Blacks director acquires shares for pension

Non-executive director Nick Samuel has belatedly admitted to share purchases in outdoor clothing retailer Blacks Leisure.

Today, Samuel said he acquired 98,926 shares at 47p each on 2 December 2009. He had bought 10,000 shares at 41p each the week before. This makes up his entire holding in the company - the shares are held in a self invested pension plan.

The purchases came after the shareholders had voted in favour of the restructuring plans for the group but before the creditor voluntary arrangement came into force for Blacks subsidiary The Outdoor Group.

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Samuel joined the board in August 2008 and he is a former chief executive of fashion retailer Hobbs.

Earlier this month, Blacks said it was mulling a possible share issue in the first quarter to raise between £15m and £20m to expand its outdoor and camping chains.

Following the restructuring in 2009, Blacks is now a stronger business. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the company closed 87 of its loss-making stores and put its subsidiary, Sandcity, into administration.

Blacks said trading in the ongoing stores was very healthy with like-for-like sales increasing by 12% in the half year ended 7 January. The core outdoor division saw like-for-like sales increase by 13.1%, while the boardwear division recorded a like-for-like decrease of 4.4%. Total group sales were £98.9m, compared to £102m in the prior period.

In the six weeks ended 7 January 2010 like-for-like sales from the ongoing stores increased by 15.2% over last year.

Top Director Buys

Blacks Leisure (BSLA) Director name: Mr Nick SamuelAmount purchased: 98,926 @ 47.00p Value: £46,495

Gooch and Housego (GHH) Director name: Mr Paul HealAmount purchased: 10,000 @ 167.50p Value: £16,750