Director Dealings

SHARES in media services company Dawson Holdings have performed poorly over the past year as its clients cut spending in a difficult trading environment.

The company supplies newspapers and magazines to airlines, academic books to universities and also provides marketing point of sale materials and fulfilment services.

Last week chief executive Hugh Cawley and chairman Nigel Freer both increased their stakes in the business.

Freer bought 100,000 shares at 4.5p and Cawley bought 130,000 at the same price.

• Sarah Haran, an executive director at Glasgow hosting business Iomart, has sold 100,000 shares at 57p. She now holds 1.1 million shares in the group.

• Marie-Louise Clayton, a non-executive director at Forth Ports, has bought her first shares in the business. She purchased 1,000 shares at 1120p each.

• Rodger Pannone, a non-executive director at biopharmaceutical group Renovo, has become the latest director to increase their stake in the firm. He more than doubled his holding with the purchase of 40,000 shares at 26p each. He now holds 93,750.

• Bart Becht, chief executive of household products giant Reckitt Benckiser, has sold 6.5m worth of shares. He disposed of 200,000 shares at 3250.25p and also gifted 150,000 shares to a charitable trust. He still retains a stake of just over 1.68m shares.

• Francisco Soler, chairman of infection and contamination control business Tristel, has bought 200,000 shares at 51.5p each from chief executive Paul Swinney. Soler now owns just over 7m shares in the company and Swinney 1.16m.

• Two directors at Liverpool-based fund managers Midas Capital have increased their holdings.

Martin Gray bought 257,487 shares at 16p and Colin Rutherford bought 350,000 shares at a similar price. They together own more than three million shares in the company.

• Paul Hewitt, the husband of Moss Bros Group director Debbie Hewitt, has bought 48,485 shares at 26p each in the menswear business. The purchase increased the couple's stake to 295,265 shares.

• Two directors of financial software group Fidessa have sold most of their shares ahead of possible changes to capital gains tax rules.

Chief executive Chris Aspinwall sold 500,000 shares and chairman John Hamer sold 260,000 shares, all at 13 each. The pair said they intend to repurchase shares in the group after any rule changes to CGT.