Chief executive’s family now owns 38 million shares in insurer

Henry Engelhardt, Admiral

The wife of Admiral chief executive Henry Engelhardt has spent about £1.6m in buying shares in the insurer.

Yesterday, Diane Briere de l’Isle bought 144,348 Admiral shares at an average price of £11.07.

The purchase takes the Engelhardt family holding of Admiral to 38 million shares.

The share purchase follows a strong first-half 2012 performance at Admiral. The company posted a 7% rise in group profit before tax to 171.8m (H1 2011: £160.6),and reported a return on capital of 61%.

Despite this, analysts are concerned about the prospects for a slump in ancillary income, which makes up just under half of Admiral’s UK motor insurance profits.