Insider: directors back recovery at two FTSE 250 stocks

Green shoots of recovery at Dr. Martens  Ordinary Shares (LSE:DOCS) and B&M European Value Retail (LSE:BME) have been backed up by directors after they disclosed FTSE 250 share dealings worth a combined £186,000.

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The bootmaker’s chief executive Ije Nwokorie followed an 18% bounce for shares since last month’s annual results by making an £85,600 investment at a six-month high price.

And at B&M, retail industry veteran Peter Pritchard marked his recent arrival as a non-executive director by staking £101,000 in support of the discounter’s fledgling turnaround plan.

The former Pets at Home chief executive swooped for the shares at near to their high point for the year at 192.4p, although they have since drifted back to 184p.

They were as low as 156p in March before a surge of buying interest after annual results offered hope that the company’s Back to B&M Basics plan had made some early progress.

Adjusted profit fell by 38% to £284 million but quarterly like-for-like sales in the UK showed sequential improvement and cash conversion also remained strong. A dividend of 6.1p a share is due to be paid on 31 July, albeit part of a 36% cut in the total for the year to 9.6p.

Chief executive Tjeerd Jegen, who joined B&M last year, highlighted sharper pricing, the better on-shelf availability of best-selling brands and a revamp of in-store promotions.

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The current phase of the turnaround involves smarter use of data and customer insights and simplification of in-store processes to mitigate cost increases.

Broker Peel Hunt has a target price of 250p, adding that a valuation multiple of 10 times forecast earnings looked low when considering the extent of the potential to reset forecasts.

It added: “The shares were, and still are, discounting a lot of bad news, and while the preliminary results were not a ‘job done’ moment, they showed progress and further evidence that the new CEO is having an impact.”

However, Shore Capital is more cautious: “The question is where does B&M go from here in terms of returning to like-for-like growth and repairing margins, and with no guidance yet given for 2027 it seems the outlook remains uncertain.”

Deutsche Bank has a Sell stance as it warned that lower-income consumers were more at risk from inflationary pressure. It also flagged competition in the discount space from Chinese brands and grocers, as well as the need for B&M to invest to differentiate its offer.

The turnaround of Dr Martens is at a more advanced stage after annual results showed a 61% increase in adjusted profit to £55 million on slightly lower revenues of £764.9 million.

Having stabilised the business in 2025, the past year involved “hard calls and a significant amount of heavy lifting” to shift Dr Martens from being channel-led to consumer-first.

It pulled back on clearance activity to improve the quality of revenues as the gross margin increased by 120 basis points to 66.2%.

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The Northamptonshire-based company said there is still work to do pivoting the business before it is able to focus fully on the scale part of its strategy.

Fuelling brand desire will be a key element in the year ahead, including through brand investment and a retail strategy that has moved from a transactional one-size-fits-all model to a tiered estate.

Nwokorie added: “The foundations of our business are really strong – we have a world-class supply chain, modern technology systems architecture, a clear product strategy and great talent across the business.”

The shares fell from more than 200p in early 2023 to as low as 54p prior to the former Apple Retail director taking the helm at the start of 2025.

Analysts at Berenberg have a price target of 110p after pointing out that a valuation multiple of 13 times 2027 earnings was too low given the company’s ongoing profit recovery potential.

They added after May’s annual results: “The year ahead should see an increase in marketing, the refurbishment of selected stores and a market-specific approach to turning around individual markets such as the UK and Germany.”

Hot stock attracts fresh buying

A senior director has topped up his stake after hotly-performing Luceco (LSE:LUCE) shares fell on the disclosure that long-serving chief executive John Hornby is to step down.

The £50,000 of dealings by finance chief Will Hoy took place on Thursday at 265.7p, which compares with 290p prior to Hornby's retirement announcement earlier this month.

He is due to leave the electrification products firm at the end of this year, having joined Luceco in 1997 before becoming its chief executive as part of a secondary buyout in 2005.

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The company has doubled in value to more than £400 million over the course of this year, aided by the significant growth of its energy transition offering.

It makes a range of wiring accessories, electric vehicle (EV) chargers, LED lighting and portable power products, which it sells through professional, wholesale and retail channels.

Alongside Hornby’s retirement news, the company reiterated May’s improved £40 million operating profit guidance and said there was potential for further outperformance based on its large installed base of electric vehicle chargers.

This reflects the introduction of regulatory incentives that seek to adjust demand to match supply and the carrying capacity of the electricity grid.

Peel Hunt said last week: “We remain positive on the group given the strength of its core business, with the lowest cost of production, excellent track record of new product development and brand loyalty.”