INDEPENDENT Newspapers duly got a bumper response to its big rights issue this week, with most shareholders happy to stump up money for a cash call which was well-timed and is seen as good value.

Tony O'Reilly, of course, signalled at the time of the rights announcement that he would be only taking up 77 per cent of his rights but would rebuild his 27 per cent-plus stake through exercising options. But what of the other directors on the Indo's 23-strong board.

After Tony O'Reilly, Gerry McGuinness is the biggest individual shareholder with more than three million shares. This would have allowed Mr McGuinness to buy 600,000 shares in the rights issue but that would have cost him £1.7 million.

Gerry McGuinness, however, is much more accustomed to selling Indo shares than buying them - he has sold £6 million worth in the past three years. So it came as no great surprise when it emerged that Gerry decided to take up none of his rights to new shares.

Others who took up only a portion of their entitlement include John Meagher, Bartle Pitcher and Joe Davy. But most of the executives pitched in.