Director Dealings

SHARES in telecoms group Daisy have more than doubled over the past year as it continues to expand its operations through acquisitions.

The group, floated in a reverse takeover of Freedom4 which was part of the Pipex communications business, last week said it was actively looking for further acquisitions to build its market share.

The Lancashire-based company provides telecom services to small and medium-sized businesses by leasing network capacity from larger rivals such as BT and Cable and Wireless.

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Despite the strong performance of the shares, chief executive Anthony Riley last week went into the market to buy his first stake in the company. He purchased 63,210 shares at 92.5p each.

• Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive of film studios Pinewood Shepperton, has bought 10,000 shares at 153p.

• Brian Count, chairman of the renewable energy group Ceres Power, has bought 50,000 shares at 114.8p each to increase his stake to 257,850 shares. Last month, the company announced increased interim losses as revenues fell by 39 per cent.

• Eugene Baird, a non-executive director at marketing group Huntsworth, has continued to increase his holding. Last week he bought 100,000 shares at 73p each following other purchases made over the past year at prices as low as 54p.

• Wolfgang Berndt, a non-executive director at Lloyds Banking Group, has bought 51,571 shares at 66p each. He now owns one million shares in the group.

• Barry Olliff, chief executive of asset manager City of London Investment, has bought 50,000 shares at 265p a share. He now owns just under 20 per cent of the company.

• Patrick O'Sullivan, new chairman at financial services group Old Mutual, has bought his maiden stake. O'Sullivan, a former finance director of Zurich insurance, bought 100,000 shares at 120.83p each.

• Five directors of Digital Marketing Group have increased their holdings in the company. Chairman Stephen Davidson was the biggest buyer, purchasing 166,667 shares at 30p each. Four other board members bought a total of more than 210,000 shares in the digital communications company.

• Steve Hannam, chairman of Scottish sausage skin manufacturer Devro, has upped his family's holding in the group with a purchase of just over 15,000 shares at 169p each. He now holds 121,540 shares.