Lonmin bosses sells stake ahead of CGT change
Sir John Craven and Lonmin deputy chairman have sold shares in the miner to avoid 80% CGT hike
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
Insurers in last-ditch bid to get CGT scrapped
Read
story in The Daily Telegraph