Prices and Markets

Crystal Amber lays out case for its portfolio after bumper year - Crystal Amber's NAV increased by 32.9% over the year to the end of June 2017. They declared interim dividends of 2.5 pence in both July 2016 and December 2016, in line with the dividend policy of 5.0 pence per year. Including the dividends paid during the period, the NAV total return per share over the year ended 30 June 2017 was 36.1%. Successful exits from investments in Grainger, Pinewood Group and...

LXi REIT buys another supported living portfolio - LXi REIT has exchanged contracts on the acquisition of the freehold interest in a portfolio of regulated long-let supported living properties located across England. The purchase price is GBP12.9 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.0% (net of acquisition costs). Each property is immediately income producing and has been let on a new 25-year lease, with no tenant break, to a specialist Registered Provider of social housing. The Registered Provider is regulated by the...

Since its launch in March 2014, John Laing Environmental Assets Group (JLEN) has built up a diverse portfolio of wind, solar, anaerobic digestion, waste and wastewater projects. It uses most of the revenue from these to pay its dividends (currently a yield of 5.9%) and the balance goes to reinvest in new projects, to help maintain the long-term value of the portfolio when adjusted for inflation. JLEN is targeting an internal rate of return between 7.5% and 8.5% (net of...

Custodian REIT buys Plymouth warehouse - Custodian REIT has acquired a 35,000 sq ft retail warehouse on Transit Way Retail Park, Plymouth, near the A38 Devon Expressway. The site comprises two units occupied by Magnet and B&M, with nearby retailers including Argos, Tesco, Lidl and Matalan. The units' leases expire on 26 January 2027 and 20 August 2027 respectively with a total passing rent of GBP400,000 per annum, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.79%. The agreed purchase price of...

Travelodge, Salvation Army and Wet'n'Wild for AEW Long Lease - AEW UK Long Lease REIT has announced the acquisition of a hotel and retail unit on Princes Street, Swindon for GBP6.3m. The 35,000 sq ft property, which comprises a Travelodge hotel and Salvation Army centre, provides a weighted average unexpired lease term of 23 years, with a net initial yield of 5.5%. The lease to Travelodge delivers 95% of the income received from the asset and provides the company with...

Civitas adds three supported living portfolios - Civitas Social Housing REIT has completed the purchase of three portfolios of specialist supported living for a total consideration of GBP5.8 million, comprising the freehold interest in 11 properties, with 52 tenancies. The portfolios are immediately income generating with an initial net yield in line with expectations and all three were sourced off-market by Civitas Housing Advisors Limited, the Investment Manager. Portfolio One Portfolio one was acquired for a total consideration of GBP2,375,000, comprising...

Ground Rents to offer inflation linked alternative to doubling rents - On 2 August 2017, Ground Rents Income Fund issued a Corporate Update in light of media attention on ground rents and the launch by the Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid, of a consultation on proposals to amend leasehold legislation. The announcement advised that the Board, in conjunction with the Investment Manager, was considering options for certain ground rents within the portfolio, reflecting concerns expressed by the Government. These concerns were...

Strategic Equity Capital - Quality small cap focus - Strategic Equity Capital (SEC’s) managers believe the current portfolio consists of very high quality smaller companies. The high cash balances that built up in 2016, on the back of events such as the e2v technologies takeover, have, largely, been redeployed. Cash drag and the fund’s focus have held back returns over the past year (see page 12). However, investment activity (detailed on page 10) has generated encouraging initial returns. Longer term, the detailed...

Fast Forward's Schoold merging with Lingo Media - FastForward is pleased to announce that investee company, Vested Finance inc (trading as Schoold Inc) in which FastForward has an equity interest of 11.6%, has announced that it has now approved a definitive agreement dated August 10, 2017 to combine in a merger of equals through an all-stock transaction with Lingo Media Corporation. Schoold is a privately held company, that is the leading mobile app for getting trusted advice on applying to university...