B&M shares climb as new CEO gets some 'skin in the game'
Published: 11:18 17 Jun 2025 BST
Shares in B&M European Value Retail SA (LSE:BME) were one of the top risers on Tuesday morning after the discounter’s new chief executive Tjeerd Jegen snapped up £0.5 million worth of shares.
In a statement, the FTSE 250-listed retailer said its newly appointed boss bought five chunks at prices between £2.60 and £2.70.
The shares had fallen from 470p a year ago to around 360p at the start of the year and lows below 260p after a profit warning in February, that saw previous CEO step down.
Jegen, former boss of Dutch discounter HEMA and German chain Takko Fashion, was appointed last month and started last week.
Analysts said the purchases aligned him with shareholders’ interests.
"It sends a positive signal to the market that he’s serious about turning the business around. Failure to do so would hurt his wallet as well as his reputation," said Russ Mould at AJ Bell.
"Investors often take director share purchases to be a positive sign. Many large companies require CEOs to buy a minimum value of shares within a certain period after taking the top job, so they have skin in the game."
B&M dropped out of the FTSE 100 in December, so Jegen may not have been forced to buy stock, "yet the fact he’s already done so in his first week has been taken positively by the market", said Mould.
