Ask Central has revealed that directors Philip, Adam and Samuel Kaye and Salvatore Diliberto last week together sold a total of 5m shares in the pasta and pizza restaurant group at 140p each û transactions worth

£7m.

In addition, George Cracknell sold 60,000 shares at 143p each on Thursday, worth £85,800.

The company, whose sahre prioce rose 2p on the announcement, also reported extremely positive" trading in a performance update. It is due to open its 100th restaurant in two weeks

The Kaye family and board still hold about 46% of the shares. This month the group announced a 60% rise in first-half pre-tax profits to £4.53m on sales of £28.3m