UK REITs: Building back better

UK commercial property has been a cornerstone asset for many income-seeking investors (both retail and institutional) in recent decades, particularly since the global financial crisis of 2007/8 and the resulting ultra-low interest rate environment. However, since rates began to rise in 2022 to tackle surging inflation, meaningful returns have once more become available on lower-risk assets such as cash and government bonds, which has led to a retrenchment from alternative income assets such as p

Upcoming Webinar - Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust

Attend our SREI Investor Webinar, 15th May 9-10am. Nick Montgomery, Head of UK Real Estate Investment, will provide an intro to the Trust and answer live questions.

LIBERUM: Amedeo Air Four Plus: Emirates aircraft upgrade plans imply the retention of almost all A380s

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

Hardman & Co Research on NB Private Equity Partners: Wider operating company EBITDA margins in 2023

We reviewed NBPE’s business model in our initiation, Co-investments generating superior performance. We noted the high-secular-growth and downside-resilient investee companies, the value added by GPs, the good co-investing cashflow and return profile and the value added by the NB. The 2023 results confirmed all these trends. The key numbers were i) NAV p/sh $28.07 (£22.02), ii) private portfolio +5.3% in 2023 on a constant currency basis, iii) EV/LTM EBITDA 14.9x, and iv) debt/EBITDA 5.3x. The p

Finsbury Growth & Income Trust - Train puts his money where his mouth is

Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT) has been managed by Lindsell Train since the beginning of 2001. During his long tenure, approaching a quarter of a century, lead manager Nick Train has steadily acquired a significant 2.9% personal holding in the trust, which is a considerable amount of ‘skin in the game’. From the beginning of 2001 until the end of 2023, FGT’s 9.0% annual NAV total return was comfortably ahead of the UK market’s 5.1% annual total return. However, Train and deputy manager Mad

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

Even after lacklustre Q1 net flows, NPV up by more than the share price rise, and expectations low.

Negative growth continues, fractionally worse than the market previously thought, but the rest seems to be on track (synergies/ cost control), and market rises mean that consensus estimates will end up close to our new forecasts, which rise 5% this year and next. The stock is up 16% since our note of mid-March (here), but the FT All-Share is +8% since then and, as we argued at the time, RAT was way too cheap. We believe a significant value opportunity remains, but there is now in our opinion als

Postcard from Vodafone headquarters

Asian Energy Impact Trust + (House Stock, Suspended) - Results and portfolio update

Morning Note – 5 April 2024

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund - Responding to challenging times

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID) is the largest UK fund investing in utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS). A recent sharp decline in gas prices, a ‘disappointing’ start to the Energy System Operator’s (ESO’s) new energy trading platform and systemic delays connecting completed projects to the national grid have raised concerns about the revenue generating capacity of the BESS sector. This has placed significant downward pressure on the share prices of GRID and others in th

Baker Steel Resources Trust - Potential to generate a 20%+ yield

Baker Steel Resources Trust (BSRT) offers the potential for regular dividend and royalty income, as well as realisation proceeds, from its maturing portfolio of natural resources companies. Despite the multiple headwinds recently affecting junior mining projects, its largest holding (Futura Resources) was able to successfully close a financing round in September and advance one of its coking coal mines to production. Moreover, Cemos Group is eyeing the deployment of a second grinding line and cl

Chesnara (CSN): Good 2023 results set platform for future progress

Chesnara has announced its 2023 results. Positive returns from equity markets and gains from acquisitions in the first half were somewhat offset by adverse changes to operating assumptions in the second. Economic Value profit of £59.1m marked a good turnaround from a loss of £85.1m in 2022. Economic Value of £524.7m was 2% higher than a year ago, reflecting the dividend payment and forex effects. The final dividend of 15.61p brought the full year up to 23.97p, a 3% increase over the previous yea

Bankers Investment Trust (The) - Well positioned for the current environment

The Bankers Investment Trust (BNKR) has been managed by Alex Crooke, co-head of equities at Janus Henderson Investors (JHI), since July 2003. It can be considered as a ‘one-stop shop’ for global equity exposure as the fund is made up of six geographic portfolios (sleeves), which harness the talent of JHI’s regional specialists. Crooke (in conjunction with the board) sets BNKR’s asset allocation and manages its gearing. He believes that inflation will remain elevated, and that future shareholder