Haynes founder ramps up stake

John Haynes, chairman of car repair manual group Haynes Publishing, has beefed up his stake in the business by 150,000 shares.

He paid £225,000 for the holding at 150p a share in addition to the 85,000 bought last month at 155p and the 15,000 snapped up in August at 170p.

In October, the firm said sales of core automotive repair manuals held up well during the first quarter despite a deterioration in market conditions.

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Sales of US car manuals in local currency ended the period 10% ahead of last year and were up 5% in the UK. But there's been a marked downturn at the UK general publishing division since the end of its financial year in May. Revenue fell by 3% year on year.

The company, set up by Haynes in 1960 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1979, has seen its value fall by more than half in the past year to about £11m.

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