F&C ASSET MANAGEMENT
The largest realisation, of £8.6 million, was the sale of a co-investment in SMD Hydrovision to
Chinese buyer ZhouZou CSR. The co-investment had been held for seven years and achieved a
2.1x cost and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 11 per cent. Another longstanding co-investment, Whittan, the Stirling Square lead pallet racking systems provider, was sold to Bregal, returning
£2.7 million. Another 11 exits were made, several from other UK based companies held within funds, as well as across Continental Europe and the US.
Commenting on the exits, fund manager Hamish Mair, said:
"In every reporting period we expect the Company to have a healthy total of realisations because it
has a portfolio that is well diversified by the age of investments and there are always some investments coming to maturity. The volume of exits fluctuates with the overall market and, in particular, with the appetite of trade buyers to make deals and of larger private equity firms to deploy equity capital. The provision of bank finance or non-bank debt also has a big influence on buy-out activity. All of these factors are acting to increase realisations at present."
The Ordinary Share price total return for the six months was 1.6 per cent and Net Asset Value
(NAV) total return for Ordinary Shares over the period was 2.7 per cent.
A semi-annual dividend of 5.58p per Ordinary Share will be paid on 6 November 2015 to shareholders on the register on 9 October 2015. This represents an annualised yield of 5.2 per cent based on the share price as at 30 June 2015.
During the first half of the year the Company made new investments totalling £19.2 million, either through drawdowns by funds or as co-investments. Three fund commitments were made, with €5 million committed to Corpfin IV, leading Iberian mid-market specialists, €4 million committed to Milan based Italian mid-market specialist Aliante 3 and £4.8 million committed to UK mid-market fund RJD Partners III.
Two new co-investments were added, with £4.5 million invested in Burgess Marine and £1.3 million in superfoods company Nutrisure. In the UK, investment partner Inflexion called £1.4 million through its 2010 and 2012 Co-investment Funds for investment in luxury travel agency Scott Dunn. In Germany, DBAG VI made two major investments, with £0.4 million called for Gienanth, an iron foundry company, and another £0.4 million called for Cleanpart, a provider of engineering services to the semi-conductor industry.
Commenting on the outlook for the remainder of the year, Hamish Mair, continues:
"The surge in exits that began last year has continued strongly into the first half of 2015. Current activity levels indicate that this is being maintained.
"The macro-economic background in the Eurozone remains dominated by the periodic Greek crises which are not helpful for business and consumer confidence across Europe as a whole, but they do not seem to have adversely affected deal making activity within the private equity market. There are good grounds for expecting further respectable appreciation in the value of the portfolio during the remainder of the year and beyond."
At the Annual General Meeting in May, shareholders approved a proposal to increase the limit for co-investments from 33 per cent of the Company's total assets at the time of investment to 50 per cent, with a limit of 5 per cent for any individual direct co-investment.
At the year-end the Company had net debt of £16.0 million, equivalent to gearing of 7.2 per cent.
Share price total return of 1.6 per cent
NAV total return of 2.7 per cent
Semi-annual dividend of 5.58p per Ordinary Share
Annualised dividend yield of 5.2 per cent at the period end
About F&C Private Equity Trust: F&C Private Equity Trust aims to provide Ordinary Shareholders with long-term capital growth through investment in private equity assets, whilst providing shareholders with a predictable and above average level of dividend funded from a combination of the Company's revenue reserve and realised capital profits
The Company aims to pay semi-annual dividends with an annual yield equivalent to not less than 4 per cent of the average of the published net asset values per Ordinary Share as at the end of each of its last four financial quarters prior to the announcement of the relevant semi-annual dividend or, if higher, equal (in pence per share) to the highest semi- annual dividend previously paid.
The Company has a global remit but a UK and European bias
F&C Private Equity Trust is managed by Hamish Mair, Head of Private Equity Funds at
F&C Investments, who has over 20 years' experience in private equity
ENDS Notes to editors:The full results statement is attached.
About BMO Global Asset Management
BMO Global Asset Management is a global investment manager delivering service excellence from
24 offices in 14 countries with more than US$254 billion in assets under management, as of April
30, 2015. It includes a network of world-class boutique managers: BMO Real Estate Partners, LGM Investments, Monegy Inc., Pyrford International Ltd., and Taplin, Canida & Habacht LLC.
BMO Global Asset Management has been recognised by Pension & Investments as one of the
world's largest 100 asset managers based on combined assets under management as of
December 31, 2014 and is a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible
Investment initiative (UN PRI).
It is part of BMO Financial Group (NYSE: BMO), founded in 1817 as the Bank of Montreal, a fully diversified financial services organisation and the 8th largest bank in North America by assets with C$633 billion as of April 30, 2015, and more than 47,000 employees.
Media Contact: FTI Consulting bmo@fticonsulting.comTel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1888
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