LONDON (ShareCast) - A Non-Executive Director of high-end designer Mulberry has underlined his support for troubled company with the purchase of 10,000 shares.

Steve Grapstein purchased the shares - which mark his only holding in the group - in two equal tranches.

The first half were bought for 920p, and the second for 974.55p, costing a total of £94,728.

Last month the company warned that that its financial performance this year will come in below forecasts due to weak trading since Christmas, partly as tourists spent less at its flagship stores in London.

Revenues are expected to slip to £165m, from £168m the year before, while profit before tax will drop from £36m to £26m.

The company, known for its luxury handbags, said that while retail sales over the Christmas period were in line with expectations, trading across the retail portfolio during the 10 weeks to mid-March had been "disappointing". Retail like-for-like sales are expected to grow by 6.0% in the full year, down from the 7.0% growth in the first half.

Meanwhile in Wholesale, sales are predicted to fall by 15% on last year due to its "channel rationalisation" and lower-than-expected in-season ordering.

Nevertheless, Mulberry said that the order book for the Autumn/Winter 2013 season is "building satisfactorily".


Top Director Buys

Vitec Group (VTC)
Director name: Mr Stephen Bird
Amount purchased: 15,969 @ 641.25p
Value: £102,401

IMI (IMI)
Director name: Mr Phillip Bentley
Amount purchased: 8,000 @ 1,262.00p
Value: £100,960

Vitec Group (VTC)
Director name: Mr Paul Hayes
Amount purchased: 11,046 @ 641.25p
Value: £70,832

Edge Performance VCT 'H' Shares (EDGH)
Director name: Mr David S Glick
Amount purchased: 54,572 @ 98.26p
Value: £53,622

Tristel (TSTL)
Director name: Mr Christopher Samler
Amount purchased: 256,410 @ 19.50p
Value: £50,000

Mulberry Group (MUL)
Director name: Mr Steven Grapstein
Amount purchased: 5,000 @ 974.55p
Value: £48,728

Mulberry Group (MUL)
Director name: Mr Steven Grapstein
Amount purchased: 5,000 @ 920.00p
Value: £46,000

Ophir Energy (OPHR)
Director name: Mr Ronald Blakely
Amount purchased: 8,000 @ 443.90p
Value: £35,512

City of London Inv Trust (CTY)
Director name: Mr Martin Morgan
Amount purchased: 6,600 @ 341.74p
Value: £22,555

Intertek Group (ITRK)
Director name: Mr David E Reid
Amount purchased: 507 @ 3,394.00p
Value: £17,208


Top Director Sells

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.)
Director name: Mr Ian Gorham
Amount sold: 192,372 @ 849.25p
Value: £1,633,719

Beazley (BEZ)
Director name: Mr Jonathan Gray
Amount sold: 177,145 @ 210.40p
Value: £372,713

Vitec Group (VTC)
Director name: Mr Stephen Bird
Amount sold: 51,801 @ 635.00p
Value: £328,936

Beazley (BEZ)
Director name: Mr Martin Bride
Amount sold: 147,621 @ 210.40p
Value: £310,595

Beazley (BEZ)
Director name: Mr Andrew Horton
Amount sold: 144,583 @ 210.40p
Value: £304,203

Amec (AMEC)
Director name: Mr Ian P McHoul
Amount sold: 28,628 @ 1,052.00p
Value: £301,167

Amec (AMEC)
Director name: Mr Samir Brikho
Amount sold: 21,915 @ 1,052.00p
Value: £230,546

Anite (AIE)
Director name: Mr Christopher Humphrey
Amount sold: 188,628 @ 115.19p
Value: £217,281

Beazley (BEZ)
Director name: Mr Martin Bride
Amount sold: 100,000 @ 210.40p
Value: £210,400

Vitec Group (VTC)
Director name: Mr Stephen Bird
Amount sold: 30,493 @ 641.25p
Value: £195,536

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