Have you got a receipt for those? Next CEO in share disposal

5th Apr 2012 15:31

Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise, Chief Executive of High Street retailer Next, has made his first sale since March 2007 in a move which triggered a widespread sale of the company's shares. Wolfson, who has stood at the helm of the chain store since 2001, sold off 125,000 shares at 3,057p each for a total of £3.8m shares, taking his stake in the firm down to 0.9%. The share price is now back where it began the week, around the 2,976p mark, having risen above 3,060p before diving to 2,990p on Wednesday morning. The sale was particularly notable because the CEO has only sold shares three times within the last seven years, and consequently sparked fears among investors that the retailer was in trouble. However, Rahul Sharma, Managing Director of retail focused Neev Capital, said he doesn't believe that the sale is "any particular signal to the market," and suggests Wolfson may just have wanted to cash in on the firm's soaring share price. Next's share price is now just 3p down on a week ago, but has gained over 46%, or 946p, in the past year. Top Director BuysSummit Corporation (SUMM) Director name: Mr Glyn EdwardsAmount purchased: 400,000 @ 3.49p Value: £13,960Top Director SellsMood Media Corp. (DI) (MM.) Director name: Mr Justin BeckettAmount sold: 156,400 @ 236.27p Value: £369,526News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Stanley S. ShumanAmount sold: 1,073 @ $19.92 Value: $21,374News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Lachlan MurdochAmount sold: 1,073 @ $19.92 Value: $21,374News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Andrew S B KnightAmount sold: 1,073 @ $19.92 Value: $21,374News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Sir Rod EddingtonAmount sold: 1,073 @ $19.92 Value: $21,374News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr David DeVoeAmount sold: 1,073 @ $19.92 Value: $21,374News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Peter BarnesAmount sold: 1,073 @ $19.92 Value: $21,374News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr Jose Maria AznarAmount sold: 1,073 @ $19.92 Value: $21,374Johnson Service Group (JSG) Director name: Mr Paul OgleAmount sold: 44,880 @ 30.05p Value: £13,486Johnson Service Group (JSG) Director name: Mr Chris SanderAmount sold: 44,880 @ 30.05p Value: £13,486