Halfords' chief exec starts assembling stake

Halfords' chief executive David Wild has opened his account in the bicycle and car parts retailer, spending nearly £100,000 on his first batch of shares in the group.

He bought 40,000 shares at just under 245.1p a time.

Wild was appointed to his role at Halfords in August, joining the company from US supermarket giant Walmart, where he was Senior Vice President New Business Development in San Francisco. He has also worked as president of Walmart's German division.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

Earlier in his career he was with Tesco (1985-2003) where he held a variety of roles including developing and latterly leading their business in Central Europe.

Last month, Halfords, whose share price is down by about a quarter over the past year, reported a rise in quarterly profits year-on-year and predicted full year profit would be in line with expectations.

The firm did see some signs of weakness though, with sales down 1.1% stripping out the contribution of new stores.

Speaking as the group delivered its results, Wild outlined his intention to put his experience in Central Europe to good use as he detailed Halfords' expansion plans.

"The success of our initial pilot in Central Europe encourages us to accelerate our operations in this region to secure future growth," he said.

Halfords has 451 stores across the UK and Republic of Ireland, and two in the Czech Republic.

Top Director Buys

Value: £211,750

Value: £79,326

Value: € 99,992

Value: £98,040

Value: € 59,996

Value: € 54,000

Value: € 50,006

Value: £24,000

Value: £20,600

Value: £15,000

Top Director Sells

Value: £934,110