The biggest insider deals of the last week were at house builder Berkeley Group (BKG) where Rob Perrins, group chief executive, bought almost £3 million worth of shares in two tranches last Friday and this Monday.
Perrins, who started at the firm as a qualified accountant in 1994, has been a seller of Berkeley shares on balance this year but timed his purchase neatly as the shares are now trading 7% above his average price.
According to the filing, Perrins now holds just under 1.1 million shares or 0.9% of Berkeley Group, worth a cool £49 million at today’s price. He was joined by non-executive chairman Glyn Barker who bought a more modest £111,000 worth of stock last Friday and now owns 47,700 shares, worth just over £2.3 million.
Berkeley increased its net asset value per share by around 6% in the year to April with net cash on the books of £1.1 billion and cash due on forward sales of £1.7 billion, while the estimated future gross margin on its land holdings rose to £6.9 billion.
The most notable sales were among board directors of fund management groups Polar Capital (POLR) and Premier Miton (PMI).
Gavin Rochussen, who swapped his role as chief executive of JO Hambro for the top job at Polar in 2017, sold £377,000 worth of shares in the asset management firm on Monday, while executive director John Mansell, a near-20 year veteran of the group, offloaded £212,000 worth of stock.
The sales leave Rochussen with just under 1.5 million shares in Polar or 1.5% of the firm, worth roughly £13 million, while Mansell holds 2 million shares or 2% worth £17.6 million at today’s price.
Meanwhile, at Premier Miton, chief executive Mike O’Shea - one of the founding directors of Premier Fund Managers way back in 1988 - lightened up his holding with the sale of roughly £247,000 worth of shares a week ago.
O’Shea remains a significant stakeholder in the fund group he helped found with a holding of 3.64 million shares or 2.3%, worth just under £6.5 million at the current price.
