Trading update for the year ended 31 December 2019

RNS Number : 2250B

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

29 January 2020

 

29 January 2020

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

Trading update for the year ended 31 December 2019

Strong shareholder returns driven by underlying portfolio company performance and deal activity

Oakley Capital Investments Limited¹ ("OCI" or the "Company"), which provides its shareholders with access to a portfolio of high-quality companies through its investments in the Oakley Funds², today announces a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2019.

Highlights for the year

·      Net Asset Value ("NAV") per share of 345 pence and NAV of £686 million

·      Total NAV return of 25%

·      Total shareholder return of 56%

·      OCI invested £103 million and received proceeds of £78 million

·      Buy-back and cancellation of 6 million shares

Total NAV return of 25%

The Company's unaudited NAV at 31 December 2019 was £686 million, with a NAV per share of 345 pence. This represents a total NAV return of 25% since 31 December 2018 (281 pence) and 9% since 30 June 2019 (318 pence), including dividends.

The Company paid an interim dividend of 2.25 pence on 24 October 2019 and intends to declare a final dividend, payable in April 2020. Total shareholder return during the year was 56%.

Strong portfolio company performance

There have been positive revaluations across the Oakley Funds, driven by continued strong performance from portfolio companies, whose average EBITDA growth was 30%.

The largest drivers of NAV growth in the year to December 2019 were:

·      Inspired - a sell down in May 2019 at an 81% premium to book value

·      Time Out - a share price increase of 73%

·      WebPros - a total return of 77% during the year

Foreign exchange movements had a negative impact on NAV per share of 14 pence.

Continued steady investment pace - £103 million invested

Oakley Capital continues to source unique investment opportunities, benefitting from its wide network of proven business founders and an experienced investment team.

In the year to 31 December 2019, OCI invested, through its interest in the Oakley Funds, £75 million, primarily relating to the acquisitions of Ekon, Alessi, Seagull & Videotel, Seven Miles and Contabo. A direct debt investment of £28 million (H2: £9 million) was provided to North Sails in the period to fund M&A, the relaunch of North Kiteboarding and growth capital for North Sails Apparel.

Consistent flow of distributions - £78 million of proceeds

During the period, the Company's share of portfolio proceeds from Fund II's partial sell down of Inspired was £30 million. OCI also benefitted from the refinancing of Career Partner Group, WebPros and AMOS, which together returned a further £30 million to OCI. The repayment of direct debt provided to the Oakley Funds also returned £18 million.

Recent deal activity

·   WebPros - Fund III signed an agreement to sell its stake in WebPros at 6.7x its original cost. OCI is expected to receive approximately £110 million in proceeds from the sale and will make a re-investment in WebPros, via Fund IV, of approximately £43 million. This transaction is expected to complete post-period end.

·     Contabo - Fund IV completed the acquisition of Contabo, one of the leading cloud infrastructure platforms for developers, entrepreneurs and SME's. OCI's indirect contribution through its interest in Fund IV is £5 million.

·     Share buy-back - In 2019, OCI completed the buy-back and cancellation of 6 million shares at an average price of 237 pence.

The Company expects to report its audited annual results for 2019 on Thursday 12 March 2020.

- ends -

For further information please contact:

Oakley Capital

[phone]

Steven Tredget, Investor Relations

Greenbrook Communications Limited

[phone]

Alex Jones / Gina Bell / James Williams

Liberum Capital Limited (Financial Adviser & Broker)

[phone]

Gillian Martin / Owen Matthews

Notes:

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.

LEI Number: 213800KW6MZUK12CQ815

¹ About Oakley Capital Investments Limited ("OCI")

OCI is a Specialist Fund Segment ("SFS") traded investment vehicle, which provides access to the Oakley Funds². It is a liquid vehicle that aims to provide capital growth and dividends to investors.

An introduction to OCI video is available at: https://oakleycapitalinvestments.com/latest-news/an-introduction-to-oci/

² The Oakley Funds

Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. ("Fund I") and its successor funds, Oakley Capital Private Equity II ("Fund II"), Oakley Capital Private Equity III ("Fund III") and Oakley Capital IV ("Fund IV"), are unlisted mid-market private equity funds with the aim of providing investors with significant long-term capital appreciation. The investment strategy of the funds is to focus on buy-out opportunities in industries with the potential for growth, consolidation and performance improvement.

The Investment Adviser

Founded in 2002, Oakley Capital Limited ("Oakley Capital") has demonstrated the repeated ability to source attractive growth assets at attractive prices. To do this it relies on its sector and regional expertise, its ability to tackle transaction complexity and its deal generating entrepreneur network.

Important information

Specialist Fund Segment securities are not admitted to the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority. Therefore the Company has not been required to satisfy the eligibility criteria for admission to listing on the Official List and is not required to comply with the Financial Conduct Authority's Listing Rules. The London Stock Exchange has not examined or approved the contents of the Prospectus.

The Specialist Fund Segment is intended for institutional, professional, professionally advised and knowledgeable investors who understand, or who have been advised of, the potential risk from investing in companies admitted to the Specialist Fund Segment.

 

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