The new chief executive officer (CEO) at B&M, Tjeerd Jegen, has purchased over £500,000 in new shares in order to align himself with shareholder interests.

Between 10 and 13 June, Jegen purchased 197,900 ordinary new shares valued at 10 pence each. He started in his new role as CEO on 16 June.

Following the announcement, shares in B&M increased by 2.7%.

This follows an almost 11% drop in its share price earlier this month, after the budget retailer announced a 13.2% fall in its profit before tax to £431m in the year to 29 March.

The firm stated that this drop was a result of operating in a "challenging UK retail trading environment".

Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, said that Jegen’s investment in B&M "sends a positive message to the market that he’s serious about turning the business around".

He concluded: "Investors often take director share purchases to be a positive sign. Many large companies require CEOs to buy a minimum value of shares within a certain period after taking the top job, so they have skin in the game. B&M is no longer a FTSE 100 member so Jegen may not be forced to buy stock, yet the fact he’s already done so in his first week has been taken positively by the market."

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