The dispute between Travelodge and its landlords took another turn this week with the budget hotel operator threatening to pursue a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) if rent cuts of up to 80% for 18 months was not agreed. In a letter sent to landlords, Travelodge said it had already lost the equivalent of several months […]
In a statement on its website, Invesco has announced that Mark Barnet has left the company with immediate effect. Mark spent 24 years with Invesco. The announcement came following Invesco’s review of its UK equity product range and investment management team, overseen by chief investment officer Stephanie Butcher. She was appointed at the beginning of 2020. Mark spent […]
Scottish Mortgage (SMT) has announced its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2020, which suggest that the trust has provided an effective shelter against the storm of covid-19. During the year, the trust provided Nav and share price total returns of 13.7% and 12.7% respectively, which are very respectable given the unfortunate timing […]
Aberdeen Asian Income (AAIF) has announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2019, during which it benefited from exposure to tech companies and businesses that rely on Chinese consumption growth. During 2019, AAIF provided an NAV total return of 10.5%, which was broadly in line with the MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific […]
Further to its announcement on 27 March 2020, Strategic Equity Capital (SEC) has announced that it has entered into an investment management agreement with Gresham House Asset Management Limited (GHAM) as the Company’s new investment manager and alternative investment fund manager (AIFM), which will become effective from 21 May 2020. At this point, GVQ Investment […]
The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) has announced that it has completed the acquisition of an approximate 36% equity interest in Merkur, a 396MW operational offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. This follows the exchange of contracts to acquire the Project announced in December 2019, and receipt of German foreign investment approvals and EU […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 15 May 2020 Having collected 100% of rents due at the end of March, Triple Point Social Housing REIT has raised its dividend target for the year ended 31 December 2020 to 5.18p, 1.7p up on the figure for 2019. It has also appointed Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited as sole corporate broker and […]
Sirius Real Estate has reaffirmed its dividend policy after reporting high levels of rent collection in April as lockdown measures in Germany ease. The company, which owns a portfolio of business parks in Germany, said it received 98.8% of normal levels of rent and service charge for April and no significant reduction in the first two […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 14 May 2020: Symphony International has reported a 38.4% fall in NAV to 60.4 cents over the first quarter of 2020. It sold the remainder of its stake in IHH Healthcare, freeing up $4.6m, got $7.5m in from its sale of land in Niseko (the Japanese ski resort) and, over 2020, sold […]
Aurora manager’s payday creeps closer – Aurora had a great 2019, beating the All-Share by 10.8% with a return on NAV of 29.9%. This included a dividend of 4.5p (up from 4p for 2018). The good performance encouraged the shares to trade at a premium and allowed the trust to expand in 2019, issuing £22.5m worth of […]
Duke Royalty plans paper dividend – Duke Royalty has been reviewing the situation with its business in light of COVID-19. It says “Through its diversified portfolio, Duke naturally has exposure to a range of sectors, some of which are impacted to a greater extent by Covid than others, such as hospitality & leisure. In certain […]
Brunner (BUT), the global sector company, which counts on healthcare and financial services as its two largest sector allocations, has announced that Lucy Macdonald has stepped down as manager of the trust. Matthew Tillett, who BUT says has worked closely with Lucy on Brunner for a number of years, will be the new lead manager, supported […]
Merian Chrysalis (MERI), the growth capital sector trust, has released a portfolio update, including a new investment in Featurespace, a leader in financial crime risk management for fraud and anti-money laundering. Featurespace investment worth 20m MERI has invested £20m in Featurespace, as part of a £30m funding round. MERI noted the following about Featurespace: “Featurespace is a world […]
DP Aircraft I (DPA) has provided an update, covering its two lessees, Thai Airways and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and its lending banks. DPA re-affirmed that the decision to suspend dividend payments remains unchanged, noting that this position is unlikely to be reviewed until there is greater clarity as to both the ongoing financial position of its two […]
RM Secured Lending cuts management fee – the fee has been adjusted so that the manager is entitled to a fee of: a) 0.875 per cent. of the prevailing Net Asset Value (“NAV”) in the event that the prevailing NAV is up to or equal to £250 million; or b) 0.800 per cent. of the prevailing […]
North Atlantic has cash to take advantage of opportunities – North Atlantic Smaller Companies Trust posted a return on NAV of 18.2% for the year ended 31 January 2020, well ahead of Uk indices and almost matching the return on the S&P500 (+18.4%). The dividend was maintained at 30p. The manager says that “The major standout […]
Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust (SLI) has reported a 7.5% fall in net asset value (NAV) in the quarter to the end of March as the impact of covid-19 bites. The company, which owns a diverse portfolio of commercial properties in the UK, said NAV per share was 83.2p compared to 89.9p on 31 […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 12 May 2020: Gore Street Energy Storage says that construction work on its two 50MW battery projects in Northern Ireland has restarted (subject to social distancing measures). Construction is scheduled to be completed in December 2020, allowing sufficient time to complete necessary asset testing before the assets go online. the DS3 contracts […]
Primary Health Properties (PHP), has acquired a portfolio of 20 purpose-built medical centres for £47.1m. The company, which owns a portfolio of primary healthcare facilities, has also conditionally contracted to acquire a further two medical centres for £6.9m. The acquired properties are leased to GP practices, other NHS healthcare operators and pharmacies, with around 91% […]
Phoenix Spree Deutschland (PSDL), which specialises in German residential real estate, has released an update. To date, the impact on rent collection has been limited. In the month to 30 April 2020, PSDL said that 98% of rent due had been collected in total compared to 99% in January 2020. Germany begins to ease restrictions On […]
Gresham House Energy (GRID) has reported an NAV of 101.5p, as at 31 March 2020. GRID said the NAV increased over the quarter, driven by the assets acquired in December being valued at fair market value, which was offset in part by a more conservative set of forecasts driven by lower inflation assumptions, as well as, […]
Civitas Social Housing (CSH) has released a trading and market update, covering the quarterly period to 31 March 2020. Performance was in line with expectations, with the company saying that it has so far not been adversely impacted by covid-19. In the statement, it was noted: “The board believes that the company operates a robust […]
Lockdowns are beginning to ease across Europe. Along with this, news over the weekend that China would lower real lending rates, has pushed stocks higher this morning. In a quarterly update to 31 March, private equity sector company, HgCapital Trust (HGT), delivered a total NAV return of (6.2%). In it’s outlook statement, HGT noted: “We […]
Aseana mulling demerger Aseana Properties says that it is considering proposals to demerge certain assets held by the company in exchange for the buyback and cancellation of a significant percentage of its shares. The transaction would involve buying back shares owned by Ireka Corporation Berhad and its concert party Legacy Essence Limited along with certain other shareholders […]
Boards faced with underperforming managers have a tricky balancing act to perform. Investors may have bought the trust because they like the manager and the investment style that comes with them. They might be prepared to look past short-term performance problems and might not take kindly to their favoured manager getting fired. Or a board […]
In the past couple of weeks we have seen two big over-subscribed capital raises by property companies that have caught many by surprise. First Supermarket Income REIT almost doubled its £75m target, raising £139.8m. And this week LondonMetric, the logistics focused company, exceeded its £100m target, raising £120m. It has caught many by surprise because […]
Witan Pacific underperforms again – Over the year ended 31 January 2020, Witan Pacific returned 5.2% in NAV terms, 3.5% less than the return on its benchmark (the MSCI Asia Pacific Free Index). Fortunately for shareholders, a narrowing of the discount left them with returns of 12.3%. The dividend was increased from 7p to 7.15p. […]
ICG Longbow looks forward to covered dividend – ICG Longbow Senior Secured UK Property Debt’s NAV fell slightly to 98.2p over the year ended 31 January 2020. The shares were trading at a modest premium to that at the year end, at 99p. The dividend was maintained at 6p. Earnings per share were 5.04p (up from […]
Impact Healthcare REIT has posted a slight uplift in net asset value (NAV) for the first quarter of 2020. The group, which owns a portfolio of UK healthcare real estate assets, reported a NAV of 106.98p per share, up from 106.81p at the end of December 2019. It also declared a dividend for the first quarter […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 7 May 2020. As IAG (parent company of British Airways) says it does not expect to see 2019’s level of passenger demand for flights again until 2023 and BT suspends its dividend for the previous and current financial year – dealing another blow to UK equity income investors: Origo Partners says that […]
