Director dealings: Marks and Spencer, Cranswick, HomeServe

John Choong — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 07:00:17 +0000

Director dealings are essentially insider transactions for shares between directors and the companies they work for. These dealings are always made public, and are often considered a good indicator of a company’s future prospects. However, they don’t get nearly as much attention as other company news due to their complex nature. Nonetheless, here I’m breaking down this week’s biggest director dealings from three FTSE firms.

Marks and Spencer

Marks and Spencer (LSE: MKS) is a major British multinational retailer that sells clothing and beauty, home, and food products. This week, three director dealings were carried out. A large number of shares were received in lieu of a cash dividend, but a portion was sold to cover tax and national insurance obligations.

Name: Stuart Machin
Position of director: Chief Executive Officer
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 22 June 2022
Amount received: 203,120 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Name: Stuart Machin
Position of director: Chief Executive Officer
Nature of transaction: Sales of shares to cover tax and national insurance liabilities
Date of transaction: 22 June 2022
Amount sold: 99,121 @ Â£1.37
Total value: Â£135,805.68

Name: Sacha Berendji
Position of director: Property, Store Development, and IT Director
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 22 June 2022
Amount received: 138,115 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Name: Sacha Berendji
Position of director: Property, Store Development, and IT Director
Nature of transaction: Sales of shares to cover tax and national insurance liabilities
Date of transaction: 22 June 2022
Amount sold: 67,399 @ Â£1.37
Total value: Â£92,343.37

Name: Paul Friston
Position of director: International Director
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 22 June 2022
Amount received: 131,691 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Name: Paul Friston
Position of director: International Director
Nature of transaction: Sales of shares to cover tax and national insurance liabilities
Date of transaction: 22 June 2022
Amount sold: 62,264 @ Â£1.37
Total value: Â£88,048.11

Cranswick

Cranswick (LSE: CWK) is a leading UK food producer and supplier of fresh and premium food products. It’s most famous for its meat products. Four directors opted to exercise their share options this week. However, they then proceeded to sell portions.

Name: Mark Bottomley
Position of director: Chief Financial Officer
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount received: 31,800 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Name: Mark Bottomley
Position of director: Chief Financial Officer
Nature of transaction: Sale of shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount sold: 16,379 @ Â£30.82
Total value: Â£504,768.02

Name: Adam Couch
Position of director: Chief Executive Officer
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount received: 48,100 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Name: Adam Couch
Position of director: Chief Executive Officer
Nature of transaction: Sale of shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount sold: 24,775 @ Â£30.82
Total value: Â£763,515.95

Name: Jim Brisby
Position of director: Chief Commercial Officer
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount received: 31,800 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Name: Jim Brisby
Position of director: Chief Commercial Officer
Nature of transaction: Sale of shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount sold: 16,379 @ Â£30.82
Total value: Â£504,768.02

Name: Chris Aldersley
Position of director: Chief Operating Officer
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount received: 26,300 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Name: Chris Aldersley
Position of director: Chief Operating Officer
Nature of transaction: Sale of shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount sold: 13,546 @ Â£30.82
Total value: Â£417,460.628

HomeServe

HomeServe (LSE: HSV) offers low-cost home warranty and home repair options. It markets itself as the solution to expensive and inconvenient emergency home repairs. Three massive director dealings happened earlier in the week, as shares were awarded to these directors based on performance conditions.

Name: David Bower
Position of director: Director
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount received: 21,119 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Name: David Bower
Position of director: Director
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount received: 10,190 @ Â£11.69
Total value: Â£119,121.10

Name: Tom Rusin
Position of director: Director
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount received: 30,619 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Name: Tom Rusin
Position of director: Director
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount received: 11,815 @ Â£11.69
Total value: Â£138,117.35

Name: Richard Harpin
Position of director: Director
Nature of transaction: Free shares
Date of transaction: 27 June 2022
Amount received: 34,911 @ nil
Total value: N/A

Types of shares in a SIP

To provide context, there are a few types of shares within a company’s share incentive plan (SIP). A SIP is an employee plan for companies within the UK to flexibly award equity to employees. Publicly listed companies normally exercise this option because itâs tax-efficient for both the employer and its employees.

Types of shares within a SIP (Source: BDO.co.uk)

In this instance, all the director dealings above occurred with free shares. These shares were acquired by directors under their companies’ share plans. These were either a restricted share plan (Marks and Spencer), or incentive plans (Cranswick and HomeServe).

Share award schemes give employees actual shares rather than share options. The value of shares given to directors here is treated as employment income. This means that it may be subject to tax and national insurance contributions. That is unless the directors opt for an HMRC-approved share scheme, which has its own rules and requirements. Incentive plans give directors shares when they hit certain performance targets. For HomeServe directors, the awards were subject to the company’s earnings per share.

The post Director dealings: Marks and Spencer, Cranswick, HomeServe appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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