Wetherspoon founder in £1m buy
Investors raised a glass to JD Wetherspoon Thursday as the pub group's founder chairman Tim Martin coughed up almost a million pounds for another 250,000 shares.
The purchase at 389.44p per share takes Martin's holding in the company to 22.8%, with a little under 32.3m shares registered in his name.
Wetherspoon shares jumped off last night's 18-month low on the news, which comes just two weeks after the group reported a 1% drop in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to 28 October.
The firm retained its cautious full-year outlook as the smoking ban led to a drop in bar sales, although it saw encouraging growth in food sales.
"We remain confident that the smoking ban will be for the long-term benefit of the pub trade, including Wetherspoon, but the short-term effect of a decline in bar sales means that we continue to remain cautious regarding the outlook for this financial year," it said.
Bosses at recruitment consultancy Michael Page also looked to take advantage of the recent slide in their share price, splashing out almost £1.5m on new stock.
Chief executive Steve Ingham, finance boss Stephen Puckett and managing director for Europe and Americas, Charles-Henri Dumon, each bought 170,000 shares at 280p per share.
Top Director Buys
JD Wetherspoon (JDW)
Director name: Mr Timothy Martin
Amount purchased: 250,000 @ 389.44p
Value: £973,600
Michael Page International (MPI)
Director name: Mr Stephen Puckett
Amount purchased: 170,000 @ 280.00p
Value: £476,000
Michael Page International (MPI)
Director name: Mr Stephen Ingham
Amount purchased: 170,000 @ 280.00p
Value: £476,000
Michael Page International (MPI)
Director name: Mr Charles-Henri Dumon
Amount purchased: 170,000 @ 280.00p
Value: £476,000
Thirdforce (THF)
Director name: Mr Pat McDonagh
Amount purchased: 2,500,000 @ 12.59p
Value: £314,750
Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF)
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Director name: Mr David John Carey
Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 203.00p
Value: £203,000
Healthcare Locums (HLO)
Director name: Ms Kate Bleasdale
Amount purchased: 60,060 @ 83.25p
Value: £50,000
StatPro (SOG)
Director name: Mr Justin Wheatley
Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 84.00p
Value: £42,000
Oxford Instruments (OXIG)
Director name: Mr Nigel Keen
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 209.96p
Value: £20,996
Sumus (SUMU)
Director name: Mr Allan Rosengren
Amount purchased: 25,000 @ 45.00p
Value: £11,250
Top Director Sells
Steppe Cement (STCM)
Director name: Mr John Richardson
Amount sold: 440,000 @ 252.00p
Value: £1,108,800
Fabian Romania Property Fund (FAB)
Director name: Mr Graham Atkinson
Amount sold: 27,407 @ € 1.28
Value: € 35,081
