Tech entrepreneur MacSween sells 3.6m Iomart shares

Angus MacSween, the technology entrepreneur who is also both the founder and Chief Executive of Iomart, the UK's largest cloud-computing company, is set to pocket 10m pounds after selling around 3.6m shares. The transaction, which was made on the same day the firm completed one of its largest acquisitions, was made alongside similar sales by Finance Director Richard Logan and Chief Operating Officer Sarah Haran, who disposed of 272,727 and 381,818 shares, respectively. The sales were made via an accelerated placing, which was organised by MacSween to enable him to rebalance his personal portfolio and utilise his entrepreneurs' tax relief. He retained a considerable stake of around 15% and has agreed not to sell any further shares for the foreseeable future and no earlier than the release of the publication of the final results for the year ended March 31st 2015. Glasgow-headquartered Iomart revealed it had acquired Leeds-based cloud data backup and disaster recovery services provider Backup Technology (BTL) for £17.5m cash and £3.5m in new shares, with a further £2m cash payable on January 31st. The board said it believed the placing would be of benefit to the company by increasing both the free float and the liquidity of its shares.Iomart also revealed trading was in line with current market expectations, with a "strong" first months of the new year and profits "substantially" ahead of the comparative period last year. House broker Peel Hunt had forecast $14m profit before tax for the full year.Profitable BTL will contribute to this further, having made £2.4m earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2012 from a client list that includes Siemens, British Red Cross, Lloyds Register, Suzuki, Pernod Ricard and Liverpool Football Club.Top Director BuysPrudential (PRU) Director name: Mr Mike WellsAmount purchased: 2,266 @ 1,178.54p Value: £26,706Intercede Group (IGP) Director name: Mr Richard Arthur ParrisAmount purchased: 23,290 @ 110.00p Value: £25,619Intercede Group (IGP) Director name: Mr Richard Arthur ParrisAmount purchased: 23,000 @ 106.00p Value: £24,380Prudential (PRU) Director name: Mr Barry StoweAmount purchased: 1,242 @ 1,178.54p Value: £14,637Anglo American (AAL) Director name: Mr Phuthuma F. NhlekoAmount purchased: 784 @ 1,519.02p Value: £11,909NR