FirstGroup FD buys initial stake

Recently appointed FirstGroup finance director Jeff Carr has not let the industrial dispute at the bus and train operator's Thameslink subsidiary put him off buying his first shares in the group. Carr spent £58,198 on 15,000 shares. Carr was previously finance director of budget airline easyJet. He has also worked in the finance area for Associated British Foods plc, Reckitt Benckiser, Grand Metropolitan and Unilever. In August, Carr sold all his shares in easyJet. He raised just over £135,000 from the sale of his existing shares and made a gain of £119,000 when he exercised options and immediately sold them. He has invested less than one-quarter of this cash in his FirstGroup shares. Last week, FirstGroup reported a 44% fall in profits to £30.3m in the six months to September 2009, even though revenues rose from £2.77bn to £2.9bn. The company hopes to achieve £200m of annual cost savings this year. Top Director BuysFirstGroup (FGP) Director name: Mr Jeff Carr Amount purchased: 15,000 @ 387.99p Value: £58,198Wolseley (WOS) Director name: Mr Alain Le GoffAmount purchased: 3,000 @ 1,363.67p Value: £40,910Frenkel Topping (FEN) Director name: Ms Julie DeanAmount purchased: 663,000 @ 3.00p Value: £19,890Top Director SellsJardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Adam Phillip Charles KeswickAmount sold: 10,000 @ $29.53 Value: $295,312Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Benjamin William KeswickAmount sold: 10,000 @ $29.53 Value: $295,312Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr Simon L KeswickAmount sold: 10,000 @ $29.53 Value: $295,312Jardine Matheson (Singapore) (JAR) Director name: Mr E P K WeatherallAmount sold: 10,000 @ $29.53 Value: $295,312Frenkel Topping (FEN) Director name: Mr Richard FraserAmount sold: 663,000 @ 3.00p Value: £19,890 Jardine Math.sr Firstgroup Frenkel Topping