News

11 Jan 2024
view of Neuberger Berman's office at night

NB Private Equity sets out approach to capital allocation

NB Private Equity has just announced its latest dividend. William Maltby, the chairman said “Today’s announced $22m dividend represents the 23rd consecutive dividend payment to be made to shareholders, taking total capital returned to shareholders via dividends to $338m since 2013. Given the continued strong realisation activity in the portfolio, with $171m of realisation proceeds […]

11 Jan 2024

Atrato Onsite looking for ways to grow, maybe alongside strategic investors

Atrato Onsite Assets reports that for the 12 months ended 30 September 2023, its NAV total return was 4.6%. The NAV per share slipped slightly from 92.8p to 92.0p but the dividend was increased from 3.01p to 5.0p. The dividend target for the current financial year is 5.5p and the board says that the 12-month […]

11 Jan 2024

QuotedData’s morning briefing 11 January 2024 – SONG, EDIN, BEMO

In QuotedData’s morning briefing 11 January 2024: Hipgnosis (SONG) says that Sylvia Coleman has resigned as independent non-executive director with immediate effect. Robert Naylor (the chairman) thanked her for the help she provided to him and and his fellow new board directors over the last few months, and wished her all the best for success […]

10 Jan 2024

Alliance Trust monitoring the situation at Jupiter

Jupiter Asset Management has announced that Ben Whitmore, the current manager of the Jupiter UK Special Situations Fund (assets under management – AUM – of £2.1bn), Jupiter Income Trust (AUM £1.6bn), Jupiter Global Value Unit Trust (AUM £1.0bn) and Jupiter Global Value SICAV (AUM £0.5bn), and segregated mandates with a further £4.8bn of AUM – […]

10 Jan 2024

Sizeable proportion of Henderson Diversified shareholders opt for HHI shares

Given the choice between cash and shares in Henderson High Income, it was good to see that a sizeable proportion of Henderson Diversified Income shareholders opted to roll over their holding into Henderson High Income. The elections in connection with the scheme were: Rollover option: 100,050,505 shares Cash option: 82,022,212 shares On a temporary basis, […]

10 Jan 2024

abrdn Diversified Income and Growth begins wind down

abrdn Diversified Income and Growth (ADIG) announced its annual report for the period ending 30 September 2023. The company’s NAV total return was +0.4%. In line with wider market volatility affecting the whole investment trust sector, the discount continued to widen to 25.7% as shares fell just over 6.9% over the year; this represented a […]

10 Jan 2024

QuotedData’s morning briefing 10 January 2024 – GSF, RKW, MINI

In QuotedData’s morning briefing 10 January 2024: Gore Street Energy Storage Fund (GSF) provided an update for the three months to 31 December 2023. The quarter continued to highlight the stability of the company’s revenue, with the portfolio generating an estimated £15.1/MW/hr, consistent with the £15.1/MW/hr generated during the prior six months to 30 September […]

09 Jan 2024

QuotedData’s morning briefing 9 January 2024 – UTG, CREI, HHI, HDIV

In QuotedData’s morning briefing for 9 January 2024: Unite Group (UTG) has released fourth quarter 2023 valuation information on its student accommodation portfolio. The group’s USAF property portfolio (27,922 beds in 71 properties across 19 university towns and cities in the UK) was independently valued at £2,992m at 31 December 2023, a 2.1% increase on […]

08 Jan 2024

QuotedData’s morning briefing for 8 January 2024 – AERI, CORD, SMIF, ICG, CLDN, RTW, LMP, PSDL

In QuotedData’s morning briefing for 8 January 2024: Aquila European Renewables (AERI) has announced that it has entered into a €50m five-year debt facility with ING Bank N.V. Sucursal en España. The facility is secured by AERI’s wholly owned Spanish solar PV portfolio, with the leverage equal to 26%. The pricing of the debt remains […]

05 Jan 2024

QD view – Our analysts’ top picks for 2024

As we begin another year here at QuotedData, we thought we’d have some fun and challenge our analysts to come up with some ideas for investment companies that they like and think could do well over the course of 2024. To keep things interesting, each analyst has been asked to select two ideas – one […]

05 Jan 2024

Maggie Fanari becomes CEO of J Rothschild Capital Management

RIT Capital Partners (RCP) has announced that, after an extensive international search, Maggie Fanari will take up the role of CEO of its investment manager, J Rothschild Capital Management Limited, (JRCM) in March 2024. Maggie has long experience of leading successful teams investing across asset classes and geographies in one of the largest and most […]

04 Jan 2024

Letting success for Tritax EuroBox in Sweden

Tritax EuroBox has let the first phase of its two-unit development in Rosersberg, a prime logistics location near Stockholm. The 5,007 sqm letting reduces the company’s portfolio vacancy rate to 4.3%. A new five-year lease has been signed with a leading Scandinavian photovoltaic (PV) company at a rent that is 3% above the estimated rental […]

04 Jan 2024

European Assets lags benchmark over 2023

European Assets says that its NAV total return (capital performance with dividends reinvested) for 2023 was 8.2% in Sterling (10.8% in Euros). The Sterling share price total return for the year was 4.9%. These compare with the Benchmark (a blend of MSCI Europe excluding United Kingdom Small Mid Cap (Net Return) Index – which is […]

04 Jan 2024

QuotedData’s morning briefing 4 January 2024 – DGI9, LABS

In QuotedData’s morning briefing 4 January 2024: Digital 9 Infrastructure (DGI9) says that Keith Mansfield has decided to step down as a director with immediate effect. The board has made some changes: Aaron Le Cornu is appointed chair of the Audit Committee and Brett Miller will join the Audit Committee. Brett Miller is appointed chair […]

03 Jan 2024

QuotedData’s morning briefing 3 January 2024 – IGC

In QuotedData’s morning briefing 3 January 2024: India Capital Growth says that 15,159,876 shares, equivalent to 15.7% of its issued share capital, have been submitted to its annual redemption facility. The redemption price will be annouunced on 8 January 2024. [That is quite a blow for a fund that has delivered a 35% share price […]

02 Jan 2024

BioPharma Credit provides update on LumiraDx loan

On December 29, 2023, LumiraDx Limited announced that Andrew Johnson, Lisa Rickelton and Lindsay Hallam of FTI Consulting had been appointed as joint administrators of two of its subsidiaries, LumiraDx Group Limited and LumiraDx International Limited, which hold the assets of the LumiraDx group. Following their appointment, the administrators have entered into a sale and […]

02 Jan 2024

QuotedData’s morning briefing 2 January 2024 – EAT, RSE, CVCG

In QuotedData’s morning briefing 2 January 2024: European Assets Trust (EAT) announced that as part of an orderly succession plan, Kate Cornish-Bowden has today been appointed to the board and its committees. Kate Cornish-Bowden is the chair of International Biotechnology Trust, and a non-executive director of Finsbury Growth & Income Trust and CC Japan Income […]

28 Dec 2023

Chenavari Toro Income Fund hits its targets despite its widening discount

Chenavari Toro Income Fund (TORO) has released its annual results for the year ending 30 September 2023: TORO reported a NAV total return of 11.25% for the year, and a negative share price total return of (4.27%). TORO’s NAV return exceeded the 10% target it sets itself. Gross performance contribution for the year can be […]

28 Dec 2023

QuotedData’s morning briefing 28 December 2023 – DSM

In QuotedData’s morning briefing for 28 December 2023: The board of Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust (DSM) has provided an update on its plans to return capital to shareholders. The board had previously concluded that the best option would be a managed wind down of the investment portfolio. Having worked closely with the investment manager, […]

27 Dec 2023

QuotedData’s morning briefing 27 December 2023 – LMS

In QuotedData’s morning briefing 27 December 2023: LMS Capital (LMS) announced the sale of its minority interest in Medhost. Net proceeds for LMS are estimated to be approximately $8.6m, of which $7.0 million will be paid cash at closing and $1.6 million by way of a promissory note that will be settled one year after […]

22 Dec 2023

QD view – An update on the charges disclosure problem

Back in October, we highlighted some issues facing the investment companies industry related to the rules around cost disclosures – basically, investors have been presented with misleading figures for charges that include the running costs of any underlying funds. That is putting off new investors, encouraging selling by others, and has led to platforms restricting […]

22 Dec 2023

QD – review of the year

This is the last of our weekly emails for 2023. We hope that you have been finding them useful. We will be publishing our annual roundup in January. Ahead of that however, I thought it might be worth pulling out a few of the year’s highs and lows. In January, China’s market shone as hopes […]

22 Dec 2023

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure proposes merger with Aquila European Renewables

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) and Aquila European Renewables (AERI) have made announcements in relation to proposals for a merger between the two companies that could create one of the largest LSE listed diversified renewable energy investment trusts. However, in its response, AERI, says that the proposals from ORIT were unsolicited and that “together with […]

22 Dec 2023

Bluefield Solar Income Fund announces strategic partnership with GLIL Infrastructure

Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF) has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding between it and GLIL Infrastructure (GLIL) to form a long-term strategic partnership which commits it and GLIL to investing together into UK focused solar assets, from development through to operational plants. GLIL is a partnership of UK pension funds, investing […]

21 Dec 2023

Hipgnosis dollar NAV falls by 9.2%

Hipgnosis Songs Fund has published its interim results for the six-months to 30 September 2023. Financial headlines Operative NAV per share decreased 9.2% to $1.7392 (31 March 2023: $1.9153), driven primarily by a reduction in the fair value of the portfolio As at 30 September 2023, Operative NAV per share in Sterling 142.49p (£:$ exchange […]

21 Dec 2023

LMS Capital makes retirement living investment

LMS Capital is buying Castle View Retirement Village, Windsor for £11.9m, of which £6.0m is being provided by LMS equity and the remaining £5.9m by a loan from the existing lenders to the scheme. Castle View is a purpose built retirement village, completed in 2018 and comprising 64 individual 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, of […]

21 Dec 2023

BlackRock Income & Growth dips into reserves to hike dividend

Over the year ended 31 October 2023, BlackRock Income & Growth marginally lagged its benchmark, returning 5.2% to the All-Share’s 5.9%. A narrowing discount helped shareholders to a total return of 8.1%. To help achieve that, 568,428 shares were repurchased at an average price of 182.26p, for a total consideration (including costs) of £1,036,000. The […]

21 Dec 2023

QuotedData’s morning briefing 21 December 2023 – HICL, RCOI

In QuotedData’s morning briefing 21 December 2023: HICL Infrastructure is paying £20m for a 3.1% stake in the A63 Motorway concession in France. Completion is expected in early 2024, subject to customary third-party consents. The 40-year toll-road concession covers the design, upgrade, finance, operating and maintenance of a 104km section of the existing A63 between […]

20 Dec 2023

The Big Question – Will higher-for-longer rates change stock picking?

Interview with Sunil Thakor of Sands Capital, Andy Headley of Veritas and Metropolis Capital’s Jonathan Mills. Alliance Trust stock pickers – Sunil Thakor of Sands, Andy Headley of Veritas and Metropolis’s Jonathan Mills – discuss how a prolonged period of high interest rates will impact businesses and whether this will change their stock picking approach.