Director Dealings: Prognosis improving for Mediwatch

MEDICAL diagnostics company Mediwatch has managed to reduce costs in the first half of the year through outsourcing manufacturing and the completion of some of its R&D programmes.

Chairman Omer Karim said the group is continuing to explore opportunities to build its existing business as well as find additional products to add to its portfolio.

Shares in the company have more than halved over the past year and several directors went into the market to increase their holdings last week following the interim figures. Karim himself bought 91,296 shares at 2.38p and now holds 9.5 million shares

• Two directors at Glasgow-based internet group Iomart have reduced their stakes. Fred Shedden and Sarah Haran disposed of 100,000 shares each at prices between 112p and 116p. Shedden retains a stake of 664,588 shares and Haran 1.02 million.

• Tony Rice, chief executive of telecoms group Cable & Wireless Communications, has spent heavily for the second time in a month to increase his stake. He bought a million shares at 37p each to add to the 2.5 million he bought in June.

• Stephen Williams, a director at Costa Coffee and Premier Inns owner Whitbread, has more than doubled his stake in the company with the purchase of 5,000 shares at 1,580p each. n Several directors at electronics retailer Expansys went into the market following well-received results. Chief executive Anthony Catterson bought 1.6 million shares and chairman Bob Wigley bought six million shares at around 1.5p, lifting his stake to 8.4 million shares. The purchases came after the group's annual figures showed underlying profit before tax was 3.4 million in the year to 30 April, compared with a loss of 200,000 in 2010.

• Rakesh Bhasin, chief executive at telecoms company Colt has bought 200,000 shares at 119.5p each to increase his holding to 800,000 shares.

• Two directors at meat processing group Cranswick have increased their holdings. Finance director Mark Bottomley bought his first stake with the purchase of 3,500 shares at 642p each. Jim Brisby, sales and marketing director, bought 5,450 shares at the same price and now holds 35,710 shares.

• Martin Flower, chief executive of chemicals group Croda, has bought 3,000 shares at 1,892.2p each and now holds more than 25,000. His purchase came after the company released interim results showing a 30 per cent increase in half-year profits.

• Daniel Elger, chief financial officer of medical group e-Therapeutics, has bought his first stake with the purchase of 15,000 shares at 36.5p per share.