Shares in NextEnergy Solar (NESF), the £279m renewables fund that disappointed investors with a dividend cut in March, fell again today after the company revealed a 10.4% fall in net asset value (NAV) in the fourth quarter of its financial year. The worse-than-expected decline in the three months to 31 March saw NAV per share […]
Seraphim Space (SSIT) is deploying the £137m raised in last month’s C-share issue at one of the “most exciting times” for space technology as SpaceX’s imminent $1.75tn flotation sparks huge investor interest in the sector. Unveiling a 30.7% advance in the portfolio in the first quarter of 2026 (the third in its financial year), chair […]
Ecofin Global Utilities and Infrastructure (EGL) has shaken off turbulence from the Iran war with its shares trading in line with its investments for the first time in three years. Half-year results to 31 March show the £250m investment trust has eradicated the discount to net asset value (NAV) at which it has stood since […]
Morningstar has warned SpaceX is “significantly overvalued” and estimated its fair value at $780bn, less than half the $1.75tn-$1.8tn target in next month’s flotation. In their report, analysts Nicolas Owens and Suryansh Sharma cited regulatory and technical hurdles and also untested AI economics for their cautious assessment. Seeking to puncture some of the hype in […]
The global active ETF market has continued its rapid expansion, underlining the growing relevance of the structure for European investors and asset managers. According to ETFGI’s latest report, global assets invested in actively managed ETFs reached a record US$2.33tn at the end of April, as the sector attracted US$67.02bn of net inflows during the month. […]
Shareholders in Herald (HRI) investment trust have until 26 June to vote on the make-or-break tender offer announced by the £1.4bn technology fund last month. Herald has published a circular setting out the timetable for the offer for shareholders to sell up to two thirds of its shares back to the company if they wish. […]
NB Private Equity Partners (NBPE) has doubled its share buyback programme to $240m (£178m) as the £612m co-investor in unquoted companies intensifies efforts to narrow its wide discount and improve shareholder returns. The Guernsey investment company, which with the help of New York-based Neuberger invests directly in companies alongside leading private equity managers, yesterday said […]
DL Invest, the Polish logistics group that failed to stop the wind-down of Abrdn European Logistics Income (ASLI) in February, voted down two resolutions at the real estate investment trust’s AGM yesterday. Special resolutions nine and 10 permitting ASLI to buy back its shares and call general meetings on not less than 14 days’ notice […]
Shares in Bluefield Solar Income (BSIF) jumped up to 16% this morning after the high-yielding renewables fund accepted a £548m cash bid from biomass generator Drax (DRX), six months after putting itself up for sale. Drax beat a shortlist of bidders after agreeing to pay 92.574p per share. Including a 2.25p interim dividend due this […]
Universal Music Group (UMG) has rejected the $64.3bn (£48bn) takeover offer made by Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management two months ago. The US-focused but Euronext Amsterdam listed business said on Friday evening that Pershing Square’s proposed merger with its New York listed special purpose vehicle SPARC Holdings was “not in the best interests” of […]
Franklin Templeton has expanded its European active ETF range with the launch of the Franklin US Income Equity Focus UCITS ETF, an actively managed US equity income strategy listed on the London Stock Exchange. The fund has a total expense ratio of 0.35% and targets income and capital growth through a portfolio of US large-cap […]
There are some words in financial services – from “guaranteed” to “uncorrelated” – that should set alarm bells ringing. Historically, “rebate” has been one of them. Anyone who remembers the pre-Retail Distribution Review world of fund supermarkets, platform payments and distribution incentives could be forgiven for assuming that the investment industry had broadly learned its […]
European Opportunities Trust (EOT) is to wind up and give shareholders a choice of rolling into a new open-ended Liontrust fund run by manager Alexander Darwall or switch into the top-performing JPMorgan European Growth & Income (JEGI) if they wish to remain in an investment trust. There will also be a full cash exit at […]
CT UK High Income (CHI), the £132m UK equity income trust run by David Moss at Columbia Threadneedle, delivered a total underlying investment return of 18.3% in the year to 31 March, behind the 21.5% of the FTSE All-Share index. Ordinary shareholders received 15.3% and B-share holders, who receive capital payments instead of dividends, got […]
Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT) plans to hike dividends by 50% from October and to fully gear up in order to boost shareholder returns after Nick Train’s underperforming investment trust suffered a 14.4% fall in the six months to 31 March after several of his key holdings slumped on fears of the competitive threat from […]
Sirius Real Estate (SRE) has added to its defence-related assets with the €49.8m (£43.1m) acquisition of a light-industrial business park in Fulda, north-east of Frankfurt. The £1.6bn Anglo-German business park investor said the 112,867 sqm plot was fully let with its main tenant, a “high quality” German personal armour manufacturer, accounting for 78% of the […]
Annual results from HICL Infrastructure (HICL) show the £2.4bn investment company is taking steps to placate shareholders after the failed merger attempt with InfraRed Capital stable mate Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) late last year. Following consultation with half of its shareholders, HICL is proposing moving to a biennial continuation vote starting in 2028 if its […]
Scottish Mortgage Trust (SMT) has published strong annual results just as shares in the Baillie Gifford flagship complete their 30-month recovery from the 2022 growth crash. News that SMT shares gained 26.8% in the year to 31 March, beating the FTSE World’s 18% gain, came as the shares hovered below their November 2021 peak of […]
CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income (CYN) has decided to follow portfolio managers Keith Watson and Robert Crayfourd to Tufton Investment Management, appointing the latter as its new fund manager in place of Manulife where the pair handed in their notice in March. Having conducted a beauty parade of Tufton, Manulife and other investment groups, Christopher […]
Gresham House Energy Storage (GRID) has formed a strategic partnership with Summit Transition Partners (STP), a joint venture between Sumitomo Corporation of Japan and TPK Holdings, a Taiwanese touchscreen and supply chain management provider. STP will buy a 25% stake in the battery fund’s first three development projects on which it completed debt financing yesterday. These […]
Several speakers at ETF Stream’s ETF Ecosystem Unwrapped 2026, held in London on 20 and 21 May, came with the message that active ETFs are becoming a core part of issuer product pipelines, but warned that education will be critical as increasingly sophisticated strategies move beyond professional investors. Active ETFs are moving from an institutional […]
Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) has urged its reduced band of shareholders to vote against the new board of directors that activist hedge Saba Capital wants to impose. Acknowledging that New York-based Saba was in a strong position with a 31.4% stake in the company following this month’s 80% exit tender offer, chair Glen Suarez said […]
Oakley Capital, manager of Oakley Capital Investments (OCI), has bought a majority stake in XTEL, a Belgian business software as a service (SaaS) provider. The size of the investment was not disclosed but OCI, an £816m investment company that invests in Oakley’s private equity funds, is investing £33m through the Oakley Capital Fund VI. This […]
India Capital Growth (IGC) is gearing up for its AGM which is scheduled for 11 June. If you are shareholder and you are free, I would urge you to go along. Listen to the investment adviser’s presentation and put questions to him and the board. I know that if it was not for the demands […]
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID) has signed a sale and purchase agreement for the conditional acquisition of a 480MW battery project near Rayleigh, Essex. This increases GRID’s pipeline of projects from 694MW to 1,174MW. Once built, Rayleigh will be almost five times the size of GRID’s currently largest operational project, Melksham (100MW) and twice […]
Workspace Group (WKP) has received a revised requisition from Saba Capital Management (which has interests of around 21.12% in the company) requesting the removal of all six board members to be replaced by its nominees. It had initially sought the removal of five of the six directors in a requisition notice earlier this month, but […]
Edinburgh Investment Trust (EDIN) is reporting a NAV total return of 7.2% and share price total return of 8.5% for the year ended 31 March 2026. Both quite a way behind a 21.5% return on FTSE All-Share Index. The full year dividend has been raised by 11% to 32.0p. While highlighting outperformance over the six-year […]
Great Portland Estates (GPE) is celebrating a record year for new leases and renewals in its portfolio, securing £70.9m per annum of rents at 10.3% more than their March 2025 ERV over the 12 months ended 31 March 2026. That fed through into a 4.3% increase in the value of its portfolio and a 6.1% […]
Despite a busy year where M&A added £1.2bn of assets to its portfolio, LondonMetric Property (LMP) saw a only modest increase in its EPRA NAV over the year ended 31 March 2026 (from 199.2p to 200.6p). Earnings per share improved by 2.4% to 13.5p and the full-year dividend is being increased by 3.8% to to […]
Schroder Oriental Income (SOI) had a great six-month period to end of February 2026, with an NAV return of 35.3% and share price return of 38.1%, both well ahead of the benchmark MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index return of 30.7%. It is rebalancing its dividend profile – increasing the size of its interim […]
