Director dealings: Trustpilot CEO raises stake

(Sharecast News) - Trustpilot revealed on Tuesday that chief executive officer Adrian Blair had acquried 95,296 ordinary shares in the FTSE 250-listed review platform operator. Blair, who took over as CEO in September 2023, purchased the shares at an average price of 156.60p each, for a total value of £149,201.77.

As of 1455 GMT, Trustpilot shares were up 6.17% at 161.80p.

Shares tanked last week after short seller Grizzly Research disclosed a short position and said in a report that it had uncovered "mafia-style" extortion campaigns against non-paying businesses.

It said: "According to our investigation, Trustpilot creates unsolicited review profiles for all kinds of businesses with the intention to attract hyper-negative reviews and force these businesses into paying subscription deals to 'more actively manage' the reviews.

"Paid-for profiles see their review score magically lift from under 2 of 5 stars to over 4 of 5 stars. Industry experts call this scheme the 'Trustpilot Mafia'."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Top Director Buys

Trustpilot Group (TRST) Director name: Blair,Adrian Amount purchased: 95,296 @ 156.60p Value: £149,233.53

Paragon Banking Group (PAG) Director name: Woodman,Richard Amount purchased: 15,000 @ 808.30p Value: £121,244.93

Oxford Metrics (OMG) Director name: Climer,Naomi Amount purchased: 5,000 @ 42.80p Value: £2,140.00

Top Director Sells

Thor Energy (THR) Director name: Armstrong ,Timothy Amount sold: 4,500,000 @ $0.01 Value: $25,009.26