Property investor firm busy building up its portfolio

COMMERCIAL property investor Hansteen Holdings has been on something of a buying spree in Scotland this year.

In April it paid just over 80 million to buy a portfolio of properties owned by the collapsed Kilmartin Holdings business, and in August paid 13.5m for a further 12 properties, mainly on the east coast.

The company recently said profits in the first half of the year were up 11 per cent but also said it saw few opportunities for capital growth in current market conditions.

Last week two non-executive directors, Humphrey Price and Richard Cotton, went into the market to buy their first stake in the company, whose shares are down by around 16 per cent on year highs.

They each paid 73,500 for 100,000 shares at 73.5p each.

• Two directors at software group Pilat Media Global have increased their holdings.

Chief executive Avi Engel and non-executive Samuel Sattath each purchased 20,000 shares at 36p each. Engel now holds 1.64 million and Sattath 2.96 million.

• A trio of directors at recruitment firm Michael Page International have sold shares.

Chief executive Stephen Ingham, finance director Stephen Puckett and executive director Charles-Henri Dumon together sold more than 7m worth of shares at around 475p each. They each retain significant stakes in the company.

• Richard Kellett-Clarke, chief executive of document-scanning technology firm Idox, has increased his stake with the purchase of 150,000 shares at an average price of 12p each. He now holds a total of 5.63 million shares in the group.

• James Ede-Golightly, a non-executive director at ORA Capital Partners, has upped his holding in the investment company. He bought 19,176 shares for his Sipp at 80p each and now holds 199,176 shares.

• Paul Rackham, chairman of regeneration group Property Recycling, has bought 200,000 shares at 12p each to take his holding up to 23.9 million shares.

• Grahame Gibson, chief operating officer of security group G4S, has reduced his stake with the sale of 180,000 shares at 265.81p each.

• Cheung Wai Sun, an executive director at plantation owner Asian Citrus, has banked more than 6.7m from a share sale.

He sold 90,000 shares at around 75p each. The sale came after the company last week posted a strong rise in profits.

• Deena Mattar, outgoing finance director of building and civil engineering group Kier, has sold shares from her family's holding for the third time in recent weeks. The latest disposal saw her sell 7,500 shares for 12.24 each.