Smaller stake in butchers earns shareholders £1.71m

PROMINENT shareholders at AIM-listed butchers Crawshaw Group took some of their pigs to market as they sold shares worth £1.71m.

Colin Crawshaw, who built his father’s butchers shop into a chain, raised £1.16m as he sold nearly one-third of his shareholding and reduced his stake to 5.4%. Last month he stepped down as buying director of the group and will begin his retirement when a replacement is appointed.

He was joined by three directors in completing share deals – managing director Kevin Boyd sold shares worth £348,000, outgoing finance director Linda Sheratt raised £174,000, and non-executive director Mark Naughton-Rumbo sold £29,000 shares.

Crawshaw Group’s share price has been volatile recently, falling from 56p last December to to 37.5p in February. Its fortunes have improved since then, following the group’s new chief executive, former chief operating officer of Lidl Noel Collett, starting work in March and the £3.9m acquisition of North West rival Gabbotts Farm in April.

Its share price went past 56p in mid-May, where it has stayed, valuing the company at £46.5m.