Assura, the GP surgeries landlord being bought by Primary Health Properties (PHP), publishes annual results and Utilico Emerging Markets celebrates 20 years as a global infrastructure fund.
Assura (AGR), the GP surgeries landlord that agreed to a £1.8bn bid from rival Primary Health Properties (PHP) last month, has published annual results showing a 9% investment return for the year to 31 March with net asset value rising to 50.4p per share and 3.34p of dividends covered by earnings per share of 3.5p, up from 3.4p. Chief executive Jonathan Murphy said: “Assura’s strong performance reflects the quality of our portfolio and our track record of delivery and consistent growth.”
Utilico Emerging Markets (UEM), the £447m global infrastructure fund, marks its 20th anniversary with a statement celebrating a 471.1% total return on net assets since listing in London on 20 July 2005. That beats the 325.3% total return from the MSCI Emerging Markets index and is equivalent to a 9.1% annual return. The enthusiasm of portfolio managers Charles Jillings and Jacqueline Broers “is as strong as it has ever been”, a conviction the board has backed buying back £179.8m of shares that currently stand on a 12% discount.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Hg senior partner Nic Humphries confirms that Visma, the accounting software provider that is the largest holding in HgCapital Trust (HGT) at 12.7% of assets, plans to float in London next year. There is no indication of pricing yet.
Geiger Counter (GCL), the £55m uranium fund, is calling a general meeting of shareholders on 7 August to approve a renewal of its annual share buyback facility. Since its annual general meeting on 5 March, the company has bought back 17.35m shares, using much of its 15% annual limit. At the start of July the company reached a standstill agreement with activist hedge fund Saba Capital, which had held over 13% of the shares but has significantly sold its stake back to Geiger.
Foresight VCT (FTV), a £243m generalist venture capital trust, has announced its intention to launch a new subscription offer later this year. A prospectus will be available in due course.
The weak dollar hurt Apax Global Alpha (APAX) in the second quarter with the private equity fund’s net asset value down 3.9% at €2.29 (£1.97) NAV per share at 30 June. On a constant currency basis there was a 1.7% gain. The £669m 7.9%-yielder will release half-year results on 4 September.
Riverstone Credit Opportunities (RCOI), the £28m infrastructure lender that started a wind-down in April last year, saw net asset value per share rise 2.3% from 88 to 90 US cents in the second quarter. During the period it redeemed 28% of shares and received $3.5m cash from shipbuilder Harland & Wolff, one of six remaining positions in the portfolio.
