Merchants Trust raises dividend for 37th consecutive year – The UK equity-focused income fund Merchants Trust (MRCH), which has a 130-year-old history, reported results today for the year to January 31, 2019. Highlights from the announcement Dividend growth of nearly 5%, ahead of inflation, and yield remains well above the sector average. The current dividend […]

Schroder Asia Total Return hit by China weakness – Schroder Asian Total Return has published its annual report for the year ended 31 December 2018. The chairman says that 2018 was a difficult year. The company produced a net asset value total return of -8.1%, better than the total return of -8.6% from an equivalent index […]

Fidelity Japan NAV down 15.4% in 2018 – Fidelity Japan (FJV), the small and mid-cap fund, has published its annual results for the year to 31 December 2018. The company had a difficult year in 2018 with its NAV and shares down 15.4% and 16.2% in sterling terms respectively, underperforming the 8.3% decline in the […]

NB Distressed Debt pushes on with shareholder returns in 2018 – NB Distressed Debt (NBDD) has published its annual report for the year to 31 December 2018. The company is made up of a number of different share classes: the Ordinary Share Class; the Extended Life Share Class; and the New Global Share Class. All three […]

Regional REIT posts strong 2018 results driven by offices portfolio – Regional REIT (RGL) is benefitting from the relatively strong performance of the regional UK office market outside London. The company has announced results for the year to 31December 2018. Its EPRA NAV per share increased by 9% to 115.5p, while its total dividend was up […]

India Capital Growth 2018 NAV down 20% as small and mid-cap market deflates – After a bumper few years following the election and reforms enacted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s stock market cooled in 2018. The impact of a more challenged macroeconomic environment and exogenous forces such as the rise in oil prices (India […]

Dunedin Income Growth looking good ahead of 150th birthday – Dunedin Income Growth’s NAV return for the year to 31 January 2019 matched that of the All-Share index (both falling by 3.8%). The share price total return for the year was -0.83% reflecting a modest narrowing of the discount to NAV from 8.14% at the start of […]

International Public Partnerships deploys another £105m – International Public Partnerships has published results for 2018. Highlights are: Net Asset Value growth of 7.9% to GBP2.2 billion (31 December 2017: GBP2.0 billion) NAV per share growth to 148.1 pence (31 December 2017: 145.0 pence) Full-year dividend increase of c.2.5% to 7.00 pence per share (31 December 2017: […]

BBGI looking at offshore transmission opportunities – BBGI’s 2018 results are out. Highlights are: Overall NAV up 24.4 per cent to GBP774.5 million as at 31 December 2018 (31 December 2017: GBP622.5 million) and NAV per Share up 2.8 per cent to 133.5 pence per share as at 31 December 2018 (31 December 2017: 129.9 pence […]

Impact Healthcare targeting 9% returns – Impact Healthcare REIT has published results for the year ended 31 December 2018. The company is reporting modest increases in its NAV and share price (up 2.5% and 1.1% respectively), a 6p dividend (in-line with its target) and enough earnings to cover the dividend 1.08x. The NAV total return was […]

RDI REIT shares jump on takeover approach from Cromwell – RDI REIT’s (RDI), shares are up 15.1% at the time of writing, after it confirmed it had received an unsolicited approach from Cromwell Property Group (CMW). In an announcement responding to media speculation surrounding a potential offer, RDI says there can be no certainty that any […]

Editson Property signs two new tenants in Hull – Ediston Property Investment (EPIC), the UK focused REIT, has announced that it has successfully let three vacant units to two new tenants at Kingston Retail Park in Hull. Iceland Foods and Sue Ryder the new tenants Iceland Foods Limited has signed a ten-year lease, without break, […]

RM Secured says on track to cover dividend – RM Secured Direct Lending’s results for the year ended 31 December 2018 show that the NAV fell from 98.2p to 96.96p over the year (the share price was unchanged). Factoring in the 6.5p dividend, the total return on NAV was 5.5%, much better than last year’s 2.8%. […]

Interest rate trading drives returns for BH Global in 2018 – BH Global, the fund of hedge funds, has announced that the NAV of its USD share class (BHGU) appreciated by 6.55% in the year to December 31, 2018. USD is the company’s financial currency but it has a larger class of sterling shares (BHGG), which […]

Best start to a year for Pershing Square though discount lingers – Pershing Square Holdings (PSH) has reported results for the year to December 31, 2018. The activist fund, which invests in publicly-listed US stocks, is generating momentum following measures it undertook in early 2018 to address a period of poor performance that was not […]

Bellevue fund manager Dr Daniel Koller to step back from BB Healthcare – Dr Daniel Koller, head of investments at Switzerland-based healthcare specialist, Bellevue, is to scale back his involvement with BB Healthcare Trust (BBH) and focus on the core Zurich-based BB Biotech AG (BION) company. Dr Koller’s Step back from BB Healthcare is a planned […]

Starwood European secures new loans in 2018 results – Starwood European Real Estate announced its 2018 year-end results today.  New loans to borrowers totalled £208.0m, and net investment was £70.8m. The NAV total return was +7.0%, and the NAV per share was 102.68p. Share price was 102.0 at 31 December 2018, indicating the company was […]

JPMorgan American lags benchmark in 2018 (underscoring why the board asked for changes to the management line-up) – for 2018 it reported a NAV return of 0.6% against a 1.3% return on the S&P 500 Index. The return to shareholders was -0.2%. A total dividend of 6.5p per share compares with last year’s total of 5.5p […]

Sector tilts weigh down JPMorgan Smaller Companies in 2018 – In keeping with many equity-focused trusts, JPMorgan US Smaller Companies (JUSC) had a difficult end to 2018, as markets dived into risk-off mode. NAV fell 5.8% year on year, to December 31, 2018, compared to a decline of 5.7% in the Russell 2000 benchmark. Reflecting […]

Oakley Capital to buy Spanish business software firm Ekon – Following on from reporting a strong set of results for FY18, on the back of several successful exits (https://quoteddata.com/2019/03/oakley-capital-2018-profits-beat-wider-market-strong-exits/), the private equity trust Oakley Capital (OCI) has announced the acquisition of Spain-based Ekon, a leading provider of business software. The business is being bought from […]

INPP vehicle invests in fibre-optic start-up – toob Limited (toob), the start-up fibre-optic company established by former directors at Vodafone, has announced it has secured investment from the National Digital Infrastructure Fund (NDIF). NDIF was established in 2017 as a co-investment vehicle partnership between HM Government and the infrastructure trust, International Public Partnerships (INPP), that […]

LMS Capital surveying new opportunities – The small to mid-sized focused private equity trust LMS Capital (LMS) saw its NAV decline by 6.5% in the year to December 31, 2018. Highlights include: The net asset value at 31 December 2018 was £60.3m, 74.7p per share (31 December 2017: £64.5m, 79.9p per share) The portfolio showed […]

Supermarket Income REIT raises £45m in oversubscribed issue – Supermarket Income (Supr) has raised £45m through an ordinary share issue that is expected to be deployed towards the acquisition of two new supermarket assets. SUPR announced the share issue earlier this month with an initial target raise of £25m. The company owns six UK supermarket […]

Europe-focused BMO Private Equity optimistic on 2019 – BMO Private Equity (BPET) saw its NAV grow by 12.4% on a total return basis in the year to December 31, 2018. During the year the company made new investments either through funds or as co-investments, totalling £71.8m. Realisations and associated income totalled £82.7m. Over 2018, BPET re-branded […]

India the key for Fundsmith Emerging Equities – Fundsmith Emerging Equities (FEET), which predominantly owns companies that manufacture consumer staple products in emerging and frontier markets, has reported results for the year-end to December 31, 2018. A NAV fall of 3% outpaced the benchmark Index by over 5%, though the share price tracked the Index […]

Biogen Alzheimer’s failure drags down Biotech Growth – Biogen, a key holding in Biotech Growth Trust and a component of most other biotech and healthcare portfolios, has lost a third of its value after trials of an Alzheimer’s drug failed to show any benefit. Biogen and its partner, Japanese drugmaker Eisai, said they would stop […]

Hipgnosis buys three catalogues – Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited (SONG) has bolstered its portfolio with the acquisition of 3 catalogues of songs. The catalogues include songs that have globally achieved Top 10 positions on 607 charts, Top 5 on 420 charts and, most importantly, Number 1 on over 148 charts around the world. Included in […]

JPMorgan American Investment to change strategy – The Board of JPMorgan American Investment Trust (JAM) has announced its intention to change the large-cap component of the company by moving to a higher-conviction investment approach. The board has undertaken a review of the options available from the range of strategies offered by JPMorgan Asset Management, JAM’s […]

2018 a year of progress for Empiric Student Property – Empiric Student Property (ESP) has announced full year results to 31 December 31 2018. These re-affirm the fundamentally strong shape UK higher education is in on the demand side. Current occupancy stands at 97%, up 5% from year-end 2017. Key highlights from the fund’s financial […]