Director dealings: Independent Investment Trust chairman lowers stake

Douglas McDougall, chairman of the Edinburgh-based Independent Investment Trust, disposed of 25,000 ordinary shares in the firm on Monday, collecting £185,000 in the process.

McDougall, who was a partner in Baillie Gifford and Co from 1969 until his retirement in 1999, let go of the shares at a cost of 172p each.

In its most recent trading year, Independent Investment Trust generated a net asset value total return of 54.8%, a performance the company said was, by some margin, the "best annual result in the history of the Independent".

Earnings per share for the year were 9.2p, up from the 7.93p it posted a year prior, leading the group to recommend a final dividend of 4p per share given the "buoyancy" of its revenue account and an "encouraging outlook".

As of 1420 BST, shares had ticked up 0.55% to 747.12p.

Top Director Buys

The City Pub Group (CPC)

Director name: Mr Clive Watson

Amount purchased: 20,000 @ 172.00p

Value: £34,400

StatPro Group (SOG)

Director name: Mr Justin Wheatley

Amount purchased: 17,050 @ 157.50p

Value: £26,854

STV Group (STVG)

Director name: Mr George Watt

Amount purchased: 6,038 @ 325.00p

Value: £19,624

The City Pub Group (CPC)

Director name: Mr Alexander Derrick

Amount purchased: 6,104 @ 170.00p

Value: £10,377

Top Director Sells

Independent Inv Trust (IIT)

Director name: Mr Douglas Christopher Patrick McDougall

Amount sold: 25,000 @ 742.00p

Value: £185,500

STV Group (STVG)

Director name: Mr George Watt

Amount sold: 6,000 @ 315.00p

Value: £18,900