Share deals: Bytes chief exec Neil Murphy
One of the UK’s biggest software companies said it was ‘saddened and shocked’ as it launched an investigation into secret share dealing by its former boss.
Bytes, which is listed on the FTSE 250, said long-serving chief executive Neil Murphy took part in unauthorised share trading on more than 100 separate occasions.
Murphy, 60, who oversaw the company’s stock market flotation in 2020, made a shock exit last month after receiving a request for information over his share dealings by financial regulators.
Although he initially said he would give his response to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a scheduled board meeting on February 21, he instead surprisingly quit on the morning of the meeting.
Murphy confessed to 119 unauthorised and undisclosed trades between January 2021 and 2023.
His lawyers have since identified a further 15 trades worth around £1.5million conducted by Murphy on behalf of his wife, Alison.
A Bytes spokesman said that ‘the board is saddened and shocked by Murphy’s actions, which it finds hard to comprehend.’
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