It’s been a relatively quiet week in terms of directors buying and selling shares in their respective companies, but there a few deals which have caught the eye.

FTSE 250 software company Kainos (KNOS) has continued to have a strong run in recent months after its shares bounced back significantly from the market selloff in March 2020, and it seems senior business development executive Paul Gannon has used the opportunity to sell some more shares.

Gannon sold 200,000 shares at £13.35 each in a deal worth around £2.6 million. It’s his second major sale in the past year after he sold £4.4 million worth of shares in August.

The latest sale comes as Kainos shares have risen over 15% since its trading update three weeks ago, where it said ‘continued momentum’ in the business had driven a strong trading performance and that it again expects to beat market expectations when it reports its full year results to 31 March 2021.

Following his latest deal, Gannon and his connected persons hold just over 7.7 million shares in the Kainos, constituting 6.3% of the company’s issued share capital.

MANOLETE BOSS CUTS STAKE

Meanwhile Steven Cooklin, chief executive of insolvency litigation finance firm Manolete Partners (MANO:AIM), has sold one million shares in two separate transactions, gaining a cool £1.8 million.

Cooklin sold 750,000 shares and then 250,000 shares both at 180p apiece, reducing his stake in the company from 18% to 15.7%.

Shares in the firm have fallen almost 40% since it gave an underwhelming third quarter trading update to the market on 26 January, when it admitted new case enquiries are expected to remain low because the UK Government’s financial support has prevented several company insolvencies since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

OTHER DEALS

Frederic Vecchioli, chief executive of self-storage operator Safestore Holdings (SAFE), has bought 13,600 shares in the business at a price of 808p each, in a deal totaling around £110,000.

Louise Makin, non-executive director and chair-designate at safety equipment maker Halma (HLMA), has bought 10,000 shares in the firm at £24.59 each in a deal worth £245,900.

Makin joined the Halma board as a non-executive director on Tuesday and will replace Paul Walker as chair when he steps down from the board in July after eight years in the role.

For a full list of the week’s most significant trades, click here.

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Issue Date: 11 Feb 2021