Michael Sharp, the man who took over retail chain Debenhams last year, has underlined his faith in the company with the purchase of shares 100,000 shares.
The £74,000 purchase saw the Chief Executive Officer invest his money at 74.32p a go, increasing his interest in the company to over 5.95m shares.
Sharp took over the helm over the company at an extremely tough time, when consumers were being squeezed from all sides and shares in the company had lost more than a quarter of their value.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
He has long served the company and is now in his 15th year with the High Street chain, and another 15 with other retail heavyweights.
In April the company unveiled half-year profits ahead of market forecasts, leading the board to say it is confident it will meet its full-year expectations.
Headline profit before tax in the 26 weeks to March 3rd eased 0.5% to £128.5m from £129.2m the year before, but was ahead of what analysts tracking the stock had been expecting; the range of forecasts ran from £124m to £125m.
Revenue rose 1.3% to £1,238.3m from £1,222.3m the year before. As reported at the beginning of April, the group's gross transaction value rose 1.4% to £1,483.6m from £1,463.0m the previous year. Like-for-like (LFL) sales growth (excluding value added tax) was confirmed at 0.3%.
Top Director Buys
F&C Asset Management (FCAM)
Director name: Mr Edward Bramson
Amount purchased: 145,084 @ 71.23p
Value: £103,343
Debenhams (DEB)
Director name: Mr Michael Sharp
Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 74.32p
Value: £74,320
Lamprell (LAM)
Director name: Mr Colin R Goodall
Amount purchased: 44,155 @ 112.10p
Value: £49,498
Anglo American (AAL)
Director name: Mr Jack Thompson
Amount purchased: 1,000 @ 2,075.01p
Value: £20,750
Zetar (ZTR)
Director name: Mr Ian Blackburn
Amount purchased: 10,250 @ 192.00p
Value: £19,680
Bahamas Petroleum Co (BPC)
Director name: Mr Adrian Collins
Amount purchased: 200,000 @ 7.12p
Value: £14,240
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH)
Director name: Dr Chris Richards
Amount purchased: 2,200 @ 462.88p
Value: £10,183
Top Director Sells
Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Ms Marjorie Scardino
Amount sold: 36,558 @ 1,143.10p
Value: £417,894
Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Mr Robin Freestone
Amount sold: 3,029 @ 1,143.10p
Value: £34,624
Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Mr Will Ethridge
Amount sold: 1,439 @ 1,143.10p
Value: £16,449
-
FTSE 100 hits record highs – why is it rising and will we see more gains?Advice UK equities have been described as unloved for a long time but as the FTSE 100 hits new highs, we explain if now is the time to buy British.
-
How to invest in copperIt may be time to invest in copper as the red metal appears poised for a big jump. Dominic Frisby looks at what should investors should buy
