Following the disclosure that around 20% of shares in Domino's Pizza has been pledged by three directors as collateral for loans, comes news that JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has a similar arrangement.
Martin has used 3.6m of his shares as security for a facility with Royal Bank of Scotland, the company said today. But it added that - following yesterday's upbeat trading statement from the company - Martin sold 500,000 shares at 309.5p each to pay off the balance of the loan. In the market Wetherspoon shares have fallen 9p to 306p.
So far more than 40 companies - ranging from major groups such as Vodafone and Icap to smaller businesses such as Hardy Oil & Gas - have revealed directors have used shares as ecurity for loans.
The disclosures follow news last month that Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross had used his stakes in four companies where he was a director, including the mobile phone retailer, as collateral without telling his fellow directors.
The City regulator, the Financial Services Authority, subsequently set a deadline of this Friday for listed businesses to disclose any similar situations. But because it admitted the rules were not entirely clear on the matter, it plans to take no further regulatory action.
But expect more of these announcements between now and the close of play on Friday.
