Student accommodation provider Unite reiterates its annual earnings target despite a slowdown in bookings, Schroder British Opportunities invests in insurance broker JMG and Cuban property fund Ceiba pays money owed to Aberdeen, its former asset manager, and holders of its convertible bonds.
- Student accommodation provider Unite (UTG) confirms earlier guidance of a late booking season with 85% of beds sold for the 2025/26 academic year compared to 94% a year ago. Nevertheless, its trading update reiterates that full-year adjusted EPRA earnings per share will be between 47.5p and 48.25p. Planning approval has been secured for the 2,000-bed Newcastle University joint venture and rental growth has driven second quarter valuation increases at its two main portfolios, USAF +0.6% and LSAV +0.7%.
- Schroder British Opportunities (SBO) has invested in UK insurance broker JMG Group via Synova, a long-standing private equity investment partner of its fund manager Schroders Capital. Synova has been the majority shareholder of JMG since 2020. This is SBO’s 12th private equity investment.
- Cuban property fund Ceiba Investments (CBA) has paid $682,000 in deferred management fees to its former asset manager Aberdeen and paid €5.5m to holders of its €25m convertible bonds. This follows a first half in which a hotel subsidiary in which it has a 65% stake received US$5.1m in dividends and US$201,834 in credit payments. Another wholly-owned subsidiary that holds the company’s interests in the Miramar Trade Centre received US$1.7m in dividends and just over US$1m in credit payments.
- Steven Marshall, lead fund manager of Cordiant Digital Infrastructure (CORD), has bought another 177,400 shares at an average price of 95.3p as they trade at a 27% discount. He now owns 13.3m shares. Marshall, board directors and other members of the Cordiant Capital investment team together own 15.8m shares or 2.06% of the company.
- Private equity fund LMS Capital (LMS) is to issue £1.6m of B-shares to shareholders as part of its first return of capital since the company was put into managed wind-down in May.
- International Public Partnerships (INPP) has completed the recently announced debt financing to release £49m of capital from its Priority Schools Programme investments and 13 BSF (Building Schools for the Future) portfolio interests. The value of the retained equity interests and funds released from the transaction are at a premium to the 31 December 2024 valuation. This brings to £315m the proceeds the infrastructure fund has generated in the last 24 months, equivalent to about 12% of the portfolio.
- Primary Health Properties (PHP) will announce its interim results for the six months to 30 June on 24 July and hold a capital markets update for investors and analysts at 2.30pm at which Sir Jeremy Hunt, former health secretary and chancellor, will give a speech.
