London Stock Exchange chairman buys despite technical glitch

Nov 26, 2009

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London Stock Exchange chairman Chris Gibson-Smith decided to add to his stake on the day that the London Stock Exchange's trading facilities were unavailable for more than three hours. He spent just under £100,000 on shares at 769.85p a share. That takes his stake in the London Stock Exchange to 63,757 shares. The market price was soon well below that level as the shares dived on the back of the technical problems and fears about Dubai debt.

Dubai World and its subsidiary Nakheel are seeking a debt standstill ahead of a restructuring. Dubai World, which is run by the state, has $59bn of liabilities, its subsidiary Nakheel said in August, but the immediate concern is a $3.5bn bond taken out by Nakheel and maturing on 14 December.

Borse Dubai owns 20.6% of the London Stock Exchange. There are worries about what will happen to this stake given the problems in Dubai.

This is not the London Stock Exchange's only problem. Competition is getting fiercer.

The London Stock Exchange's first half pre-tax profit was hit by increased competition and lower trading volumes. Profit before tax fell to £79.4m in the six month ended 30 September compared with £127m in the previous year on revenue down 9% at £310.9m.

Average daily UK equity value traded dropped 16% compared to the second half of the previous year, while the volume of trading in its derivatives markets were 15% better.

Broker Merrill Lynch thinks the exchange is likely to lose more market share before new technology developments arrive to halt the decline.

Top Director Buys

Quintain Estates & Development (QED) Director name: Mr William Rucker Amount purchased: 248,254 @ 80.60p Value: £200,093

London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) Director name: Dr Christopher S Gibson-Smith Amount purchased: 12,989 @ 769.85p Value: £99,996

Homeserve (HSV) Director name: Mr Barry Gibson Amount purchased: 4,825 @ 1,602.00p Value: £77,296

Atkins (WS) (ATK) Director name: Dr Dr Krishnamurthy Rajagopal Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 606.00p Value: £60,600

Atkins (WS) (ATK) Director name: Mr Keith Clarke Amount purchased: 10,008 @ 595.85p Value: £59,633

CLS Holdings (CLI) Director name: Mr Sten A Mortstedt Amount purchased: 12,358 @ 452.84p Value: £55,962

NetDimensions (NETD) Director name: Mr Jay Shaw Amount purchased: 245,000 @ 15.00p Value: £36,750

Barratt Developments (BDEV) Director name: Mr Clive Fenton Amount purchased: 26,057 @ 115.13p Value: £29,999

GB Group (GBG) Director name: Mr Richard Law Amount purchased: 152,450 @ 19.36p Value: £29,514

Barratt Developments (BDEV) Director name: Mr David Thomas Amount purchased: 25,000 @ 114.79p Value: £28,698

Top Director Sells

Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr E P K Weatherall Amount sold: 90,000 @ $30.15 Value: $2,713,086

Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Adam Phillip Charles Keswick Amount sold: 90,000 @ $30.15 Value: $2,713,086

Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Benjamin William Keswick Amount sold: 90,000 @ $30.15 Value: $2,713,086

Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Simon L Keswick Amount sold: 90,000 @ $30.15 Value: $2,713,086

Big Yellow Group (BYG) Director name: Mr Nicholas Vetch Amount sold: 587,195 @ 368.00p Value: £2,160,878

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) Director name: Mr Colin R Day Amount sold: 60,000 @ 3,220.00p Value: £1,932,000

Big Yellow Group (BYG) Director name: Mr Nicholas Vetch Amount sold: 388,000 @ 368.00p Value: £1,427,840

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) Director name: Mr Roger Burnley Amount sold: 165,000 @ 333.00p Value: £549,450

Big Yellow Group (BYG) Director name: Mr James Gibson Amount sold: 124,334 @ 368.00p Value: £457,549

Carillion (CLLN) Director name: Mr David Hurcomb Amount sold: 30,895 @ 300.00p Value: £92,685

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