GRESHAM HOUSE plc ("the Company")
Interim Management Statement for the three months ended 31 March 2010
(Unaudited)
Introduction
This Interim Management Statement ("the Statement") has been prepared in order
to provide information to meet the requirements of the UK Listing Authority's
Disclosure and Transparency Rules. The Statement covers the three month period
to 31 March 2010 together with relevant information up to the date of
publication.
Investment Objective
Gresham House plc is an authorised investment trust listed on the London Stock
Exchange. Following the passing of an ordinary resolution at the Company's 2008
Annual General Meeting, the Company's objective was changed to realise the
Group's assets over a period of approximately five years with a view to
returning capital to shareholders. Having now reviewed this objective in the
light of the opportunities being offered, the liquid resources now available to
the Company and the skill sets of the management team, the Board now believes
that it would be in the best interests of shareholders to expand its base and
invest in commercial property which it believes is likely to offer significant
opportunities for above average returns to shareholders. A resolution is
therefore being proposed at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 10 June
2010 to revise the investment objective to enable the Company to continue as a
going concern for the foreseeable future.
Material events and transactions
As at 31 March 2010 the value of the securities portfolio had increased by
approximately 0.65% since 31 December 2009 compared with an increase in the FTSE
All Share index of 5.4%.
The Company's final results for the year ended 31 December 2009 were announced
on 28 April 2010 and are available on the Company's website
www.greshamhouse.com.
The Directors are aware of the following significant events or transactions
which have occurred in the period from 1 January 2010 to the date of this
Statement that may have, or have had, a material impact on the financial
position of the Company or Group:-
(i) the sale of the investment in Hallin Marine Subsea International plc in
February 2010 which realised £8.6m;
(ii) the investment of £5.5m of these proceeds in corporate bonds with a minimum
rating of B+;
(iii) the receipt of £720,000 from the liquidator of Welsh Industrial Investment
Trust plc following shareholder approval being given to liquidate the
company;
(iv) the repayment of £8.6 million of bank loans since the year end leaving
current loans at £17.2 million;
(v) the increase of 4.3% in the IPD Quarterly Property Index for Capital Growth
for the three months ended 31 March 2010; and
(vi) the increase in the amount of vacant space within the property portfolio.
The Company has one class of share capital: ordinary shares of 25p each. There
have been no changes in the issued share capital of the Company since 31
December, 2009, which as at today's date, remains at 4,881,880 shares.
Financial Information
Investment - Properties
Investment properties are shown at fair value based on current use. All
investment properties were valued by King Sturge LLP, Chartered Surveyors, as at
31 December 2009 at a combined total of £24,600,000. These external valuations
were carried out on the basis of Market Value in accordance with the latest
edition of the Valuation Standards published by the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors. The directors do not consider that there has been any
material change in the value of these properties since year end.
Rental income on the property portfolio for the three months ended 31 March 2010
was £356,000. This compares with rental income of £2.11 million for the year
ended 31 December 2009. As indicated in the Chief Executive's report contained
within the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2009 the amount of vacant
space has increased by 60,201 sq. ft. to 821,975 sq. ft. as at 31 March 2010.
Investments - Securities
31.03.10 31.12.09
£'000 £'000
Listed securities - on the London Stock Exchange 6,716 1,195
Listed securities - on overseas markets - 30
Securities dealt in under AIM 1,582 9,935
Securities dealt in under PLUS Market 212 248
Unlisted securities 1,405 1,315
______ ______
TOTAL 9,915 12,723
______ ______
Top Ten Investments at 31 March 2010
Market % of
Value portfolio
£'000s £'000s
Standard Chartered Bank 6% bond‡ 1,105 11.1
HSBC Bank 9.875% bond ‡ 1,046 10.6
SpaceandPeople plc* 1,008 10.2
HSBC Bank 5.75% bond ‡ 964 9.7
Scottish & Southern Energy 5.75% bond‡ 901 9.1
Welsh Industrial Investment Trust plc‡ 788 7.9
Memorial Holdings Limited # 686 6.9
National Grid 6.125% bond ‡ 678 6.8
Marks & Spencer 5.625% bond ‡ 601 6.1
AudioGravity Holdings Ltd # 320 3.2
----- ----
8,097 81.6
===== ====
‡UK and Overseas Listed
* AIM Traded Securities
# Unlisted Securities
Sector Analysis at 31 March 2010
% of net
assets
Financial 44
Utilities 18
Media & photography 12
Property investment 7
Retail 6
Engineering 5
Automobiles 2
Foods 2
Chemicals 1
Electrical 1
Oil & Gas 1
Miscellaneous 1
____
100
____
Comparative movements
31.03.2010 31.12.2009 % change
Basic net asset value per ordinary share N/available 473.7p
Share price (pence) 342.5 348.0 -1.6
FTSE All Share index 2910.19 2760.80 5.4
Further information on the Company and Group, including a copy of this
Statement, can be found at www.greshamhouse.com.
D Lucie-Smith
Chief Executive Officer
17 May, 2010
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.