Directors gather Moss shares

published 21 June 2011

Directors at Moss Bros have been upping their stakes in the gentlemen's outfitter.Chairman Debbie Hewitt's husband Paul spent about £50,000, taking 167,724 shares at 29.6p a time. That means Debbie Hewitt now has an interest in 555,756 shares, or about 0.6% of the company.Finance director Robin Piggott took 71,421 shares at 30.9p a pop. He now has 88,260 shares.Shares in Moss have climbed since Debbie Hewitt's last purchase of shares in the company in April, when she took 388,032 shares at 26p a time.Last month, Moss said sales momentum continued in the 15 weeks to 14 May 2011 but added that it remains cautious about the outlook for the year as consumers cut back on spending. Like for like sales increased 8.2% for the first 15 weeks while total sales for the continuing business increased 12.9% from last year. The latest buying activity came on the same day that Moss sold its Cecil Gee chain to the sportswear group JD Sports Fashion, saying it plans to focus on its core business.Hewitt joined the board of Moss in 2009. She also serves on the board of the nightclub operator Luminar and the housebuilder Redrow. Piggott is a former finance director of womenswear retailer Alexon.Top Director BuysEMED Mining Public Ltd. (EMED) Director name: Mr John Edward LeachAmount purchased: 1,000,000 @ 10.00p Value: £100,000Moss Bros Group (MOSB) Director name: Mrs Debbie Howard HewittAmount purchased: 167,724 @ 29.60p Value: £49,646Encore Oil (EO.) Director name: Mr Graham DorAmount purchased: 50,000 @ 56.30p Value: £28,150Moss Bros Group (MOSB) Director name: Mr Robin A K W PiggottAmount purchased: 71,421 @ 30.90p Value: £22,069Top Director SellsPolar Capital Holdings (POLR) Director name: Mr Tim WoolleyAmount sold: 1,000,000 @ 190.00p Value: £1,900,000RPC Group (RPC) Director name: Mr Pim VervaatAmount sold: 122,839 @ 356.17p Value: £437,516