Directors’ Dealings

Sanderson paid an initial £12.28 million in cash and shares for enterprise software provider Retail Business Solutions (RBS). Winn and his other half, Angela, bought 500,000 shares at 50p each, taking their combined stake to nearly 1.6 million shares (Winn also has options over slightly more than two million shares). Fellow directors David O’Byrne and Adrian Frost were similarly fired up, buying 20,000 and 6,000 shares respectively at 50p and topping up their stakes to nearly 233,000 and 21,000 shares.

RBS generated operating profits of £1.34 million on £12 million of sales last year. The deal transforms Sanderson, because four-fifths of sales now come from the multi-channel retail division – at the time of the float, manufacturing dominated but that sector is now showing little or no growth.

Bosses greet profit warning
The directors of gift wrap and decorations group International Greetings increased their stakes in the company following a sharp drop in the share price, which was prompted by a profit warning. Anders Hedlund snapped up 80,000 shares and increased his holding to 51.07 per cent while fellow joint chief executive Nick Fisher added 20,000 shares, upping his interest to 5.36 per cent. Four other directors raised their stakes – the only one who didn’t was non-executive John Jones – demonstrating confidence in the company’s prospects by paying 255p for shares worth more than 400p prior to the profits alert.

International Greetings’ sales this year will be lower than forecast and profits will dip to around £17 million (£18.1 million). Management evidently sniff a bargain, however, with International Greetings trading on little more than nine times forecast earnings and offering a four per cent yield.

Matthews sets a marker
Sir Terry Matthews took up more than 40 per cent of shares issued in a £6 million rescue fundraising for internet protocol equipment developer Newport Networks. The shares were issued at 3p and Matthews invested £2.44 million, taking his stake to 29.9 per cent. Newport has consistently failed to generate significant revenues since raising £15 million at 71p on AIM in 2004 and is now worth less than the original funds raised, but at least Sir Terry is confident that Newport will eventually win business with its expanded product range.

Clay invests in OHM
Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping’s (OHM) chief executive Dave Pratt and chief scientific officer Dr Lucy MacGregor have sold shares at 240p each to Landon Clay and his related interests. Pratt raised £1.71 million from the sale of his entire holding

of 712,614, though he retains more than 1.13 million share options. MacGregor raised the same amount but still owns 839,686 shares as well as options totalling 240,374. The pair had to wait until a full-year trading statement was released before they could sell, indicating that OHM made a second-half profit.

Back in August, OHM shareholders agreed to find enough shares for the Clay interests to buy so that they could maintain their percentage stake in the company following its recent placing. Seismic venture CGG Veritas took a 15 per cent stake at 240p as part of a strategic alliance between the two companies. OHM has developed an electro-magnetic imaging tool for oil and gas companies and the alliance should help it gain business.

Hines sells majority
Finally, Amazing Holdings’ chairman Ashley Hines has sold 100,000 shares in the company for 208p each following the purchase of beachfront land for a proposed casino in the Penghu Islands in Taiwan. Hines bought his stake in 2000 and made it known he would reduce it when a casino site was purchased (he retains 25,000 shares and just over 835,000 options). Some of those options are conditional on gaming becoming legal in the Penghu Islands, others on a gaming licence being secured.

Amazing, which had £1.86 million cash at the end of May but also owes £1 million to a company linked to one of its directors, has signed a casino services contract with Nevegante Group and is working with designers on a luxury hotel resort development. Since its year-end, the company has spent £283,000 on part of the development site and has to pay a further £481,000 to buy the rest.