BBGI has announced results for the year ended 31 December 2016. Its VAV rose by 13.1% to 126.1p over the period. Dividends totalled 6.25p. 61% of the company’s assets are located outside the UK and denominated in major currencies other than sterling. Currency weakness was a big factor in the NAV move.
The portfolio of 39 projects has a fair market value of c. GBP569.9 million at 31 December 2016, with additional equity of GBP23.4 million committed. They used an average discount rate of 7.56% to value the portfolio (down from 7.86% at the end of 2015).
It has also announced proposals for a placing of up to 43,039,300 ordinary shares (or depository interests representing those ordinary shares) in order to raise gross proceeds of approximately £58.5 million. The Placing price will be 136.0 pence per Placing Share, which represents a 2.9 per cent discount to the closing mid-market price per Ordinary Share on 28 March 2017 of 140.0 pence and a premium of 4.9 per cent to the estimated unaudited NAV per Ordinary Share as at 23 March 2017.
The Company’s existing portfolio consists of direct or indirect interests in 39 availability-based, PPP/PFI infrastructure assets in the transport, healthcare, education, justice and other services sectors. The assets are located in Australia, Canada, Continental Europe, the UK and the US. The company says that all of these assets are operational. The Company has a multi-currency revolving credit facility (RCF) with ING Bank and KfW IPEX-Bank, which it uses primarily to fund acquisitions and to provide letters of credit for investment obligations. The intention is to repay the facility from time to time through equity fundraisings as the Company does not intend to use structural gearing.
As at 28 March 2017, the Company had utilised £70.5 million of the £110 million facility, of which £25.3 million has been used to cover letters of credit. The Company says that it is currently considering a number of strategic opportunities in the secondary market, whilst continuing to actively build its pipeline of primary investment opportunities and that it intends to use the net proceeds from the Placing to repay the drawn amount of the RCF and to partly fulfil its equity subscription obligation in relation to the Mersey Gateway Bridge project. This will provide the Company with additional financial flexibility to pursue suitable new primary and secondary investment opportunities as and when they become available.
BBGI looking to raise £58.5m through a placing : BBGI