In QuotedData’s morning briefing 2 November 2022:
- Princess Private Equity (PEQ) will not pay a second interim dividend. It says that the dividend suspension is needed because the company’s currency hedging activities have led to outflows of more than €60m to settle currency hedging contracts. It also says that challenging debt markets are having an impact on asset sales – so it is harder to free up money that way. The company stresses that it has sufficient liquidity to meet its commitments with a cash position including liquid senior loans of €59.8m at 31 October 2022. [This will come as an unpleasant suprise for investors and neatly illustrates the dangers of hedging contracts. The news that asset sales are being impacted by volatile debt markets is unwelcome for the sector, but other funds that we have talked to in the sector have told us that they have sufficient liquidity, often including untapped borrowing facilities, available to meet commitments.]
- abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth (AUSC) has agreed a new £40m revolving credit facility (RCF) with The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited. The RCF has a further uncommitted accordion provision allowing the company to request an increase, subject to lender’s approval, of up to an additional £25m. The company drew £25m of the RCF on 1 November 2022 and used the proceeds drawn to repay, in full, the existing £25 million fixed-rate loan which matured on that date. The new facility will expire on 1 November 2025.
- Impact Healthcare REIT (IHR) has secured an extension of £25m to its existing revolving credit facility (RCF) with HSBC UK Bank Plc. The extension is on the same terms as the existing RCF and takes the total facility with HSBC to £75m. The group simultaneously cancelled its £15m RCF element of its available facility with Metro Bank. The HSBC facility extension was secured using assets released from the Metro security pool. Overall, the extension increases the group’s headroom by £10m, provides available debt with improved covenants and at a margin of 200 basis points, which is 65 basis points lower than the Metro facility. This reduces the group’s exposure to debt expiring within the next 12 months to £15m, being the remaining Metro term loan, which can be repaid from available headroom across the group’s remaining RCF facilities. The RCF facility with HSBC has a term to April 2025.
- Target Healthcare REIT (THRL) says its EPRA Net Tangible Assets (NTA) per share was flat at 112.1p in the quarter to 30 September 2022 (June 2022: 112.3p), with the like-for-like portfolio valuation increase of 0.1%, reflecting inflation-linked annual rental uplifts and completion of portfolio management initiatives partially offset by outward yield movement on select assets. NAV total return for the period was 1.3% (including dividend).
- abrdn Property Income Trust (API) has completed the sale of The Kirkgate in Epsom for £7.725m reflecting 7.25% net initial yield. The office building is fully-let to six tenants with an unexpired term to break of 2.5 years, with the price reflecting an 11.7% discount to the June 2022 valuation. The company sold the property to reduce its exposure to the office sector, having its completed its business plan for the asset through a comprehensive refurbishment and leasing programme. The company says that it believes values in the office sector will continue to be under pressure due to market and economic uncertainty. It will use the proceeds to reduce gearing.
We also have news from ThomasLloyd Energy Impact