High profile City figure Sir John Craven, the chairman of Lonmin, has sold two-thirds of his shares in the platinum miner to avoid the controversial 80% hike in capital gains tax.
Lonmin revealed yesterday Sir John had sold shares worth £2.17m, and deputy chairman Roger Phillimore had sold 80% of his stake for £516,751.
The Daily Telegraph believes the miner is the first FTSE 100 company to make such a sale public and tax advisers are expecting a flood of similar director share sales before the April 6, when the tax levied on their shares rises from 10% to 18%.
The company said the directors had sold their shares ‘in the light of the 80% increase in the rate of capital gains tax’ but it remained unclear last night whether either planned to buy back their shares having resolved their tax liability.
Further reading:
Directors flock to sell down share holdings
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