Director Dealings: Ashtead chief ups holding to 132,082 SHARES in tool hire firm Ashtead surged last week after it reported improving conditions in the US. The company said full year results would be "materially ahead of our previous expectations" following quarterly figures which saw pre-tax profits rise by 82 per cent to £61.4 million. Although shares in the company have risen by almost 150 per cent in the past year, the chairman, Chris Cole, still appears to believe they represent good value. He bought 30,000 shares at 315p to increase his holding to 132,082 shares. n Two directors at call handling company IPPlus have increased their holdings. Chief executive William Catchpole purchased 12,500 shares at 12.75p to take his stake up to 2.4 million shares. Stuart Gordon, chief financial officer, purchased 12,584 shares at the same price and now holds 897,039 shares. n Keith Neilson, the chief executive of Scottish healthcare software group Craneware, has topped up his already substantial holding in the company following results. Neilson bought 5,270 shares at an average price of 375p per share. He now holds 3.45 million shares, approximately 12.8 per cent of the company's share capital. Last week, Edinburgh-based Craneware posted a 29 per cent rise in pre-tax profits for the year to 30 June. n Ken MacRae, chief executive at housing developer Northacre, has purchased 10,000 shares at 59p each and now holds 25,000 shares. n Paul Barrett, a director at NCI Vehicle Rescue, has bought 20,000 shares at 36p per share. n Mark Light, a director at jewellery chain Signet, has sold 25,000 shares at 2,857p although he still owns more than 44,000 shares. n Mike Warren, finance director at car dealership HR Owen, has more than doubled his holding with the purchase of 10,000 shares at 58p each. He now holds 18,147 shares. n Stephen King, a non- executive director of electronics group technology firm TT Electronics, has doubled his stake in the company with the purchase of 50,000 shares at 148.25p each.