Reed Elsevier's new CFO puts some skin in the game

Nick Luff, newly appointed as chief financial officer of Anglo-Dutch business publisher Reed Elsevier, has confidently splashed out on shares in the company after he began his first week.

Nick Luff, newly appointed as chief financial officer of Anglo-Dutch business publisher Reed Elsevier, has confidently splashed out on shares in the company after he began his first week.

Luff put considerable skin in the game with the purchase of £171,183-worth of London-listed shares at 996p plus €213,236 of Amsterdam-listed NV shares at €17.6 per share.

Shares in the company are up 10% in the year to date, with July's interim results providing encouragement when they arrived generally above forecast and with management optimistic.

Analysts at Bernstein recently commented that Reed was the only professional publisher in its coverage close to achieving the required level of growth in 2014 to drive sustainable margin expansion.

However, it rated the shares 'underperform' with target prices of £7.00 and €12.00 for its Plc and NV listings.

Top Director Buys

Shanta Gold Ltd. (SHG)

Director name: Mr Robin Anthony Fryer
Amount purchased: 120,000 @ 1,275.00p
Value: £1,530,000

Reed Elsevier (REL)

Director name: Mr N L Luff
Amount purchased: 17,187 @ 996.00p
Value: £171,183

OH