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LONDON (Alliance News) - Debenhams PLC Friday said Ian Cheshire bought his first shares in the company after the department store chain appointed him as its chairman elect.
Cheshire marked his arrival at the FTSE 250 listed constituent with a 400,000 share purchase at 78.3p each, which is his only holding.
He will take over the chairmanship from Nigel Northridge on April 7 and was previously the chief executive of Kingfisher PLC from 2008 to February 2015, when he handed over to incumbent Veronique Laury.
The company also said Chief Financial Officer Matt Smith bought 25,000 shares at 77.2852p each. He now holds 53,000 shares.
Both purchases took place on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Debenhams defied the trend of struggling clothing retailers by becoming the first of its London-listed peers to post better-than-expected sales results over the key Christmas period.
The stock was up 0.1% at 76.35p Friday.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun
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