Sabre Insurance (SBRE) defied a highly competitive motor insurance market and claims inflation during its first year as a public group, bucking the wider industry trend. Perhaps this makes it unsurprising that the insurer’s shares have outperformed peers, including Hastings (HSTG) and Direct Line (DLG), during the past year. Chief executive Geoff Carter, chief financial officer Adam Westwood and claims director Trevor Webb have banked some of those gains, selling an aggregate of nearly £3m of the insurer's shares.
IC TIP:
Buy
at
290p
Sabre has refrained from chasing new business at the expense of underwriting discipline and protecting margins, with pre-tax profits rising around 11 per cent to £61.4m last year. The combined operating ratio – of claims costs to premium income – may have risen slightly from FY2017's 68.5 per cent, but remained ahead of management’s mid-70s target at 70.6 per cent.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Aberdeen Diversified Income and Growth Trust | Julian Sinclair | 10 Apr 2019 | 17,384 | 114.4 | 19,887 | 187,098 | 0.057 |
| accesso Technology | Royce Noland (ceo) | 04 Apr 2019 | 6,000 | 980 | 58,800 | 6,000 | 0.022 |
| Big Sofa Technologies* | Nicholas Mustoe (ch) | 05 Apr 2019 | 2,000,000 | 4 | 80,000 | 8,908,449 | 6.420 |
| Big Sofa Technologies* | Steven Metcalfe | 05 Apr 2019 | 2,000,000 | 4 | 80,000 | 7,497,772 | 5.404 |
| Big Sofa Technologies* | Christina Fuller (ceo) | 05 Apr 2019 | 1,250,000 | 4 | 50,000 | 4,525,702 | 2.764 |
| Billington Holdings | Michael Lawson (ch) | 09 Apr 2019 | 17,200 | 301 | 51,772 | 17,200 | 0.133 |
| Blancco Technology | Robert Woodward (ch) | 04 Apr 2019 | 18,223 | 109.74 | 19,998 | 42,134 | 0.065 |
| Capita | John Cresswell | 08 Apr 2019 | 10,000 | 120.91 | 12,091 | 20,500 | 0.001 |
| Eddie Stobart Logistics | Philip Swatman (ch) | 08 Apr 2019 | 12,500 | 97.5 | 12,188 | 37,500 | 0.010 |
| Eddie Stobart Logistics♥ | Philip Swatman (ch) | 08 Apr 2019 | 12,500 | 97.5 | 12,188 | 50,000 | 0.013 |
| EMIS Group | Peter Southby (cfo) | 09 Apr 2019 | 2,880 | 1104 | 31,795 | 23,627 | 0.037 |
| Europa Metals* | Colin Bird (ch) | 05 Apr 2019 | 133,333,333 | 0.015 | 20,000 | 183,333,333 | 1.531 |
| Europa Metals* | Myles Campion | 05 Apr 2019 | 66,666,666 | 0.015 | 10,000 | 85,181,158 | 0.711 |
| Finsbury Food♥ | John Duffy (ceo) | 04 Apr 2019 | 100,000 | 60.99 | 60,990 | 2,443,679 | 1.874 |
| Forterra | Vince Niblett | 05 Apr 2019 | 6,570 | 302.7 | 19,887 | 6,570 | 0.003 |
| Forterra | Divya Seshamani | 08 Apr 2019 | 6,000 | 304 | 18,240 | 6,000 | 0.003 |
| Goodwin | Simon Goodwin | 08 Apr 2019 | 666 | 3000 | 19,980 | 80,045 | 1.112 |
| HSBC | Marc Moses | 08 Apr 2019 | 23,135 | 8.24 | 190,632 | 1,730,369 | 0.009 |
| HSBC | Mark Tucker (ch) | 08 Apr 2019 | 7,347 | 8.24 | 60,539 | 295,728 | 0.001 |
| HSBC | Henri de Castries | 08 Apr 2019 | 460 | 8.24 | 3,790 | 18,524 | 0.000 |
| HSBC | John Flint (ceo) | 08 Apr 2019 | 5,066 | 8.24 | 41,744 | 1,032,310 | 0.005 |
| HSBC | Irene Lee | 08 Apr 2019 | 284 | 8.24 | 2,340 | 11,456 | 0.000 |
| International Public Partnerships | Michael Gerrard (ch) | 09 Apr 2019 | 53,515 | 158.78 | 84,971 | 109,254 | 0.007 |
| K3 Capital♥ | Anthony Ford | 05 Apr 2019 | 50,000 | 140 | 70,000 | 6,297,895 | 14.920 |
| KRM22* | Alexander Broderick | 05 Apr 2019 | 11,765 | 85 | 10,000 | 11,765 | 0.064 |
| KRM22* | Keith Todd (ch & ceo) | 05 Apr 2019 | 235,296 | 85 | 200,002 | 1,775,296 | 9.722 |
| Low & Bonar | Philip de Klerk (ceo) | 05 Apr 2019 | 200,935 | 13.5 | 27,126 | 400,000 | 0.058 |
| Lowland Investment | Robert Robertson (ch) | 09 Apr 2019 | 5,000 | 1336.89 | 66,845 | 54,225 | 0.201 |
| Morgan Advanced Materials | Pete Raby (ceo) | 08 Apr 2019 | 16,400 | 258.69 | 42,425 | 99,143 | 0.035 |
| Nanoco | Christopher Batterham | 10 Apr 2019 | 125,000 | 47.354 | 59,193 | 125,000 | 0.044 |
| Northern 2 VCT* | Alastair Conn | 09 Apr 2019 | 15,674 | 63.8 | 10,000 | 476,393 | 0.340 |
| Northern 2 VCT* | David Gravells (ch) | 09 Apr 2019 | 9,380 | 63.9 | 5,994 | 44,668 | 0.032 |
| Northern 2 VCT* | Frank Neale | 09 Apr 2019 | 15,634 | 63.9 | 9,990 | 156,482 | 0.112 |
| Northern 3 VCT* | Christopher Fleetwood | 09 Apr 2019 | 6,530 | 91.9 | 6,001 | 81,835 | 0.086 |
| Northern 3 VCT* | Timothy Levett | 09 Apr 2019 | 16,325 | 91.9 | 15,003 | 306,285 | 0.322 |
| Northgate | John Pattullo | 10 Apr 2019 | 10,000 | 371 | 37,100 | 10,000 | 0.008 |
| Pelatro* | Nicholos Hellyer (fd) | 09 Apr 2019 | 12,400 | 80 | 9,920 | 92,400 | 0.284 |
| Pelatro* | Nicholos Hellyer (fd) | 09 Apr 2019 | 12,600 | 80 | 10,080 | 105,000 | 0.323 |
| RedT Energy* | Jeffrey Kenna (ch) | 10 Apr 2019 | 875,000 | 2 | 17,500 | 3,037,325 | 0.319 |
| RedT Energy* | Jonathan Marren | 10 Apr 2019 | 50,000 | 2 | 1,000 | 7,793,815 | 0.819 |
| RedT Energy* | Fraser Welham (cfo) | 10 Apr 2019 | 250,000 | 2 | 5,000 | 250,000 | 0.026 |
| RedT Energy* | Scott McGregor (ceo) | 10 Apr 2019 | 250,000 | 2 | 5,000 | 250,000 | 0.026 |
| RedT Energy* | Michael Farrow | 10 Apr 2019 | 375,000 | 2 | 7,500 | 461,230 | 0.048 |
| RedT Energy* | Neil O'Brien | 10 Apr 2019 | 1,750,000 | 2 | 35,000 | 2,375,000 | 0.250 |
| Schroder AsiaPacific Fund | Martin Porter | 08 Apr 2019 | 10,000 | 457.25 | 45,725 | 10,000 | 0.006 |
| Schroder Oriental Income Fund | Katherine Cornish-Bowden | 10 Apr 2019 | 10,000 | 255.74 | 25,574 | 10,000 | 0.004 |
| Serinus Energy* | Dawid Jakubowicz | 05 Apr 2019 | 6,728,838 | 10.5 | 706,528 | 6,728,838 | 2.817 |
| Serinus Energy* | Lukasz Redziniak (ch) | 05 Apr 2019 | 6,728,838 | 10.5 | 706,528 | 6,728,838 | 2.817 |
| St Modwen Properties | Robert Hudson (fd) | 10 Apr 2019 | 11,136 | 404.08 | 44,998 | 99,255 | 0.045 |
| St Modwen Properties | Robert Hudson (fd) | 10 Apr 2019 | 11,134 | 404.15 | 44,998 | 88,119 | 0.040 |
| Titon Holdings | Kevin Sargeant | 10 Apr 2019 | 10,000 | 140 | 14,000 | 10,000 | 0.090 |
| Wynnstay | Gareth Davies (ceo) | 09 Apr 2019 | 6,500 | 292.5 | 19,013 | 20,492 | 0.104 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| AIREA | Neil Rylance (ceo) | 05 Apr 2019 | 2,510,630 | 72 | 1,807,654 | 0 | 0.000 |
| Boot (Henry) | Jonathan Sykes | 05 Apr 2019 | 225,000 | 258.5 | 581,625 | 20,477,155 | 15.379 |
| Chemring | Sarah Ellard | 10 Apr 2019 | 12,600 | 144.4 | 18,194 | 65,058 | 0.023 |
| Forterra | Divya Seshamani | 08 Apr 2019 | 5,556 | 299 | 16,612 | 0 | 0.000 |
| Hill & Smith | Mark Pegler (fd) | 05 Apr 2019 | 4,215 | 1264 | 53,278 | 58,535 | 0.074 |
| IMImobile | Michael Jefferies (fd) | 08 Apr 2019 | 100,000 | 310 | 310,000 | 13,424 | 0.000 |
| IMImobile | Shyamprasad Bhat | 08 Apr 2019 | 200,000 | 310 | 620,000 | 470,012 | 0.700 |
| Pelatro | Sudeesh Yezhuvath | 09 Apr 2019 | 2,280,000 | 80 | 1,824,000 | 14,613 | 0.045 |
| Sabre Insurance | Adam Westwood (cfo) | 10 Apr 2019 | 190,000 | 288 | 547,200 | 652,303 | 0.261 |
| Sabre Insurance | Geoffrey Carter (ceo) | 10 Apr 2019 | 420,000 | 288 | 1,209,600 | 1,545,372 | 0.618 |
| * placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party | |||||||
