learning Technologies | Jonathan Satchell (ceo) | 12 Feb 18 | 3,000,000 | 75 | 2,250,000 | 100,139,995 | 17.445 |
Learning Technologies | Piers Lea | 12 Feb 18 | 3,000,000 | 75 | 2,250,000 | 13,023,383 | 2.269 |
*Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party |