Ladbrokes non-executive John Kelly – who was the founder and chief executive of Gala Coral Group – has bought nearly £25,000 of shares in the bookmaker.
He took 18,041 shares in the company at 137.9p, making it his first investment in the firm even though he joined the board over a year ago, in September 2010.
He stepped down as the chairman of his previous bingo, casino and bookmaking company in 2009, receiving an OBE for services to the gambling industry.
His investment in Ladbrokes is accompanied by a good run for the firm’s shares, after a third quarter update. Revenues were up by 2.5% in the three months to the end of September.
Kelly commented: “The economic climate in the UK remains challenging and whilst we expect this to continue we are confident in our strategy and remain in line with the board’s expectations for 2011.
“We are making good progress on the delivery of our operational and technology milestones and look forward to sharing more detail on these at the full year.”
While on the topic of shares, we thouhgt we’d provide you with a nice a list of the top Director Buys and Sells:
Top Director Buys (£)
UK Select Trust Ltd. (UKT)
Director name: Mr James M Le Pelley
Amount purchased: 535,102 @ 121.25p
Value: £648,811
Ladbrokes (LAD)
Director name: Mr John Kelly OBE
Amount purchased: 18,041 @ 137.87p
Value: £24,873
Utilico Investments Ltd (DI) (UTL)
Director name: Mr J. Michael Collier
Amount purchased: 14,540 @ 150.50p
Value: £21,883
Top Director Sells ($)
News Corp. ‘A’ Shares (NCRA)
Director name: Mr Jose Maria Aznar
Amount sold: 21,761 @ $17.20
Value: $374,289
News Corp. ‘A’ Shares (NCRA)
Director name: Mr Thomas James Perkins
Amount sold: 21,761 @ $17.20
Value: $374,289
News Corp. ‘A’ Shares (NCRA)
Director name: Mr Kenneth Cowley
Amount sold: 19,233 @ $17.20
Value: $330,808
