BG boss sells without explanation

1st Jun 2012 11:59

The Chief Executive of BG Group, the FTSE 100 natural gas company, has offloaded more than £4.7m-worth of shares without an explanation, putting a serious dent in the share price.Sir Frank Chapman sold 368,185 at 1,285p each, reducing his stake to just over 1.5m shares, equal to 0.0446% of the issued shares.During the week the company announced its plans to sell its stake in gas-fired power generation plants in the Philippines for $360m and its 60.1% stake in Brazilian gas distributor Comgás for around $1.7bn.Speaking on Wednesday, the day the second sale was announced, Chapman said that, including the most recent sales, the company has so far released some $3.6bn from its balance sheet as part of its on-going plan to release $5bn of capital over the next two years.The share price lost 55p in the past week, contributing to overall losses in May of 230p, equal to 15%.Mark Harper, a Non-Executive Director of Renold, an industrial chain maker, has purchased £50,000-worth of shares in the firm in the same week that the company posted a return to the black following a boost to sales.Harper bought the shares on behalf of a Mandy Harper, trading 74,626 shares at 33.50p on Tuesday, the day the results were announced, and 78,125 at 32.00p the following day.However, it was by no means all good news as the company warned its double-digit growth seen in the last two years will be reduced by the current uncertainty in Europe. Top Director BuysF&C Asset Management (FCAM) Director name: Mr Edward BramsonAmount purchased: 315,000 @ 72.07p Value: £227,020Chime Communications (CHW) Director name: Mr Christopher SatterthwaiteAmount purchased: 63,300 @ 157.80p Value: £99,887Mothercare (MTC) Director name: Mr Alan C ParkerAmount purchased: 22,154 @ 198.00p Value: £43,865President Petroleum Co (PPC) Director name: Mr Peter M LevineAmount purchased: 130,000 @ 28.00p Value: £36,400North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) Director name: Mr Christopher H B MillsAmount purchased: 3,500 @ 930.00p Value: £32,550Aberdeen Smaller Companies High Income Trust (ASCH) Director name: Mr Jimmy WestAmount purchased: 26,640 @ 117.00p Value: £31,169Cape (CIU) Director name: Mr Tim J C Eggar Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 249.00p Value: £24,900Cape (CIU) Director name: Mr Brendan ConnollyAmount purchased: 8,675 @ 249.36p Value: £21,632Cape (CIU) Director name: Mr Michael Merton Amount purchased: 8,000 @ 245.43p Value: £19,634SVG Capital (SVI) Director name: Mr Lynn FordhamAmount purchased: 6,330 @ 259.40p Value: £16,420Top Director SellsGreat Portland Estates (GPOR) Director name: Mr Toby CourtauldAmount sold: 144,897 @ 381.07p Value: £552,159Great Portland Estates (GPOR) Director name: Mr Neil ThompsonAmount sold: 92,864 @ 381.07p Value: £353,877