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Non-executive director Gerry Brown has bought 5,000 shares in Forth Ports. This takes his stake in the port operator to 7,064 shares.

The shares cost 1,100p each making the cost of the investment £55,500.

Brown is senior independent director of Forth Ports. He has been a non-executive director since September 2003 so it is interesting that he has decided to more than treble his holding at this time. Brown has a background in the logistics sector.

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Forth Ports operates a number of ports, most of which are in Scotland. They include Grangemouth, Leith, Dundee and the port of Tilbury in east London.

Just before Christmas, Forth Ports warned that full year profits for 2009 would be at the lower end of expectations due to weak trading in its Nordic recycling division and in its container services operations at Tilbury.

Container volumes were well below the same period in 2008. The full year performance at Tilbury Container Services, where the Group owns a one third share, will be down significantly on the result achieved in 2008. TCS has won new business for 2010.

Forth Ports is cautious about the short-term outlook but it is more confident about the longer-term potential for its ports.

Top Director Buys

Forth Ports (FPT) Director name: Mr Gerry BrownAmount purchased: 5,000 @ 1,110.00p Value: £55,500

International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) Director name: Mrs Carol P GoodwinAmount purchased: 20,000 @ 113.75p Value: £22,750

Top Director Sells

IG Group Holdings (IGG) Director name: Mr Andrew R MackayAmount sold: 1,000,000 @ 371.90p Value: £3,719,000

IG Group Holdings (IGG) Director name: Mr Timothy A HowkinsAmount sold: 519,491 @ 368.00p Value: £1,911,727

IG Group Holdings (IGG) Director name: Mr Timothy A HowkinsAmount sold: 463,382 @ 368.00p Value: £1,705,246

IG Group Holdings (IGG) Director name: Mr Peter G HetheringtonAmount sold: 281,796 @ 371.47p Value: £1,046,788

IG Group Holdings (IGG) Director name: Mr Steven CluttonAmount sold: 143,649 @ 372.46p Value: £535,035

IG Group Holdings (IGG) Director name: Mr Nathaniel Bernard le RouxAmount sold: 122,100 @ 374.35p Value: £457,081

Premier Oil (PMO) Director name: Mr John OrangeAmount sold: 5,500 @ 1,117.00p Value: £61,435

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) Director name: Mr Paul HarbottleAmount sold: 9,491 @ 462.30p Value: £43,877