Travis Perkins chairman shows confidence

Travis Perkins chairman Robert Walker has invested nearly £150,000 in the builders' merchants.

He has bought 15,000 shares at 994.75p each, which takes his stake to 80,000 shares.

Walker is also chairman of WH Smith and a non-exec at Tate & Lyle.

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The share purchase came after Travis Perkins announced that its 2010 Profit jumped by one-fifth as all 11 of its businesses performed better than the market.

Group revenue rose by 8% to £3.2bn, and it was 5% higher on a like-for-like basis. Adjusted profit before tax was £217m, though including exceptional charges the profit fell from £213m to £197m.

There was a strong like-for-like performance in merchanting with a sales increase of 7.%. though the Wickes retail business was more muted with growth of just 0.2%. Travis said it saw market outperformance of around 4% in merchanting and around 6% in retail.

Going forward, like-for-like sales in January were up 22% in merchanting, 8% up in newly acquired plumbing supplies group BSS and 12% in retail. However, the growth has slowed so far in February.

Top Director Buys

Travis Perkins (TPK) Director name: Mr Robert M WalkerAmount purchased: 15,000 @ 994.75p Value: £149,212

RSM Tenon Group (TNO) Director name: Mr Arthur Leonard Robert (Bob) MortonAmount purchased: 250,000 @ 43.00p Value: £107,500

RSM Tenon Group (TNO) Director name: Mr Arthur Leonard Robert (Bob) MortonAmount purchased: 250,000 @ 43.00p Value: £107,500

Marston's (MARS) Director name: Mr Derek AndrewAmount purchased: 100,000 @ 98.30p Value: £98,300

Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings (RQIH) Director name: Mr Paul McNamaraAmount purchased: 100,000 @ 98.00p Value: £98,000

Dunelm Group (DNLM) Director name: Mr Nick WhartonAmount purchased: 17,500 @ 425.76p Value: £74,508

BP (BP.) Director name: Mr Frank L. Bowman Amount purchased: 4,800 @ 487.34p Value: £23,392

British Portfolio Trust (BPO) Director name: Mr Jonathan H CartwrightAmount purchased: 20,000 @ 149.00p Value: £29,800

Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings (RQIH) Director name: Mr Michael SmithAmount purchased: 25,000 @ 98.00p Value: £24,500

Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings (RQIH) Director name: Mr Jo M P WelmanAmount purchased: 17,000 @ 98.00p Value: £16,660