Hardman & Co Monthly: July 2022

Feature article: Punching above their weight? The contribution of small- and mid-cap quoted companies to markets, employment and tax revenues Back in May 2019, Hardman & Co and the Quoted Companies Alliance jointly published a paper looking at the importance of small and mid-size quoted companies (SMQCs) to the markets, and their contribution to tax revenues and employment in the UK. This is a poorly researched area, and that paper helped frame the debate; it has been quoted from by bodies such

ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT): FY’22: you couldn’t ask for more

ICGT reported another strong year, with an NAV per share total return of 24.4%, its 13th consecutive year of double-digit NAV growth. It materially outperformed the UK public market index, with a five-year CAGR of 16.4% (post all fees), three times the FTSE All-Share index total return. The portfolio generated a 29.4% return on a local currency basis to January 2022. Total proceeds and new investments were a record £342.9m and £303.7m, respectively, generating net proceeds of £39.2m. ICGT’s 36%

Hardman & Co Monthly: June 2021

In terms of environmental policy, the quest to cut carbon emissions dramatically and to achieve net zero remains high on the political agenda, although the war in Ukraine – and specifically the issue of gas supplies – may weaken these commitments. In any event, the environmental performance of China and the US – responsible, between them, for around one half of global emissions – will be key. In Asia, where ca.85% of energy consumption is currently being met by fossil fuels – there are ca.4.6b

The Hardman & Co Monthly: May 2022

Feature article: Latest ONS survey: steady as she goes…and ignore retail investors at your peril The ONS (Office for National Statistics) has been charting the beneficial ownership of UK-quoted companies periodically since the early 1960s. The latest paper was published in March 2022, and considers the data for December 2020. At December 2020, “Rest of the World” investors owned 56.3% of the market, a further growth since the last survey, while UK institutions’ ownership edged up to 31.6%.

Hardman & Co Monthly: April 2022

An efficient reporting system has seen all the listed multinational pharmaceutical companies announcing results for 2021, which has given us the opportunity to update our industry statistics and drug database. This report provides the first snapshot of the global and US rankings of the top 20 drug companies for 2021. Comparisons are made with historical data to show how different company strategies have evolved. 2021 was characterised by a strong rebound in performance following the pandemic-aff

The Hardman & Co Monthly: March 2022

Feature article: Directors’ dealings - A legal way to do insider trading One of the first things that a junior analyst learns is to keep an eye on directors’ dealings, but sometimes this is more complicated than meets the eye. In this article, I look at some less obvious tricks to study directors’ dealings. It’s worth prefacing these remarks with a comment that, although investors want company CEOs and CFOs to have skin in the game, individuals shouldn’t have all their chips in one bask

ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) - Spotlight on secondaries

ICGT reported a further strong quarter of NAV growth to October 2021. One highlight from these results was secondary fund investments. This note reviews the strategic allocation that may see these assets become 20%-25% of ICGT’s portfolio over the next few years. The reasons ICGT is increasing the assets’ weighting include i) these assets have known underlying investments, ii) they return cash quickly, and iii) they do not incur material future commitments – all fitting ICGT’s portfolio manageme

THE MONTHLY January 2022

The main function of the HHI is to monitor the performance, and to highlight the attractiveness, of life sciences investments over the long term, and to try to identify those stocks that have disruptive technologies that consistently allow them to outperform both the index and the markets. Many of the 53 constituents of the index are high-risk, still being in the development stage, with micro-capitalisations and a long way from sales and profitability. Despite this, some companies can still make

Intermediate Capital Group/ICGT: friends with benefits

This note analyses the unique advantages that Intermediate Capital Group (ICG plc) has brought to ICGT since becoming the manager in 2016 and contributing to the average constant-currency portfolio return of 21% since FY17. We note i) access to ICG plc funds/co-investments where ICGT is the only way for retail/small institutional investors to obtain this exposure, ii) access to a wider range of thirdparty funds/co-investment opportunities by virtue of its global network and reputation, iii) insi

THE MONTHLY November 2021

In recent months, spot prices of UK gas have soared, from ca.30p per therm during the summer to well over £2 per therm by October; they have, though, fallen back from their peak over the last few days. As the soaring prices imply, availability of gas during the coming winter is also a major issue, especially if prolonged periods of cold weather arise.

THE MONTHLY October 2021

The world of entertainment has been through a revolution, with catch-up TV and new ways to watch programmes, such as via the PC, tablet or mobile phone. We are at the start of a similar change in investment research, and research providers have a steep learning curve to climb.

Even better than the real thing

Private equity investing has been around for many decades. However private equity is making the headlines like never before. The recent bidding war for Wm Morrisons is a case in point although, over the last decade or so, private equity has been steadily increasing as a share of global M&A transactions as the graph below shows.

ICGT in personal pensions: do as the professionals do

With UK Pensions Awareness Day taking place on 15 September 2021, in this note, we explore the reasons why PE, and ICGT in particular, may be suitable for personal pensions. In summary, ICGT gives investors a liquid, managed option to replicate what professional pension fund managers and long-term investors do. It accesses above-market compounding returns, and diversifies risk. ICGT has strong corporate governance, good disclosure, and a simple structure. Its defensive growth strategy has consis

THE MONTHLY September 2021

Undoubtedly, renewable energy is a growth sector, albeit one where public subsidies are pivotal. Approximately 40% of UK electricity demand is now met by renewable energy, a figure that is set to rise further as coal-fired stations are decommissioned and nuclear power capacity, despite the Hinkley Point C project, falls. Of the privatised electricity companies, SSE, by some way, is the key renewables player: it owns more than 3.8GW of renewables generation capacity. However, there are now 19 qu

60/40 and other dinosaurs

Over the decades, investors’ ideas about how to build the perfect investment portfolio have evolved. Large independent pension fund investors have typically led the way, with consultants and smaller pension funds following, and then discretionary private client wealth managers followed by individual retail investors echoing trends as they trickle down. Markowitz is identified as the architect of modern portfolio theory and, to an extent, over time investors have been working with and adapting t

Cenkos: Healthcare Sector - Ward Round

Weekly round-up of AIM-listed healthcare news. Venture Life Group, GENinCode, Kromek, Alliance Pharma, Polarean Imaging, Benchmark Holdings, Ondine Biomedical, Verici Dx, Faron Pharmaceuticals, Avacta Group, Abingdon Health, Open Orphan, Belluscura, Hutchmed (China), Oxford Biodynamics

SHORE CAPITAL - H&T Group+ (HAT, House Stock, 322p)

Earnings in line, NAV ahead, caution being exercised

Urban Logistics REIT (“ULR”) has delivered a solid FY22 performance – deploying capital apace and driving strong returns through active asset management. Earnings and dividend are both in line vs SCMe. EPRA NAV is 190p (+7% vs SCMe); as yield compression came as a bonus. Caution is being exercised in deploying remaining capital, which impacts FY23e earnings only. We upgrade EPRA NAV by 14-20% incorporating some (but not all) recent yield compression. We increase our Target Price to 210p (FY23e E

Hybridan Small Cap Feast 01/07/22

1 July 2022 @HybridanLLP Status of this Note and Disclaimer This document has been issued to you by Hybridan LLP for information purposes only and should not be construed in any circumstances as an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to buy any security or other financial instrument, nor shall it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract relating to such action. This document has no regard for the specific investment objectives

Auctus on Friday - 01/07/2022

AUCTUS PUBLICATIONS ________________________________________ Arrow Exploration (AXL LN)C; Target price of £0.45 per share: Another well delivers flow rate above expectations – The RCS-1 well was flow tested at oil rates of up 1,872 bbl/d (936 bbl/d net to Arrow) of 30 API crude from the C7B sands. The zone was tested for 33 hours at an average oil rate of 1,076 bbl/d (538 bbl/d net to Arrow) with no formation water. Production will start next week at ~1,000 bbl/d (500 bbl/d net) in order to mini

2H22 – Good NAV Growth & Attractive Opportunities

Augmentum Fintech has delivered a strong finish to FY22, with NAV per share up 19% YoY and +9% HoH to 155.2p, driven by both investments and positive fair value changes across the majority of its portfolio companies. The 23% IRR since IPO is above the Group’s 20% Internal Target Return, demonstrating overall attractive investment performance. Post-period end The Group has invested £4.0m in new portfolio company Kenbi and the £43m proceeds from the sale of its stake in ii strengthens AUGM’s cash

FY22 – Strong Operating Result & On Track for Targets

Mercia Asset Management reported FY22 results, with a significant uplift in adj. operating profit to £8.4m, driven by strong management fee margins of >2% on stable FuM as well as strong finance income during the year. Group AuM has grown to >£1bn post period end, driven by fundraises across the Northern VCTs. The Group is well set to achieve its Mercia 20:20 Vision, with ~£27m (~46%) of its cumulative three-year PBT target delivered in year one. We increase our adj. EBITDA forecasts by 1-26% on

Hybridan Small Cap Feast 30/06/2022

Dish of the day Joiners: Visum Technologies has joined the AQSE Growth Market. The Company's business is to own and operate an "on-ride" video and photographic camera system that it sells and/or licenses to customers (being theme parks, ride manufacturers, souvenir imaging providers, and other leisure operators). Leavers: No Leavers Today. What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen? Immediate acquisitions (IME.L) is to re-join AIM via a Reverse Takeover of Fiinu Holdings Limited. Once complete the Compan

Palace Capital* - Strategy sharpened, 5% buyback commences

Further to its strategic review, Palace Capital intends to focus on becoming an ESG driven, regional office market specialist. To that end the company has announced a new £46.5m property disposal programme including its entire industrial property portfolio with the proceeds to be reinvested into the office sector. Palace Capital has also announced a buyback for up to 5% of its shares and continues to review its cost base. The outcome of the strategic review is to sharpen the focus on themes mana

Copyright Royalty Board III Decision

The final decision on CRB III (see below) on streaming revenues is positive for Songwriters, Music publishing and Hipgnosis (SONG). The decision will result in addition revenues being paid to SONG over the coming periods. We view the ruling as positive and evidence of a continuing shift in the understanding of the value of a Songwriter’s contribution to a hit record and the willingness of industry stakeholders to recognise it. YTD SONG has de-rated significantly and currently trades on a 23.8% d

Cenkos: Marlowe Plc -- Record organic growth

Marlowe delivered an impressive set of FY22A results, with underlying organic revenue growth of 9%, Adj EBITDA margins up 240bps to 18.6%, and Adj EBITDA of £54.4m (ahead of our £50.7m forecast). We make minor updates to our FY23E forecasts (Adj Diluted EPS increases 1% to 49.6p) and release new FY24E forecasts. Given the strength of Marlowe's business model, its defensive nature (non-discretionary products and services; 85%+ recurring revenue), the group's continued positive momentum (including

LIBERUM: Alternatives Daily

Cenkos: Professional Services -- The week that was

Stocks in focus this week are Personal Group, Johnson Service Group, Capita and Mears

NextEnergy Solar Fund - Facility Extension Delivers Firepower

NESF has extended one of its revolving credit facilities giving it £48m of additional lending. The fund has created several new areas for potential asset growth including co-investment alongside NPIII in international projects, stand alone battery projects with Eelpower and co-located battery projects at its existing solar sites. The new facility gives the fund the firepower to capture these opportunities.

Morning Note – 28 June 2022