Avanti Communications chief tops up his stake, again

5th Oct 2011 14:21

Co-founder of satellite operator Avanti, David Williams, has upped his stake in the firm for the second time this week just days after the company reported a jump in full-year losses.The chief executive, who joined forces with co-founder David Bestwick in 2000, bought 19,420 shares at 254.8p per share for a total of £49,482. The spend takes his stake in the company from 1.98% to 2%, equivalent to more than 1.6m shares. On Monday, Williams purchased 18,360 shares at 269.3p each.Williams, who previously worked in the city financing telcommunications projects, was voted entrepreneur of the year at the Quoted Company Awards in 2006. The firm said on Monday that its pre-tax loss grew to £12.7m in the year ended 30 June from a loss of £1.95m the year before. Revenue dropped to £5.46m from £5.8m before.Avanti, which launched its first satellite last November, said it is now in receipt of revenues generated by it. The group also announced a further three contracts for the satellite in Poland, Germany, and Spain, and said it remains on track to sell out capacity on the satellite within three years of launch."Our pipeline of new business gives us confidence in our ability to meet expectations," the group said in a statement. The share price rose 2.22% to 265p by 14:44.Top Director BuysAvanti Communications Group (AVN) Director name: Mr David J WilliamsAmount purchased: 19,420 @ 254.80p Value: £49,482Witan Inv Trust (WTAN) Director name: Mr Andrew L C BellAmount purchased: 10,000 @ 411.50p Value: £41,150Vitec Group (VTC) Director name: Mr Stephen BirdAmount purchased: 5,000 @ 500.00p Value: £25,000Top Director SellsNews Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Jose Maria AznarAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Stanley S. ShumanAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Thomas James PerkinsAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Lachlan MurdochAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Andrew S B KnightAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Sir Rod EddingtonAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Viet DinhAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Kenneth CowleyAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Peter BarnesAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr John L ThorntonAmount sold: 1,291 @ $15.01 Value: $19,378NR