A strong performance by private equity investment trust SVG Capital drove net asset value (NAV) per share 24.7 per cent higher to 393.9p in the first half of this year. The investment portfolio returned 21.3 per cent in the six-month period, with further growth across the Permira funds in which over 80 per cent of the portfolio is invested. The Permira IV fund, which alone represents 66.5 per cent of the portfolio, performed particularly well.
Management continues to focus on reducing gearing to protect against market volatility and reduce exposure to more expensive long-term debt, and in the period bought back £35.3m of senior notes. Once the company moves into net cash, it will look at other ways to improve shareholder returns, which could include buying back shares should they remain at a significant discount to NAV.
What we said:
When: 15/04/10
Price then: 162p
Price now: 247p
Change: +52%
