Prices and Markets

'Healthier tobacco' helps Securities Trust of Scotland outperform. Mark Whitehead, head of Martin Currie's newly resourced income team, was appointed as portfolio manager of Securities Trust of Scotland in May 2016. Since taking over, Mark has repositioned the portfolio with a greater focus on companies that exhibit growth and have a strong degree of security in their dividend payouts and some exposure to alternative asset classes and smaller cap stocks has been introduced. Over the year to the end of March 2017,...

QuotedData investment companies roundup – June 2017 - is our latest roundup of news; price, NAV and discount movements; flows in and out of the sector and report on full year dividends announced over the month of April 2017. Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford. June Investment Companies Roundup Japan was one of the best places to be invested in May. A number of Japanese funds show up in the table and most of these are focused on Japanese smaller companies. European small...

European REIT may be new vehicle for Quidnet. Quidnet said, in its most recent report and accounts, that its sale of the final property asset in the European REIT's portfolio, La Gaude, located in Nice, France should complete shortly.  The net sale proceeds to the company will be approximately EUR5.75 million, being 0.74 cents per share. Consistent with the realisation strategy in place since 2011, the Board intends to make a further cash distribution to shareholders. This will follow the Annual General Meeting of the...

LXi REIT buys Leeds care home for £8.4m. The Board of LXi REIT has announced that the company has exchanged contracts to acquire the Priory Care Home, Leeds for GBP8.4 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.3% (net of acquisition costs to the company). The Property is fully let to Priory Elderly Care Limited and guaranteed by its parent company, Priory Investments Holdings Limited ("the Priory Group"), a leading provider of mental health and elderly care services. The Priory...

QuotedData’s round up of views on the global economy – June 2017 - is a collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or sell any of the companies mentioned. Kindly sponsored by Martin Currie. June Economic and Political Roundup With the exception of the...

Land Securities NAV slips as markets pause for breath For the year ended 31 March 2017, Land Securities NAV slipped as it said that its markets are pausing for breath. The chairman says that “In the London office market, we expected the occupational balance to shift from demand to supply during the course of 2017. The Brexit vote brought that inflexion point forward“…”Over the next 12 months, we’re unlikely to see rental values grow in London unless we have more certainty...

Fidelity China's Dale Nicholls doubles investors' money in three years. Nicholas Bull, chairman, said "It is now increasingly accepted by investment professionals that China's sheer economic size, along with its record of delivering year on year growth, means that anyone building an investment portfolio should consider having an exposure to China. The end of the financial year also marked three years for Dale Nicholls as Portfolio Manager of Fidelity China Special Situations PLC and the Company's seventh anniversary. Dale has...

NextEnergy adds another 76.4MWp - 16.6MWp split among four operating plants and 59.8MWp in development projects. The three operating solar plants, acquired from one seller, comprise Barnby (4.99MWp, Nottinghamshire), Bilsthorpe (4.99MWp, Nottinghamshire) and Wickfield (4.90MWp, Wiltshire). All three plants were connected to the grid during March 2017 and are expected to be accredited under the 1.2 Renewable Obligation Certificate ("ROC") regulation. They also bought the Birch Community Interest Company (CIC) project, located in Essex, acquired from a separate seller, was grid connected in...

Duke Royalty river cruise finance paying off. Duke's inaugural royalty investment, successfully launched its maiden voyage for its third vessel, the Carmen.  Duke says that this marks a memorable day for Temarca and demonstrates the rapid progress made since Duke's EUR8 million royalty investment which was concluded in April 2017. In response to the growing demand from Temarca's customers, Duke is pleased to report that all three vessels are now sailing on the Rhine and Danube and each have sold...