British & American (BAF), the £2m self-managed global equity income trust, has been “surprised” by the resignation of auditor MHA BakerTilley International over its use of an independent valuer to assess its £3.5m of film rights. “Whilst those procedures were completed to our satisfaction, and we concluded that the value recognised by management, supported by management’s expert valuer, was not materially misstated, management asserted (and has continued to assert) that these procedures were unnecessary,” said MHA. The company, whose managing director is Jonathan C Woolf, said it would appoint a new auditor.
Saba Capital has increased its stake in Workspace Group (WKP) from 22% to 23.8%, the bulk of it in derivatives. The activist US hedge fund has requisitioned a general meeting to replace the board but could face opposition from real estate developer Nicholas Roditi who holds 29% through London & Amsterdam Trust. In annual results last week, Workspace cut its final dividend by 12% and new chief executive Charlie Green outlined his plans for a recovery in the business whose shares have more than halved over five years.
Big Yellow Group (BYG), the £1.7bn self-storage company, has sold its industrial estate in Harrow, London, for £38.4m and said it will reinvest the money – minus a £2m retention – into building 12 new stores that it expects to generate £35m net operating income, a 16.5% return on £212m of development costs. “The board believes that currently there is no other use for the capital that comes close to delivering this level of long term returns,” BYG said. US investment group Blackstone reportedly abandoned plans to buy the company in December. The shares rose 1.7% to 877.4p.
Custodian Property Income (CREI) has sold a small, non-core asset in Coventry for £400,000 from the Scorpion industrials portfolio it bought for £8.5m in March. The sale was in line with the latest valuation and £100,000 above the purchase price. “The remaining four properties offer significant potential for value creation through capturing latent rental growth at upcoming lease events,” said fund manager Richard Shepherd-Cross.
Phoenix Spree Deutschland (PSDL), the £157m Berlin residential property fund preparing to make its first return of capital of £17.5m, says the city’s Mietspiegel, or rent index, introduced in May was supportive of the portfolio. It said “the implied uplift equates to a low single-digit percentage of current in-place rent” on a like-for-like basis. In the five months to 31 May €23.1m of condominium sales were notarised for sale in line with the full-year 2026 target of €55m. Sales pricing remained “resilient” and supported the latest valuations prepared by JLL.
Yellow Cake (YCA), the £1.4bn uranium investment company, has launched a $10m (£7.4m) share buyback programme in response to the recent widening in its share price discount to net asset value which it considers “an attractive opportunity”. Shares that have fallen from 722p in January, rose 2.5% or 14p to 566p.
Stay a step ahead. Our daily newsletter brings you the latest on investment trusts and active ETFs. Subscribe here.
