Deputy chairman Richard Murray is buying shares in Avesco Group at a time when there is stake building by an investment company. Taya Investment Company increased its stake in the broadcast and presentation equipment supplier and renter to 26.6% last month. Taya has been building up this stake in recent months but it has stated that it has no immediate intention of bidding for Avesco. Some of the stake has been acquired at 50p a share.
Murray has acquired 300,592 shares at 45.21p each - an investment of nearly £128,000. This is higher than the market price and takes his stake to 19.98%. That makes him the second largest shareholder after Taya.
Chief executive Ian Martin bought 30,000 shares at 43p each at the end of March, taking his stake to 2.7%.
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Murray founded Avesco and floated it on the USM in 1984. It moved to the Main Market in 1988 and subsequently spun off chips developer Imagination Technologies. Avesco moved to AIM in 2004.
Murray is chairman of Charlton Athletic Football Club and is a director of Welsh Industrial Investment Trust, where shareholders have voted today to wind the company up. Welsh Industrial IT has been a shareholder in Avesco in the past.
Avesco Group says that it expects to trade profitably this year and generate cash. At the AGM in March, chief executive Ian Martin said that the Winter Olympics at Vancouver was successful for Avesco, which already has contracts for the FIFA World Cup and World Expo in Shanghai.
A loss of £13.2m was reported for the year to September 2009. Net debt is expected to fall by £10m to £11m at the end of September 2010.
Avesco's market value is around one-third of its underlying net asset value.
Top Director Buys
Valiant Petroleum (VPP) Director name: Mr Steven EdgleyAmount purchased: 40,000 @ 656.75p Value: £262,700
Avesco Group (AVS) Director name: Mr Richard A Murray-ObodynskiAmount purchased: 300,592 @ 42.51p Value: £127,782
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) Director name: Mr Michael Grenville GrayAmount purchased: 30,000 @ $1.57 Value: $47,100
Oxus Gold (OXS) Director name: Mr Richard B SheadAmount purchased: 311,296 @ 8.03p Value: £24,997
F&C Inv Trust (FRCL) Director name: Sir Roger BoneAmount purchased: 8,599 @ 288.70p Value: £24,825
Anglo American (AAL) Director name: Sir John ParkerAmount purchased: 867 @ 2,765.35p Value: £23,976
Bunzl (BNZL) Director name: Mr Patrick LarmonAmount purchased: 1,360 @ 614.30p Value: £8,354
Anglo and Overseas Trust (AOT) Director name: Mr John PearmundAmount purchased: 9,910 @ 102.40p Value: £10,148
Top Director Sells
Western Coal Corp. (WTN) Director name: Mr John J ByrneAmount sold: 757,752 @ 390.40p Value: £2,958,264
Western Coal Corp. (WTN) Director name: Mr John J ConlonAmount sold: 150,000 @ 404.15p Value: £606,225
Valiant Petroleum (VPP) Director name: Mr Steven EdgleyAmount sold: 140,000 @ 600.00p Value: £840,000
JKX Oil & Gas (JKX) Director name: Mr Bruce James BurrowsAmount sold: 200,000 @ 280.00p Value: £560,000
AG Barr (BAG) Director name: Mr Alex B C ShortAmount sold: 21,424 @ 888.90p Value: £190,438
Hill and Smith (HILS) Director name: Mr Derek W MuirAmount sold: 4,200 @ 340.00p Value: £14,280
VP (VP.) Director name: Mr Neil A StothardAmount sold: 7,400 @ 177.00p Value: £13,098
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