Insider: Mulberry, Telford Homes

Mulberry man bags a fortune

Upmarket handbags firm Mulberry has enjoyed something of a renaissance after a terrible few years. A drop off in demand and funding overseas growth cost the company dear in 2012, and the shares collapsed. Then, at the start of 2014, management warned that cancelled wholesale orders from Korean customers would hammer profits.

Revenue fell by £15 million, or 9% in the year to March. A large chunk of that fell straight through to the bottom line, and adjusted pre-tax profit fell from £17.4 million to just £4.5 million. That, however, was still better than expected.

Things have continued to improve since, and the arrival of chief executive Thierry Andretta in April has been well-received. Having been overly-focused on £1,000-plus bags, Mulberry's new handbags in the £500-£800 range are proving popular, and its share price is now back near January 2014 levels. Encouragingly, total retail sales for the 10 weeks to 6 June were up 17%, or 15% on a like-for-like basis.

But after rallying 60% from a low of 562p in the dark days of October last year, finance director Roger Mather has just trousered £630,000 from the sale of 70,000 shares at 900p, over £200,000 more than he would have received. He still owns 113,687 shares, currently worth £1 million plus a sackful of share options.

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Forced seller at Telford Homes

London-focused housebuilder Telford Homes has, like the rest of the sector, had a stunning purple patch lasting four years. With demand rising faster than supply, house prices in the region have gone through the roof. So have Telford's profits.

Pre-tax profit surged to £25.1 million in the 12 months to March from £19.2 million a year earlier. In 2012 Telford made just £3 million. Broker Shore capital pencils in £30.9 million for the current financial year and £43.6 million by 2018. Telford also has a development pipeline of over £1 billion of future revenue and its strongest ever forward sold position.

Predictably, demand for the shares has risen, too. Trading at 60p four years ago, they now change hands for over 400p, near a record high.

But group managing director John Fitzgerald is selling up. At Telford since 2003, the 44-year-old has just sold 150,000 shares - 100,000 at 427p last week and 50,000 at 424p in the past few days. That's netted him £639,000 and leaves him with a stake still worth a cool £1 million. But this looks like a forced sale, and the press release seems to bear that out, citing "personal financial commitments".

The sales also come less than a month after Fitzgerald exercised 160,000 share options at 75p a share.

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This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.