Crest Nicholson chief cashes in

April 21, 2017

by: Jonas Crosland and Harriet Russell, Investors Chronicle

Crest Nicholson chief executive Stephen Stone has sold 400,000 shares in the company, raising £2.2m, but shareholders should not be too concerned: he still owns about 3.7m shares.

The housebuilder remains in good shape, reaching sales of £1bn which represents a 90 per cent increase in revenues since 2013 when the company was relisted. And despite the uncertainty generated by the forthcoming Brexit process, it maintains its target of building 4,000 homes a year and sales of £1.4bn by 2019.

Crest Nicholson recently attracted controversy by deciding to push ahead with a share award scheme for top executives despite more than half the votes cast at the AGM voting down the proposal. The scheme, which could see Mr Stone receive a share bonus worth £812,000, attracted criticism because profit targets had been lowered.

Although shares are riding high in British American Tobacco, the group’s proposed acquisition of the remaining stake in Reynolds American is still shrouded in mystery. The company’s globally diverse business model has helped it enormously in volatile currency markets — something that would be enhanced should the deal receive the regulatory green light. It’s said that both parties still expect the deal to close by the end of the third quarter in 2017, with Japanese antitrust authorities giving the transaction the thumbs up at the beginning of the month.

The shares — now priced at 5,305p apiece — are trading at a five-year high, but that has not stopped non-executive director Savio Kwan almost doubling his holding to the tune of more than £160,000. Mr Kwan joined the BATS board in 2014, having previously worked for General Electric, BTR and Alibaba.