Carphone Warehouse found itself embroiled in the media frenzy surrounding Big Brother last week after it suspended sponsorship of the reality TV show, amid claims that one of the contestants, Shilpa Shetty, was being racially abused by other participants.

Getting far less coverage was the first sale of shares by David Goldie, chief operating officer of the group’s telecoms division. Goldie sold 250,000 shares at 333p each, netting £832,500 in the process.

The sale came after he exercised options over 12,600 shares at 73p each.

Carphone Warehouse shares are just shy of the record highs seen last year as the group’s expansion of its Talk Talk network and broadband service continues.

The move into fixed-line telecoms and services began in 2002 when Carphone acquired Opal Telecom. Goldie, who was Opal’s chief executive, joined the group as part of the deal.

Up to now, Goldie has made no large share transactions. Following this week’s sale he retains a stake of about 820,000 shares in Carphone Warehouse.

Last week, the company announced a “very good Christmas period” with its UK broadband customer connections rising to 2.16m, while Talk Talk broadband customers rose to 632,000 customers.

For the 13 weeks to December 30, the group posted total revenue of £1.08 billion, up from £820m a year earlier.

Retail revenue was up 19.8 per cent to £571m, with like-for-like growth of 7.3 per cent.

Directors have in-depth knowledge of their business, so it can pay to track their moves. Everyweek Digitallook.com reveals the bosses who have bought or sold big stakes.

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