27th Apr 2016 16:07
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of director dealings reported in London on Wednesday.
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Mortgage Advice Bureau (Holdings), which provides face to face financial and mortgage advice on the high street, on Wednesday said a group of major shareholders including Chief Executive Officer Peter Brodnicki have sold a 15% stake in the company.
The shareholders sold 7.6 million shares in Mortgage Advice Bureau at 360.00 pence per share, the company said, in a placing managed by Canaccord Genuity as joint bookrunner and settlement agent and Zeus Capital as joint bookrunner.
The sellers agreed with the bookrunners that they won't sell further shares for at least 12 months from completion of the placing, although some exceptions can be made.
Brodnicki, one of the founders in 2000, sold 4.0 million shares in the placing, which left him with 14.1 million shares, equivalent to just shy of a 28% stake. He had previously owned 36% of the company.
Operations Director David Preece, who is part of a party including Brodnicki deemed to be acting in concert by the UK's Takeover Panel, shrank his stake to 3.02% from 5.10% by selling 1.1 million shares. Brodnicki holds options over 325,000 shares, while Preece also holds options over 275,000 shares.
Another member of the concert party, Paul Robinson, co-founder and former finance director, sold 1.5 million shares, cutting his stake to 1.53% from 5.10%. Lucy Tilley, a director in the Canaccord corporate broking team that advised on Mortgage Advice Bureau's initial public offering, replaced Robinson as finance director in May 2015. Robinson gifted 300,000 of his remaining shares to someone who is not a member of his family.
Michelle Draycott, a former member of the concert party and an employee since the company was founded, sold 341,250 shares, leaving her with a 2.03% stake.
Simon Blunt, a former director, sold 211,250 shares, and subsequently has a 1.26% stake. Richard Palmer, a co-founder and former director, sold 211,000 shares and has been left with a similar stake.
National Sales Director Gareth Herbert was left with a 0.89% stake , having sold 105,750 shares, while shareholder Simon Frankish sold 134,500 shares and was left with a 0.80% stake.
Shares in Mortgage Advice Bureau closed down 12% at 358.00 pence on Wednesday. The company's shares were sold at 160.00p per share when it listed on AIM in November 2014.
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Brooks Macdonald Group Chief Investment Officer Richard Spencer and fellow board director Simon Wombwell sold a combined 4.3% stake for roughly GBP9.9 million in the AIM-listed wealth manager, bookrunner Peel Hunt LLP said on Wednesday.
Spencer, who co-founded Brooks Macdonald, sold 550,000 shares to institutional investors. He agreed to a lock-up preventing him from selling his remaining 1.7% stake until the first year after completion of the placing, and said he is committed to Brooks Macdonald in his role as chief investment officer, with "every confidence" in the company's prospects.
"I have held a substantial interest in Brooks Macdonald since co-founding the company in 1991," Spencer said in a statement. "It is now appropriate to diversify my personal financial risk profile whilst retaining a significant shareholding in Brooks Macdonald."
Wombwell, who sold 35,000 shares, was left with a 0.4% stake.
In a separate statment the company said Nick Holmes, a director, sold 3,400 shares at 1,700p each, leaving him with 55,995 shares.
Shares in Brooks Macdonald closed down 4.6% at 1,733.16 pence Wednesday, having been sold at 1,700p in the placing.
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Publisher St Ives said a group of directors bought a total of 92,532 shares on Tuesday in wake of a profit warning.
Chief Executive Officer Matt Armitage bought 30,000 shares at 122.6 pence each and Chairman Richard Stillwell bought 15,000 shares at 119.7p each. In addition, Chief Financial Officer Brad Gray bought 12,532 shares at 120.9p each.
The company also said three non-executive directors also bought shares. Helen Stevenson bought 5,000 shares at 127.4 p each and Ben Gordon and Mike Butterworth each bought 15,000 shares at 126.3p and 121.0p each respectively.
Separately, the company said Stevenson bought a further 10,000 shares. She bought 7,500 shares on Tuesday at 126p and 2,446 shares at 128.6p and 54 shares at 126.5p each on Wednesday.
St Ives said Monday it expects its underling pretax profit for its current financial year to be "materially below" its current expectations, and warned the following year would also be hit.
St Ives said its trading overall in the eight months to the beginning of April had continued to be "broadly in line" with its expectations, with revenue up 5% compared to the previous year, however its outlook for the final quarter to end-July and following financial year has deteriorated.
Whilst trading across its Strategic Marketing segment has seen a strong year to date, current global economic uncertainty is resulting in greater caution in the allocation of marketing budgets, and this level of uncertainty has increased of late, resulting in significant projects being deferred or cancelled.
The stock closed down 4.0% to 120.49p.
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Equiniti Group said Chief Executive Officer Guy Wakeley bought 5,983 shares at a price of 166.2 pence per share on Tuesday. Following this transaction, Wakeley now holds 1.3 million shares. Equiniti, which is known for providing share registration services to companies, Tuesday said new business wins to date in 2016 are ahead of the prior year, and include a life and pensions outsourcing contract with Retirement Advantage, valued at about GBP40 million over 10 years. In an update coinciding with the outsourcer's annual meeting of shareholders, Equiniti said trading and business performance in 2016 to date has been in line with management expectations. "New business wins are ahead of last year, increasing revenue visibility and giving confidence both in the group's strategy and the outlook for 2016 and beyond," Wakeley said. The stock closed up 2.5% at 165.98p Wednesday.
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The People's Operator said Chairman Jimmy Wales bought 100,000 shares at a price of 20 pence per share on Tuesday after the company reported a widened pretax loss. Following this transaction, Wales holds 6.1 million shares, which represents 7.89% stake in the group. Wales is the co-founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia. The People's Operator last week reported a widened pretax loss for 2015 as increased investment offset a jump in revenue driven by an increased in subscribers. The company said its pretax loss widened to GBP10.4 million in 2015 from GBP2.3 million in 2014, as a rise in revenue to GBP2.1 million from GBP432,391 was offset by a significant ramp up in administrative costs. Additionally, People's Operator recorded GBP650,800 in exceptional administrative expenses related to the company's launch in the US during the year. "This was a solid year of growth for The People's Operator. Our subscriber numbers continue to rise, and we are seeing excellent traction following our launch in the US. Our large numbers of charity and good cause partnerships, coupled with our popular and active social platform, mean that we are gaining more and more subscribers attracted by our giving proposition. This proves the strength and viability of our model for viral growth allied with low marketing spend and firm cost control," Wales said last week. Shares in mobile virtual network operator closed down 24% at 24.80p Wednesday and have lost 72% of their value so far in 2016.
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Rockhopper Exploration said three directors bought shares on Tuesday. Non-Executive Director John Martin bought 91,600 shares ar 33.75 pence each and now holds 91,600 shares. The company also said Chief Operating Officer Fiona MacAulay and Chief Financial Officer Stewart MacDonald bought 49,867 and 45,225 shares, both at 33p each, respectively. They now hold 115,559 and 83,913 shares respectively. The oil and gas stock was up 4.5% at 35.00p Wednesday.
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BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust said Non-Executive Director Susan Platts-Martin bought 1,000 shares at a price of GBP8.978 each Tuesday. The purchase is Platts-Martin's only holding after being appointed in March. The stock closed up 0.1% at 900.00p Wednesday.
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SDL said Chief Financial Officer Dominic Lavelle bought 15,000 shares at 418.875p each on March 30. He now holds 45,000 shares. The stock closed up 0.2% at 403.00p Wednesday.
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Fulham Shore said Nabil Mankarious, managing director, bought 500,000 shares at 16p each. He now holds 112.3 million shares, or a 19.72% stake. The stock closed flat at 16.25p Wednesday
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Independent Investment Trust said Managing Director Max Ward sold 50,000 shares at a price of 384 pence per share on Wednesday. Following this transaction, Ward now holds 4.6 million shares, which represents an 8.1938% stake in the trust. The stock closed up 0.1% at 389.40p Wednesday.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; [email protected]; @ArvindBhunjun
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