A lot of company bosses like to talk a good game about their company’s growth prospects and future potential, but not as many necessarily tend to put their money where their mouth is.
A number of company bosses over the past week appear to have done just that, including Philip Jansen, the chief executive of telecom giant BT (BT.A). The executive invested more than £2 million to buy 1.25 million shares in the business at 163p each.
Jansen’s purchase on 14 May came just a day after he announced plans to ‘build like fury across the country’ following a Government tax deduction.
BT announced on 13 May that it will connect 25 million homes to fibre broadband by 2026, an increase of five million from its earlier target. It put the new investment in large part down to the Government’s ‘super deduction’, designed to unlock investment to help fuel a post-Covid recovery.
VODAFONE CHAIR BUYS IN AFTER DIP
Meanwhile, former Heineken CEO Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, now chairman of Vodafone (VOD), has bought 305,000 shares in the firm at a price of 135p. The deal, worth more than £410,000, was struck on 18 May following Vodafone’s full year results.
The annual figures revealed profit for the year through to 31 March 2021 of €536 million, missing analysts’ expectations, and sending the shares down around 8% around the 132p mark.
Looking forward the company insisted it remains focused on driving shareholder value through deleveraging, improving returns on capital and a firm commitment to its dividend.
SMALL CAP BOSS SELLS AFTER RALLY
One notable sale over the past week involves Stephen Fenby, managing director of audio-visual distributor Midwich (MIDW:AIM), who sold 163,000 shares at a price of 495p each in a deal worth over £800,000.
Shares in the £440 million market cap company have rallied since November, jumping from 345p to around the 490p mark currently. Its full year results for 2020 saw the firm swing to a loss, but it said the second half of 2020 exceeded expectations as restrictions were eased, and insisted it’s still well placed to ‘continue to deliver growth and take advantage of market opportunities, both organically and through acquisition.’
Following the sale Fenby has 19.3 million shares, a 21.7% interest.
For a full list of the week’s most significant trades, click here.
