Shareholder discontent is rising at Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) after the battery fund cut its dividend and was requisitioned by one of its long-term shareholders, RM Funds, to call a general meeting and overhaul its board with a view to seeking a merger. Shares in the £323m investment company tumbled 7% to 59p after […]
Peter Hicks, research analyst at Chelsea Financial Services, has made an extraordinary attack on the board of the former Amati AIM venture capital trust. In a video posted on Youtube, the VCT broker makes his strongest comments yet on behalf of shareholders dismayed by the board’s decision last year to sack Amati, the UK smaller […]
Invesco Asia Dragon publishes maiden annual results after its merger, shipping fund Taylor Maritime sells 10 vessels, Custodian Property Income starts share buybacks and Caledonia shareholders approve its share split.
TwentyFour Income (TFIF) underlined why it is one of the UK’s biggest listed debt funds today with another strong set of annual results and a further increase in the 9.7%-yielder’s dividends. The £867m investment company invests in high-yielding, floating rate asset-backed securities (ABS) in the UK and Europe, an increasingly popular area for income investors […]
Foresight Solar (FSFL), the £499m potential bid target that survived a continuation vote last month, has committed another £10m to share buybacks and reported a positive trading update. The extra £10m will bring total share purchases to £60m, marking it out as one of the renewables sector’s largest efforts to align stock prices with net […]
Menhaden Resource Efficiency updates on its liquidation and return of capital, Bellevue Healthcare wins support for its zero discount policy and Vicky Hastings resigns from the board of Alliance Witan. Plus a string of holding changes in companies including European Smaller and Fidelity Japan.
Investment companies will be able to issue up to 100% of their share capital without issuing a prospectus, the Financial Conduct Authority says. The investment companies sector caught a rare break from the City regulator today when the Financial Conduct Authority announced that London-listed closed-end funds could raise up to 100% of their existing share […]
Two partial disposals of top-10 holdings should leave the Swiss-run private equity fund with sufficient cash to start share buybacks, say analysts. Partners Group Private Equity has sold down two top 10 investments, paving the way for the start of much-needed share buybacks under its new capital allocation policy announced four months ago. Euro shares […]
Home REIT, the suspended homeless shelter provider, confirms Alvarium Fund Managers, its former alternative investment manager (AIFM) and its principal AlTi Re, have entered administration. The former alternative investment manager (AIFM) of Home REIT (HOME) has collapsed, potentially complicating shareholders’ search for compensation for their losses in the suspended real estate investment trust. A short […]
Finsbury Growth & Income fund manager has used cash from the recent buyout of Hargreaves Lansdown to acquire shares in Auto Trader. Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT) fund manager Nick Train has used cash from this year’s £5.4bn private equity bid for former holding Hargreaves Lansdown to buy a new position in Auto Trader (AUTO), […]
KCR Residential Reit board directors survive an attempt to oust them and debt fund Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund says tariff pressures eased last month. KCR Residential Reit (KCR) says resolutions to replace all its board directors were soundly defeated at yesterday’s annual general meeting with the support of Torchlight Fund, which holds a 55.4% […]
Top-performing AVI Global Trust allocates 3% of its assets into South Korea just as Weiss Korea Opportunity Fund gives up on a cheap market that has so far not dispelled concerns about poor corporate governance. AVI Global (AGT), whose bargain-hunting investments have propelled it to the top of the Global sector over five years, has […]
A more conventional “behind the scenes” engagement with investment company boards is reaping results for the activist hedge fund after its high-profile defeats in January, says Deutsche Numis. Analysis by Deutsche Numis shows Saba Capital is having more success in extricating itself from investment trust targets than last week’s disclosure of a position just over […]
Gore Street Energy Storage has raised $84m (£62m) from selling US investment tax credits following latest transaction at “Big Rock” in California; Supermarket Income spends £54m on a Kent Tesco store, its first acquisition with money raised from the Blue Owl funds partnership in April; plus bid news from Primary Health Properties and Downing Renewables […]
There has been much press speculation in recent weeks that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves intends to reduce the cash ISA allowance from its current level of £20,000 per annum. The Financial Times reported on 30 June that an announcement is expected in the Mansion House speech on 15 July. Whilst no final decision on the […]
Polar Capital Technology (PCT) has rebounded strongly from a “challenging” year in which a Trump market rally turned sour and the launch of China’s DeepSeek threatened to eclipse US dominance in artificial intelligence. Despite this its fund managers say AI is the most “exciting” market they have ever seen. Annual results today showed the investment trust’s […]
Polar Capital Global Financials Trust (PCFT) recently provided investors with an opportunity to cash in their entire holding at net asset value (NAV, i.e. after costs). We argued strongly that the trust still has a bright future ahead of it and it was pleasing to see that holders of well over half the shares opted […]
Abrdn European Logistics Income sells over £57m of properties in its managed wind-down and promises a return of capital next month once further disposals are made. Plus news from Schroder European Real Estate, Custodian Property Income, Georgia Capital and a reminder from Schroders Capital Global Innovation of this month’s £37m tender offer.
Update: We’re in ping pong territory in the bid battle for Warehouse REIT (WHR) after Blackstone yesterday trumped a rival offer from Tritax Big Box for the logistics fund, prompting its board this morning to swing its recommendation back to the US alts group. Blackstone, which first approached Warehouse in March, has upped its cash […]
The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) has welcomed the government’s decision not to introduce zonal energy pricing but called on ministers to speed up “pressing” reform of a national electricity grid clogged by delays and a lack of capacity. “With zonal’s shadow lifted, policymakers must now turn their focus squarely onto grid reform to unlock infrastructure […]
Ruffer (RICA) has bolstered its defences against a summer sell-off, adding more equity put options to lock in gains should concern over US debts and President Trump’s animosity to Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell boil over. “Trump is accelerating his campaign against the Federal Reserve under chair Jay Powell and its failure – in his […]
Worldwide Healthcare Trust shareholders express concerns about the independence of the board, RTW Biotech Opportunities sees a portfolio company bid for by Merck, Invesco Global Equity Income announces 7.8% dividend increase and SDCL Efficiency Income takes step to cutting debts and returning capital.
SpaceX is looking to achieve its second big valuation increase in a year in a further round of fund raising and share sales that could be good news for Baillie Gifford trusts, including Scottish Mortgage and Edinburgh Worldwide which both hold the company as their largest holdings. According to a Bloomberg report this week, SpaceX […]
Saba Capital’s position in Herald investment trust has exceeded 30%, raising the prospect of the activist hedge fund having to make a bid for the £1.2bn global technology fund run by Katie Potts at Herald Investment Management. The disclosure by Saba Capital yesterday evening that it held just over 30% of voting rights in Herald […]
HgCapital Trust (HGT), a £2.3bn private equity fund focused on business technology, has taken a stake in US cybersecurity vetting firm A-LIGN. HGT is putting £48m into the Florida-based company, which provides security audits to 5,700 firms, an area of growing demand as businesses face increasing threats from AI-powered hackers. The investment company is co-investing […]
This morning sees positive updates from two real estate investment trusts: British Land and LondonMetric.
India Capital Growth, the best performer in its sector over three and five years, is giving shareholders the chance to sell their shares on a narrow discount. India Capital Growth (IGC) has announced that at its third two-yearly redemption point on 28 November shareholders will be able to sell all their shares at 3% below […]
Student accommodation provider Unite reiterates its annual earnings target despite a slowdown in bookings, Schroder British Opportunities invests in insurance broker JMG and Cuban property fund Ceiba pays money owed to Aberdeen, its former asset manager, and holders of its convertible bonds.
Investment company M&A and corporate activity hit a new high in the first half of the year with 17 mergers, acquisitions and liquidations, says Association of Investment Companies. The winds of change are clearly blowing hard in the UK investment companies’ sector but what is the correct meteorological term to describe the rapid pace of […]
Vietnam can get back to concentrating on the strong fundamentals of its economy, say fund managers Dragon Capital and VinaCapital, after Hanoi and Washington agreed a draft trade deal last week. Hanoi’s draft trade deal with the US last week has reassured leading investors in Vietnam that the impact of tariffs will be less than […]
