Recently, Future’s (FUTR) shares enjoyed a considerable mark-up on strong full-year numbers. Most encouragingly, the group’s dividend was reinstated, but it also reported an impressive 48 per cent rise in revenues to £125m and a huge improvement in pre-tax profits – albeit from a low base – from £0.2m to £4.4m.
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Buy
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574p
Driving this growth was Future’s higher-margin media business, comprising e-commerce, events and digital advertising, which overtook magazines for the first time as the dominant contributor to sales.
The numbers also reflected Future’s plan to diversify its revenue streams via organic expansion and acquisitions. Thus, it wasn’t overly concerning that two directors engaged in a flurry of buying and selling activity – largely the latter – shortly afterwards. Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne sold a total of 262,404 shares worth £1.3m, and bought 28,646 shares – giving rise to a net disposal of £1.15m. Meanwhile, chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand sold 133,000 shares worth £678,300.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Amerisur Resources | Christopher Jenkins | 23 Nov 18 | 100,000 | 11.92 | 11,920 | 1,350,000 | 0.111 |
| Amerisur Resources | Christopher Jenkins | 23 Nov 18 | 50,000 | 12.048 | 6,024 | 1,400,000 | 0.115 |
| Amerisur Resources | John Wardle (ceo) | 23 Nov 18 | 8,125,000 | 12.3073 | 999,967 | 30,014,505 | 2.474 |
| Amerisur Resources | John Wardle (ceo) | 28 Nov 18 | 687,000 | 13.1 | 89,997 | 30,701,505 | 2.531 |
| Amerisur Resources | Elodie Grant Goodey | 23 Nov 18 | 36,959 | 13.5 | 4,989 | 36,959 | 0.003 |
| Amerisur Resources | Giles Clarke (ch) | 26 Nov 18 | 500,000 | 13.743 | 68,715 | 18,005,227 | 1.484 |
| Babcock International | Franco Martinelli (fd) | 22 Nov 18 | 7,000 | 550 | 38,500 | 322,509 | 0.064 |
| Babcock International | Archie Bethel (ceo) | 22 Nov 18 | 12,000 | 560.9 | 67,308 | 424,063 | 0.084 |
| Babcock International | Michael Turner (ch) | 22 Nov 18 | 7,500 | 566.4 | 42,480 | 107,384 | 0.021 |
| Charles Stanley | Ben Money-Coutts (cfo) | 23 Nov 18 | 5,236 | 285 | 14,923 | 18,009 | 0.035 |
| Charles Stanley | Paul Andrew Abberley (ceo) | 23 Nov 18 | 68,500 | 290 | 198,650 | 89,718 | 0.177 |
| Compass | John Bryant | 28 Nov 18 | 1,074 | 1,653.50 | 17,759 | 3,016 | 0.000 |
| Compass | John Bryant | 28 Nov 18 | 539 | 1,653.75 | 8,914 | 3,555 | 0.000 |
| Compass | John Bryant | 28 Nov 18 | 2,470 | 1,654 | 40,854 | 6,025 | 0.000 |
| Compass | John Bryant | 28 Nov 18 | 1,202 | 1,654.25 | 19,884 | 1,202 | 0.000 |
| Compass | John Bryant | 28 Nov 18 | 740 | 1,654.50 | 12,243 | 1,942 | 0.000 |
| Condor Gold | James Mellon | 22 Nov 18 | 952,380 | 22 | 209,524 | 2,889,883 | 4.302 |
| Condor Gold | Mark Child (ch & ceo) | 22 Nov 18 | 90,000 | 22 | 19,800 | 4,052,500 | 6.032 |
| Dalata Hotel | Dermot Crowley (dep ceo) | 23 Nov 18 | 5,000 | 4.72 | 23,600 | 439,454 | 0.238 |
| Dalata Hotel | Stephen McNally (dep ceo) | 23 Nov 18 | 10,000 | 4.745 | 47,450 | 449,538 | 0.244 |
| Dalata Hotel | Patrick McCann (ceo) | 23 Nov 18 | 20,000 | 4.75 | 95,000 | 1,274,515 | 0.692 |
| Findel | William Grimsey | 28 Nov 18 | 22,064 | 225 | 49,644 | 47,064 | 0.054 |
| Findel | Ian Michael Burke (ch) | 28 Nov 18 | 20,000 | 225.3 | 45,060 | 60,000 | 0.069 |
| Findel | Stuart Caldwell (cfo) | 28 Nov 18 | 10,907 | 228 | 24,868 | 35,727 | 0.041 |
| Findel | Francois Coumau | 27 Nov 18 | 21,755 | 228.674 | 49,748 | 40,558 | 0.047 |
| Findel | Philip Binns Maudsley (ceo) | 28 Nov 18 | 53,830 | 231 | 124,347 | 292,436 | 0.338 |
| Frontier Developments | James Gordon Mitchell♥ | 28 Nov 18 | 15,000 | 825.7 | 123,855 | 104,923 | 0.272 |
| Frontier Developments | James Gordon Mitchell♥ | 27 Nov 18 | 2,000 | 879.6 | 17,592 | 89,923 | 0.233 |
| Future | Zillah Byng-Thorne (ceo) | 23 Nov 18 | 13,360 | 514.85 | 68,784 | 83,806 | 0.103 |
| Future | Zillah Byng-Thorne (ceo) | 27 Nov 18 | 2,236 | 517.49 | 11,571 | 70,446 | 0.086 |
| Future | Zillah Byng-Thorne (ceo) | 28 Nov 18 | 13,050 | 536.25 | 69,981 | 96,856 | 0.119 |
| Hurricane Energy | Steven James McTiernan | 26 Nov 18 | 375,000 | 40.6139 | 152,302 | 375,000 | 0.019 |
| JPJ | Neil Geoffrey Goulden (ch) | 28 Nov 18 | 10,000 | 582 | 58,200 | 75,000 | 0.101 |
| JTC | Martin Fotheringham (cfo) | 28 Nov 18 | 46,800 | 318 | 148,824 | 718,586 | 0.648 |
| Majestic Wine | James Andrew Crawford (cfo) | 22 Nov 18 | 7,500 | 310.49 | 23,287 | 81,644 | 0.113 |
| Majestic Wine | James Andrew Crawford (cfo) | 22 Nov 18 | 3,500 | 311.24 | 10,893 | 85,144 | 0.118 |
| Majestic Wine | Rowan Gormley (ceo) | 22 Nov 18 | 15,700 | 316 | 49,612 | 4,394,581 | 6.092 |
| MITIE | Roger Yates | 23 Nov 18 | 50,000 | 150.4 | 75,200 | 50,000 | 0.014 |
| Scapa | Martin Trevor Sawkins♥ | 23 Nov 18 | 6,500 | 313.86 | 20,401 | 36,731 | 0.024 |
| Scapa | Brendan Patrick McAtamney | 23 Nov 18 | 14,150 | 317 | 44,856 | 14,150 | 0.009 |
| Scapa | Oskar Zahn | 22 Nov 18 | 1,000 | 319 | 3,190 | 1,000 | 0.001 |
| Scapa | Pierre Roger Michel Guyot | 22 Nov 18 | 15,000 | 322.58 | 48,387 | 15,000 | 0.010 |
| TalkTalk Telecom | Charles Dunstone (ch) | 23 Nov 18 | 379,593 | 117.35 | 445,452 | 327,678,890 | 28.593 |
| TalkTalk Telecom | Charles Dunstone (ch) | 26 Nov 18 | 307,085 | 118.21 | 363,005 | 327,985,975 | 28.620 |
| Victoria | Alexander Anton | 27 Nov 18 | 25,000 | 482 | 120,500 | 519,025 | 0.414 |
| Victoria | Andrew Harrison | 27 Nov 18 | 10,195 | 490 | 49,956 | 189,725 | 0.151 |
| Victoria | Geoffrey Wilding (ch) | 27 Nov 18 | 1,000,000 | 490.98 | 4,909,800 | 22,438,650 | 17.894 |
| Victoria | Alexander Anton | 27 Nov 18 | 25,000 | 490.98 | 122,745 | 544,025 | 0.434 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Avation | Roderick Mahoney (cco) | 26 Nov 18 | 133,000 | 253 | 336,490 | 700,000 | 1.086 |
| Future | Penny Ladkin-Brand (cfo) | 23 Nov 18 | 133,000 | 510 | 678,300 | 270,355 | 0.332 |
| Future | Zillah Byng-Thorne (ceo) | 23 Nov 18 | 235,608 | 510 | 1,201,601 | 95,006 | 0.117 |
| Future | Zillah Byng-Thorne (ceo) | 26 Nov 18 | 26,796 | 515 | 137,999 | 68,210 | 0.084 |
| Games Workshop | Kevin Rountree (ceo) | 27 Nov 18 | 17,659 | 2895 | 511,228 | 14,555 | 0.045 |
| GAN | Dermot Smurfit (ceo) | 23 Nov 18 | 215,000 | 51 | 109,650 | 8,863,447 | 10.421 |
| GAN | Dermot Smurfit (ceo) | 23 Nov 18 | 35,000 | 55.43 | 19,401 | 9,078,447 | 10.674 |
| Trifast | Glenda Roberts | 23 Nov 18 | 78,404 | 198.35 | 155,514 | 237,571 | 0.196 |
| * placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party | |||||||
