Zillah Byng-Thorne, chair of the board at Trustpilot (TRST), bought 150,000 shares in the online reviews and analytics platform at 93p, for a total value of £138,900, on 19 September 2023.

Byng-Thorne dipped into the market on the day Trustpilot reported an impressive set of first half results causing its shares to jump nearly 17% to 96.5p – their highest level since March 2023.

Buying by the chair is a vote of confidence in the Denmark-based business, which delivered first half adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of $5.7 million – 13% ahead of analysts’ projections.

FINANCE DIRECTOR SELLS £100,000 WORTH OF SHARES

Anna Cross, finance director of high street bank Barclays (BARC), netted £105,750 through the sale of 65,037 shares in the lender at 163p on 19 September.

The sale is part of  a ‘trading plan entered into on 24 May 2022’.

As Barclays explained: ‘The shares delivered are in respect of the quarterly payment of the share element of the individual’s fixed remuneration for the three-month period to 30 September 2023.

‘The shares are subject to a holding period with restrictions lifting in equal tranches over five years.’

Over the past year, Barclays’ shares have drifted down more than 5% to the 156p mark.

BUYING BY STHREE BOSS SHOWS CONFIDENCE

Elsewhere Timo Lehne, CEO of SThree (STEM), snapped up 35,676 shares in the specialist recruiter at 375p for a total outlay of £133,785 on 20 September.

SThree recently assured investors it was ‘on track’ for the full year as it reported a continued fall in net fees for the third quarter – down 7% year-on-year at £103 million.

Nevertheless, Lehne maintained that the company’s performance was ‘resilient’ and his latest purchase could perhaps boost shareholder confidence with the shares down 10% year-to-date at 368p.

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