Whitbread's Harrison takes a top-up

published 18 July 2011

Whitbread's chief executive Andy Harrison has taken a top-up in the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner's shares, spending nearly £250,000.He took 16,095 shares at 1,543.6p a time and now has 177,768.Harrison's purchase comes the week after Whitbread reported a 9% rise in sales for the first quarter. Strong sales growth at Costa coffee shops helped the company to offset subdued activity in its restaurant division, which included Beefeater Grill and Brewers Fayre, to grow total sales by 9.2% in first quarter. The group said that the trading momentum during the 13 weeks to 2 June was consistent with the outlook at its full-year results, with like-for-like (LFL) sales up 1.7%, "although our business was adversely affected by the extended Easter and Royal Wedding holiday," said Harrison.Whitbread's focus on value has helped it prosper in the tough conditions seen in the past year. As a former chief executive of the budget airline easyJet, Harrison knows a thing or two about keeping prices low. He became boss of Whitbread last year.Top Director BuysHasgrove (HGV) Director name: Mr Jean-Leopold SchuybroekAmount purchased: 268,755 @ 87.72p Value: £235,752Whitbread (WTB) Director name: Mr Andy Harrison Amount purchased: 16,095 @ 1,543.60p Value: £248,442Electrocomponents (ECM) Director name: Mr Peter M JohnsonAmount purchased: 50,000 @ 234.50p Value: £117,250Serica Energy (SQZ) Director name: Mr Antony Craven WalkerAmount purchased: 265,763 @ 25.96p Value: £68,992Graphite Enterprise Trust (GPE) Director name: Ms Lucinda RichesAmount purchased: 10,000 @ 399.00p Value: £39,900Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) Director name: Mr Hamish BuchanAmount purchased: 5,144 @ 697.50p Value: £35,879Serica Energy (SQZ) Director name: Mr Peter David SadlerAmount purchased: 50,000 @ 26.96p Value: £13,480Top Director SellsVinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) Director name: Mr Horst J F GeickeAmount sold: 500,000 @ $1.53 Value: $765,000Sandvine Corp. (SAND) Director name: Mr Dave CaputoAmount sold: 17,800 @ 152.10p Value: £27,074Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) Director name: Mr Hamish BuchanAmount sold: 5,144 @ 694.00p Value: £35,699