Watkin Jones’ (WJG) chief financial officer, Philip Byrom, has sold 18 per cent of his stake in the property developer, banking a total of £1.28m in the process. The disposal, which the group said was made to "facilitate future personal financial planning", leaves Mr Byrom with 2.6m shares, currently worth £5.8m.
IC TIP:
Buy
at
223p
Last June, Mr Byrom was also awarded 115,955 share options under a long-term incentive plan, which can be exercised in 2021 should the group meet certain earnings targets, and Mr Byrom remain in post.
There’s little reason to think he might head elsewhere. Despite jitters across the UK residential property market, demand for Watkin Jones' build-to-rent and purpose-built student digs remains robust, incubating the group from declining transactional volumes and weakening valuations elsewhere.
Peel Hunt forecasts adjusted earnings per share of 16.5p in the year to September 2019, and 18.2p in FY2020.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Alpha Real Trust | David Jeffreys (ch) | 25 Feb 19 | 5,000 | 143 | 7,150 | 5,000 | 0.007 |
| Arc Minerals* | Donald Bailey | 26 Feb 19 | 433,334 | 3 | 13,000 | 7,697,224 | 1.090 |
| Arc Minerals* | Brian McMaster | 26 Feb 19 | 333,334 | 3 | 10,000 | 2,555,557 | 0.362 |
| Arc Minerals* | Mumena Mushinge | 26 Feb 19 | 333,334 | 3 | 10,000 | 73,937,495 | 10.474 |
| Arc Minerals* | Nicholas Von Schirnding (ch) | 26 Feb 19 | 2,333,334 | 3 | 70,000 | 15,940,532 | 2.258 |
| Brown (N) | Stephen Johnson (ceo) | 26 Feb 19 | 9,300 | 106.061 | 9,864 | 19,300 | 0.007 |
| Castings | Andrew Eastgate | 25 Feb 19 | 1,000 | 377.4 | 3,774 | 1,000 | 0.002 |
| Centrica | Iain Conn (ceo) | 25 Feb 19 | 100,000 | 123.1132 | 123,113 | 1,393,153 | 0.024 |
| Chemring | Michael Ord (ceo) | 21 Feb 19 | 50,000 | 150.9 | 75,450 | 50,000 | 0.018 |
| City of London Investment Trust (The) | Samantha Wren | 26 Feb 19 | 4,912 | 404.895 | 19,888 | 8,912 | 0.002 |
| Condor Gold* | James Mellon | 26 Feb 19 | 3,125,000 | 24 | 750,000 | 4,938,222 | 6.631 |
| Condor Gold* | Mark Child (ch) | 26 Feb 19 | 41,667 | 24 | 10,000 | 4,094,167 | 5.498 |
| Condor Gold* | Andrew Cheatle | 26 Feb 19 | 30,000 | 24 | 7,200 | 64,884 | 0.087 |
| Diploma | Johnny Thomson (ceo) | 25 Feb 19 | 22,000 | 1349.5 | 296,890 | 22,000 | 0.019 |
| Gooch & Housego | Alexander Warnock | 25 Feb 19 | 817 | 1225 | 10,008 | 17,247 | 0.069 |
| Gooch & Housego | Gary Bullard (ch) | 21 Feb 19 | 1,150 | 1280 | 14,720 | 5,024 | 0.020 |
| IG Design | Elaine Bond | 21 Feb 19 | 3,485 | 573.85 | 19,999 | 19,301 | 0.025 |
| InnovaDerma | Joseph Bayer | 26 Feb 19 | 5,000 | 86 | 4,300 | 121,513 | 0.838 |
| Intermediate Capital | Michael Nelligan | 26 Feb 19 | 12,000 | 1024.87 | 122,984 | 130,042 | 0.045 |
| Kromek* | Christopher Wilks | 25 Feb 19 | 50,000 | 25 | 12,500 | 125,000 | 0.036 |
| Kromek* | Derek Bulmer (cfo) | 25 Feb 19 | 8,797 | 25 | 2,199 | 108,797 | 0.032 |
| Kromek* | Lawrence Kinet | 25 Feb 19 | 50,000 | 25 | 12,500 | 300,000 | 0.087 |
| Kromek* | Peter Williams (ch) | 25 Feb 19 | 50,000 | 25 | 12,500 | 150,000 | 0.044 |
| Live Co* | Ranjit Murugason | 25 Feb 19 | 69,230 | 65 | 45,000 | 1,066,471 | 1.540 |
| Live Co*♥ | John Ciclitira (ch) | 25 Feb 19 | 153,844 | 65 | 99,999 | 27,129,659 | 39.177 |
| Montanaro UK Smaller Companies Inv Tr | Arthur Copple | 22 Feb 19 | 50,000 | 108.529 | 54,265 | 125,000 | 0.075 |
| Northbridge Industrial Services | Judith Aldersey-Williams | 22 Feb 19 | 3,975 | 125.5 | 4,989 | 3,975 | 0.014 |
| RiverFort Global Opportunities | Philip Haydn-Slater (ch) | 21 Feb 19 | 140,000,000 | 0.1 | 140,000 | 200,000,000 | 2.946 |
| Serco | Roy Gardner (ch) | 26 Feb 19 | 50,000 | 129.3 | 64,650 | 150,000 | 0.014 |
| SysGroup* | Michael Fletcher | 25 Feb 19 | 1,710,526 | 38 | 650,000 | 1,710,526 | 3.461 |
| SysGroup* | Michael Edelson (ch) | 25 Feb 19 | 131,579 | 38 | 50,000 | 858,179 | 1.737 |
| Temple Bar Investment Trust♥ | Lesley Sherratt | 22 Feb 19 | 34,000 | 1274.1 | 433,194 | 65,000 | 0.097 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| B&M European Value Retail | Thomas Hübner | 22 Feb 19 | 11,111 | 345.2 | 38,355 | 0 | 0.000 |
| Gateley | Michael Ward (ceo) | 25 Feb 19 | 139,450 | 150 | 209,175 | 2,491,754 | 2.248 |
| Gateley♥ | Michael Ward (ceo) | 25 Feb 19 | 25,000 | 150 | 37,500 | 2,466,754 | 2.225 |
| Gateley | Neil Smith (fd) | 25 Feb 19 | 18,000 | 150 | 27,000 | 556,700 | 0.502 |
| Gateley♥ | Neil Smith (fd) | 25 Feb 19 | 75,854 | 150 | 113,781 | 480,846 | 0.434 |
| Gateley | Peter Davies | 25 Feb 19 | 18,000 | 150 | 27,000 | 2,642,104 | 2.383 |
| Gateley♥ | Peter Davies | 25 Feb 19 | 160,900 | 150 | 241,350 | 2,481,204 | 2.238 |
| Hazel Renewable Energy VCT 1 | Stuart Knight | 26 Feb 19 | 89,250 | 111.67 | 99,665 | 330,750 | 1.296 |
| Spectra Systems Corp | Martin Jaskel | 21 Feb 19 | 18,003 | 130.25 | 23,449 | 19,960 | 0.044 |
| Spectra Systems Corp | Martin Jaskel | 21 Feb 19 | 10,000 | 130.35 | 13,035 | 9,960 | 0.022 |
| Watkin Jones | Philip Byrom (cfo) | 26 Feb 19 | 500,000 | 225 | 1,125,000 | 2,667,891 | 1.045 |
| Watkin Jones | Philip Byrom (cfo) | 26 Feb 19 | 8,000 | 225 | 18,000 | 2,617,891 | 1.026 |
| Watkin Jones | Philip Byrom (cfo) | 26 Feb 19 | 10,000 | 225 | 22,500 | 2,600,000 | 1.019 |
| Watkin Jones | Philip Byrom (cfo) | 26 Feb 19 | 2,891 | 225.26 | 6,512 | 2,610,000 | 1.022 |
| Watkin Jones | Philip Byrom (cfo) | 26 Feb 19 | 8,000 | 225.35 | 18,028 | 2,625,891 | 1.029 |
| Watkin Jones | Philip Byrom (cfo) | 26 Feb 19 | 5,000 | 225.53 | 11,277 | 2,612,891 | 1.024 |
| Watkin Jones | Philip Byrom (cfo) | 26 Feb 19 | 22,500 | 225.7 | 50,783 | 2,633,891 | 1.032 |
| Watkin Jones | Philip Byrom (cfo) | 26 Feb 19 | 11,500 | 225.73 | 25,959 | 2,656,391 | 1.041 |
| Whitbread | Louise Smalley | 25 Feb 19 | 3,313 | 4891 | 162,039 | 37,923 | 0.021 |
| *Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party | |||||||
