Fidessa directors' beat CGT changes

Two directors of Fidessa have sold most of their shares in the real-time financial information systems supplier but they say that they will reinvest some of the cash in the company's shares in the future.

The share disposals are timed so that they will fall under the existing capital gains tax regulations. A new capital gains tax regime is likely to be unveiled later this month with the rate of tax likely to rise from the current level of 18% to bring it more into line with income tax.

Chief executive Chris Aspinwall has sold 500,000 shares at £13 each in order to raise £6.5m. Every one percentage point rise in the capital gains tax rate would have cost him £65,000 if the sale had been later

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Chairman John Hamer raised £3.38m by selling 260,000 shares at £13 each. He will save £33,800 for every additional percentage point added to the capital gains tax rate.

This is the not the first time this year that the two men have been dealing in Fidessa shares. Aspinwall had purchased 50,000 shares at £12.65 each on 10 May and Hamer had bought 20,000 shares at the same price on the same day. In February they had sold shares at £13.85 each.

Aspinwall still owns 36,696 shares and Hamer owns 15,519 shares.

Both men say that they "intend to reinvest a proportion of the proceeds back into the shares of the company in the future". This is likely to be after the emergency Budget on 22 June.

Fidessa says that its markets are improving this year but consolidation of customers will hold back its growth.

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Top Director Sells

Fidessa (FDSA) Director name: Mr Chris AspinwallAmount sold: 500,000 @ 1,300.00p Value: £6,500,000

Fidessa (FDSA) Director name: Mr John HamerAmount sold: 260,000 @ 1,300.00p Value: £3,380,000

Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Henry KeswickAmount sold: 55,600 @ $35.05 Value: $1,948,546

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Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Simon L KeswickAmount sold: 20,000 @ $35.50 Value: $710,000

Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Henry KeswickAmount sold: 18,800 @ $35.36 Value: $664,776

Dairy Farm International (Singapore) (DFI) Director name: Mr Howard Leonard MowlemAmount sold: 99,900 @ $6.42 Value: $640,928

Genus (GNS) Director name: Mr Richard WoodAmount sold: 60,000 @ 732.50p Value: £439,500

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Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) Director name: Mr Colin HoodAmount sold: 5,405 @ 1,076.40p Value: £58,179