Insider: these FTSE 100 and AIM directors spend £1.1m on shares

Eleven directors serving on the boards of THG Ordinary Share (LSE:THG) and ITM Power (LSE:ITM) have backed their companies for an upturn in fortunes by spending £560,000 on shares at multi-year low prices.

THG chair Charles Allen led the buying with an investment of £250,000, while four other non-executive directors of the e-commerce firm staked £150,000 of their money.

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Their dealings took place on Wednesday at prices between 45.7p and 47.6p, close to a two-year low and less than the recent 49p placing price when THG raised £95.4 million to fund the demerger of its Ingenuity digital services operation.

The planned split will leave THG with its profitable and cash generative Beauty and Nutrition operations, which trade under brands including Lookfantastic and Myprotein.

In the short-term, the Nutrition division continues to face headwinds from whey prices, currency movements and elevated discounting. But Bank of America said last month it continues to see longer-term demerger benefits after highlighting a price target of 85p.

It said the remaining THG business offered “a clearer equity story” through superior margins, free cash flow generation and a cleaner balance sheet. Jefferies has a price target of 100p.

Some £33 million of the fundraising proceeds came from existing shareholders, including chief executive and founder Matt Moulding, alongside a £10 million investment from Frasers Group.

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At ITM Power, chief executive Dennis Schulz led the buying with a £50,000 purchase as six directors last week invested a total of £160,000 in the AIM-listed green hydrogen firm.

The other buyers included chair Roger Bone and Andrew Allen, who is stepping down as chief financial officer in the new year but staying with the company in a different role.

Their purchases took place on Wednesday and Thursday at prices between 40p and 43.6p, having seen shares fall from 68p in the summer and 350p when energy security concerns boosted interest in the sector in early 2022.

The shares were 50p when ITM listed in 2004 as London’s first hydrogen-related stock.

Following two decades focused on R&D and innovation, Sheffield-based ITM is now a high-volume manufacturer that works with industrial, energy and transport companies including Shell, Tokyo Gas, RWE and its major shareholder Linde.

Presenting results in August, Schulz said his first full financial year at ITM had seen significant progress in the company’s transformation into a “credible delivery organisation”.

He has narrowed the portfolio so that the core electrolyser product is capable of mass manufacture, with the same stack technology in projects of any size and region.

Schulz added: “We also have achieved a shift in culture of doing things right the first time, and prioritising quality over quantity, which is becoming increasingly evident in our day-to-day operations.”

Underlying losses decreased to one third of the previous year at £30.4 million, while revenues grew threefold to £16.5 million. Net cash was materially ahead of expectations at £230 million.

This year’s revenues are expected to be between £18 million and £22 million but would have been £35-40 million without customer delays. It sees the loss widening to £35 million, reflecting the impact of factory loading and cost absorption.

Peel Hunt recently reduced its near-term forecasts to reflect evidence that green hydrogen equipment orders across the industry are taking longer to scale than first thought.

However, the broker has a price target of 120p and said ITM was “in better shape than at any time in its history”.

It added: “Whilst the green hydrogen equipment market is yet to reach a “tipping point” we believe ITM is laying down the foundations and ambition to be a globally recognised product leader.”

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In the FTSE 100 index, GSK (LSE:GSK) shares received £100,000 of boardroom support after this week’s sales figures for key vaccines Shingrix and Arexvy caused disquiet in the City.

The purchase involving chair Jonathan Symonds took place at 1,393.6p, near to the low point for the year after the negative reaction to a quarterly update earlier in the day.

Vaccine sales fell 15% in the results, with shingles jab Shingrix and new respiratory syncytial virus product Arexvy both below forecasts. GSK offset the setback through strong sales in oncology and a forecast-beating performance in general medicine.

It reiterated 2024 guidance, with the promise of a 60p a share dividend for the year set to include the 9 January payment of 15p a share worth £612 million.

The shares trade at a 33% discount to EU peers, despite the company recently ending two years of litigation uncertainty over heartburn drug Zantac. Shares closed the week at 1,417.5p, which compares with UBS’s price target of 1,580p and Shore Capital’s 2,200p.

Elsewhere in the top flight, the cheapest Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (LSE:BKG) shares in a year have prompted boardroom buying after non-executive William Jackson disclosed a £485,000 investment.

The support for the brownfield regeneration firm follows a tough week for the sector after the Government’s fiscal plans fuelled fears that interest rates will stay high for longer. Jackson bought his shares on Thursday at 4,370p, with Berkeley closing the week at 4,424p