New Travis chairman buys

Robert Walker, the chairman-designate of Travis Perkins, has bought his first shares in the builders' merchant. Walker was appointed to the Travis Perkins board on 30 September 2009 and he is due to take over as chairman from Tim Stevenson in May 2010.

Walker has bought a total of 25,000 shares at a total cost of £194,000.

Walker is currently chairman of WH Smith and a non-executive director of Tate & Lyle. In the past he was a non-executive director of plumbing products distributor Wolseley. Walker's executive background is in the consumer products sector having spent many decades with Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo.

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Walker's appointment to the board coincided with a trading statement from Travis Perkins showing turnover 11% lower in the first nine months of 2009. However, the decline in like-for-like sales in the merchanting division slowed in the third quarter. Net debt has reduced from the £527m reported for the end of June 2009.

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