Insider: directors exploit share slump at FTSE 100 firm

A £1.7 billion slide in the value of Games Workshop Group (LSE:GAW) has been countered by two of its directors after they bought shares in the Warhammer business at near to an eight-month low price.

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Mark Lam, who is a former senior executive at BT Group and has led the hobby firm's board since November 2024, purchased his £20,000 stake on Wednesday at a price of 16,891p. They’ve since dropped to 16,400, their lowest in almost a year.

His move followed a £25,000 investment by fellow non-executive director Nilufer Kheraj, who joined the board in January and bought shares earlier this month at 17,110p.

Their dealings came amid a significant cooling of stock market sentiment as the FTSE 100-listed shares surrendered the gains achieved in the strong run between February's 16,430p and an all-time high above 22,000p in late June. They were 6,000p in autumn 2022.

This summer's valuation peak of £7.2 billion was achieved in the week that Nottingham-based GW launched the eleventh edition of Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon.

The advance also reflected interest in the forthcoming Amazon adaptation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, which offers the potential for films and television series to reach an audience many times the size of the current active customer base.

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Supporters include Nick Train's Finsbury Growth & Income Ord (LSE:FGT), which recently highlighted GW's “extraordinary pricing power” and consistent return-on-equity of more than 60%.

Finsbury took a small stake in 2025 and told investors in July that it intended to recycle some of the proceeds from the takeovers of Schroders and Intertek to bolster its position.

Shares were still near to 20,000p at July's annual results, when despite tough comparatives the company lifted profits by a bigger-than-expected 5.5% to a record £275.7 million.

Core sales improved 10.9% to £626.8 million, having grown in 102 out of 120 months up to May.

The misses in that decade were due to factors such as Covid, Brexit or comparisons with new release launches, or snowfall at its distribution hub in Memphis earlier this year.

The other miss in 2026 was in May, when GW said operational directors may have been distracted by detailed planning for the launch of the latest edition of Warhammer 40,000.

Lam told investors in the annual report that the company continued to create and inspire “new legions of fans”, thanks to an expanded global presence that now spans 9,100 independent retailers in 71 countries and 598 owned stores in 24 countries.

He added: “We weathered the storm of global instability, which continues to throw more challenges at us - all of which the team takes in its stride.”

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The shares were down to 17,740p by September, even though the company signalled continued strong trading via the declaration of a 70p a share dividend.

The payment, which is planned for 27 November, takes dividends announced in relation to the 2026/27 financial year to 300p, up from 225p at the same stage of 2025/26.

The dividend progress is regarded as an indicator on the strength of profit conversion to cash as the company only makes distributions “out of truly surplus capital”.

Peel Hunt, which is one of three City firms to cover the stock, retained its 22,000p price target following the declaration and said that statistics on the health of the hobby were encouraging.

It noted a £8 million step-up in US tariffs but said that GW continued to trade in line with expectations: “The company delivered a strong performance in 2025/26 and looks well set for another good year.”

Topping up at drinks firm

The strong run for Fevertree Drinks (LSE:FEVR) shares has been backed to continue after one of its non-executive directors topped up his stake through dealings worth £220,000.

David Lapp, who led supply chain operations for PepsiCo North America before joining the Fevertree board in January 2024, made his move at a seven-month high price of 935.5p.

The shares have risen by more than 20% since September's interim results, when the premium mixers firm said that US momentum continued to build under its partnership with Molson Coors.

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Half-year US revenues increased by 11% year-on-year at constant currency as Fevertree benefited from the increased scale and capabilities of the Molson Coors network.

The world’s fourth-largest brewer, whose brands include Carling, Staropramen and Miller Lite, became Fevertree's second largest shareholder under last year's tie-up.

The partnership de-risked Fevertree’s supply chain and drove higher quality earnings by giving Molson Coors exclusive rights to sell, distribute and produce the brand in the US.

With the UK back in growth thanks to a strong off-trade performance and favourable summer weather, Fevertree reported a 8% rise in brand revenue in the first half. Adjusted earnings rose 9% to £20.1 million as the group reiterated expectations for the full year.

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The AIM-listed shares were at a decade low of 611.5p prior to the Molson Coors agreement, having topped 2,500p in 2021. They reached 970p in February before falling back to June's 738p.

City firm Berenberg noted after the results that a valuation of 30 times forecast 2026 earnings left “little room for disappointment” as it retained its Hold stance and 780p price target.