In QuotedData’s morning briefing 14 September 2021:
- Henderson High Income, managed by David Smith (pictured), made a great start to 2021 outperforming its benchmark by 3.9% to produce an NAV return of 12.3% for the six months ended 30 June. Shareholders did much better than that though as the discount was eliminated, providing a return to shareholders of 21.8%. The dividends for this first half totalled 4.95p, unchanged from the previous year, equivalent to a yield of 5.7% at the period end.
- Infrastructure India is blaming COVID for its inability to produce accounts on time. AIM Regulation has granted a three month extension to the timeline for publishing the audited accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021, which are now expected to be published during October 2021. The board thinks the end March NAV might be around 10p – 13p. It also says “As at 31 August 2021, the IIP Group had unaudited cash and cash equivalents available of US$3.5 million, including approximately US$1 million of cash receivables. This provides approximately 4-6 months runway for the Group. As announced in August, the Board continues to evaluate options and explore alternative sources of financing with third parties and further announcements will be made as and when appropriate.”
- JPMorgan US Smaller Companies is cutting its investment management fee. With effect from 1st January 2022, the current 90bps (0.9%) on the first £100m of gross assets and 75bps on gross assets in excess of £100m (both excluding any holding in the JPM Liquidity Fund) will change to a basic management fee of 70 bps on all gross assets. [While we welcome the fee cut, we aren’t in favour of fees on gross assets as it provides an incentive for the manager to take on gearing.]
- LondonMetric Property has acquired a grocery-led property in South Ruislip, West London, for £18m. The 41,000 sq ft building is let to Aldi and B&M and has a WAULT of 9.4 years. It generates £0.9m a year of rent (£21.40 per sq ft, around 40% of which has RPI linked rent reviews. Separately, Metric Income Plus Limited Partnership, LondonMetric’s joint venture with Universities Superannuation Scheme, has sold a portfolio of three DIY and homeware properties for £14.2m (LondonMetric share: £7.1m) to a US investor. Located in Speke, Barnsley and Beverley, the properties are let to Wickes and Dunelm and have a WAULT of 10.2 years. The sale price reflects a 9% premium to the 31 March 2021 book value.
- Harworth Group’s chief executive Lynda Shillaw has laid out plans to double the size of the company in the next five to seven years to £1bn, by increasing its industrial and logistics developments and accelerating the rate of sales on its residential land bank. It set out the growth plans in half-year results which saw EPRA net disposal value (NDV) grow 14.5% to 183.2p per share, driven by large valuation gains in its investment portfolio and development land.
- Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust posted a NAV total return for the six months to 30 June 2021 of 10.2% as commercial property values recovered from their pandemic depths. The group collected 93% of rent in the period, and acquired land as part of its carbon offsetting strategy. It has £80m of funds (£55m in a revolving credit facility and £25m cash) to invest.
- Oakley Capital says that the Oakley Capital Origin Fund has reached an agreement to acquire Seedtag, a leader in contextual advertising in EMEA and Latin America. The trust’s indirect contribution via the Origin Fund will be £7m.
- UK Commercial Property REIT has acquired Trafford Retail Park, near Manchester, from Peel L&P for £33m. The 12 acre site comprises 143,000 sq ft of retail warehouse accommodation across fourteen units and is currently 100% let to a range of retail tenants including Dunelm, B&M, TK Maxx and Home Bargains. It also provides a strong food and beverage offering that includes Nando’s, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and Five Guys. The park delivers an annual income of £2.5m per year, with an average rent of £17.17 per sq ft.
We also have news of a new investment by Hg Capital