Tasty founder takes a big bite

13th Apr 2011 17:20

Samuel Kaye, the multi-millionaire founder of the restaurant chain operator Tasty, has added to his stake in the company with the purchase of £93,000 of shares.He snapped up 300,000 shares at 31p a time and now has about 9.1m shares, or 19.1% of the company, which operates the oriental-themed DimT chain and Wildwood pizza restaurants.Kaye is also on the board of the Italian restaurant chain Prezzo, in which he has a large stake. He founded Tasty with his brother Adam in 2006. The two made £26m in 2004 when they sold the ASK (Adam and Samuel Kaye) pizzeria chain, which they founded in 1993.Samuel Kaye's purchase of shares in Tasty comes after the firm posted a maiden profit of £244,000 for 2010.According to Tasty, Kaye is responsible for developing menus and "devising new concepts or brands." He also deals with suppliers, negotiating terms for food and drink purchases. Tasty operates six DimTs and eight Wildwoods in London and the southeast. The company has just exchanged contracts for a new Wildwood in London's Canary Wharf, expected to be opened next month. While Wildwood has been expanding, Tasty has sold some of its DimTs, including one in Tunbridge Wells which the company said was performing below expectations.Top Director BuysAfferro Mining Inc (AFF) Director name: Mr Guido (Guy) E PasAmount purchased: 100,000 @ 187.50p Value: £187,500Alliance Trust (ATST) Director name: Mr Katherine Garrett-CoxAmount purchased: 32,864 @ 373.10p Value: £122,616Tasty (TAST) Director name: Mr Samuel KayeAmount purchased: 300,000 @ 31.00p Value: £93,000Alliance Trust (ATST) Director name: Mr Robert BurgessAmount purchased: 15,969 @ 373.10p Value: £59,580Alliance Trust (ATST) Director name: Mr Alan TrotterAmount purchased: 8,477 @ 373.10p Value: £31,628LMS Capital (LMS) Director name: Mr Anthony SweetAmount purchased: 50,000 @ 62.00p Value: £31,000Keystone Inv Trust (KIT) Director name: Mr William KendallAmount purchased: 1,750 @ 1,185.00p Value: £20,738Greggs (GRG) Director name: Mr Kennedy McMeikanAmount purchased: 3,357 @ 511.00p Value: £17,154Telecity Group (TCY) Director name: Mr Michael TobinAmount purchased: 2,500 @ 494.55p Value: £12,364