- Canal+ director buys on weakness
- Metro Bank director buys into strength
- Chemring director reduces holding
Maxime Saada, chairman of the management board and chief executive of French media group Canal+ (CAN), bought 100,000 shares at 176p for a total value of £175,880 on 7 March.
Saada’s move comes after the company which produced the hit Paddington films said it was on track to become a global media and entertainment leader with 50 to 100 million subscribers.
On the 4 March, Canal+ reported a 3.6%rise in total revenues to €6.45 billion for the year ending 31 December and said its debt level was only €355 million, which would allow it to pursue an active M&A strategy in the future.
Last December, the French media group celebrated its London stock market debut with one of the biggest UK IPOs of 2024 although its shares have fallen sharply since listing at 290p each.
METRO BANK DIRECTOR BUYS IN
Marc Page, executive director of challenger lender Metro Bank (MTRO), bought 587,218 shares at 84p for a total value of £491,073 on 3 March.
Page’s move comes after the company reported an underlying profit of £12.8 million in the second half of 2024 ‘in excess of guidance of returning to profitability.’
Over the past year Metro’s shares have gained a staggering 158%.
Page could be capitalising on the challenger bank’s transformational year noted recently by chief executive Daniel Frumkin in a trading update which included cost-cutting measures and strengthening its balance sheet.
CHEMRING DIRECTOR SELLS 27,445 SHARES
Sarah Ellard, director at military equipment supplier Chemring (CHG), sold 27,445 shares at 415p for a total value of £113,976.
Following the sale, Ellard retains an interest in 233,000 ordinary 1p shares in the capital of the company.
Several weeks ago, one of the world’s largest private equity firms Bain Capital launched a £1.1 billion proposed takeover bid for Chemring causing the shares to jump 13% on the day (24 February).
