Mapping a route forward

GRIOs announcement is both sobering and usefully detailed. It sets out the complex and uncertain landscape that the management team is navigating and lays the foundations for a timely and informed investor consultation process around the Wind-Up vote (due by 23 August 2023). This consultation was signalled in the funds interim result to 31 March (published 30 June). In essence, investors are being asked if they wish to delay the wind up process so that the manager can address the issues/requirem

Interim Results

Ground Rents Income Fund (GRIO) has today released its Interim Results for the period ending 31 March 2021. The NAV fell by 1.1% to £101.4m (104.5 pps). Dividends of 1.98p have been paid over the six month period, but going forward the Board have announced that they will be reducing the annual dividend target to 3.0pps and expect the dividend to be fully covered by the year ending 30 Sep 2022. At the AGM in March, shareholders approved the authority for the Company to purchase up to 14.99% of it

NAV stability, 4.9% yield and 26% discount

Ground Rents Income Fund (GRIO) has today released its interim results for the period ending 31 March 2020. The fully diluted NAV is 110.1p down marginally from previous NAV of 111.3p as at 30 September 2019 year-end. This valuation included a material valuation uncertainty clause as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has subsequently been removed since the period end for long dated ground rent valuations given the defensive nature of the income streams and continued market/transactional a

Trading on 23% discount and 4.5% yield

Ground Rents Income Fund (GRIO) share price has continued to come under pressure over the past few weeks, falling to a new all-time low of 78p as investor sentiment continues to be negative towards this asset class. It has subsequently recovered to 87.25p, but based upon the latest NAV of 113.24p as at 31st March 2019 the shares are still trading on a discount of 23%. We note the Board’s recent decision to maintain the current annual dividend payment of 3.96p (payable quarterly), putting the sha

Morning Song

Ground Rents Income Fund (GRIO LN) Attractive entry point on c.16% discount

N+1 Singer - Morning Song 03-08-2017

Bioquell (BQE LN) Positive trading continues | Earthport (EPO LN) Partnership with Kotak Mahindra Bank | Ground Rents Income Fund (GRIO LN) Further clarification on doubling assets | Oxford Metrics (OMG LN) Further product innovation at Vicon | Porta Communications (PTCM LN) Strategic investment and debt reorganisation | Spirent Communications (SPT LN) Still waiting on return to top line growth | StatPro Group (SOG LN) Scale and sales hires should drive organic growth | UDG Healthcare (UDG LN) S

N+1 Singer - Ground Rents Income Fund - Further clarification on doubling assets

GRIO has this morning provided further granular detail on its portfolio exposure to ten year doubling assets. As mentioned in our note last Friday this exposure is on three individual assets, which only account for 4% of the total ground rent income derived from the entire portfolio. None of these three individual assets with ten year doubling contracts double in perpetuity; they double a maximum of three times and then either have no further review or an index-linked review. Furthermore, as sta

N+1 Singer - Ground Rents Income Fund - Prudent and proactive approach to ten year doubling assets

We note the adverse press coverage on leasehold ground rents within recent weeks and particularly the media coverage earlier this week on 10 year doubling ground rents. It is worth noting that within the GRIO portfolio there are only three assets that have a 10 year doubling contract and none of these are for individual houses which has been the centre of recent media coverage. It is also worth noting that for two of these assets the ground rents only double on three occasions and then flat line

Morning Song

Ergomed (ERGO LN) Deal adds risk; potential upside remains | Ground Rents Income Fund (GRIO LN) NAV uplift of 4% to 118.9p, revenue increase of 15% | Imagination Technologies Group (IMG LN) Messy trading update but cash ahead and restructuring on track | Marshall Motor Holdings (MMH LN) Ridgeway acquisition transform scale and forecasts | Oxford BioMedica (OXB LN) Forecasts updated, remain at Sell

NAV uplift of 4% to 118.9p, revenue increase of 15%

Interim results to 31st March show continued demand for asset class, net assets up 4.2%, to £110.7m, including revaluation gain of £4.3m during the period. Revenue up 15% to £2.3m (H1 2015 £2.0m). Purchases of £2m completed during the period and GRIO is now fully invested. Two interim dividends already paid of 0.952p for period ending 31st December 2015, and 0.9646p for period ending 31st March 2016. Since period end a further interim dividend for period from 1st April to 30th June of 1.0187p ha

Revaluations drive NAV higher

2015 saw continued demand for ground rent assets. FY results show GRIO delivered a H2 NAV TR of 9.1% to 30-Sep and 12.9% YoY – largely as a result of revaluation gains. Dividends for the year totalled 3.5p which we estimate could rise to almost 3.9p in FY16 as ground rent collections commence for deals not yet completed. GRIO offers a low-risk source of inflation protected income and the forecast FY16 yield of 3.4% compares favourably to UK index-linked gilts. The shares trade at a 2% premium to

Morning Song

BBA Aviation (BBA LN) Signature solid; ERO subdued | Ground Rents Income Fund (GRIO LN) Revaluations drive NAV higher | Sigma Capital Group (SGM LN) Gatehouse Phase 2 begins: 900 new PRS homes | Sinclair IS Pharma (SPH LN) Rejuvenated growth | Vectura Group (VEC LN) Phase III start for triple therapy programme QVM149

LIBERUM: Plus500: Strategic progress pays dividends

Tatton Asset Management (TAM LN) - Record net inflows

Tatton, the leading on-platform discretionary fund manager (DFM) and IFA support services Group has released a trading update ahead of its results to 31 March 2024, due on 18 June 2024.

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

BlackRock World Mining

BRWM’s managers: we see all the classic signs of high commodity prices...

Ondo InsurTech FY24 Trading Update

Ondo InsurTech has released a brief post-YE update revealing its good progress continued through 2H24 and consequently FY24 will be in line with market expectations.

Jupiter Green

JGC’s fundamental story continues to show resilience, but the discount remains wide…

Lowland Investment Company - Is the tide turning?

Lowland Investment Company’s (LWI’s) unconstrained, multi-cap investment policy differentiates it from most peers in the AIC UK Equity Income sector. It offers investors broad market exposure, outside of the large, traditional ‘income stocks’ at a 13% discount to NAV. The underperformance of small- and mid-cap companies versus larger peers has slowed and a turnaround would be very positive for LWI. Portfolio returns are already benefiting from acquisition activity, spurred by low valuations, and

NextEnergy Solar Fund - Attractive Refinancing

The refinancing of a £135m revolving credit facility and the extension of a similar £70m facility gives NESF firepower as development opportunities for new solar are especially attractive thanks to lower module prices in Europe. They give the fund key financial flexibility at a critical time as it pursues its capital recycling programme.

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

NextEnergy Solar Fund – High- and growing-income opportunity?

NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) is almost 10 years old. Since launch, it has built a £1.2bn, 933MW portfolio of 100 operating solar assets, powering the equivalent of over 330,000 homes, declared dividends totalling £333m, and avoided the emission of about 2.2 Mt CO2e. NESF is on track to pay 8.35p in dividends, with forecast dividend cover of about 1.3x. Share price weakness that has afflicted the whole sector means that dividend translates to a yield of 11.1%, one of the highest in its sector, a

abrdn Private Equity Opportunities – On the way to greener pastures?

Despite navigating through what its managers considered to be challenging conditions in 2023, abrdn Private Equity Opportunities (APEO) was able to report both positive NAV growth and double-digit share price returns in its recently published annual results. APEO’s discount has narrowed by more than 10% in recent months, so that it is trading on a 28.9% discount currently, narrowing from about 45% last October. These figures were generated over a period that saw a slowdown in activity in Europea

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

Primary Health Properties - Strategic and accretive Irish expansion

Primary Health Properties (PHP) has agreed to acquire Ireland’s first Enhanced Community Care (ECC) facility for a total consideration of €30m. With its interim results, PHP highlighted its continued plans for strategic expansion in Ireland, where higher yields support accretive investment in an expanding market. Alongside low-risk, value-creating asset management schemes and accelerating organic rental growth, this represents a key opportunity for continuing growth in income. Our forecasts are

Building a robust platform for growth - FY24 pre-close statement

Against a tough trading background in FY24, Speedy Hire has taken steps to build a platform for long term sustainable growth through the launch of its Velocity strategy. While progress has been more strategic than financial in the year – although we note positive underlying cash flow was achieved - new business wins, the acquisition of Green Power Hire and a transitioned B&Q model all suggest that profitability is likely to move ahead again from FY25 onwards. Speedy’s FY24 pre close statement e

Vanquis Banking Group+ (VANQ, House Stock, 47p) - Deep value