Hansteen releases results after busy year – Hansteen has released results for 2017. Highlights are: EPRA NAV per share of 130.6p after return of capital at 11.1p premium to 31 December 2016 EPRA NAV of 128.9p Adjusted EPS was 6.9p (FY 2016: 6.7p) IFRS profit increased by 86.6% to GBP204.3 million (FY 2016: GBP109.5 million) […]

Princess sees remarkable contraction in its discount over 2017 – In 2017, Princess Private Equity’s net asset value ended up at EUR10.73 per share, an increase of 5.6% for the year. Princess paid dividends totalling EUR 0.56 and this contributed to an NAV total return of 11.2%. The chairman says that the performance of underlying portfolio companies […]

Klepierre made bid approach to Hammerson – Klépierre has confirmed that “on 8 March 2018, Klépierre made a proposal on a non-adversarial basis to the board of Hammerson with the intention of engaging in a constructive dialogue regarding a possible offer to acquire the issued and to be issued share capital of Hammerson on a […]

Investment Trust Insider on battery storage James Carthew: the economics of storing energy in batteries Two weeks ago when I wrote about Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF) I referred to a couple of new solar power plants that planned to operate without government subsidies by augmenting their revenue with the aid of battery storage plants. […]

Sherborne ends speculation, takes Barclays stake – this morning, Barclays PLC has announced that Sherborne controlled entities (notably Sherborne Investors (Guernsey) C Limited) have acquired voting rights over 5.16% of its issued share capital. Barclays says that it will continue to engage with Sherborne, and welcomes them as a shareholder. Sherbone has released an announcement […]

Securities analysts face pressure to reinvent themselves Yak farmer? Maybe. Restaurateur? Perhaps. Or how about sinking your redundancy cheque into a small gin distillery? For many City analysts, the need to reinvent themselves has never been so pressing.A shake-up in securities analysis is under way, courtesy of January’s Mifid II rules that require greater disclosure […]

Investment Trust Insider on Jupiter US Smaller Companies James Carthew: Jupiter US wants more JUS from Siddles Half-year results for Jupiter US Smaller Companies (JUS) show the investment trust lagged its benchmark, the Russell 2000 index (adjusted to sterling), by 3.2% in the six months to 31 December 2017, extending a prolonged period of underperformance. […]

EP Global Opportunities delivers good numbers despite a momentum market – The investment style of the manager of EP Global Opportunities (EPG) is a to seek out undervalued companies from around the world.  With the periods of volatility that have been a feature of recent markets, the markets have favoured momentum investors over value-driven stock […]

Tenth Anniversary of Oakley Capital Investments in 2017 – Oakley Capital Investments (OCI) has announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017. The company was launched in August 2007 and has completed its first decade of trading. Oakley Capital Investments is a Bermudian based company listed in London on the AIM market. The company seeks to provide […]

Empiric Student Property reports death of chairman –  The Board of Empiric Student Property plc says that it is deeply saddened to announce that its non-executive chairman has died. Stuart Beevor, a non-executive director of the company, has agreed to assume the role of acting non-executive chairman with immediate effect. Mr Beevor said:  “We are all deeply […]

First year results for LMS Capital with new investment manager – In August 2016, LMS Capital (LMS) appointed Gresham House Asset Management Limited as its investment manager to carry out the new investment policy and to manage the company’s assets on a discretionary basis. Please click here to see our report on the proposal at the time. […]

Strong performance from stock selection for shareholders of Fidelity European Values – As well as the NAV of the company beating its benchmark and a narrowing of the discount, the  highlights of the final report for Fidelity European Values (FEV) included a new and lower management fee structure and an increase in the dividend. In addition, the […]

JZ Capital Partners sale of Paragon adds 0.4% to NAV– JZ Capital Partners (JZCP)  announce the sale of Paragon Water Systems, Inc. to Culligan Water representing an increase in NAV of approximately 0.4% , as of 31 January 2018. The transaction follows the recent announcement (as we previously reported) that JZCP is to sell Bolder Healthcare Solutions […]

2017 a better year for BlackRock Latin American’s shareholders –  after a disappointing 2016, the performance of the NAV of BlackRock Latin American (BRLA) was ahead of the benchmark in 2017 but the discount remains stubbornly high. Performance Over the year ended 31 December 2017 the company’s NAV returned 29.0% in US dollar terms (17.7% in sterling […]

Stock split proposed for soaraway Shin Nippon – Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon has extended its impressive run of results with a 46.1% increase in its NAV over the year to 31 January 2018 and a 54.2% increase in its share price over that period. By contrast, its comparative index, the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index, […]

Hansteen has announced that the Secretary of State for Transport has acquired Saltley Business Park, Birmingham from a subsidiary of the Company, by way of a compulsory purchase order. This has taken place under the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017, to enable construction of the first phase of the HS2 route. […]

Witan has announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017. During the period, the trust provide an NAV total return of 19%, thereby outperforming its benchmark’s return of 15.1%. The trust discount to NAV reduced during the period from 4.0% to 1.6% at the year-end. The dividend increased by 10.5% to 21.0p. […]

New discount control mechanism for JPMorgan Claverhouse – JPMorgan Claverhouse has published its annual results. For the year to 31st December 2017, the net asset total return was +16.2%. This compares with a total return for the same period from their benchmark, the All-Share Index, of +13.1%. During the year, the shareholder total return was +21.8%. The total […]

JZ Capital boosted by Bolder – JZ Capital Partners Limited has announced an agreement to sell Bolder Healthcare Solutions (“BHS”) to a subsidiary of Cognizant, one of the world’s leading professional services companies. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, BHS offers a full suite of healthcare revenue cycle management services to the hospital and physician marketplace in […]

Monks tinkers with management fee – The Board of The Monks Investment Trust has announced a change in the calculation of the company’s management fee, with the introduction of a further stepped tier at GBP1.75bn of total assets*. With effect from 1 May 2018 the annual management fee payable to the Company’s Investment Managers and Secretaries, […]

City Natural Resources revamp includes change of name – City Natural Resources has just published its interim results. The announcement contains the results of review that the fund’s board has undertaken as the fund’s CULS approach maturity. Dividends from capital The Board believes that the level of dividends paid has been a key feature in […]

Tufton buys two vessels – The Board of Tufton Oceanic Assets Limited has announced that the company has acquired two sub-Panamax containerships for $22.8 million. The vessels will have charters of at least two years and three years, respectively. One ship is chartered to part of a major investment grade container shipping group. The other ship will […]

Ranger hit by Princeton bankruptcy – Ranger Direct Lending has announced that it has been informed that Princeton and the General Partner filed voluntary petitions of bankruptcy on 9 March 2018. The filings came hours before the three-judge arbitration panel was to rule on an application for an order requiring Princeton to hold and segregate all revenues […]

CatCo reports on its annus horribilis – CatCo Reinsurance Opportunities has published its accounts covering 2017. The net asset value of the ordinary shares declined by 27.6%. When the company thinks it might face claims in relation to losses, it holds money in ‘side pocket investments’, effectively cash, rather than reinvesting this money in new investments. Due to […]

RM Secured Direct Lending on track for March C share conversion – RM Secured Direct Lending has published results covering the period from launch to the end of December 2017. RM Secured Direct Lending plc listed on the premium segment of the main market of the London Stock Exchange on 15 December 2016, issuing 50,300,000 Ordinary […]

BB Biotech remains a top performer in Feb Switzerland’s BB Biotech (BBB.S) recorded a 2% fall in its NAV in February, but achieved a robust 7.8% rise in its portfolio value in the two month year-to-date (YTD) period, on the back of the strong rise in January.  BB Biotech enjoyed the second best investment performance in […]

Secure Income REIT buying £436m portfolio – Secure Income REIT has exchanged contracts to acquire two substantial off-market portfolios at a total cost of GBP436 million. The first portfolio of leisure assets across the UK has a gross cost of GBP224 million representing a net initial yield of 5.9% and with a weighted average unexpired lease term of […]

Murray International outperforms in 2017 – Murray International has published results for 2017. The chairman says that the NAV posted a total return of 14.7%, ahead of the total return of 12.8% from the benchmark (40% FTSE World UK Index and 60% FTSE World ex UK Index). The share price posted a total return of 11.0%, […]

Fundsmith doesn’t want to own the stocks that are going up – Fundsmith Emerging Equities has reported results covering 2017. The net asset value per share total return for the year was +21.2% (2016: +12.0%) and the share price total return was +24.5% (2016: +10.5%). The MSCI Emerging and Frontier Markets Index, measured on a net […]