Focusrite (TUNE) had a good 2018. The operating profit margin widened to 16 per cent from 14 per cent during the year to 31 August 2018, after revenues jumped 14 per cent – which helps explain the 50 per cent rise in the share price over the past 12 months.
IC TIP:
Buy
at
510p
Fast-forward to the end of January, however, and executive chairman and founder Phil Dudderidge – along with his wife Jennifer – decided to sell more than £7.3m-worth of shares via a secondary placing "to satisfy institutional demand from new and existing investors". The near-1.5m total shares – sold at 500p apiece – amounted to 2.5 per cent of Focusrite’s issued share capital. That said, after these transactions, the couple still retains a 35.8 per cent stake in the business.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Alliance Trust♥ | Robert Smith (ch) | 29 Jan 19 | 8,700 | 737 | 64,119 | 30,700 | 0.009 |
| B&M European Value Retail | Carolyn Bradley | 29 Jan 19 | 12,192 | 327.9573 | 39,985 | 12,192 | 0.001 |
| BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust | Craig Cleland | 24 Jan 19 | 5,000 | 477.76 | 23,888 | 5,000 | 0.013 |
| Botswana Diamonds* | James Campbell | 28 Jan 19 | 412,545 | 0.55 | 2,269 | 898,861 | 0.176 |
| Botswana Diamonds* | James Finn (fd) | 28 Jan 19 | 4,590,910 | 0.55 | 25,250 | 29,644,549 | 5.821 |
| Caledonia Investments | Jamie Cayzer-Colvin | 25 Jan 19 | 1,000 | 2953.78 | 29,538 | 66,953 | 0.121 |
| Caledonia Investments | William Wyatt (ceo) | 25 Jan 19 | 2,000 | 2953.78 | 59,076 | 77,038 | 0.139 |
| Caledonia Investments | William Wyatt (ceo) | 25 Jan 19 | 1,000 | 2953.78 | 29,538 | 78,038 | 0.141 |
| Caledonia Investments | William Wyatt (ceo) | 25 Jan 19 | 2,000 | 2953.78 | 59,076 | 77,038 | 0.139 |
| Caledonia Investments | William Wyatt (ceo) | 25 Jan 19 | 1,000 | 2953.78 | 29,538 | 78,038 | 0.141 |
| Caledonia Investments | Charles Cayzer | 25 Jan 19 | 1,000 | 2953.78 | 29,538 | 41,092 | 0.074 |
| Caledonia Investments | Charles Cayzer | 25 Jan 19 | 2,000 | 2953.78 | 59,076 | 15,500 | 0.028 |
| CVS | Richard Connell (ch) | 30 Jan 19 | 5,000 | 375 | 18,750 | 135,000 | 0.191 |
| CVS♥ | Simon Innes (ceo) | 30 Jan 19 | 10,000 | 375 | 37,500 | 265,334 | 0.376 |
| CVS | Richard Connell (ch) | 30 Jan 19 | 5,000 | 389 | 19,450 | 140,000 | 0.198 |
| CVS | Richard Connell (ch) | 30 Jan 19 | 10,000 | 407 | 40,700 | 130,000 | 0.184 |
| Diversified Gas & Oil | David Johnson | 28 Jan 19 | 10,000 | 109.68 | 10,968 | 210,000 | 0.039 |
| Diversified Gas & Oil | Robert Post (ch) | 28 Jan 19 | 200,000 | 109.78 | 219,560 | 20,200,000 | 3.722 |
| Diversified Gas & Oil | Rusty Hutson (ceo) | 28 Jan 19 | 250,000 | 109.78 | 274,450 | 20,250,000 | 3.732 |
| Diversified Gas & Oil | Martin Thomas | 28 Jan 19 | 10,000 | 110 | 11,000 | 2,085,000 | 0.384 |
| Diversified Gas & Oil | Bradley Gray (fd & coo) | 28 Jan 19 | 15,000 | 113 | 16,950 | 2,237,981 | 0.412 |
| Emmerson | Hayden Locke (ceo) | 25 Jan 19 | 647,712 | 3.05 | 19,755 | 1,475,135 | 0.236 |
| Fuller Smith & Turner | Simon Emeny (ceo) | 28 Jan 19 | 1,000 | 1082 | 10,820 | 103,717 | 0.324 |
| Henderson Opportunities Trust | Malcolm King | 28 Jan 19 | 1,800 | 978.24 | 17,608 | 5,000 | 0.062 |
| Hipgnosis Songs | Paul Burger | 24 Jan 19 | 15,000 | 108 | 16,200 | 15,000 | 0.007 |
| IMImobile | Viswanatha Alluri | 24 Jan 19 | 85,000 | 213.88 | 181,798 | 6,296,457 | 9.492 |
| KCOM | Graham Sutherland (ceo) | 29 Jan 19 | 45,000 | 70 | 31,500 | 250,000 | 0.048 |
| KCOM | Graham Sutherland (ceo) | 29 Jan 19 | 45,000 | 70.3 | 31,635 | 205,000 | 0.040 |
| NCC | Timothy Kowalski (cfo) | 29 Jan 19 | 23,614 | 127 | 29,990 | 23,614 | 0.008 |
| NCC | Jonathan Brooks | 28 Jan 19 | 20,000 | 127.5 | 25,500 | 50,000 | 0.018 |
| NCC | Adam Palser (ceo) | 25 Jan 19 | 22,927 | 130.71 | 29,968 | 22,927 | 0.008 |
| NCC | Christopher Stone (ch) | 25 Jan 19 | 74,382 | 133.1 | 99,002 | 124,382 | 0.045 |
| Royal Mail | Rico Back (ceo) | 29 Jan 19 | 150,000 | 260.8 | 391,200 | 512,000 | 0.051 |
| Savannah Petroleum* | Isatou Semega-Janneh (cfo) | 28 Jan 19 | 36,000 | 28 | 10,080 | 167,579 | 0.019 |
| Savannah Petroleum* | Andrew Knott (ceo) | 28 Jan 19 | 1,367,000 | 28 | 382,760 | 27,722,565 | 3.151 |
| Savannah Petroleum* | David Clarkson | 28 Jan 19 | 357,000 | 28 | 99,960 | 357,000 | 0.041 |
| Savannah Petroleum* | Marco Iannotti | 28 Jan 19 | 273,000 | 28 | 76,440 | 3,066,887 | 0.349 |
| Savannah Petroleum* | Stephen Jenkins (ch) | 28 Jan 19 | 36,000 | 28 | 10,080 | 337,800 | 0.038 |
| Tower Resources* | Jeremy Asher (ch & ceo) | 30 Jan 19 | 25,850,000 | 1 | 258,500 | 55,891,495 | 9.880 |
| Tower Resources* | Jeremy Asher (ch & ceo) | 30 Jan 19 | 15,000,000 | 1 | 150,000 | 70,891,495 | 12.531 |
| Tower Resources* | Peter Taylor | 30 Jan 19 | 3,000,000 | 1 | 30,000 | 18,451,726 | 3.262 |
| Wynnstay | James McCarthy (ch) | 29 Jan 19 | 4,700 | 421 | 19,787 | 9,700 | 0.049 |
| Wynnstay | Stephen Ellwood | 28 Jan 19 | 4,700 | 422.25 | 19,846 | 4,700 | 0.024 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Diploma | Nigel Lingwood (fd) | 29 Jan 19 | 115,723 | 1261 | 1,459,267 | 100,000 | 0.088 |
| Fidelity Asian Values | Kate Bolsover (ch) | 25 Jan 19 | 2,399 | 417 | 10,004 | 12,919 | 0.018 |
| Focusrite | Philip Dudderidge (ch) | 24 Jan 19 | 734,000 | 500 | 3,670,000 | 21,515,000 | 37.024 |
| Focusrite♥ | Philip Dudderidge (ch) | 24 Jan 19 | 734,000 | 500 | 3,670,000 | 20,781,000 | 35.760 |
| Softcat | Martin Hellawell (ch) | 28 Jan 19 | 1,754,607 | 665 | 11,668,137 | 8,171,673 | 4.125 |
| Softcat♥ | Martin Hellawell (ch) | 28 Jan 19 | 605,333 | 665 | 4,025,464 | 7,566,340 | 3.819 |
| Softcat | Martin Hellawell (ch) | 28 Jan 19 | 848,451 | 665 | 5,642,199 | 6,717,889 | 3.391 |
| Utilico Emerging Markets Trust | Garry Madeiros | 29 Jan 19 | 200,000 | 215.25 | 430,500 | 21,601 | 0.009 |
| * placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party | |||||||
