Electra has announced that, at the request of Sherborne (which holds 19% of the company), its Chairman met Edward Bramson of Sherborne Investors Management (pictured) on 24 July. At the meeting Mr Bramson suggested that Electra appoint three new directors, including Edward Bramson, and that he be given a mandate to conduct a strategic review […]
Aberforth Geared Income has published its results covering the year to the end of June 2014. Over the year the total return on the company was 29.2% (well ahead of the return on the Numis Smaller Companies Index ex Investment Companies +20.3% and the FTSE All-Share Index +13.1%), the gearing effect of the company’s zero […]
The net asset value total return for Fidelity European Values matched that of its benchmark index for the first half of 2014. Over the six months to 30 June the fund returned 3.1% as did the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index. The discount narrowed though so the return to shareholders was 5.6%. The manager’s […]
Trinity Capital has published figures for the year ended 31 March 2014. They sold their investment in Luxor Cyber City for £9.2m and used the money to fund a distribution to shareholders of £10.5m. At the end of March they had five investments left valued at £22.8m or 10.9p per share. On 24 July 214 […]
SEGRO has acquired a portfolio of four UK logistics properties from Harbert European Real Estate Fund III, L.P for £49.5m, equivalent to a net initial yield of 6.3 per cent (the annual net rent is £3.2m). The portfolio is fully let for an average lease length of 6.2 years to the earlier of break or expiry. The portfolio comprises […]
Invesco Property Income, which has been struggling with its debt for some time, has been told by its lending bank that it will grant a three month extension to Invesco Property Income’s loan (due for repayment on 28 September 2014). However that’s it – Invesco Property Income will have to sell off its portfolio by […]
St Peter Port Capital has published results for the year ended 31 March 2014. The net asset value fell by 15.8% during the year. During the year the company made sales of portfolio companies totalling £3.4m and since the year end they have realised a further £1.6m. £1.3m was invested during the year – most […]
JZ Capital Partners has announced that it has issued £38,861,140 nominal of convertible loan stock. The CULS carry a coupon of 6%, paid semi-annually in March and September. They will be repaid at par on 30 July 2021 (if not converted into equity earlier). They can be converted into equity in the company at any time from 40 days after […]
BlackRock World Mining is buying a royalty linked to production from Avanco Resources’ current licensed projects including the Antas North deposit and the Pedra Branca deposit both in Brazil. For $12m BlackRock World Mining gets a 25% royalty payment on gold production and a 2% payment on the production of other metals including copper. Following this transaction, BlackRock […]
The Better Capital 2012 Cell has committed £90m to the acquisition and restructuring of OfficeTeam – which they describe as “a leading UK supplier of office products and services”. The fund is paying £80m to acquire the business and has set aside £10m to fund its restructuring. OfficeTeam had revenues of £142m in 2013 and this […]
Real Estate Investors has bought Westgate House, Market Street, Warwick for £7.25m. The property is a 56,000 sq ft mixed use retail and office building, tenants include Boots UK Limited, Marks and Spencer, Simply Foods Limited and NHS Property Services. It produces rental income of £631,325 per annum – 8.7% on the purchase price.
Scottish American has published figures for the first half of 2014. The net asset value total return and the shareholder total return were both 1.6% over the period. The benchmark return (FTSE All World Index) was 3.2%. The dividends in the first half total 5.225p – 3.5% up on the corresponding dividends in 2013. Performance […]
Bluefield Solar is making two additions to its portfolio of solar parks, buying a 8.5MW plant in Devon (on a greenfield site, pictured, Capelands Farm close to Exmoor National Park) and a 6MW plant in Somerset. The cost for both projects is £15m and they are being built by Juwi AG, a German renewable energy contractor […]
JPMorgan Brazil, chaired by Howard Myles (pictured), has published its results for the year ended 30 April 2014. The figures make poor reading as the total return on net assets came in at -24.4% and the return to shareholders was -26.0%. The fund underperformed its benchmark, the MSCI Brazil 10/40 index, by more than 7% over […]
Vinaland has sold its 64.5% stake in the Marie Curie project (a 3,386 sqm mixed use development planned for District 3 of Ho Chi Minh City). The price they achieved was 14.3% higher than the valuation they had on the asset as at the end of March 2014. Proceeds to Vinaland are estimated at $10.9m and […]
The Ottoman Fund has sold a parcel of land in Bodrum, Turkey for $28.5m. The buyer is Besa Marin Turizm Isletmeleri A.S and the sale price is at a premium to The Ottoman Fund’s valuation of this asset as at the end of February 2014 (in the accounts the value is $26.7m). The Board say they […]
Alliance Trust has published interim figures for the half year ended 30 June 2014. Alliance Trust underperformed slightly during this period – generating a total return on net assets of 0.3% and a return to shareholders of 0.4% compared to a return on the AIC Global sector of 1.6% on net assets and 3.0% on […]
Premier Energy & Water, which we recently wrote an extensive report on, has announced proposals for reorganising the company with a view to extending its life. At the moment Premier Energy & water is due to wind up in December 2015 – coincident with the maturity date of its zero dividend preference shares. The Board […]
BlackRock Throgmorton Trust has released its interim figures. These cover the six months ended 31 May 2014. Over that period the net asset value total return was 2.7% – representing a small underperformance of the fund’s benchmark (the Numis Smaller Companies excluding AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index), which returned 4.1%. The discount widened as well […]
Kubera Cross-Border Fund has published its interim accounts for the six months ended 30 June 2014. The net asset value rose by 5% to $0.57 over the period but the share price was unchanged. No disposals have been made from the portfolio in 2014 and the manager’s commentary gives no indication as to how well the […]
F&C Managed Portfolio Trust has published its results for the year ended 31 May 2014. The income share net asset value total return was 6.0% and the growth share net asset value total return 9.3%. The FTSE All-Share Index returned 8.9% over the same period and the FTSE Equity Investments Instruments Index rose by 6.9%. The annual dividend […]
Polar Capital Global Financials released interims for the six months ended 31 May 2014. Over this period the fund generated a net asset value total return of 3.2% – ahead of the 1.6% return on the MSCI World Financials Index. The premium on Polar Capital Global Financial narrowed however and the return to shareholders was 0.6%. […]
Hammerson has published results for the first half of 2014. Its EPRA NAV rose by 6.8% over the period. The interim dividend has been increased by 6% to 8.8p. The property portfolio returned 6.9% – in line with the return on the IPD Retail Property Universe. The UK portfolio did better than the French one […]
McKay Securities has bought Gainsborough House in Windsor, an 18,660 sq ft, 1980s office building with 19 car parking spaces. The office is let to Regus on a deal that ends in December 2016. the rent is £512,834 (£27.48 per sq ft). McKay Securities paid £6.85m for the property – equivalent to a yield of 7.1%. […]
Herald Investment Trust has announced its interim results for the first half of 2014. Over the period the net asset value fell, total return -0.3%, this represents an outperformance of the Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM ex Investment Companies and the Russell 2000 Small cap. Technology indices, both of which fell by 1.8%. The manager’s comments […]
Assura Group has bought Park Medical Services Limited for £12.3m. The company they have acquired owns a 3,300 sq m building in Middlesbrough, “The One Life Building”, which contains a GP practice, a pharmacy, a day case operating theatre, community services, mammography and x-ray services along with other outpatient services. The rent on the property is […]
Picton Property has announced its EPRA net asset value at the end of June 2014 was 58.9p – up 4.6% on the value at the end of March 2014. June was a good quarter for UK property. Picton report that, according to the IPD Monthly Index, total returns in the quarter to June 2014 were positive […]
Over the first half of 2014 Temple Bar Investment Trust, managed by Alastair Mundy (pictured), generated a total return on net assets of 0.3% – slightly behind the return on the FTSE Al-Share Index of 1.6%. the interim dividend has been increased by 3% to 15.55p. The Board has announced that, with effect from January 2015, […]
The Board of Max Property, owner of a portfolio of property that includes St. Katherine’s Dock (pictured), has announced this morning that it has received an offer for its entire portfolio. A company controlled by Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe IV has offered £414.2m in cash for Max’s portfolio – 22% more than the valuation of […]
Terra Capital has published interim figures covering the first half of 2014. Over that period the net asset value rose to $1.01 from $0.96 and the company also paid out a dividend – the total return on the net asset value was 8.6%. The Chairman says the fund is now 73% invested. New investments made […]
