Reed Elsevier's new chairman takes a stake

Reed Elsevier's new chairman Anthony Habgood has signalled his commitment to the specialist publisher with the purchase of £218,000 in shares.

He paid 436p a time for 50,000, his first stake in the firm, whose stable of publications includes Farmers' Weekly and New Scientist.

His purchase comes after a sharp drop in Reed's share price following the announcement of a placing to raise more than £800m to help it pay debts.

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The firm also revealed a rise in revenues and adjusted earnings. Revenues in half year to June 2009 climbed 25% to £3.06bn, with adjusted earnings per share rising by 21% to 24.5p. Profit before tax fell to £188m from £393m.

The firm said professional information businesses were relatively robust, while advertising and promotion markets were significantly impacted by global recession.

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