Director dealings: Purplebricks CEO lowers stake as Axel Springer steps in
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 19 Apr 2018
(WebFG News) - Michael Bruce, chief executive officer of online realtor Purplebricks, sold 4.44m shares in the agent on Thursday in order to satisfy German publishing giant Axel Springer's £125m investment.
Bruce, who founded Purplebricks alongside his brother Kenny back in 2012, collected just shy of £16m as a result of the transaction that was just part of Axel Springer's massive 27.7m share acquisition.
"The board believes that this is a major strategic advance for the company and that Axel Springer's expertise and funding should enable Purplebricks to achieve its strategic goals and global ambition more quickly and effectively," a spokesperson said.
Axel Springer approached Purplebricks in late March regarding the acquisition of an 11.5% stake in the online estate agent after it warned full-year revenues would be 5% below estimates.
In addition to the purchase of Bruce's personal shares, the investment included a £100m subscription for new shares to be used so that the group may enter new markets, including an accelerated rollout in the US.
Purplebricks noted that UK market conditions had been subdued "due to some underlying macro issues and exacerbated by the recent periods of poor weather" and that, as a consequence, group revenues would be around 5% lower than its consensus of £98m.
As of 1620 BST, shares had advanced 1.54% to 329.80p.
Top Director Buys
UBM (UBM)
Director name: Mr Greg Lock
Amount purchased: 3,362 @ 979.00p
Value: £32,914
Shanta Gold Ltd. (SHG)
Director name: Mr Anthony Durrant
Amount purchased: 423,888 @ 6.00p
Value: £25,433
Time Out Group (TMO)
Director name: Mr Julio Bruno Castellanos
Amount purchased: 21,500 @ 116.00p
Value: £24,940
Clearstar Inc. (DI) (CLSU)
Director name: Mr Barney Quinn
Amount purchased: 33,660 @ 44.00p
Value: £14,810
Shanta Gold Ltd. (SHG)
Director name: Mrs Keith Marshall
Amount purchased: 219,794 @ 6.00p
Value: £13,188
Shanta Gold Ltd. (SHG)
Director name: Mr Ketan Patel
Amount purchased: 219,794 @ 6.00p
Value: £13,188
Top Director Sells
Purplebricks Group (PURP)
Director name: Mr Michael Bruce
Amount sold: 4,444,444 @ 360.00p
Value: £15,999,998
Purplebricks Group (PURP)
Director name: Mr Will Whitehorn
Amount sold: 225,000 @ 360.00p
Value: £810,000
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