Conygar (CIC) is at the half-year stage of a root and branch transformation. Earlier this year, it sold almost its entire investment property portfolio, a move that greatly simplified the balance sheet and left the property developer with no debt and cash of £46m at the half-year to March 2017.
The emphasis now is on advancing with the investment properties under construction and to source further investment opportunities. A typical example is the acquisition of the Nottingham Island site, which was formerly the headquarters for Boots. Costing just £13.5m and covering 40 acres, the site is close to the railway station and has the potential to create over 2m sq ft of mixed-use development.
Construction at Cross Hands in south-west Wales started in December 2016 on a 106,000 sq ft food retail development, with several lease agreements already in place. Other developments include an 11,000 sq ft food hall in Ashby-de-le-Zouch already pre-let to Marks & Spencer, while two option agreements have been signed with Horizon Nuclear Power, which could lead to development of two sites covering 210 acres in Anglesey to house workers for the new Wylfa B nuclear power station.
There is no dividend, but the company did buy back 8.7 per cent of its shares at a discount to net asset value (NAV), thereby adding 3.4p per share to NAV, while a further 1.9 per cent was bought back after the half-year end.
CONYGAR (CIC) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 177p | MARKET VALUE: | £122m | |
TOUCH: | 174-180p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 180p | LOW: 127p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | DEVELOPMENT PROPERTIES: | £29m | |
DISCOUNT TO NAV: | 12% | NET CASH: | £46m | |
INVESTMENT PROPERTIES: | see text |
Half-year to 31 Mar | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 201 | -2.1 | -2.8 | nil |
2017 | 201 | 0.6 | 0.7 | nil |
% change | - | - | - | - |
Ex-div:- Payment:- |