Director dealings: Action Hotels chairman's mother checks in

Celebrated Kuwaiti poetess Sheikha Dr Souad Al-Sabah has bought £0.45m of shares in Action Hotels, the company founded and run by her son.

Chairman Sheikh Mubarak Al Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah's mother splashed out on 858,911 shares on 15 July at a price of 52.5p apiece in the company, which is an AIM-listed owner, developer and asset manager of branded hotels in the Middle East and Australia.

Dr Al-Sabah, who gained a Ph.D in economics and political sciences at Surrey University in the UK, and whose poetry works include 1994's 'Female 2000' and 'Love Poem 1' in 2003, is a member of the executive committee of the World Muslim Women Organization for South East Asia, and is on the board of trustees and executive committee of the Arab Intellect Forum.

Chairman Sheikh Mubarak recently added 116,606 more shares to take his own holding t 97.2m shares, which represents 65.82% of the company's total shares in issue.

The completion of the Ibis Styles Brisbane last year was Action's 10th hotel. In April the company said in the first quarter of 2016 it has enjoyed average occupancy at its mature hotels of 77%, while newer Premier Inn Sharjah, which opened in August 2015, already delivering an average occupancy of 79% whilst the Ibis in Bahrain achieved 60.6% for the first quarter.

Top Director Buys

Action Hotels (AHCG)
Director name: A M Al-Sabah,Mubarak
Amount purchased: 858,911 @ 52.50p
Value: £450,928.25

Bca Marketplace (BCA)
Director name: Coelewij,Piet
Amount purchased: 86,000 @ 172.70p
Value: £148,522.00

Vislink (VLK)
Director name: Hawkins,John E
Amount purchased: 1,000,000 @ 13.35p
Value: £133,499.99

St Ives (SIV)
Director name: Armitage,Matthew
Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 83.88p
Value: £83,875.00

Bca Marketplace (BCA)
Director name: Gutteridge,Stephen
Amount purchased: 25,000 @ 171.50p
Value: £42,875.00

Bca Marketplace (BCA)
Director name: Lis,David
Amount purchased: 25,000 @ 170.50p
Value: £42,625.00

Secure Trust Bank (STB)
Director name: Forsyth,Michael Bruce
Amount purchased: 1,200 @ 1,990.00p
Value: £23,880.00

Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST)
Director name: Alexander,Pam
Amount purchased: 4,777 @ 418.60p
Value: £19,996.52

Blackrock Throgmorton Trust (THRG)
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Amount purchased: 6,500 @ 299.38p
Value: £19,459.70

St Ives (SIV)
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Prime People (PRP)
Director name: Lewis,John
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Value: £15,265.00

Talktalk Telecom Group (TALK)
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Value: £303.34

Talktalk Telecom Group (TALK)
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Amount purchased: 134 @ 226.37p
Value: £303.34

Wireless Group (WLG)
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Value: £150.38

Wireless Group (WLG)
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Value: £150.38

Centaur Media (CAU)
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Value: £150.35

Centaur Media (CAU)
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Amount purchased: 388 @ 38.75p
Value: £150.35

Centaur Media (CAU)
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Amount purchased: 387 @ 38.75p
Value: £149.96