Insider: heavy director share buying at these four companies

Directors at under-fire Trustpilot Group (LSE:TRST) and the leaders of SSP Group (LSE:SSPG), Baltic Classifieds Group (LSE:BCG) and Domino's Pizza Group (LSE:DOM) have spent their own money backing shares in the wake of recent turbulence.

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The purchases by four Trustpilot directors totalled £235,000 and were made as the consumer reviews website began its fightback against allegations by a US short-selling firm.

Grizzly Research sparked a 32% slide for shares on Thursday when it claimed Trustpilot created unsolicited review profiles to pressure firms into paying for subscriptions.

Trustpilot said the report presented a series of claims that were selective, misleading and framed to support a predetermined narrative.

The company added: “It omits key context and publicly available facts, creating a false impression and exhibits a lack of understanding of how Trustpilot works. Trust is our guiding principle and is central to everything we do.”

The shares recovered lost ground on Friday as it emerged that finance chief Hanno Damm spent £70,000 on Trustpilot shares. This disclosure and dealings by two non-executive directors followed an earlier purchase of £150,000 by chair Zillah Byng-Thorne.

The shares closed last week at 146.4p, down from February’s 350p despite a run of five earnings upgrades in the year to September.

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The £251,000 purchase of SSP Group shares by chief executive Patrick Coveney took place on Thursday following the release of the airport and railway station caterer’s annual results.

Coveney reported an encouraging start to the 2026 financial year, with like-for-like sales growth positive in all regions and tracking at 4% year-to-date for the group as a whole.

He also pleased the City by launching a review of the company’s underperforming European rail operation. Deutsche Numis welcomed the move: “An exit here would simplify the business, be accretive to margin and remove risk, even if proceeds might be low.”

The shares closed the week at 172.3p, which compares with Coveney’s purchase at 167.7p and the 138.6p after SSP said in October that conditions had softened in key travel markets including North America.

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Baltic Classifieds received strong support from its chair Trevor Mather after he spent £465,000, with the FTSE 250-listed shares at their cheapest price in over two years.

The slide in valuation accelerated on Thursday after Baltic disappointed with its outlook in interim results, even though it expects second-half revenue growth to exceed the 7% of the first half and get back into double digits for the 2027 financial year.

It flagged that it faces some margin compression due to data and AI investment but that this figure is set to remain in the mid-70s percent.

The group, which operates 14 online classifieds portals in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, closed last week at 175.4p. This compares with 165p when it joined the stock market in its 2021 IPO.

City firm Berenberg cut its target price to 335p, noting that shares are near IPO levels despite the company having doubled in size since the flotation.

Peel Hunt is also at 335p, while Panmure Liberum said the company’s “enormous” derating had vastly outpaced the decline in Baltic’s prospects.

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The purchase of Domino’s Pizza shares involved chair Ian Bull, who is leading the search for a new chef executive after Andrew Rennie left with immediate effect in late November.

The shares have fallen by more than 45% this year to their lowest level in a decade as the company and its franchisees grapple with the challenge of higher wages and employee taxation costs at a time of low consumer confidence.

Bull spent £35,000 on shares at a price of 172.4p on Wednesday, backing up his comments made at the time of Rennie’s departure about brand strength and a resilient business model.

He added that Domino’s continued to gain market share despite the external environment. “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to drive further growth and value creation in Domino’s core business.”

Peel Hunt has a price target of 275p, while UBS has cut to 195p and a Neutral recommendation after noting limited catalysts for a near-term re-rating.

The bank said: “We continue to see Domino’s as a structural winner in the UK quick-service-restaurants sector, enabled by best-in-class delivery times, a robust digital platform and superior franchise economics.

“However, ongoing consumer headwinds are impacting like-for-like sales and store growth, with UK macro weakness slowing new openings and pushing the 1,600 store target beyond 2028.”