No one knows a company quite as well as its directors, which is why it is worth keeping an eye on director buying and selling.
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We have combed through UK directors' deals and published the purchases and sales that caught our eyes. Our table is compiled using company announcements, and is not exhaustive.
Dots director dashes for cash
UK quantum dot company Nanoco (NANO) has returned cash to shareholders through a tender offer after it received the final tranche of payments from Samsung in relation to an out-of-court settlement over an IP dispute.
Quantum dots are nanoparticles used to improve LED display lighting. The Korean electronics company was alleged to have breached Nanoco’s IP by using the technology. Last year, the companies came to an agreement in which Samsung would pay Nanoco $150mn (£122mn) in two tranches. As part of the deal, Samsung would be allowed to licence the technology.
At the start of this year, Nanoco received the second payment worth $71.75mn and decided to return £30mn to shareholders through the tender offer, which was pitched at a 25 per cent premium to the share price at the time it was announced. Among those cashing out were Swiss private bank Lombard Odier, whose stake has almost halved to 8.5 per cent, and chief technology officer Nigel Pickett.
Pickett sold 4.5mn shares at the offer price of 24p, earning over £1mn. The share price has since slipped back to 20p.
Management said the rest of the funds would be “invested in operational capability, enhancing future growth prospects, and improving gross margins”. This investment will focus on building out a new wafer device development and testing facility which the company says will be able to shorten research cycles by up to a third.
Nanoco is still in the early stages of its development. In the six months to January, it made just $4mn in revenue, and only $1mn in underlying revenue when the licence payments from Samsung are taken out. However, FactSet analyst consensus is forecasting revenue to reach $10.7mn by 2025 as the operational investment starts to take effect. AS
| Buys | ||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
| Angus Energy | Richard Herbert (ce) | 16 Apr 24 | 0.5 | 25,000 |
| Artisanal Spirits | Mark Hunter (ch) | 15 Apr 24 | 44 | 45,734 |
| Bango | Frank Bury | 15 Apr 24 | 123 | 51,513 |
| Corcel | Geraldine Geraldo ** | 09 Apr 24 | 0.5 | 199,875 |
| DP Poland | Jeremy Dibb ** | 19 Apr 24 | 10 | 24,000 |
| Flowtech Fluidpower | Francisco Terol | 25 Mar-16 Apr 24 | 98 | 68,695 |
| Good Energy | Nigel Pocklington (ce) | 16 Apr 24 | 245 | 24,500 |
| Goodwin | John Goodwin * | 11-15 Apr 24 | 6,009 | 51,075 |
| Goodwin | Timothy Goodwin (ch) * | 10-11 Apr 24 | 5,924 | 65,466 |
| KRM22 | Garry Jones (ch) | 15 Apr 24 | 25 | 24,840 |
| LBG Media | Alexander Solomou (ce) | 18 Apr 24 | 73 | 248,753 |
| Rainbow Rare Earths | Adonis Pouroulis (ch) | 16 Apr 24 | 10 | 112,161 |
| Robert Walters | David Bower (cfo) | 18 Apr 24 | 380 | 38,000 |
| Robert Walters | Leslie Van de Walle (ch) | 19 Apr 24 | 390 | 27,265 |
| Strix | Mark Bartlett (ce) | 15 Apr 24 | 73 | 49,750 |
| Trifast | Nicholas Mills | 12-15 Apr 24 | 74 | 29,580 |
| Tullow Oil | Roald Goethe | 15-16 Apr 24 | 36 | 72,531 |
| Sells | ||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
| Critical Metals | Russell Fryer (ce) | 27 Nov 23-13 Feb 24 | 0.1 | 55,243 |
| Kitwave | John Hope * | 17 Apr 24 | 363 | 635,250 |
| Nanoco | Nigel Pickett ** | 11 Apr 24 | 24 | 1,087,632 |
| Nanoco | Alison Fielding ** | 11 Apr 24 | 24 | 25,844 |
| Polar Capital | Alexander Black | 11 Apr 24 | 526 | 26,297 |
| Rathbones | Andrew Brodie (coo) | 19 Apr 24 | 1,550 | 29,357 |
| Taseko Mines | Robert Dickinson | 15-16 Apr 24 | 200 † | 1,281,920 † |
| Tristel | Paul Swinney (ce) | 16 Apr 24 | 462 | 231,000 |
| * Spouse/Family/Close Associate. ** placing / tender offer † converted from C$ | ||||
