Insider: four recovery bets plus FTSE 100 chief pockets £29m

Recovery optimism in the boardrooms of Dr. Martens Ordinary Shares (LSE:DOCS), Wizz Air Holdings (LSE:WIZZ), DFS Furniture (LSE:DFS) and Videndum (LSE:VID) has been matched by directors spending a combined £220,000 on shares.

Friday’s disclosure of insider purchases involving the low-cost airline and the film industry supplier boosted City confidence as their shares rose by 8% and 9% respectively.

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Wizz board member Anthony Radev, who has been a non-executive director since April 2021, spent £83,000 on an increased stake at a price of 1,350p.

The shares, which closed on Friday at 1,523p, fell 53% to as low as 1,170p between June and mid-September after the FTSE 250 carrier cut annual profit guidance alongside first quarter results on 1 August.

It reported a 44% drop in operating profit but chief executive József Váradi also backed a return to annual capacity growth in the 2026 financial year, underpinned by Airbus deliveries.

The £50,000 Videndum purchase by chair Stephen Harris was made after shares fell by a fifth to as low as 224.5p on the back of downgraded guidance in half-year results.

The former FTSE 250 company, which used to be known as Vitec, said the recovery of the cine and scripted TV market following last year’s strikes by US writers and screen actors, was taking longer than anticipated.

Economic conditions have also impacted the consumer and independent content creator segment, although the company behind the brands Autocue and Colorama has cut costs and is eyeing a return to more normalised conditions in the next financial year.

Chief executive Stephen Bird added: “Videndum remains well positioned in attractive markets with good medium-term prospects."

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The buying of DFS Furniture shares by non-executive director Bruce Marsh took place on Thursday at 123.8p, a move worth £37,000. A day earlier the sofa retailer reported a 66% fall in underlying profits due to Red Sea supply chain disruption and weak consumer confidence.

The dividend is on hold, but DFS expects a gradual market recovery in the current financial year, supported by the housing sector upturn and growth in real household disposable incomes.

Its upbeat tone, which follows a 20% decline in the upholstery market from its pre-pandemic level, has been supported by a return to growth in order intake in the past 12 weeks.

Chief executive Tim Stacey said: “Despite the challenges that the business has seen, we are optimistic for the future and see signs that market growth could soon return.”

Broker Peel Hunt has a price target of 200p and said the current valuation did not reflect any form of recovery.

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The share buying at Dr Martens involved a purchase of £30,000 by non-executive Andrew Harrison and one of £16,620 connected to new finance boss Giles Wilson.

The investments at the FTSE 250-listed bootmaker were at prices near to a record low between 51p and 55p, down from just below 100p in April and the 370p when the company was valued at £3.7 billion in its January 2021 flotation.

American logistics disruption and weak consumer demand has contributed to a series of profit warnings, although there was relief for investors in July when the company said the new financial year had started in line with expectations.

This year is forecast to be one of transition, with a target to return to direct-to-consumer growth in the United States in the second half. The shares finished the week strongly, closing at 56.6p amid stimulus measures in one of its seven global priority markets of China.

What happens next?

Next (LSE:NXT) chief executive Simon Wolfson has capitalised on the FTSE 100 retailer’s record valuation by raising £29.4 million through a series of share sales.

The disposal of 290,000 shares took place over a four-day period up to Tuesday, starting the day after Next lifted its full-year profit guidance by another £15 million to £995 million.

The latest in a series of recent City upgrades by Next followed a sales performance materially ahead of expectation in the first six weeks of the second half-year.

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Wolfson’s dealings, which were disclosed to the market at midday on Friday, took place at between 10,003p and 10,156p. That compares with 10,390p after the interim results.

The long-serving chief executive also made a disposal after January’s forecast-beating Christmas trading update, when he netted £5 million at a price of 8,430p.

In November 2020, he raised £10 million by selling shares at 6,787p after a strong recovery from the hit at the onset of the Covid pandemic. At the time, the company said the move would allow him to “spread his investments into other non-retail areas.”

Wolfson has run the business for more than two decades, building up a shareholding of 1.4 million directly owned shares by the time of the 2023/24 annual report. Based on Friday’s closing price and the sale of 290,000 shares, his holding exceeds £100 million.