Heavy boardroom buying at Entain signalled a strong show of confidence in the gambling company behind Ladbrokes and Sportingbet.

Entain moved towards the top of the FTSE 100 risers’ board after it was disclosed that Barry Gibson, the chairman, had snapped up £869,000 worth of shares on Tuesday and Jette Nygaard-Andersen, the chief executive, had more than doubled her holding through buying £324,000 worth of shares. Stella Davis, a senior independent non-executive director, acquired nearly £900,000 worth of shares, while Gibson’s wife, Brenda, bought £145,000 worth.

The company had rattled the City last week as it tempered its online profit margin forecast after suffering a £45 million hit on its earnings in October as a number of key sports results went the way of the