Directors' Deals: Chiefs sell as Intertek tests new highs

A new high for the shares of Intertek Testing Services, which tests products for retailers and manufacturers, coincided with big sales by Richard Nelson, the firm’s chief executive, and Bill Spencer, the finance director.

Nelson sold 1m shares last week at 605p to raise just over £6m. Spencer sold 128,000 shares at the same price, netting a little under £800,000.

Last week’s sale is Nelson’s second in a year. He sold 1.7m shares at 456p 12 months ago. The latest sale cuts his direct holding to 732,000 shares. Intertek shares have surged since they listed at 400p in May 2002. They now stand more than 50% higher at over 600p.

A greatly improved performance from Intertek’s China division helped push up the firm’s profits for the half-year to June by 14.5% to £37.2m.