GoCompare.com’s (GOCO) shares lost some momentum following July’s half-year results, and were knocked down further on the release of full-year results in February. The group explained that lower average car insurance premiums had reduced switching activity among customers. In 2018, its largest business – price comparison – endured a 3.3 per cent sales decline to £144m.
IC TIP:
Hold
at
73.5p
Still, there were some positives, including the fact that GoCompare launched 'weflip' – an automated switching service – last October. It's hoped weflip will help the group transform into a higher-margin business.
The new service was central to chairman Sir Peter Wood’s recent decision to lift his shareholding in GoCompare from roughly 26 per cent to nearly 30 per cent. He and fellow board members believe the current share price "does not fully reflect the operational and strategic momentum in the business". This announcement was, perhaps, rather a self-fulfilling prophecy: the shares ascended in reply.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Associated British Foods | Graham Allan | 01 Mar 19 | 3,000 | 2250 | 67,500 | 3,000 | 0.000 |
| Audioboom* | Michael Tobin (ch) | 28 Feb 19 | 3,846,160 | 1.3 | 50,000 | 9,754,388 | 0.757 |
| Audioboom* | Roger Maddock | 28 Feb 19 | 3,846,160 | 1.3 | 50,000 | 26,846,160 | 2.083 |
| Audioboom* | Roger Maddock | 28 Feb 19 | 1,000,000 | 1.9 | 19,000 | 23,000,000 | 1.960 |
| BBA Aviation | Victoria Jarman | 06 Mar 19 | 8,363 | 237.8 | 19,887 | 8,363 | 0.001 |
| British American Tobacco | John Stevens (fd) | 05 Mar 19 | 689 | 2883 | 19,864 | 126,611 | 0.006 |
| C4X Discovery Holdings | Clive Dix (ceo) | 06 Mar 19 | 40,650 | 61.5 | 25,000 | 1,455,586 | 3.127 |
| CRH | Richard Boucher | 06 Mar 19 | 7,050 | 27.94 | 196,977 | 7,050 | 0.001 |
| Curzon Energy* | Brian James Kinane | 06 Mar 19 | 632,911 | 1.58 | 10,000 | 757,911 | 0.913 |
| Curzon Energy* | Scott Kaintz (ceo) | 06 Mar 19 | 949,367 | 1.58 | 15,000 | 949,367 | 1.143 |
| Future | Zillah Byng-Thorne (ceo) | 06 Mar 19 | 5,425 | 750 | 40,688 | 224,291 | 0.272 |
| Gocompare.com | Peter Wood (ch) | 04 Mar 19 | 17,783,587 | 63.7 | 11,328,145 | 125,058,569 | 29.887 |
| Gocompare.com | Angela Seymour-Jackson | 01 Mar 19 | 22,942 | 65.37 | 14,997 | 59,915 | 0.014 |
| Gocompare.com | Nick Hugh | 01 Mar 19 | 21,100 | 65.39 | 13,797 | 21,100 | 0.005 |
| Inchcape | Nigel Stein (ch) | 05 Mar 19 | 10,000 | 590.09 | 59,009 | 46,834 | 0.011 |
| Inchcape | Jane Kingston | 04 Mar 19 | 3,500 | 592.5 | 20,738 | 3,500 | 0.001 |
| Jupiter Fund Management | Andrew Formica (ceo) | 01 Mar 19 | 66,173 | 360 | 238,223 | 66,173 | 0.014 |
| Jupiter Fund Management | Andrew Formica (ceo) | 04 Mar 19 | 150,000 | 368.9 | 553,350 | 216,173 | 0.047 |
| Metro Bank | Craig Donaldson (ceo) | 01 Mar 19 | 11,100 | 903.2323 | 100,259 | 181,442 | 0.186 |
| Metro Bank | Vernon Hill (ch) | 01 Mar 19 | 11,000 | 914.0771 | 100,548 | 5,021,344 | 5.155 |
| Metro Bank | Vernon Hill (ch) | 01 Mar 19 | 30,000 | 918.9845 | 275,695 | 5,010,344 | 5.144 |
| Netcall | Henrik Bang (ceo) | 05 Mar 19 | 100,000 | 32.9 | 32,900 | 4,843,889 | 3.388 |
| Netcall | James Ormondroyd (fd) | 05 Mar 19 | 100,000 | 32.9 | 32,900 | 1,725,000 | 1.206 |
| Paddy Power Betfair | Jonathan Hill (cfo) | 06 Mar 19 | 700 | 6160 | 43,120 | 700 | 0.001 |
| Personal Group Holdings* | Deborah Frost (ceo) | 28 Feb 19 | 299,237 | 348 | 1,041,345 | 300,020 | 0.961 |
| Playtech | Andrew Smith (cfo) | 28 Feb 19 | 4,500 | 418 | 18,810 | 22,000 | 0.007 |
| Playtech | Mor Weizer (ceo) | 28 Feb 19 | 14,750 | 425 | 62,688 | 105,750 | 0.033 |
| Renewi | Luc Sterckx | 01 Mar 19 | 150,000 | 26 | 39,000 | 150,000 | 0.019 |
| Rentokil Initial | John Pettigrew | 04 Mar 19 | 10,000 | 353.15 | 35,315 | 10,000 | 0.001 |
| Scapa | Heejae Chae (ceo) | 06 Mar 19 | 16,552 | 302.07 | 49,999 | 871,767 | 0.564 |
| Scottish American Investment Co | Mariot Leslie | 28 Feb 19 | 5,000 | 370.494 | 18,525 | 5,000 | 0.004 |
| Shanta Gold* | Luke Leslie (cfo) | 06 Mar 19 | 2,862,564 | 5.25 | 150,285 | 6,297,894 | 0.800 |
| Shanta Gold* | Eric Zurrin (ceo) | 06 Mar 19 | 3,478,735 | 5.25 | 182,634 | 9,005,613 | 1.144 |
| Spectris♥ | Derek Harding | 01 Mar 19 | 4,000 | 2657.94 | 106,318 | 4,000 | 0.003 |
| Tungsten Corp | Andrew Doman | 28 Feb 19 | 41,666 | 39.6 | 16,500 | 41,666 | 0.033 |
| Tungsten Corp | Duncan Goldie-Morrison | 28 Feb 19 | 219,339 | 45.59 | 99,997 | 219,339 | 0.174 |
| Tungsten Corp | Anthony Bromovsky | 28 Feb 19 | 219,339 | 45.59 | 99,997 | 219,339 | 0.174 |
| Verona Pharma | David Ebsworth (ch) | 06 Mar 19 | 26,300 | 56.3 | 14,807 | 217,887 | 0.207 |
| Verona Pharma | David Ebsworth (ch) | 04 Mar 19 | 43,800 | 57 | 24,966 | 147,787 | 0.140 |
| Victoria | Philippe Hamers (ceo) | 04 Mar 19 | 25,000 | 325 | 81,250 | 125,000 | 0.100 |
| Vodafone | David Nish | 06 Mar 19 | 20,000 | 131.91 | 26,382 | 107,018 | 0.000 |
| Volex | Nathaniel Rothschild (ch & ceo) | 05 Mar 19 | 249,014 | 80 | 199,211 | 35,422,264 | 24.037 |
| Westmount Energy* | Gerard Walsh (ch) | 04 Mar 19 | 3,250,000 | 0.135 | 438,750 | 8,675,000 | 15.970 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Air Partner | Mark Briffa (ceo) | 05 Mar 19 | 34,480 | 79.1 | 27,274 | 567,000 | 1.086 |
| Big Yellow♥ | Nicholas Vetch (ch) | 05 Mar 19 | 166,236 | 987.73 | 1,641,963 | 7,854,944 | 4.713 |
| Big Yellow | Nicholas Vetch (ch) | 05 Mar 19 | 324,593 | 987.73 | 3,206,102 | 7,530,351 | 4.518 |
| CRH | Richard Boucher | 06 Mar 19 | 1,790 | 27.92 | 49,977 | 0 | 0.000 |
| CRH | Albert Manifold (ceo) | 05 Mar 19 | 100,000 | 28.13 | 2,813,000 | 131,255 | 0.016 |
| GVC Holdings | Kenneth Alexander (ceo) | 06 Mar 19 | 2,061,475 | 665.9743 | 13,728,894 | 666,666 | 0.115 |
| GVC Holdings | Lee Feldman (ch) | 06 Mar 19 | 900,000 | 665.9743 | 5,993,769 | 287,408 | 0.049 |
| Lok'n Store | Simon Thomas (ch) | 01 Mar 19 | 250,000 | 465 | 1,162,500 | 1,530,000 | 5.177 |
| Lok'n Store | Charles Peal | 01 Mar 19 | 55,473 | 466.395 | 258,723 | 565,366 | 1.913 |
| Tristel | Bart Leemans | 28 Feb 19 | 280,000 | 299 | 837,200 | 0 | 0.000 |
| Tullow Oil | Angus McCoss | 06 Mar 19 | 8,690 | 230.3 | 20,013 | 482,985 | 0.035 |
| *Placing/tender/open offer ♥Spouse/connected party | |||||||
