The coronavirus outbreak and social distancing guidance have dramatically changed how we purchase food. With households stocking up (or, in some cases, ‘panic buying’), grocery sales in the UK have soared – reaching £10.8bn over the four weeks to 22 March, according to research house Kantar; higher than even festive spending levels.
Such escalating demand should benefit Cranswick (CWK), which supplies food products to retailers including staple items such as chicken, bacon and sausages. The group is exposed to all of the ‘big four’ grocers and leading discounters.
And that surge could be sustained – at least in the short term. Analysts at Peel Hunt note that schools are unlikely to go back until autumn, and more of us are likely to stay at home for the summer. This means “food is at the top of the menu for spending”. The broker concedes that some of the patterns currently emerging will reverse after the lockdown, but it imagines that the renewed focus on family time will stick “well after this ends”.
Cranswick was already capitalising on the disruption caused by African Swine Fever (ASF), which did away with over half of China’s domestic pig herd last year. House broker Shore Capital believes that export sales for the fourth quarter (ending March) will be “materially ahead”.
Against this backdrop, we are not overly concerned that chairman Martin Davey – who started at Cranswick in 1985 – disposed of 34,085 shares on 27 March at £35.30 each, totalling £1.2m. Mr Davey’s wife Linda also offloaded 36,047 shares at the same price, amounting to £1.3m. The sales, constituting 29 per cent of Mr Davey’s prior holding, were said to be made for personal financial planning purposes. The same motivation was cited for other directors, who made much smaller sales. Among them, finance director Mark Bottomley made a £27,014 disposal, as did Tracy Bottomley.
| Buys | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Smart Metering Systems | Alan Foy | 25 Mar 20 | 80,645 | 578.29 | 466,128 | |
| Playtech | Shimon Akad (coo) | 25 Mar 20 | 30,000 | 179.84 | 53,951 | |
| Greggs | Roger Whiteside (ceo) | 25 Mar 20 | 11,251 | 1,588.59 | 178,733 | |
| Greggs | Richard John Hutton | 25 Mar 20 | 4,627 | 1,588.59 | 73,504 | |
| Bellway | Paul Hampden Smith | 25 Mar 20 | 1,963 | 2,026.70 | 38,784 | |
| Bellway | Paul Hampden Smith | 25 Mar 20 | 1,961 | 2,028.80 | 39,784.77 | |
| Bellway | Jason Honeyman (ceo) | 26 Mar 20 | 2,687 | 1,995 | 53,605.65 | Shares bought by Joanne Honeyman, PCA |
| Keller Group | Peter Hill | 26 Mar 20 | 10,000 | 513.69 | 51,369.02 | |
| Ten Entertainment | Christopher Mills | 26 Mar 20 | 500,000 | 155 | 775,000.00 | |
| Ten Entertainment | Christopher Mills | 26 Mar 20 | 54,123 | 155 | 83,890.65 | |
| Ten Entertainment | Christopher Mills | 26 Mar 20 | 5,877 | 163.5 | 9,608.90 | |
| Ten Entertainment | Nick Basing | 26 Mar 20 | 52,500 | 155 | 81,375 | |
| Ten Entertainment | Antony Smith (cfo) | 26 Mar 20 | 30,000 | 155 | 46,500 | |
| Ten Entertainment | Julie Sneddon | 26 Mar 20 | 50,000 | 155 | 77,500 | |
| Micro Focus International | Greg Lock (ch) | 26 Mar 20 | 172,000 | 368.39 | 633,630.80 | |
| Micro Focus International | Greg Lock (ch) | 26 Mar 20 | 66,500 | 362.9 | 241,328.50 |
| Sells | ||||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Cranswick | Martin Thomas Peter Davey | 27 Mar 20 | 34,085 | 3,530.53 | 1,203,381.15 | |
| Cranswick | Martin Thomas Peter Davey | 27 Mar 20 | 36,047 | 3,604.70 | 1,272,650.15 | Shares sold by Linda Davey, PCA |
