Enterprise bosses add to stakes

published 5 August 2011

Four senior board members at pub group Enterprise Inns have been buying stakes in the pub group following the company's trading update.Company chairman Hubert Reid, purchased 55,000 shares bringing his total to 300,000, equal to 0.06% of the group's shares, while chief executive Ted Tuppen bought nearly twice as many, buying 103,131 shares, a number which pales in comparison to his total stake of 3,294,310 (0.65% of the company). Chief operating officer Simon Townsend and chief financial officer Neil Smith each bought 25,000 shares. Like Reid and Tuppen, they each paid 41.92p a share.The purchases come after the company reported that it is making a slow recovery, with its average income per pub up just 1% from a year earlier in the 18 weeks since the beginning of April. Enterprise, which struggled to repay its debt during the recession, benefited from two bank holidays and good weather but blamed the small year-on-year improvement on a difficult like-for-like comparative period which included the FIFA World Cup. The company expects to meet its target of more than 90% of pubs on substantive agreements by the end of the financial year. The group continues to sell off a number of its pubs with the total expected to reach 500, generating total net proceeds in the region of £110m. In a recent statement, the company said, "the level of our bank borrowings is on track to be around £450m by the end of the financial year. We continue to prepay the Unique floating rate notes and, having prepaid £55m so far this year, remain £80m ahead of schedule. "Our strategy remains clear: to stabilise the business and then to build earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), firstly on a like for like basis per pub and then, as our accelerated disposal programme comes to an end, by growing the absolute level of EBITDA."Top Director BuysBarclays (BARC) Director name: Mr Simon FraserAmount purchased: 25,000 @ 209.53p Value: £52,382Enterprise Inns (ETI) Director name: Mr Graham E (Ted) TuppenAmount purchased: 103,131 @ 41.92p Value: £43,233Enterprise Inns (ETI) Director name: Mr Hubert V ReidAmount purchased: 55,000 @ 41.92p Value: £23,056VP (VP.) Director name: Mr Allison BainbridgeAmount purchased: 8,000 @ 241.50p Value: £19,320VP (VP.) Director name: Mr Neil A StothardAmount purchased: 7,000 @ 241.80p Value: £16,926International Power (IPR) Director name: Mr Mark WilliamsonAmount purchased: 8,050 @ 200.00p Value: £16,100Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT) Director name: Mr Neil CollinsAmount purchased: 5,000 @ 310.74p Value: £15,537Enterprise Inns (ETI) Director name: Mr Neil SmithAmount purchased: 25,000 @ 41.92p Value: £10,480Enterprise Inns (ETI) Director name: Mr W Simon TownsendAmount purchased: 25,000 @ 41.92p Value: £10,480