Behind Brait’s fall from grace
Do this Brait director’s share purchases count as insider trading? The company says not
Brait nonexecutive director Christopher Seabrooke has, through a trust, been busily buying shares in the investment holding company despite having knowledge of a commercially confidential transaction. But Brait has denied any suggestion of insider trading. Sabvest Finance & Guarantee Corp — controlled by a trust of which Seabrooke is a trustee and beneficiary — has bought Brait shares worth more than R107m since the beginning of the year. The thing is, Seabrooke has known since August 2017 that Brait, which owns Virgin Active and Premier Foods, had set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to invest in public market securities. Seabrooke also knows exactly what these securities are, even though shareholders were told last week — when the SPV, 10 months after its establishment, was revealed for the first time in Brait’s financial results — that "the listed position remains confidential". Brait’s 35% shareholder, Christo Wiese, through his investment company, Titan, has since pulled out ...
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