Directors’ Dealings by Ben Jaglom

At house builder Taylor Wimpey non-executive director Kate Barker snapped up 10,000 shares at a price of 38.39p a share, bringing the total number of shares held by the board member to 20,000. Barker is a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee and is well connected in the industry, having previously worked as a board member at the homes and communities agency. A professional economist, she once served as chief economic adviser to the CBI (Confederation of British Industry).

Over at technology play Spirent Communications there was spouse buying in action as the wife of chairman Alex Walker purchased 30,000 shares at 150.38p, bringing the total shares held by Walker to 80,000. Having formerly worked as the chief executive of chemicals concern Yule Catto & Co, Walker also serves on the board at AIM-listed foam specialist Zotefoams.

At Chinese orange grower Asian Citrus British NED Nicholas Smith bought 100,000 shares at 59.38p a share in a purchase valued at £57,922. Citrus has suffered of late from adverse investor sentiment towards Chinese companies following the controversy surrounding China Agritech, a US-listed fertiliser outfit that is alleged to have made false claims regarding its assets and which is causing considerable trouble in the US for analysts who are accused of failing to carry out appropriate due diligence. Shares have slumped over the past six months from 80p to a current price of 57.25p.

Cable & Wireless purchase
At communications giant Cable & Wireless Anne Barton, who is described as a ‘person connected’ to chairman John Barton and is presumably a relation purchased 100,000 shares in the group at a price of 47.26p. Barton only became chairman this June after a controversial board reshuffle that saw previous chairman John Pluthero become chief executive while non-executive director Barton became chairman. The controversy has raged over the multimillion-pound bonuses paid to Pluthero and others over a period in which shares in the company have come under considerable pressure, currently trading just above a 52-week low.

Buying into Dixons
At consumer electronics concern Dixons Retail chairman John Allan acquired 400,000 shares in a purchase worth £180,700. Dixons has been one of the high street’s biggest losers since the beginning of the downturn, having lost almost 90 per cent of its 2007 value as consumer spending on its high-value and low-margin TVs, laptops and digital radios has been cut back.

At car crash repair group Just Car Clinics there was a team effort as a number of board members made buys totalling £130,000. Chairman David Hickey purchased 95,833 shares,  chief executive Barry Whittles bought 143,755 and finance director Chris Elton acquired 125,000. For the year to December the company reported a mixed set of results, with profits falling £47,000 to £1.11 million while sales increased by 8.6 per cent to £46.5 million.

At the North Sea-focused Ithaca Energy CEO Iain McKendrick dipped into the market, buying 30,000 shares at a price of 146p a share. An oil and gas veteran, McKendrick has held senior positions at a number of energy companies including TOTAL, where he served as joint venture manager for the UK Continental Shelf region.

Finally at AIM-quoted private equity fund Reconstruction Capital II, which invests in territories around Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria, its founder, Ion Florescu, purchased 400,000 shares in a deal worth £57,176. A joint Romanian and British citizen, Florescu attended both Harrow School and Cambridge University and is one of the key figures in Romania, having been involved in the country’s early privatisation efforts.