- Next CEO sells £29 million shares
- Dunelm founder’s son sells 10 million shares
- Hollywood Bowl director sells 275,000 shares
Simon Wolfson, CEO of clothing retailer Next (NXT) has sold three tranches of shares during the period 20 to 24 September.
Wolfson sold 204,349 shares at £100.65 for a total value of £20,568,376; 57,962 shares at £101.57 at a total value of £5,887.051 and 27,689 at £100.04 for a total value of £2,77,001 on 27 September.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell said: ‘Company directors are restricted from dealing in shares for chunks of the year because they will be in possession of in-depth knowledge about the business which may not be public at the time. Therefore, Wolfson selling £29 million worth of stock directly after the publication of results – one of the short windows for dealing – is not necessarily a red flag.
‘It’s common for directors to have part of their remuneration paid in stock and occasionally they will sell a bit to raise funds for personal needs, portfolio diversification or estate planning.
‘Next looks to be in a solid position as a business and its latest results were impressive. However, the valuation does look up with events. Fifteen analysts have a ‘hold’ rating on the stock versus four ‘buy’ and no ‘sell’ ratings. That suggests the analyst community believes the stock could find it harder to keep going up in the near-term.’
SON OF DUNELM FOUNDER SELLS £114 MILLION SHARES
William Adderley, deputy chair of homewares retailer Dunelm (DNLM) has sold 10 million shares at £11.40 for a total value of £114 million on 24 September.
William Adderley is the son of the founder of Dunelm – Bill Adderley. Adderley’s share sale is the first he has made since February 2021.
After this sale, the Adderley family still remains Dunelm’s largest shareholder with a 37.6% holding.
William Adderley and his wife Nadine Adderley made the sale, representing approximately 4.9% of its issued share capital through a company controlled by them – WA Capital Limited.
Year-to-date Dunelm shares have gained 6%.
HOLLYWOOD BOWL DIRECTOR SELLS 275,000 SHARES
Sarah Boddy, a PCA (person closely associated) with Peter Boddy, non-executive chairman of leading ten-pin bowling operator Hollywood Bowl (BOWL:AIM) has sold 275,000 shares at 311p for a total value of £855,580 on 26 September.
Following this sale, Peter Boddy’s total interest in shares in the company (including shares held by Sarah Boddy) is 539,839 shares (0.31% of issued share capital).
Earlier in the year, (3 June) the leading ten-pin bowling operator reported 8% growth in first half group revenue to a record £119.2 million.
The company’s shares have gained 28% over the past year.
Boddy could be cashing in on the back of the company’s robust performance.
DISCLAIMER: Financial services company AJ Bell referenced in this article owns Shares magazine. The author of this article (Sabuhi Gard) and the editor (Martin Gamble) own shares in AJ Bell.
