Herald Investment Trust – Patience and Power

Herald Investment Trust (HRI) demonstrates why patience can be key when it comes to investing. The managers highlight the drought of funding available to small cap technology stocks. The team has ensured that HRI has sufficient liquidity to take advantage of opportunities as these arise. HRI is operating in a buyers’ market, and this often gives it the power to dictate terms. HRI’s performance also reflects the bifurcation of global technology markets, whereby US stocks, especially those with la

Herald Investment Trust – Patience and power

Herald Investment Trust (HRI) illustrates why patience can sometimes be important when it comes to investing. The manager says that there is a drought of funding for small cap technology stocks, but its team has ensured that HRI has sufficient liquidity to take advantage of opportunities should they arise. HRI can find itself operating in a buyers’ market, where it is able to dictate terms. HRI’s performance also reflects the bifurcation of global technology markets, whereby US stocks, especiall

Herald

HRI’s top holdings have outperformed, but the macroeconomic environment should remain a key consideration…

Herald Investment Trust – Efficiency savings

While Herald Investment Trust (HRI), like many other technology and growth-focused strategies, has been caught up in the grips of 2022’s market selloff, the fundamentals of many of the companies in its portfolio have remained largely unscathed. In fact, the management team believes that today’s market represents an opportunity, as falling prices and earnings strength push valuations to attractive levels. HRI’s team also highlights that the trust’s closed-ended structure enables it to capitalise

Herald Investment Trust – Efficiency savings

While Herald Investment Trust (HRI), like many other technology and growth-focused strategies, appears to have been caught up in the grips of 2022’s market selloff, its manager says that the fundamentals of many of the companies in its portfolio have remained largely unscathed. In fact, the management team believes that today’s market represents an opportunity, as falling prices and earnings strength push valuations to attractive levels. HRI’s team also highlights that the trust’s closed-ended s

Herald Investment Trust

HRI’s discount may offer long term investors an opportune entry point to a specialist portfolio…

The future is bright

Whilst Herald Investment Trust’s (HRI’s) results for the year ended 31 December 2021 will not be published for some time, it looks as though it had another impressive year, with particularly strong performances from its semiconductor and UK media holdings (see pages 14 to 22 for a detailed look at HRI’s performance during 2021). Rising inflation and the potential for interest rises has taken some of the steam out of growth stocks recently, but HRI’s longstanding manager, Katie Potts, believes th

The future is bright

Whilst Herald Investment Trust’s (HRI’s) results for the year ended 31 December 2021 will not be published for some time, it looks as though it had another impressive year, with particularly strong performances from its semiconductor and UK media holdings (see pages 15 to 23 for a detailed look at HRI’s performance during 2021). Rising inflation and the potential for interest rises has taken some of the steam out of growth stocks recently, but HRI’s longstanding manager, Katie Potts, believes th

Hot chips

Herald Investment Trust (HRI) has generated an impressive uplift in its net asset value (NAV) over the last 12 months. Reflecting its focus on technology, which has generally performed well as the world tries to adjust to life under the COVID-19 pandemic, HRI’s NAV total return of 26.1% eclipses the return on one of the indices that it uses as a performance comparison, the UK-focused Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM Index, which fell by 2.6%.

Hot chips

Herald Investment Trust (HRI) has generated an impressive uplift in NAV over the last 12 months. Reflecting its focus on technology, which has generally performed well as the world tries to adjust to life under the pandemic, HRI’s NAV total return of 26.1% eclipses the return on the Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM Index, which fell by 2.6%. Whilst the performance of large cap tech has eclipsed that of its small cap brethren over the last five years, HRI’s NAV has outperformed the large cap domi

Second Quarter of 2020

It was a remarkable second quarter with global markets staging the sort of comeback few would have thought plausible, at the end of March. With some countries still battling the first wave of infection and others seemingly headed to a second, not to mention what happens when governments start to remove direct stimulus measures, uncertainty still abounds.

Change is a coming

Following an excellent year of performance during 2019 (an nav total return of 27.5%), Herald Investment Trust (HRI) has seen its discount widen and the value of its portfolio companies fall since the outbreak of covid-19.

Change is a coming

Following an excellent year of performance during 2019 (a net asset value (NAV) total return of 27.5%), Herald Investment Trust (HRI) has seen its discount widen and the value of its portfolio companies fall since the outbreak of covid-19.

Profits are only profits when they are realised

Herald Investment Trust (HRI) generated strong positive returns in the first half of 2019, with marked outperformance by both its UK and US portfolios of their local market indices. Both a general market recovery and a recovery in global technology stocks have helped, but HRI’s UK and US portfolios have both benefitted from a wave of takeover activity, allowing HRI to lock in significant gains on these positions.

Shifting sentiment

Herald Investment Trust (HRI) is approaching its 25th birthday. HRI’s manager, Katie Potts, has been there since launch, delivering considerable outperformance of equity markets. She has seen significant swings in sentiment towards the technology sector over that time.

Morning Note – 22 April 2024

Frenkel Topping - Resilient with strong growth potential

FY 2023 was a challenging year for Frenkel with higher interest rates encouraging clients to place money into lower margin money market funds. Despite this, sales grew +32% (supported by recurring revenue +9% and +51% in non-recurring), EBIT margins remained strong at 22% and adj. EPS grew +17% (taking into account the higher number of shares). FY 2024 has seen a solid start to transactional business and there is a strong pipeline of new FUM opportunities both of which support further growth. Wi

Benefits of scale set to materialise

S&U - PBT ahead, encouraging volume trends

S&U reported FY24 PBT of £33.6m, down from £41.4m in FY23 on higher funding and regulatory costs and higher impairments in Advantage in H2. PBT was 2% ahead of our forecast as stronger revenues – up 12% to £115.4m – and better costs offset higher-than-expected impairments. Net receivables grew to a record at both Advantage and Aspen and management noted particular strength in Q4 and a good trading environment in the current year. Having absorbed a significant rise in funding cost as well as addi

LIBERUM: PayPoint: On track for £100m of EBITDA in FY 26

Hardman & Co Insight: 2023 was an annus horribilis for Quoted UK Infrastructure and Renewable Energy

The focus of Hardman & Co Research is on the nine quoted Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and on the 22 Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs): the stocks analysed are all members of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). We are updating our publication of January 2023, assessing both the lacklustre share price performances during 2023 and the key issues, including interest rates, inflation and power prices. As a 31-strong group, its combined market capitalisation is no

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 22 April 2024

22nd April 2024 * A corporate client of Hybridan LLP ** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement *** Alphabetically arranged **** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced Dish of the day Admissions: Delistings: What’s baking in the oven? ** Potential**** Initial Public Offerings: Reverse Takeovers: 16 April 2024: Electric Guitar (ELEG.L) Concurrent with its Admission to trading on AIM, Electric Guitar is proposing to acquire the entire issued share capital of 3radi

Regional REIT - Performing as expected ahead of refinancing

In a challenging market, Regional REIT’s (RGL’s) FY23 operational and financial performance was robust, in line with expectations and previous guidance. Investor focus remains on the company’s loan to value (LTV) reduction and bond refinancing plans, explored in detail in our previous note and RGL will provide an update on this in due course.

Foxtons Group (FOXT LN) - 1Q24 IMS shows real momentum

Foxtons Group plc first quarter revenue rose 9% to £35.7m (1Q23: £32.9m) with growth delivered across all business segments. Trading is in line with management's expectations.

LIBERUM: Speedy Hire: Weakness in FY 24 but recovery in FY 25

Jupiter Green

Morning Note – 29 February 2024

The Hardman & Co Monthly: April 2024

Feature article: Steady as she goes, but could be better: A review of investment company liquidity since 2016 Liquidity is the lifeblood of equity markets. The measurement of liquid asset availability to a market or company is a way of gauging a market’s health. This article builds on our previous work, which analysed the liquidity data for non-financial trading companies, by applying the same analytical techniques to the investment companies (IC) space. We analyse liquidity for ICs as a whol

H&T Group (HAT): Core franchise build, short-term retail noise

In our 15 March 2023 initiation, 'Pawnbroking royalty, with strong, profitable growth', and subsequent notes, we have highlighted the strong market for pawnbroking and why H&T, as the market leader, is uniquely placed to take advantage of these opportunities. These results reconfirmed both, with the pledge book up 28% and net pawnbroking revenue up 36%. Like many in the retail space, H&T faced the challenge of customers focusing on lower-value, lower-margin items in the key run-up to Christmas 2

PCI Pal - +25% FY23 revenue growth, FY24 growth of +28% reiterated

PCI Pal’s FY23 results show revenue growth of +25% to £14.9m, gross profit growth of +31% to £13.1m at a margin of 88%, and an outlook confirming robust momentum in H1 24. The FY23 results are as expected following the August trading update, and FY23 Total Annual Contract Value (TACV) is +23% yoy to £16.4m, with ARR +14% yoy to £12.6m due to £3.1m of contracts in deployment. We expect ARR will increase +35% and +31% to £17.0m and £22.2m in FY24 and FY25, as management lands and expands following