TESCO finance director Andrew Higginson took advantage of a strong share price to net £1m through the sale of 231,887 shares at 464p each.

According to its latest annual report, he had 1,674,052 Tesco shares in February.

During the week Tesco reported a better than expected 3.5% rise in UK like-for-like sales, excluding petrol, and said it was confident of making further progress in the second half.

Group profit before tax for the half-year to August 25 jumped 18% to £1.29 billion on sales, including Vat, up 9.2% to £24.7 billion.

Underlying pretax profit was up a stronger than forecast 14.3% to £1.32 billion, while group trading profit matched expectations with a rise of 10.1% to £1.25 billion.

- SHARES in Vernalis lost more than half of their value after the drug firm received a “not approvable” letter from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the use of antimigraine treatment Frova.

This prompted a group of its directors, including the deputy chairman and finance chief, to step in and raise their holdings.

Chairman Peter Fellner started the buying spree, purchasing 250,000 shares at 16¼p each, to increase his holding to 415,888 shares.

Chief financial officer Tony Weir followed his lead, buying 100,000 shares at 19¾p, taking his total holding to 186,000 shares. The FDA questioned whether the trials were “clinically meaningful”, despite acknowledging that the drug improved the number of headache-free periods.

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

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