Director dealings: AO World chairman buys in for a long cycle

Cooper, who is also chairman of gifts retailer Card Factory, snapped up his first 100,000 shares in the company at a price of 169p.

AO World crashed to a 120p low after June's EU referendum result, two thirds down from its initial public offer in February 2014.

The company has been helped by positive trading in recent months, with European sales doubling in the first quarter and the core UK business getting off to a strong start too.

July's trading statement revealed the UK's year-on-year growth in AO branded UK sales of 29% and total UK revenue growth of 25%, driven predominantly by the improving reputation of the company and awareness of the brand.

"We are encouraged to report that momentum in the UK has continued, particularly with regards to gross margin and marketing costs," said chief executive John Roberts.

"We are mindful of recent economic uncertainty following Brexit and its potential effect on consumer confidence and foreign exchange exposure of our suppliers but, despite this, our expectations for the UK business, over the whole financial year, remain unchanged."

Top Director Buys

Ao World (AO.)
Director name: Cooper,Geoff
Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 169.00p
Value: £169,000.01

Abcam (ABC)
Director name: Patten,Louise
Amount purchased: 12,378 @ 836.00p
Value: £103,480.08

Abcam (ABC)
Director name: Hennessy,Murray
Amount purchased: 5,895 @ 837.11p
Value: £49,347.64

Marwyn Value Investors Limited (MVI)
Director name: Hobbs ,Ronald
Amount purchased: 30,000 @ 143.00p
Value: £42,900.00

Hornby (HRN)
Director name: Cooke,Steve
Amount purchased: 97,000 @ 35.70p
Value: £34,629.00

Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Score,Tim
Amount purchased: 2,064 @ 737.00p
Value: £15,211.68

Reconstruction Capital Ii Ltd. (RC2)
Director name: Radoi,Mihai
Amount purchased: 50,000 @ € 0.26
Value: € 12,875.00

Keywords Studios (KWS)
Director name: Reeves,David Alan
Amount purchased: 2,400 @ 415.00p
Value: £9,960.00

Vectura Group (VEC)
Director name: Foden,Susan (Sue)
Amount purchased: 6,500 @ 139.60p
Value: £9,074.00

Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Corley,Elizabeth
Amount purchased: 685 @ 737.00p
Value: £5,048.45

Travis Perkins (TPK)
Director name: Walker,Robert M
Amount purchased: 300 @ 1,563.70p
Value: £4,691.10

Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Lewis,Joshua
Amount purchased: 395 @ $9.89
Value: $3,098.47

Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Lorimer ,Linda
Amount purchased: 394 @ $9.89
Value: $3,090.63

Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Manwani,Harish
Amount purchased: 399 @ 737.00p
Value: £2,940.63

Pearson (PSON)
Director name: Cox,Vivienne
Amount purchased: 289 @ 737.00p
Value: £2,129.93

Wyg (WYG)
Director name: Jeffcoat,David
Amount purchased: 1,692 @ $1.13
Value: $1,521.83

Mortgage Advice Bureau (holdings) (MAB1)
Director name: Imlach,Nathan James McLean
Amount purchased: 428 @ 320.00p
Value: £1,369.60

Mortgage Advice Bureau (holdings) (MAB1)
Director name: Verdin ,Richard
Amount purchased: 372 @ 320.00p
Value: £1,190.40

Wyg (WYG)
Director name: Hamer,Paul
Amount purchased: 1,107 @ $1.14
Value: $999.97

Travis Perkins (TPK)
Director name: Rogers ,Christopher
Amount purchased: 54 @ 1,563.70p
Value: £844.40

Travis Perkins (TPK)
Director name: Anderson,Ruth
Amount purchased: 53 @ 1,563.70p
Value: £828.76

Travis Perkins (TPK)
Director name: McConville,Coline
Amount purchased: 53 @ 1,563.70p
Value: £828.76

Travis Perkins (TPK)
Director name: Redfern,Peter
Amount purchased: 50 @ 1,563.70p
Value: £781.85

Travis Perkins (TPK)
Director name: Rogers,John
Amount purchased: 43 @ 1,563.70p
Value: £672.39

Top Director Sells

3i Group (III)
Director name: Wilson,Julia
Amount sold, share plan: 64,381 @ 639.04p
Value: £411,420.34

Smiths Group (SMIN)
Director name: O'Shea,Chris
Amount sold, vesting bonus: 17,600 @ 1,453.27p
Value: £255,775.48