It would be fair to say that, traditionally, utility companies have not been viewed as the most exciting investments on the planet, with the sector consisting mostly of publicly owned or heavily regulated suppliers of basic amenities like water, gas and power. Nevertheless, as funds such as Ecofin Global Utilities and Infrastructure (EGL) have demonstrated, […]
Thank you to everyone that listened in today, whether you watched the Zoom live or on YouTube. In this week’s show, James Carthew covered the week’s top stories: • Aquila European Renewables (0:12) • North American Income (4:51) • Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging / Asia Dragon (7:49) This week’s interview was with Richard Pindar from Literacy […]
North Atlantic Smaller Companies (NAS) has published its annual results for the year ended 31 January 2024, during which its NAV increased by 3%. Its chairman, Sir Charles Wake, points out that this “compares unfavourably with the Sterling adjusted Standard & Poors index but [is] a good outperformance of appropriate United Kingdom indices where the […]
Albane Poulin, Head of Private Credit, Gravis Capital Management Against a volatile and uncertain economic backdrop, investors are seeking investment funds that offer stability, consistent returns, and portfolio diversification. While interest rate cuts are expected in 2024, the current high inflationary environment and stronger labour market indicate that the path ahead is not as straightforward […]
NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) has extended its existing £70m short-term revolving credit facility (RCF) with Santander, that was previously due to expire in June 2024. The £70m RCF extension is now available until June 2025 and benefits from improved terms with a margin of 150bps over SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average) compared with 160bps over […]
Following the announcement on 22 December 2023 of an approach from Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT – click here to see our coverage of this) and then subsequently that its board was looking at possible combinations with other investment trusts, Aquila European Renewables (AERI) has said that, following consultation with its shareholders, it has received […]
Dan Nickols, head of Jupiter’s UK Small and Mid-Cap (SMID) equities team and current co-manager of Rights and Issues Investment Trust (RIII), is retiring at the end of June this year. Following Dan’s retirement, Matt Cable, currently Dan’s co-manager on the trust, will become its lead manager, thereby “ensuring continuity of the investment services provided […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 10 May 2024: Home REIT (HOME) has sold a further 76 properties at a public auction for a total of £14.6m (12.4% below the draft August 2023 valuation – which was already heavily marked down from the price the company bought them for). Since August 2023, the company has completed on the sale […]
In a surprise move, the board of The North American Income Trust says that it has agreed heads of terms to appoint Janus Henderson Fund Management UK Limited as its new AIFM and investment manager. This follows an extensive review of its existing management arrangements and engagement with a number of management groups. The board […]
ICG Longbow Senior Secured Property Debt has announced results for the 12 months ended 31 January 2024. The company is in the process of a managed wind down. During the year, the company returned £15.7m to shareholders, equating to 12.9p per share. This makes 44.9p or £54.46m since the wind down began. The company is […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 9 May 2024: Concord Bidco, the bidding vehicle for the Alchemy/Concord Chorus bid for Hipgnosis (SONG), says that its offer of $1.25 per Hipgnosis share is final and will not be increased. [QD comment: as we suspected, Concord was unable/unwilling to better Blackstone’s $1.30 bid, which at the current exchange rate […]
Land Securities has completed the sale of its entire hotel portfolio to real estate funds managed by Ares Management for £400m. This compares to a September 2023 book value of the assets of £404m. The disposal is in line with Landsec’s strategy to release capital from sectors in which the company does not have scale […]
3i Infrastructure (3IN) announced its annual results for the period ended 31 March 2024. The company delivered a 11.4% NAV total return for the year, and a total shareholder return of 8.1%, marginally behind that of the benchmark index which returned 8.7% in the same period. Since the IPO, the company’s annualised total shareholder return […]
HydrogenOne Capital Growth (HGEN) provided a Q1 2024 NAV and portfolio update. The company’s NAV per share grew 0.6% from 31 December 2023, and is up 3.6% since 31 March 2023. Notable developments for the quarter included: Continued revenue growth from private portfolio companies, delivering an aggregate £81 million in total revenue in the 12 […]
GCP Infrastructure has released an investor report for the three month period to March 31. The company’s NAV fell 2% due predominately to a change in the March 2024 OBR inflation forecast. Power price forecasts also had a negative impact. Post period end, on 26 April 2024, the company also noted that it has disposed […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 8 May 2023: International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) announced its results for the six month period ended 29 February 2024. The company saw a 11.2% NAV total return per share, substantially outperforming the Reference Index which rose by 8.2%. Notable contributions came from Vera Therapeutics, an autoimmune company which is a top […]
Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets (AWEM) has announced a proposed transaction with the Asia Dragon Trust (DGN). The proposal is supported in principle by a majority of DGN shareholders, with the company highlighting the opportunity for Asia Dragon shareholders to join an outperforming investment trust, with market-leading structural features, zero management fee and an annual redemption facility. […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 7 May 2023: An affiliate of the Apax IX Fund in which Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) is a limited partner, announced the sale of its controlling interest in Healthium MedTech Ltd, a leading Indian medical devices player. This transaction values the look-through investment in Healthium at approximately €22.7m. This represents […]
The Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) cautious stance on further interest rate cuts, as expressed in their statement about “a lack of further progress” on inflation, that was made on Wednesday, marked a shift in market expectations in recent weeks. At the start of 2024, investors had been optimistic about a strong year, anticipating a series of […]
Thank you to everyone that listened in today, whether you watched the Zoom live or on YouTube. In this week’s show, James Carthew covered the week’s top stories: • Aberforth Split Level Income (0:33) • Chrysalis (6:24) Andrew McHattie highlighted a number of funds that were looking unusually cheap or expensive (10:24). This week’s interview […]
A newly established REIT – Special Opportunities REIT – has kicked off a roadshow ahead of an anticipated £500m IPO. As first reported by React News, the company will be led by former LXi REIT chief executive Simon Lee, with a number of former LXi personnel making up the senior management team – including Freddie […]
What’s the common factor shared by companies that can switch direction in the blink of an eye? They’re usually still led by visionary founders, as Scottish Mortgage manager Tom Slater explains. As with any investment, your capital is at risk. Most of us think of the Amazon Prime subscription service as a wonderful retention tool, […]
NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) is a market leading solar energy and energy storage fund, driven by a mission to lead the transition to clean energy. Learn more about NESF through the video and website linked below, or get in touch with: [email protected] or check our website: NextEnergy Solar Fund.
Triple Point Social Housing REIT is working to transfer the leases of troubled tenant Parasol to another registered social housing provider that should result in greater rent collection. The company also said that it intends to make selective sales from its portfolio and return the proceeds back to shareholders through buy backs. Lease transfer As […]
Weiss Korea Opportunity Fund (WKOF) has announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2023. During the year, WKOF provided an NAV total return of -5.5% while, in comparison, its reference index, the MSCI South Korea 25/50 Net Total Return Index, appreciated by 14.8% (all in sterling equivalent terms). This underperformance amounts to […]
BioPharma Credit (BPCR) is providing debt financing to Novocure Luxembourg S.a.r.l. through a senior secured loan agreement. BPCR will invest up to US$200m and BioPharma-V will invest up to an additional US$200m in parallel, with BPCR acting as collateral agent. Under the terms of the transaction, the company will invest up to US$200m across four […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 3 May 2023: US Solar Fund (USF) has published a circular with details of the tender it announced on 24 April 2024 which it is proposing to use as a means of returning capital to shareholders. The proposed tender price of $0.764 per share is equivalent to the 31 December 2023 […]
Chrysalis Investments (CHRY) announced a trading update for the three month period to 31 March 2023. The company saw a 4.09 pence per share increase in NAV, equivalent to 2.3%. This was driven predominantly by movement in the fair value of the portfolio which added 5.15 pence per share, with foreign exchange generating an adverse […]
In QuotedData’s morning briefing 2 May 2024: European Assets Trust (EAT) announced that Mine Tezgul will succeed Sam Cosh as the company’s lead investment manager with immediate effect. Mine Tezgul is a portfolio manager in the European equities team and head of European small cap equities. Mine joined the manager in 2018 as an equity […]
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, chair of the Financial Services Regulation Committee, has written to Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), pushing for a resolution to the cost disclosure issue that has been plaguing the investment companies sector. This is a very welcome intervention, we think, and hopefully it will add to […]
