Director dealings: Ashley House expecting progress

HEALTH and social care property company Ashley House has seen its share price almost halve in the past year.

At the time of its last results, chairman William Wells said its core healthcare market continued to be slow due to the ongoing reform process and decision-making around primary care premises.

But the company said it had started to gain some traction in new markets, “reinforcing the board’s view that although this and next year will be fairly flat, growth will return in the medium term”.

Last week, purchases by five directors, including Wells, suggested that progress is continuing. They both bought 50,000 shares at 10p each.

n Roger Mather, group finance director of luxury goods maker Mulberry, has sold 1,140 shares at 2,030p each. He still retains a stake of 12,398 shares.

n David Weill, a non-executive director at GCM Resources, has purchased 8,500 shares at 94p each to increase his stake to 27,250 shares.

n Harold Mitchell, a director of market research group Aegis, has sold 650,000 shares at around 180p a share. He still owns more than 43 million shares.

n John Whittaker, deputy chairman of Capital Shopping Centres, has increased his holding with the purchase of 28,250 shares at 324.80p each.

n David Jacob, managing director of investment management at funds group Henderson, has sold 429,000 shares at 120p. He still holds more than 2.4 million shares.