News

Ahmet Sinan Kalpakçıoğlu (born in 1961) has been indicted for aggravated theft of money from two group companies while serving as The Ottoman Fund’s CFO in Turkey.   If convicted, Kalpakçıoğlu faces in excess of twelve years’ imprisonment and fines.  On 19 October the Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of First Instance accepted the indictment and set a […]

Firestone Diamonds (FDI-LN), The company recovers its first diamonds from the Liqhobong Diamond mine in Lesotho, owned 75% by Firestone and 25% by the Government of Lesotho. Initial recoveries are as expected and confirm presence of fancy yellow diamonds. Commissioning is 96% complete. Waste stripping is on target and ramp-up to commercial production has commenced. […]

Jubilee Platinum (JLP-LN) Q3 2016 chromite concentrate production from the Dilokong Chrome mine (DCM) tailings project was 28,559 tons an increase of 88.04% from Q2, 2016. The revenue generated from chromite concentrate sales increased 108.22% to £2.09m over Q2, 2016. Chromite project earnings were up 108.13% to £1.55m over Q2. Earnings attributable to Jubilee, for […]

Manchester & London reports that, for the year ended 31 July 2016, its NAV increased by 19.8% which they compare to a 4.0% return on the Dow Jones U.K. Total Stock Market Total Return Index. The discount the Shares trade at to their Net Asset Value per Share has widened by 2.2 per cent during […]

Bluefield Solar Income Fund has announced the results of its recent placing. The company says that commitments for 60,000,000 new ordinary shares were received and will be issued at a price of 101p per share, raising gross proceeds of approximately £60.6m. The New Ordinary Shares, which represent approximately 19% of the issued ordinary share capital […]

South32 (S32.L) Q1 2017 results impacted by metallurgical coal production at Illawarra. Challenging geological conditions encountered at Appin Area 9 and 7 caused a decrease is saleable production by 26% (646kt) to 1.4Mt. Coal sales of 9.3Mt now expected in FY17 as the operation has recovered and finished good inventory has been reduced by 300kt. […]

Over the twelve months to 31 August 2016, BlackRock Greater European’s net asset value per share increased by 16.9%, compared with a rise of 15.4% in the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index. The share price rose by 13.8% over the same period. The Board is proposing the payment of a final dividend of 3.65p […]

MedicX has contracted to acquire, by way of forward funding, a new primary healthcare medical centre in Brynmawr, South Wales. The property is due to be completed in November 2017. The acquisition is being made under the framework agreement with General Practice Investment Corporation (“GPI”) which was agreed in May 2013. The completed development will […]

The Board of BH Macro has announced that the company and its manager, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP, have agreed that the Manager will waive its entitlement to a management fee in respect of any performance-related growth of the Company from 3 October 2016 onwards. In addition, Brevan Howard Master Fund Limited will not charge […]

During the six months ended 31st August 2016, the total return on JPMorgan Income & Capital’s shareholder’s funds was 6.3%, compared with a return of 12.4% recorded by the composite benchmark (comprising 90% FTSE 350 Index and 10% Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Corporate Bond Index in sterling terms). The Board has declared two quarterly interim […]

In the year to 30th June 2016, the total return on JPMorgan Global Convertibles Income’s net assets was 0.0% compared to -1.0% last year. The return to shareholders, which reflects the share price movement and the dividend, was -9.5%. Three quarterly dividends totalling 3.375p per share were declared and paid during the year. The Board […]

SVG Capital, one of the UK’s largest private equity investment trusts and a Money Observer Rated Fund, has succumbed to a hostile takeover from US rival HarbourVest. read more here

Over the year to 31 August 2016, Aberdeen Latin American Income Fund’s NAV total return was 46.2%, ahead of the 38.8% rise in its composite benchmark’s return. On a total return basis the Ordinary share price rose by 36.7% to 66.63p reflecting a widening in the level of discount to NAV per share which moved from […]

Picton Property Income has published an update following the repayment of all its 7.25% zero dividend preference shares and revolving credit facility, together with asset disposals announced in August and October: GBP45 million of NAV accretive disposals, reducing central London office exposure. Repayment of GBP15.8 million previously drawn under a revolving credit facility. Repayment of GBP29.1 million […]

UK Commercial Property Trust faces a continuation vote as it has been trading on too wide a discount. Continuation votes triggered by the fund’s discount trading at wider than 5% for 90 days were built into the structure of the fund. The vote was triggered on 11 October 2016 and the meeting will be held […]

SVG Capital has announced that it has sold 100% of its portfolio having today signed an asset transfer deed with Harbourvest. Harbourvest Structured Solutions III LP is paying £807m for the portfolio. The price is a small (0.6%) premium to the NAV at end July 2016. Taking that figure, adding SVG’s existing cash pile and allowing […]

JPMorgan Smaller Companies has published its results for the year ended 31 July 2016. The total return on net assets before dilution was -7.7% (-6.4% after dilution), which compares with +2.1% for the benchmark index. The return to shareholders was -10.1% reflecting a widening of the share price discount to diluted net asset value from 17.0% […]

Kefi Minerals has received a Front End Engineering and Design proposal for US$68 million from Lycopodium for the EPC contract to build a mine at its 95%-owned Tulu Kapi gold project, in Ethiopia. Including contingencies and provisions for non-Tulu Kapi costs, the total capital estimate for the project has been increased to approximately US$150-160m. The […]

LondonMetric Property has acquired a distribution warehouse in Stevenage for GBP7.3m at a NIY of 6.25%. The 74,000 sq ft distribution warehouse is located immediately adjacent to the A1(M), on an established South East distribution park. The unit is let to Dixons Carphone for a further 9 years at a rent of GBP6.50 psf with […]

EPE Special Opportunities is reporting an IPO for one of its investments, Luceco plc. The IPO is of 71.6 million shares at a price of 130.0 pence per share. Luceco plc will admit its entire issued share capital of 160.8 million shares to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, implying a market […]

Picton Property Income has disposed of its interest at 1 Chancery Lane, WC2 for GBP17.25 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 3.9%. 1 Chancery Lane comprises a 15,000 sq ft multi-let retail and office block, located in London’s Midtown, arranged over basement, ground and five upper floors. The disposal formed part of and now […]

The SME Loan Fund has produced its first set of results, covering the period from launch until 30 June 2016. The Group’s NAV at 30 June 2016 was GBP53.4 million   (101.31p per Ordinary Share) compared to GBP51.7 million (98.15p per Ordinary Share) at launch. The total return for the Group for the period was 7.1% on the opening NAV. […]

Wolf Minerals expects to complete discussions with its lenders and major shareholder, RCF, on funding arrangements to support the ramp up towards commercial production and design performance at the Drakelands open pit tungsten/tin mine by 21 October 2016. Once the agreements are complete, the company will release its annual report to 30 June 2016. In […]

One of the most dramatic movements in the financial world following the EU referendum was the fall of the pound. the pound-dollar exchange rate fell from a pre-referendum level of around $1.49 to a rate today of around $1.22. In the short-term that has been good news for investors with…. you can read the rest […]

The investment company sector has changed considerably over the past ten years, as back in October 2006 we were still enjoying the dying days of the credit boom. read more here

Japan investment trusts have stormed the charts over the past month, with investors showing renewed confidence in the performance of Japanese corporates. read more here

Trusts with exposure to Japan and commodities were the top performers in NAV terms last month, led by Baillie Gifford’s Shin Nippon trust, up by 10.5%. In its latest monthly roundup, investment trust analyst QuotedData has revealed the best performing closed-end funds for September were those with exposure to Japan and commodities. Read more here

Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies has released its results for the year ended 31 August 2016. The fund’s NAV total return was 31.5%, while the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index rose by 33.0% on the same basis. The share price increased in total return terms by 27.3% as the discount widened. Revenue return per share was 9.50p […]

Picton Property Income says it will receive a payment of GBP5.25 million following the final settlement of a dispute arising from guarantee provisions within an occupational lease at the Strathmore Hotel, Luton. The settlement will add just less than 1.0 pence per share on the forthcoming quarterly NAV for the period to 30 September 2016 […]

ICG Longbow has announced results for the six-month period ending 31 July 2016. The NAV increased to GBP111.1 million whilst the NAV per share has increased by 2.48 pence per share to 102.66 pence per share. The shares traded in a range of 99 pence per share to 104 pence per share finishing at a small […]