LONDON (ShareCast) - Homeserve’s chief executive Richard Harpin spent nearly £130,000 on shares in the plumbing and maintenance group today, following yesterday’s announcement of a sharp rise in pre-tax profits.

He bought 7,046 shares at £18.31 a share, and now has 11,011,640 shares in the company, a holding of nearly 17%.

Good growth in its UK membership helped Homeserve, which provides its customers with cover for emergencies such as broken boilers and burst pipes, lift pre-tax profits to £71.8m from £61.1m. Revenue rose 16% to £555m.


Top Director Buys

Symphony International Holdings (SIHL)
Director name: Mr Anil Thadani
Amount purchased: 200,000 @ $0.83
Value: $166,000

Homeserve (HSV)
Director name: Mr Richard Harpin
Amount purchased: 7,046 @ 1,831.00p
Value: £129,012

British Polythene (BPI)
Director name: Mr C McLatchie
Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 234.50p
Value: £117,250

Alliance Trust (ATST)
Director name: Mrs Lesley M S Knox
Amount purchased: 8,000 @ 351.00p
Value: £28,080

Vertu Motors (VTU)
Director name: Mr Robert Forrester
Amount purchased: 35,000 @ 43.00p
Value: £15,050


Top Director Sells

RPS Group (RPS)
Director name: Mr Alan Hearne
Amount sold: 178,417 @ 336.80p
Value: £600,908

RPS Group (RPS)
Director name: Mr Peter Dowen
Amount sold: 86,331 @ 336.80p
Value: £290,763

RPS Group (RPS)
Director name: Mr Andrew Troup
Amount sold: 75,540 @ 336.80p
Value: £254,419

RPS Group (RPS)
Director name: Mr Gary Young
Amount sold: 66,906 @ 336.80p
Value: £225,339

Gem Diamonds (GEMD)
Director name: Mr Gavin Beevers
Amount sold: 10,000 @ 1,166.00p
Value: £116,600

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