Companies: DCD    DOM    GVM    IMS    SSY   

Love put his money where his mouth is by investing nearly £500,000 in SciSys, buying one million shares at 46.75p in the poorly performing IT services company on the day he returned to an executive position. Love, who became executive chairman when chief executive Mark Hampson resigned, owns just over 3.5 million shares, or 12.41 per cent of the business.

When SciSys reported its interim figures, it admitted it would have a poor 2007, but said it was laying the foundations for a much better 2008. Revenues slid to £10.3 million (£13.2 million) in the six months to June 2007 and SciSys lost £1.3 million on continuing operations, following delays to large contracts and cost overruns on other deals. SciSys hopes that £1 million of annualised cost savings will show through in 2008 and it will benefit from a full-year contribution from German IT business VCS, acquired in September. Artemis Investment Management and Montanaro UK Smaller Companies Investment Trust have both reduced their holdings in SciSys in recent months.

Elstein enhances DCD stake Elsewhere, DCD Media’s chairman David Elstein has added 525,000 shares at 58.5p to his holding, taking his stake in the TV and music programming producer and distributor to 861,550, the equivalent of 1.62 per cent, following full-year figures. He has taken advantage of share price weakness, having bought 115,000 shares at 84p a share in August.

Elstein is a highly experienced TV executive, having been chief executive of Channel 5 for four years. Prior to that he spent a decade as head of programming at Thames TV and BSkyB.

Three weeks after the share purchase, DCD announced $6 million (£3 million) worth of programme orders from US cable TV channels, including a fifth series of reality wedding show Bridezillas, which is produced by September Films. September was one of three TV production companies bought by DCD in August. DCD moved from a pre-amortisation loss of £300,000 to a pre-amortisation profit of £1.36 million in the year to June and Elstein believes the current year will show further progress, ‘with the latest acquisitions bearing fruit’.

Meanwhile, Sylvia Sheridan has bought 3,964,011 shares at 12p each in television subtitles company Independent Media Support. The shares were sold by Forvaltnings, one of Peter Gyllenhammar’s investment companies. The price paid is higher than the shares have been since Sheridan’s attempted management buy-out talks ended last year. She now owns 75.5 per cent of the company she founded and which floated in June 2004 via a placing at 57.5p.

Halpern pares back stake
Domino’s Pizza’s outgoing chairman Colin Halpern has sold 3.3 million shares at 210p a share. He will become vice-chairman at the beginning of 2008 and retains 9.2 per cent of the pizza delivery company.

The sale followed an admission by Domino’s that rising milk and wheat prices and the financial failure of its cheese supplier had hit profitability. The cheese supplier was taken over but the fixed-price contract was re-negotiated, taking into account a rise in costs. Domino’s Pizza has taken the hit for these price increases in the short term and only adjusted prices to its franchisees at the beginning of November. The cheese contract change will knock £450,000 off Domino’s profits, although strong sales have helped to offset this.

Selling spree at GVM
GVM Metals’ deputy managing director Nonkqubela Mazwai and non-exec Nchakha Moloi have both been consistent sellers in recent weeks. The former raised A$672,232 (£289,000) from the sale of 462,496 shares, although she still owns 12 per cent of GVM. Moloi raised just over A$845,000 from the sale of nearly 582,000 shares.