£4.9m share sale windfall for ex-Just Eat chief David Buttress

The former chief executive of online food delivery firm Just Eat has banked nearly £5 million after offloading a chunk of shares.

David Buttress, who stepped down as boss in February due to "urgent family matters", sold 784,649 shares on the open market at an average price of £6.35, according to a stock exchange announcement.

The share sale will see Mr Buttress pocket £4.9 million.

Last year Mr Buttress, now a non-executive director at the fast growing firm, made headlines after netting £12.5 million through a similar share sale.

The latest windfall comes after he was awarded more than a million shares as part of Just Eat's share ownership plan.

Of those, Mr Buttress retained 250,000, meaning his direct shareholding in Just Eat stands at 750,000 shares.

Just Eat has experienced management upheaval of late, with new chief executive Peter Plumb due to join in September after Mr Buttress was forced to step down. Chairman John Hughes died in June, leaving Andrew Griffiths to step in as interim chairman.

The firm is also facing a full-blown investigation into its takeover of rival Hungryhouse amid concerns that the deal could curb competition.

But last month Just Eat hailed an "excellent" start to the year, as surging profits and sales led the company to raise its full-year revenue guidance.

Pre-tax profits rose 46% to £49.5 million in the six months to June 30, while revenues shot up 44% to £247 million.