New CEO at Halfords celebrates appointment with share purchase

4th Oct 2012 17:11

Matt Davies, the brand new Chief Executive Officer at Halfords Group, the FTSE-250 car and bike parts retailer, purchased 164,056 on his first day on the job. Davies, who bought the shares for 302.22p each for a total of £495,810, has replaced former CEO David Wild, who abruptly exited the company in the summer. The news of his appointment came late Wednesday, the day before the company revealed that full-year profits would be at the top end of guidance after a strong second quarter. The group expects pre-tax profit to be in the region of £40-42m in the first half on the back of its second quarter performance and an acceleration of operating cost investment. The consensus estimate currently stands at just £35.8m. In the quarter ended September 28th, group revenues rose by 6.2% year-on-year, a sharp contrast to the 5.2% decline seen in the first three months of the year. Like-for-like (LFL) sales fell by 0.1% over the half, after combining the 5.6% fall in the first quarter with the 5.6% increase in the second. Top Director BuysHalfords Group (HFD) Director name: Mr Matt Davies Amount purchased: 164,056 @ 302.22p Value: £495,810Artilium (ARTA) Director name: Mr Maarten Bisseling Amount purchased: 3,671,549 @ 8.50p Value: £312,082Vianet Group (VNET) Director name: Mr James DicksonAmount purchased: 260,000 @ 100.00p Value: £260,000Artilium (ARTA) Director name: Mr Willem van den BrinkAmount purchased: 3,031,554 @ 8.50p Value: £257,682Artilium (ARTA) Director name: Mr Adriaan ReindersAmount purchased: 724,081 @ 8.50p Value: £61,547Artilium (ARTA) Director name: Mr Jan-Paul Willem MenkeAmount purchased: 724,081 @ 8.50p Value: £61,547North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) Director name: Mr Christopher H B MillsAmount purchased: 5,620 @ 1,065.00p Value: £59,853Anglo American (AAL) Director name: Mr Peter WoickeAmount purchased: 792 @ 1,951.20p Value: £15,454Anglo American (AAL) Director name: Mr Phuthuma F. NhlekoAmount purchased: 621 @ 1,951.20p Value: £12,117Anglo American (AAL) Director name: Ms Anne Stevens Amount purchased: 621 @ 1,951.20p Value: £12,117Top Director SellsAbcam (ABC) Director name: Dr Jonathan Simon MilnerAmount sold: 200,000 @ 395.00p Value: £790,000News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA) Director name: Mr John L ThorntonAmount sold: 1,171 @ $24.55 Value: $28,748Independent News & Media (INM) Director name: Mr Leslie BuckleyAmount sold: 100,000 @ € 0.15 Value: € 14,950NR