Bosses at WH Ireland had the company they work for in their sights today as they splashed out thousands of pounds on shares in the stockbroker.
Chief executive Paul Compton was the biggest spender, taking 670,448 shares at 50p a time. The purchase, which set him back £335,174, takes his holding to 920,338 shares, nearly 5% of the company.
Chairman Rupert Lowe took 182,500 shares at the same price and now has an almost identical holding to Lowe. John Scott upped his holding to 124,575 shares with the purchase of 50,000 at 50p, while Alan Kershaw took his first stake of 20,000, also paying 50p.
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WH Ireland, which traces its heritage back to the old Manchester stock exchange, made pre-tax loss of £0.3m in the 12 months to November, much less than the £2.1m deficit reported the year before.
Turnover fell 25% to £18.4m, but the new financial year has started well, in line with the firm's internal budget and much better than for the previous year.
"Overall, I would say that the year ended with WH Ireland being in much better shape than it has been in recent years, but it is just the 'end of the beginning' rather than cause for congratulation," boss Compton, who joined the company last year, said.
Top Director Buys
W H Ireland Group (WHI) Director name: Mr Christopher Paul Compton Amount purchased: 670,348 @ 50.00p Value: £335,174
F&C Asset Management (FCAM) Director name: Mr Edward BramsonAmount purchased: 250,000 @ 76.02p Value: £190,050
Pendragon (PDG) Director name: Mr Trevor FinnAmount purchased: 748,730 @ 22.75p Value: £170,336
Pendragon (PDG) Director name: Mr Martin Shaun CashaAmount purchased: 415,961 @ 22.75p Value: £94,631
W H Ireland Group (WHI) Director name: Mr Rupert J G LoweAmount purchased: 182,500 @ 50.00p Value: £91,250
Augean (AUG) Director name: Mr Jim Meredith Amount purchased: 200,000 @ 29.93p Value: £59,860
Avanti Communications Group (AVN) Director name: Mr David J WilliamsAmount purchased: 11,423 @ 433.00p Value: £49,462
African Consolidated Resources (AFCR) Director name: Mr Roy TuckerAmount purchased: 1,000,000 @ 4.50p Value: £45,000
PSG Solutions (PGS) Director name: Mr Bernard Cavan ConnorAmount purchased: 200,000 @ 20.00p Value: £40,000
Graphite Enterprise Trust (GPE) Director name: Mr Andrew D PomfretAmount purchased: 10,000 @ 367.00p Value: £36,700
Top Director Sells
Kingfisher (KGF) Director name: Mr Ian CheshireAmount sold: 624,588 @ 258.24p Value: £1,612,936
Carillion (CLLN) Director name: Mr John McDonoughAmount sold: 65,791 @ 381.60p Value: £251,058
Senior (SNR) Director name: Mr Simon NichollsAmount sold: 133,741 @ 156.39p Value: £209,158
Carillion (CLLN) Director name: Mr Richard AdamAmount sold: 42,446 @ 381.60p Value: £161,974
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