AJ Bell insiders cash out

The first sale, struck at 400p a share, involved chairman Les Platts, chief financial officer Michael Summersgill and non-executive directors Laura Carstensen, Eamonn Flanagan and Simon Turner. They were joined by Fergus Lyons and Charles Galbraith – managing directors of AJ Bell’s IFA and retail investor platforms, respectively – who sold a further 1.6m shares, alongside the spouses of several members of the board and executive team.

All told, 1.6 per cent of AJ Bell’s shares were sold by insiders ahead of a one-year lock-in period, which was set to conclude on 12 December. However, the company agreed to waive the trades, perhaps mindful of potential volatility from the result of the general election.

This week was the turn of founder and chief executive Andy Bell, who disposed of 5.5m shares at the post-election price of 420p, banking gross proceeds of £23.1m in the process. His remaining holding – including close personal associates – stands at 24 per cent of AJ Bell’s share capital, and is subject to a lock-up that ends when the company publishes its half-year results next year.

The group felt it necessary to stress that Mr Bell remained “committed to the business and confident in the outlook”. “This small placing is being carried out in order to provide additional liquidity in response to strong investor interest in last week's placing,” it added.

Separately, Invesco, the second-largest shareholder in the investment platform after Mr Bell, cut its stake from 11.71 to 10.89 per cent on 13 December.