Board show support for Ark Therapeutics

ARK Therapeutics, a specialist healthcare firm focused on cancer and vascular disease, recently announced an improved financial performance.

Operating losses last year narrowed to £4.4 million, down from £17m in 2010, on the back of an increase in revenues to £7.1m from £757,000.

Shares in the company have posted small gains in the past year but board members clearly believe the prospects for further progress are good.

Following the results, four directors increased their holdings in the company with purchases of shares at a price around 360p each.

Chief executive Martyn Williams, bought 274,000 shares, chairman Iain Ross bought 822,000, non-executive Dr David Bloxham bought 273,972 and fellow non-executive Charles Spicer purchased 551,390.

≤ Richard Shead, executive chairman of mining group Oxus Gold, has sold 500,000 shares at 5.14p each. He still retains a stake of more than 4.69 million shares in the company.

≤ Mark Wells, a non-executive director at process automation group Kofax, has bought 15,000 shares at 302p each. Last month the company reported a 31 per cent fall in profit for the last quarter of the year.

≤ Johan Lundgren, deputy chief executive of travel group TUI, has sold 124,777 shares at 193.54p each. He still owns a total of 882,964 shares. Lundgren said the sale was made to cover tax liabilities relating to his move from Sweden to the UK in 2009.

≤ Dougie Sutherland, an executive director at construction advisory firm Interserve, has topped up his stake by snapping up 6,700 shares at 294.8p each. His £19,752 purchase takes his holding in the company to 19,273 shares or 0.015 per cent. Sutherland is managing director of Interserve’s developments arm.