Director dealings: Purplebricks shares rise after CEO purchase

Online estate agency Purplebricks saw its shares surge on Monday, as it disclosed three share purchases worth almost £0.1m made by its chief executive officer.

The AIM-traded firm said Helena Marston bought 625,785 shares for 15.9p each in the first transaction, valuing the tranche at £99,499.81.

In the second transaction, Marston spent £479.93 on 3,145 shares at 15.26p each, and in the third, 655 shares were purchased for 15.26p apiece, for a total of £99.95.

All three transactions were made on Friday, on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Following the purchases, Purplebricks said Helena Marston held 629,585 of its shares, representing 0.21% of its total issued capital.

Purplebricks shares have gradually risen since its full-year results last Tuesday, when it revealed a full-year loss as it struggled to execute a new operating model, while setting aside cash to cover problems at its lettings division.

Its shares initially slumped in the hours after those results - a move which non-executive chair Paul Pindar took advantage of by purchasing 2.5 million shares for 14.76p each.

At 1322 BST on Monday, shares in Purplebricks Group were up 7.42% at 16.65p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.