Thorntons chairman fattens stake

8th Oct 2009 16:05

The chairman of Thorntons has spent £50,000 on shares in the chocolate retailer on the day it revealed "solid" first quarter numbers. It was revealed today that John von Spreckelsen put his hand in his pocket Wednesday after telling the market Thorntons had a solid three months to end September.He bought 40,000 shares at 124.4p each, taking his stake to 1.09m, or 1.6% of the company. The shares are now trading at their best in over a year.Total sales in the 14 weeks to 3 October rose 2.3% to £46.8m, with own store sales 1.9% higher at £27.1m. Like for like sales grew 1.3%. Things would have been even better had Birthdays Ltd, a key customer, not gone bust in May. Franchise sales fell 15.2% to £2.9m."We are pleased to report satisfactory trading in the first quarter...particularly as the comparative period included both Woolworths and Birthdays as customers," chief executive Mike Davies said.Top Director BuysDolphin Capital Investors (DCI) Director name: Mr Miltos KambouridesAmount purchased: 2,330,000 @ 37.50p Value: £873,750ATH Resources (ATH) Director name: Mr John Timothy StokeldAmount purchased: 100,000 @ 51.50p Value: £51,500Thorntons (THT) Director name: Mr John Von SpreckelsenAmount purchased: 40,000 @ 124.40p Value: £49,760Kofax (KFX) Director name: Mr Stefan GaiserAmount purchased: 15,000 @ 155.00p Value: £23,250Redrow (RDW) Director name: Mrs Debbie Hewitt Amount purchased: 9,638 @ 207.50p Value: £19,999Praesepe (PRA) Director name: Mr Matthew ProctorAmount purchased: 270,000 @ 7.40p Value: £19,980Praesepe (PRA) Director name: Mr Nicholas HardingAmount purchased: 270,000 @ 7.40p Value: £19,980ATH Resources (ATH) Director name: Mr Tom AlchurchAmount purchased: 25,000 @ 51.50p Value: £12,875Top Director SellsJardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Adam Phillip Charles KeswickAmount sold: 10,000 @ $30.18 Value: $301,800Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Benjamin William KeswickAmount sold: 10,000 @ $30.18 Value: $301,800Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Simon L KeswickAmount sold: 10,000 @ $30.18 Value: $301,800Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr E P K WeatherallAmount sold: 10,000 @ $30.18 Value: $301,800