- Aviva chair buys shares post-AIG acquisition
- Colefax CEO and directors sell shares in tender offer
- Sirius Real Estate CEO sells 500,000 shares
George Culmer, chairman of Aviva (AV.), bought 110,675 shares at 396p for a total value of £437,799 on 25 September.
The purchase comes as the UK insurer announced it was buying AIG’s UK protection business for £450 million and almost a month after Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc bought just over £100,00 worth of shares.
Aviva shares have lost over 13% year-to-date but the acquisition of AIG’s UK protection business is seen by analysts as a means for the UK insurer to increase its customer numbers in the long-term, and therefore a good move for the business.
DESIGN FIRM DIRECTORS TENDER SHARES
David Green, chairman and chief executive of luxury furnishings design firm Colefax Group (CFX), sold 141,878 shares at 700p to net £993,146 on 25 September.
Other smaller transactions were made the same day by four directors and their partners including finance director Robert Barker who sold 8,097 shares at 700p.
Year-to-date, Colefax shares have performed well up 26% to 781p.
The sales were part of a tender offer announced by the group on 22 September, with a total of 1,026,365 shares (representing 14.2% of the company’s issued ordinary share capital) ‘validly tendered by eligible shareholders under the offer’ for a total value of £7.1 million.
On completion of the tender offer and the cancellation of the shares, the company's issued ordinary capital will be 6,224,281 shares with an equal number of voting rights.
The firm recently reported a solid set of results for fiscal 2023 in line with expectations, although it anticipates ‘worsening conditions ahead’ due to higher interest rates.
PROPERTY CHIEF REDUCES HOLDING
Andrew Coombs, chief executive of Sirius Real Estate (SRE), sold 500,000 shares at 90p for a total consideration of £450,000 on 25 September.
The company said following the transaction: ‘Mr Coombs holds a beneficial interest in 11,008,876 shares, representing 0.935% of the company's issued share capital.’
The sale could be viewed as profit-taking by the chief executive, with the shares having risen more than 22% over the past year to the 85p mark.
Analysts at Berenberg are upbeat about the property company, saying in a recent research note that profitability remains high with an adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of ‘around 70%’ and occupier demand remaining ‘strong’.
