Harald Einsmann, a non-executive director at Tesco, has spent £184,000 on shares in the supermarket giant, buying 48,400 at just over 380p a time.

Einsmann joined the board of Tesco in 1999, the same year he stepped down as president of US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, having served there since 1984.

The purchase comes soon after Tesco posted a rise in profits in the half-year to August 29. Pre-tax profits rose by 1.5% to £1.42 billion as sales climbed by 8.3% to £30.4 billion. Tesco’s share price was close to 400p before the results were announced and are still up by about 20% over the past year. Some analysts are concerned that Tesco, in common with other supermarkets, will begin to feel the pinch of food deflation. Rival J Sainsbury recently said market growth was likely to slow due to “reduced inflation”.

Citigroup, the broker, said that food price deflation has already dented earnings at US food retailers such as Safeway and Kroger and that a similar experience may be in store for UK supermarkets. On Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics said lower food prices contributed to a fall in the UK consumer price index, a measure of inflation, to 1.1%.

CHARLES-HENRI DUMON, managing director for continental Europe and the Americas at recruitment giant Michael Page, has offloaded a big chunk of his stake in the group. He sold 60,000 shares at 371p a time and now has a personal holding of about 1.23m.

Dumon may be wishing he had waited before selling a much bigger chunk of shares earlier in the year. In May, he sold 250,000 at 268p each. Michael Page’s shares have rallied in line with a broader market recovery and the firm has begun reporting signs of stabilisation, if not outright recovery, following a difficult period.

In a recent update, Page — which recruits for a wide range of jobs, with salaries starting in the region of £16,000 a year — said: “We are seeing early signs of stability in the United Kingdom and broader signs of stability in Asia Pacific, although at present no indications of recovery in either market.”

Dumon joined the company in 1985 and has had full responsibility for the company’s French operations since 1987.

He managed the group’s entry into southern Europe and South America and was then given responsibility for operations in the United States in January 2006.

Directors have in-depth knowledge of their businesses, so it can pay to track their moves. Every week digitallook.com reveals bosses who have bought or sold big stakes.

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