Directors deals: Next director sells into strength

The trading update from clothing retailer Next on Tuesday morning was well received, allowing the group's property director, Andrew Varley, to cash in at a good price.

Varley sold 10,000 shares at 1234.43p each, some way below the 1261p high for the day but still comfortably above Monday's closing value of 1091p.

The sale, which raised £123,440, reduces Varley's stake in Next to 69,887 shares, representing 0.036% of the issued share capital.

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Next cheered the market by saying its full year profit forecast remains in line with City expectations of around £415m to £435m, despite posting a a 1.9% drop in sales in the half year to Christmas Eve.

Like-for-like sales in the 347 stores that were unaffected by new openings down 7%, within the 4% to 7% range the firm had predicted.

Top Director Buys

Value: £211,239

Value: £49,580

Value: £24,000

Value: £15,203

Value: £10,040

Top Director Sells

Value: £9,780,125

Value: £4,890,050

Value: £3,260,025

Value: £1,222,500

Value: £1,075,812

Value: £967,500

Value: £87,698

Value: £123,440

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