Mulberry non-executive opens account

A Non-Executive Director of high-end designer Mulberry has underlined his support for troubled company with the purchase of 10,000 shares. Steve Grapstein purchased the shares - which mark his only holding in the group - in two equal tranches.The first half were bought for 920p, and the second for 974.55p, costing a total of £94,728. Last month the company warned that that its financial performance this year will come in below forecasts due to weak trading since Christmas, partly as tourists spent less at its flagship stores in London. Revenues are expected to slip to £165m, from £168m the year before, while profit before tax will drop from £36m to £26m. The company, known for its luxury handbags, said that while retail sales over the Christmas period were in line with expectations, trading across the retail portfolio during the 10 weeks to mid-March had been "disappointing". Retail like-for-like sales are expected to grow by 6.0% in the full year, down from the 7.0% growth in the first half. Meanwhile in Wholesale, sales are predicted to fall by 15% on last year due to its "channel rationalisation" and lower-than-expected in-season ordering. Nevertheless, Mulberry said that the order book for the Autumn/Winter 2013 season is "building satisfactorily". Top Director BuysVitec Group (VTC) Director name: Mr Stephen BirdAmount purchased: 15,969 @ 641.25p Value: £102,401IMI (IMI) Director name: Mr Phillip BentleyAmount purchased: 8,000 @ 1,262.00p Value: £100,960Vitec Group (VTC) Director name: Mr Paul HayesAmount purchased: 11,046 @ 641.25p Value: £70,832Edge Performance VCT 'H' Shares (EDGH) Director name: Mr David S GlickAmount purchased: 54,572 @ 98.26p Value: £53,622Tristel (TSTL) Director name: Mr Christopher SamlerAmount purchased: 256,410 @ 19.50p Value: £50,000Mulberry Group (MUL) Director name: Mr Steven GrapsteinAmount purchased: 5,000 @ 974.55p Value: £48,728Mulberry Group (MUL) Director name: Mr Steven GrapsteinAmount purchased: 5,000 @ 920.00p Value: £46,000Ophir Energy (OPHR) Director name: Mr Ronald BlakelyAmount purchased: 8,000 @ 443.90p Value: £35,512City of London Inv Trust (CTY) Director name: Mr Martin MorganAmount purchased: 6,600 @ 341.74p Value: £22,555Intertek Group (ITRK) Director name: Mr David E ReidAmount purchased: 507 @ 3,394.00p Value: £17,208Top Director SellsHargreaves Lansdown (HL.) Director name: Mr Ian GorhamAmount sold: 192,372 @ 849.25p Value: £1,633,719Beazley (BEZ) Director name: Mr Jonathan GrayAmount sold: 177,145 @ 210.40p Value: £372,713Vitec Group (VTC) Director name: Mr Stephen BirdAmount sold: 51,801 @ 635.00p Value: £328,936Beazley (BEZ) Director name: Mr Martin BrideAmount sold: 147,621 @ 210.40p Value: £310,595Beazley (BEZ) Director name: Mr Andrew HortonAmount sold: 144,583 @ 210.40p Value: £304,203Amec (AMEC) Director name: Mr Ian P McHoulAmount sold: 28,628 @ 1,052.00p Value: £301,167Amec (AMEC) Director name: Mr Samir BrikhoAmount sold: 21,915 @ 1,052.00p Value: £230,546Anite (AIE) Director name: Mr Christopher HumphreyAmount sold: 188,628 @ 115.19p Value: £217,281Beazley (BEZ) Director name: Mr Martin BrideAmount sold: 100,000 @ 210.40p Value: £210,400Vitec Group (VTC) Director name: Mr Stephen BirdAmount sold: 30,493 @ 641.25p Value: £195,536NR