Lookers leaps as Bramall lifts stake again

Tony Bramall, already the largest shareholder in car dealer Lookers, is building up his stake in the company again.

Bramall and his family acquired a further 400,000 shares on Thursday, with 250,000 of those acquired at a cost of £170,000, or 68p per share, while the remainder cost £105,000, or 70p per share.

The purchases bring the holdings of the family interests of Bramall up to 37.6m shares, representing 20.69% of the issued share capital of Lookers.

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Bramall, an industry veteran, joined Lookers' board in June 2006 after buying a 24.4% stake from GE Capital, which he used to block a bid for Lookers from Pendragon. In March 2007, he reduced that stake to 18.8% with the sale of 10m shares at 208p.

However, he has been building up his stake this year, adding about 2.35m shares even as the shares continued to slide as the market for both new and used cars became more challenging.

Bramall's latest purchase could be the cause of today's sharp rise in the share price of Lookers, which in May said it had started the financial year with a much stronger business compared to last year, though it remains cautious about growth in new car sales.

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Director name: Mr Miltos Kambourides

Amount purchased: 200,000 @ 109.00p

Value: £218,000

Lookers (LOOK)

Director name: Mr D C A Bramall

Amount purchased: 250,000 @ 68.00p

Value: £170,000

Ridge Mining (RDG)

Director name: Mr Terence A Wilkinson

Amount purchased: 108,557 @ 119.80p

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Director name: Mr D C A Bramall

Amount purchased: 150,000 @ 70.00p

Value: £105,000

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Director name: Mr Adrian Wyatt

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