Sharewatch: Malcolm Walker builds IRC holding; new McBride chief buys

RETAILER Malcolm Walker, the founder of the Iceland frozen food chain, has continued to increase his stake in the Individual Restaurant Company.

The company was notified on May 12 that he spent around £110,000 on 867,191 shares priced at 13p.

It takes his stake to 21.75% and follows a trade last month when he bought an extra 500,000 shares in the company, which operates the Piccolino and Restaurant Bar & Grill brands.

IRC, which was founded by entrepreneur Steven Walker – who is not related to Malcolm Walker, said earlier this month that it expects another challenging year after a tough 2009.

The company has cut costs, but protected margins by refusing to launch major promotions to drive footfall.

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THE new chief executive of toiletries manufacturer McBride has been investing heavily in the group which employs 500 people at a factory in Manchester.

Chris Bull, a former Unilever executive, was appointed on May 4. Within days he spent £169,200 on 90,000 shares at 188p, then upped his stake by a further 110,000 shares.

A total investment of £382,600 has given him 0.11% of the issued share capital.