F and C Private Eq. thrives despite market slow-down

F and C Private Equity Trust said a number of its investments have come to profitable fruition this year despite the European private equity market seeing a tailing off in the number of deals.

At the end of June, F&C Private Equity's net asset value (NAV) was £189.4m, with the ordinary share pool's NAV clocking in at £185.9m, equivalent to NAV per share of 253.77p, some 4.2% higher than the end-2011 figure.

With the previous financial year's final divided of 0.8p thrown in the NAV total return in the first half of the year was 4.5%.

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It has taken a while, but the trust, which invests in private companies, said its ordinary share pool's NAV has regained and pushed beyond the level it was at before the onset of the financial crisis in June 2008.

The restricted voting shares' pool's NAV as at 30th June 2012 was just £3.4m, giving a NAV per share of 5.08p and a NAV total return of 0.5% during the reporting period. Since the end of the period the largest remaining holding of the restricted voting pool has been realised and its current cash balance is £2.3m, which the company intends to return to shareholders through a special dividend of 3.3p per restricted voting share, after which the trust plans to simplify its capital structure by cancelling the restricted voting shares.

The ordinary share pool's total debt was £30.6m at the end of June, equivalent to a gearing level of 14.1%. The total outstanding undrawn commitments at the end of June were £66.8m, and of this around £15m is to funds where the investment period has expired.

Distributions during the first half of the year exceeded £27m, more than two-fifths ahead of the same period in 2011 and comfortably ahead of the total draw-downs for the period of £13.0m.

The company recently souped up its dividend policy and has declared an interim dividend of 4.96p per ordinary share, which, for illustrative purposes only, the company noted represents an annualised dividend yield of 6.4% based on the ordinary share price as at June 30th.

"Whilst the volume of private equity deals across Europe has decreased there is little evidence of this within the portfolio where realisations and new investments have been at healthy levels. In general, our investment partners view the current environment as providing a substantial buying opportunity but it is one which may persist for the medium term and accordingly there is time for them to apply detailed diligence and scrutiny to each investment proposition," said Hamish Mair of F&C Investment Business, the investment manager used by F&C Private Equity Trust.

"The portfolio has made considerable progress with an unhelpful background and our expectation is that, due to the strengths of our investment partners and the efficacy of the private equity investment model, this should continue," Mair added.

JH