Jet2 executive chairman Philip Meeson has gained more than £42 million through a series of sales of shares in the company since last month.
Notifications to the London Stock Exchange show that he sold a number of tranches of shares of between 625,000 and 2 million following the UK’s second largest tour operating group reporting a £451 million pre-tax profit for the summer half-year on November 24.
Meeson, and a trust associated with him, subsequently sold more than £42 million worth of shares between November 24 and December 1.
The sales were made to “diversify his investment portfolio”, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The founder of the Yorkshire-based business sold around £22.5 million-worth of shares at this time last year, the Financial Times reported.
Meeson retains an 18.3% stake in the business with more than 39 million shares.
No further sales of shares are planned in the immediate future, the company said.
At the time of last month’s interim results statement, Meeson reiterated Jet2’s long-term ambition to become the UK’s “leading and best leisure travel business” by providing “the right product for tougher times”.
The group also added 35 new aircraft to an order with Airbus to bring the total up to 98, with an option extend to 146 into the next decade.