Bosses at WH Ireland had the company they work for in their sights today as they splashed out thousands of pounds on shares in the stockbroker.

Chief executive Paul Compton was the biggest spender, taking 670,448 shares at 50p a time. The purchase, which set him back £335,174, takes his holding to 920,338 shares, nearly 5% of the company.

Chairman Rupert Lowe took 182,500 shares at the same price and now has an almost identical holding to Lowe. John Scott upped his holding to 124,575 shares with the purchase of 50,000 at 50p, while Alan Kershaw took his first stake of 20,000, also paying 50p.

WH Ireland, which traces its heritage back to the old Manchester stock exchange, made pre-tax loss of £0.3m in the 12 months to November, much less than the £2.1m deficit reported the year before.

Turnover fell 25% to £18.4m, but the new financial year has started well, in line with the firm's internal budget and much better than for the previous year.

"Overall, I would say that the year ended with WH Ireland being in much better shape than it has been in recent years, but it is just the 'end of the beginning' rather than cause for congratulation," boss Compton, who joined the company last year, said.

Top Director Buys

W H Ireland Group (WHI)
Director name: Mr Christopher Paul Compton
Amount purchased: 670,348 @ 50.00p
Value: £335,174

F&C Asset Management (FCAM)
Director name: Mr Edward Bramson
Amount purchased: 250,000 @ 76.02p
Value: £190,050

Pendragon (PDG)
Director name: Mr Trevor Finn
Amount purchased: 748,730 @ 22.75p
Value: £170,336

Pendragon (PDG)
Director name: Mr Martin Shaun Casha
Amount purchased: 415,961 @ 22.75p
Value: £94,631

W H Ireland Group (WHI)
Director name: Mr Rupert J G Lowe
Amount purchased: 182,500 @ 50.00p
Value: £91,250

Augean (AUG)
Director name: Mr Jim Meredith
Amount purchased: 200,000 @ 29.93p
Value: £59,860

Avanti Communications Group (AVN)
Director name: Mr David J Williams
Amount purchased: 11,423 @ 433.00p
Value: £49,462

African Consolidated Resources (AFCR)
Director name: Mr Roy Tucker
Amount purchased: 1,000,000 @ 4.50p
Value: £45,000

PSG Solutions (PGS)
Director name: Mr Bernard Cavan Connor
Amount purchased: 200,000 @ 20.00p
Value: £40,000

Graphite Enterprise Trust (GPE)
Director name: Mr Andrew D Pomfret
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ 367.00p
Value: £36,700


Top Director Sells

Kingfisher (KGF)
Director name: Mr Ian Cheshire
Amount sold: 624,588 @ 258.24p
Value: £1,612,936

Carillion (CLLN)
Director name: Mr John McDonough
Amount sold: 65,791 @ 381.60p
Value: £251,058

Senior (SNR)
Director name: Mr Simon Nicholls
Amount sold: 133,741 @ 156.39p
Value: £209,158

Carillion (CLLN)
Director name: Mr Richard Adam
Amount sold: 42,446 @ 381.60p
Value: £161,974

Tikit Group (TIK)
Director name: Mr David Lumsden
Amount sold: 30,000 @ 259.50p
Value: £77,850

Related share prices
Kingfisher (KGF) share price
Senior (SNR) share price
Graphite Enterprise Trust (GPE) share price
F&C Asset Management (FCAM) share price
Pendragon (PDG) share price
Carillion (CLLN) share price
W H Ireland Group (WHI) share price
Tikit Group (TIK) share price
PSG Solutions (PGS) share price
Augean (AUG) share price
African Consolidated Resources (AFCR) share price
Avanti Communications Group (AVN) share price