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 Buys

Halfords Group (HFD)
Director name: Mr Matt Davies
Amount purchased: 164,056 @ 302.22p
Value: £495,810

Artilium (ARTA)
Director name: Mr Maarten Bisseling
Amount purchased: 3,671,549 @ 8.50p
Value: £312,082

Vianet Group (VNET)
Director name: Mr James Dickson
Amount purchased: 260,000 @ 100.00p
Value: £260,000

Artilium (ARTA)
Director name: Mr Willem van den Brink
Amount purchased: 3,031,554 @ 8.50p
Value: £257,682

Artilium (ARTA)
Director name: Mr Adriaan Reinders
Amount purchased: 724,081 @ 8.50p
Value: £61,547

Artilium (ARTA)
Director name: Mr Jan-Paul Willem Menke
Amount purchased: 724,081 @ 8.50p
Value: £61,547

North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS)
Director name: Mr Christopher H B Mills
Amount purchased: 5,620 @ 1,065.00p
Value: £59,853

Anglo American (AAL)
Director name: Mr Peter Woicke
Amount purchased: 792 @ 1,951.20p
Value: £15,454

Anglo American (AAL)
Director name: Mr Phuthuma F. Nhleko
Amount purchased: 621 @ 1,951.20p
Value: £12,117

Anglo American (AAL)
Director name: Ms Anne Stevens
Amount purchased: 621 @ 1,951.20p
Value: £12,117


Top Director Sells

Abcam (ABC)
Director name: Dr Jonathan Simon Milner
Amount sold: 200,000 @ 395.00p
Value: £790,000

News Corp. 'A' Shares (NCRA)
Director name: Mr John L Thornton
Amount sold: 1,171 @ $24.55
Value: $28,748

Independent News & Media (INM)
Director name: Mr Leslie Buckley
Amount sold: 100,000 @ € 0.15
Value: € 14,950

NR

Related share prices
Anglo American (AAL) share price
Independent News & Media (INM) share price
North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) share price
Artilium (ARTA) share price
Halfords Group (HFD) share price
Abcam (ABC) share price
Vianet Group (VNET) share price