Directors of online fashion retailer Boohoo (BOO:AIM) have swooped in to take advantage of a drop in the company’s share price after it was hammered by the market earlier this week.
Shares in the business fell significantly on Monday, down from 315p to around 250p, after it confirmed press reports that its auditor PwC had resigned, having reportedly cited reputational risks associated with continuing to work for Boohoo.
A day later, three company bosses used the selloff to top up their holdings, in a move which has seemingly helped steady the company’s share price.
Co-founder and group executive chairman Mahmud Kamani bought 300,000 shares at around 243p each for a total of over £729,000, taking his position in the company to 12.5%.
The wife of chief financial officer Neil Catto bought 5,800 shares at 257p each in a transaction worth £15,000, while deputy chairman Brian Small bought £25,000 worth of shares at 250p each.
Kamani’s purchase has allowed him to increase his stake at a time when investor concerns have been raised about a number of issues, including corporate governance. Executive pay has been a big issue, with a third of shareholders opposing the remuneration report at the company’s last AGM.
One pay plan could hand senior executives up to £50 million each, dependent solely upon its share price performance over the next few years. Boohoo is breaking with the UK corporate governance code and not putting the plan to a shareholder vote.
OTHER DIRECTOR DEALS
Octavius Black, the co-founder and chief executive of training and management development firm Mind Gym (MIND:AIM), and chair Joanne Cash jointly bought 555,555 shares, while other co-Founder and executive director Sebastian Bailey bought 500,000 shares, all at 90p each and together worth a total of £950,000.
Superdry (SDRY) founder and chief executive Julian Dunkerton has been buying more shares again, snapping up over 91,800 shares at 150p each, while Shaun Packe, the firm’s global sourcing and sustainability director, bought 17,000 shares at 146p each, the deals together worth over £162,800. Dunkerton has bought about 1.2 million shares in recent weeks and holds roughly a 20% stake in Superdry.
Angling Direct (ANG:AIM) non-executive Darren Bailey, who served as the firm’s CEO for 17 years, sold 100,000 shares at an average price of 61.25p each this week for a total value of £61,250. The company reported a surge demand in August after reopening its stores in June, and said at the time it expected to benefit from the staycation boom over summer.
For a full list of the week’s most significant trades, click here.
