Metnor chief in £1.8m stakebuild

Metnor boss Stephen Rankin has upped his stake in the property firm to 46.6% after shelling out over £1.8m on extra shares.

He bought 1.34m at 138p alongside two smaller tranches of 5,000 and 2,000 snapped up below 140p, lifting his holding to 7.18m.

The shares rallied in April after the company said it could weather the storm hitting the property market, although they've fallen back since as conditions deteriorate further.

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"This uncertainty makes it difficult to predict the timing of future property sales, however the group is well funded and consequently is in a sound position to retain its development sites until the market recovers," said Rankin at the time.

"Future developments of care homes and student accommodation will continue as these sectors are expected to perform robustly despite the current economic problems."

"Our core contracting businesses have satisfactory order books which will underpin a solid 2008 performance," he added.

Top Director Buys

Metnor Group (MTG)

Director name: Mr Stephen Rankin

Amount purchased: 1,328,172 @ 138.00p

Value: £1,832,877

ClearSpeed Technology (CSD)

Director name: Mr Richard B Farleigh

Amount purchased: 5,325,000 @ 12.00p

Value: £639,000

PLUS Markets Group (PMK)

Director name: Mr Stephen Hazell-Smith

Amount purchased: 250,000 @ 9.50p

Value: £23,750

Telford Homes (TEF)

Director name: Mr David Durant

Amount purchased: 30,000 @ 71.00p

Value: £21,300

Brewin Dolphin (BRW)

Director name: Mr William Nicholas Hood

Amount purchased: 20,000 @ 102.00p

Value: £20,400

Andes Energia (AEN)

Director name: Mr Neil Arthur Bleasdale

Amount purchased: 26,000 @ 47.80p

Value: £12,428

Future (FUTR)

Director name: Mr Michael Penington

Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 24.70p

Value: £12,350

Top Director Sells

Homeserve (HSV)

Director name: Ms Emma Thomas

Amount sold: 1,332 @ 1,505.00p

Value: £20,047