Director’s buy-in sparks share price spike

Alexander Anton, non-executive director of Victoria

Shares in manufacturer Victoria have jumped up 25% in two days following the £1m-plus share purchase by non-executive director Alexander Anton.

Victoria’s shares closed at 326p on Thursday on the Alternative Investment Market, but climbed to 413p last night – adding more than £100m to the company’s market value.

Anton invested £1.22m in share purchases on Wednesday and Thursday last week, buying at 321p and 320p as the shares hit a three-year low.

Alexander Anton is the former chairman of Victoria Carpets and the great-grandson of one of the carpet maker’s founding partners.

The Kidderminster-based group, which makes floorcoverings, has endured a difficult few months on the markets after a botched plan to refinance caused its shares to fall by more than one-third last October.

Despite robust updates in November and February, investors took a dim view of the company’s decision to grow market share instead of profits and its share price had continued to slide.

Victoria is the largest manufacturer of carpet in the UK and the second largest in Australia, as well as the largest manufacturer of underlay in both countries.

Last month Victoria told the stock market that it estimated the market in the UK and Australia was down 6-8% and was showing no growth in Europe.

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