Insider: these directors lock in 7% yield at a discount

Two directors of Supermarket Income REIT REIT (LSE:SUPR) have made 7.4% yielding investments after the £2.1 billion grocery real estate business pledged to deliver dividend growth from next year.

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Property industry veteran Nick Hewson, who has served as chair of the group since its IPO in 2017, bought shares worth £96,000, while senior independent director Sapna Shah spent £20,000 and non-executive director Frances Davies £25,000.

Their dealings took place on Wednesday at prices between 83.3p and 83.8p, which compares with a net tangible asset (NTA) per share figure of 87.5p in interim results earlier that day.

The FTSE 250-listed shares were at a three-year high of 88.6p prior to the Iran war, having narrowed the discount to NTA from as much as 25% just over a year ago.

The past year’s progress follows a series of strategic initiatives aimed at reducing costs and delivering sustainable and growing earnings.

It said last week that shareholders will benefit through the introduction of a new dividend growth target of a minimum 2% per year from 2027 onwards.

The board also reiterated a minimum target dividend of 6.18p a share for the current year to June, which includes the 3.09p declared with the interim results.

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Half-year earnings were in line with expectations at 2.7p a share, a 10% decline that followed the transfer of eight portfolio assets into last April’s joint venture with Blue Owl Capital.

The proceeds from that tie-up have since been deployed into earnings enhancing opportunities, with £398 million of acquisitions made in the half-year period.

The REIT ended the calendar year with a 128-strong portfolio worth £2.06 billion, let to major chains including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons as well as Carrefour in France.

They are predominantly omnichannel supermarkets, which operate as key online fulfilment hubs alongside their store sales. Online accounted for 12.6% of the total grocery market at the end of December.

Chief executive Rob Abraham said last week he is looking to double the size of the portfolio over time as the business capitalises on its “deep sector expertise” and strong sector relationships.

He added: “The growth opportunity within grocery real estate remains highly compelling with supermarket sales reaching record highs in December 2025.”

Broker Peel Hunt, which has an Add stance, increased its price target to 90p last week after noting a 6% discount to net asset value and a “secure and growing” dividend yield of 7.4%.

Hewson also spent £55,000 in November, when shares were at 78p. Between 1990 and 2012, he was the co-founder, CEO and chairman of retail warehousing business Grantchester Holdings and until 2022 served as senior independent director at Redrow.

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ther dealings by directors in the FTSE 250 last week included a £1.8 million purchase of Ocado Group (LSE:OCDO) shares by a trust linked to the company’s long-serving board member Jörn Rausing.

The co-owner of the Tetra Laval packaging company has been an Ocado non-executive director since 2003, having made a significant investment in the business prior to its 180p-a-share listing in 2010.

The Ocado purchase involving Rausing took place on Wednesday at a price of 201.9p and followed one of £141,450 by board chair Adam Warby earlier this month at 217.6p.

Shares have fallen by another 15% this year, despite the grocery warehouse technology business reiterating that it will turn cash flow positive for the first time during the second half of the current financial year.

The pledge followed a 59.4% rise in annual underlying earnings to £178 million, which was driven by 12.1% growth in group revenues and a technology solutions margin of 25%.

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On Friday, Savills (LSE:SVS) disclosed that board chair Stacey Cartwright spent £47,000 on shares at a price of 933p and non-executive director Adriana Karaboutis £15,000 at 913p.

Their purchases followed Thursday’s annual results, when the property advisory business reported a 14% rise in underlying profits to £145.3 million.

The company’s new leadership team also announced the acquisition of the real estate-focused investment bank Eastdil Secured for about £827 million, which will be funded through debt and the issue of new shares.

Savills reported continued momentum prior to the war in the Middle East, which is a region where its 800 staff generated about 5% of the company’s profit in 2025. The shares fell more than 9% over the week to 907p on Friday.

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Meanwhile, the retirement plans of Vistry Group (LSE:VTY)boss Greg Fitzgerald have not deterred him from buying more of the housebuilder's shares.

He is due to stand down as executive chair after May’s AGM and as chief executive by next year.

The former Galliford Try boss led the turnaround of Bovis and the acquisition of Linden Homes and Galliford Try’s partnerships business in order to create Vistry, which is now a leading provider of affordable, mixed tenure housing.

The shares have fallen by more than 30% this year, with Fitzgerald making his £893,000 purchase on Wednesday at a multi-year low price of 407.2p. He now owns 1.5 million Vistry shares worth more than £6 million and equivalent to a holding of 0.47%.