Intermediate Capital (ICP) deploys capital on behalf of its investors through mezzanine finance, credit and minority equity funds specialising in mid-market transactions (typically €250m (£214m) to €1bn of enterprise value). It also invests its own funds alongside, and of the €12.9bn of assets under management around €3bn are the group’s own funds.
Trading in the third quarter has been relatively brisk, with the ICG Europe Fund V closing out at its maximum permitted size of €2.5bn, and two deals have already been secured, using funds to support a management led buyout and acquiring senior debt in an existing portfolio company. Credit funds have performed well in a strong market, while the investment portfolio has held up well, given the tough trading climate. Fundraising also continues for ICG Senior Debt Partners, with the fund focusing on direct lending of senior secured loans to European mid-market corporate borrowers. The better tone is in marked contrast to trading in the first six months, where impairment charges saw pre-tax profits down 64 per cent at £39.6m. The shares have risen 23 per cent since the interim results were announced in November, and chief executive Christophe Evain took the opportunity to sell 183,150 shares, raising £657,509 and taking his remaining holding down to 598,477.
Jonas Crosland
Barber cashes in on Next’s escalating share price.
Next's (NXT) share price has been rising steadily since 1990 when it was valued at just 10p. That's a far cry from today's 4,058p and a whopping 400-fold increase over two decades. Perhaps that's why non-executive director and seasoned accountant Steve Barber cashed in half of his 10,000 shares. At 4,024 a piece, that leaves Mr Barber with a tidy windfall of £201,200.
Next is incredibly cash generative and able to translate respectable like-for-like sales into strong earnings growth, driven in part by a robust internet business and opportunities overseas, but also by good management. However, it's worth bearing in mind that retailers are facing an exceptionally tough year ahead. Squeezed household budgets and economic malaise are expected to continue for the foreseeable future, making life difficult even for the country's top performing brands. Next will not be immune to these issues and trading will be tough, something even management has conceded. General retail as a sector outperformed the broader UK stock market last year, but it's unlikely to repeat the same trick. Next's shares are now rated on 15 times earnings, which isn't cheap, while its dividend yield is close to historic lows, reflecting our decision to keeping the shares firmly on a hold.
Julia Bradshaw
Sierra directors buy the dip
After an eight-fold share price rise in 2011 and 2012 from 10p to 80p, shares of minerals sands miner Sierra Rutile (SRX) finally dipped toward the tail end of last year as the red-hot market for ilmenite and rutile softened. Previously insatiable demand from China and restricted supply of the mineral sands - which are used as feedstock for titatium dioxide pigment - proved the perfect storm for Sierra Rutile, only for demand to temporarily loosen as fears grew within China of an economic 'hard landing'.
Several Sierra Rutile directors saw the price action as a buying opportunity. Chairman Jan Castro has been the biggest buyer, adding 768,750 shares at prices between 49.8p and 60p. Directors Mike Brown, Richard Lister and Michael Barton all made smaller purchases around the same prices.
IC View: The market for minerals sands may be relatively small and niche, but there are hefty profits to be made should prices hold up. To that end, they remain near historic highs with the Chinese economy surging back nicely and precious little new production scheduled to come on stream over the next few years. Although we are mildly cautious on the sector, the recently announced positive economics of Sierra Rutile’s Gangama project were so impressive we upgrade the company’s shares from 'hold' to 'buy' at 70p.
Matthew Allan
Buys
Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Total shares held | Value (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amino Technologies | Donald McGarva (ceo) | 28 Jan 13 | 9,500 | 81.5 | 7,743 | 52,200 | 0.09 |
Amino Technologies | Julia Hornby (cfo) | 29 Jan 13 | 33,149 | 75 | 24,862 | 33,149 | 0.06 |
Big Yellow | Nicholas Vetch | 23 Jan 13 | 67,568 | 370 | 250,002 | 9,157,568 | 6.49 |
Big Yellow | James Gibson | 23 Jan 13 | 4,595 | 370 | 17,002 | 2,529,226 | 1.79 |
Big Yellow | Richard Cotton | 23 Jan 13 | 8,919 | 370 | 33,000 | 58,919 | 0.04 |
Big Yellow | Mark Richardson | 23 Jan 13 | 5,404 | 370 | 19,995 | 24,668 | 0.02 |
C&C | Richard Holroyd | 28 Jan 13 | 12,226 | € 4.64 | €56,700 | - | - |
easyJet | Sir Michael Rake | 28 Jan 13 | 1,066 | 929.84 | 9,912 | 12,349 | 0.00003 |
El Oro | CRW Parish | 09 Jan 13 | 7,000 | 98 | 6,860 | 10,654,511 | 16.48 |
Hansa Trust | Jonathan Davie | 23 Jan 13 | 4,000 | 815 | 32,600 | - | - |
Hansa Trust "A non voting" | Jonathan Davie | 23 Jan 13 | 6,000 | 812 | 48,720 | - | - |
Haveloch Europa | Andrew Burgess | 28 Jan 13 | 426,156 | 16.45 | 70,103 | 7,771,218 | 20.17 |
Human Capital Resources | Paul Bell | 25 Jan 13 | 329,422 | 7 | 23,060 | 6,739,442 | - |
Jersey Electricity "A" | Christopher Ambler | 24 Jan 13 | 4,905 | 285 | 13,979 | 4,905 | - |
Jersey Electricity "A" | Martin Magee | 24 Jan 13 | 4,084 | 285 | 11,639 | 4,084 | - |
Jersey Electricity "A" | Richard Plaster | 24 Jan 13 | 3,875 | 285 | 11,044 | 3,875 | - |
Magnolia Petroleum | Steven Snead (ceo) | 25 Jan 13 | 500,000 | 2.9 | 14,500 | 200,415,998 | 23.56 |
Magnolia Petroleum | Ronald Harwood | 24 Jan 13 | 850,000 | 2.9 | 24,650 | 30,582,426 | 3.6 |
Magnolia Petroleum | Gavin Burnell | 25 Jan 13 | 200,000 | 2.92 | 5,840 | 14,385,797 | 1.69 |
Mothercare | Simon Calver (ceo) | 24 Jan 13 | 18,310 | 325.25 | 59,553 | 188,310 | 0.212 |
Sierra Rutile | Jan Castro (ch) | 23 Jan 13 | 113,750 | 60 | 68,250 | 1,464,750 | 0.28 |
Sierra Rutile | Richard Lister | 28 Jan 13 | 100,000 | 60 | 60,000 | 200,000 | 0.04 |
StratMin Global Resources | Manoli Yannaghas | 28 Jan 13 | 6,500 | 56.8 | 3,692 | 37,500 | 0.001 |
Taliesin Property Fund | Nigel Le Quesne (ch) | 24 Jan 13 | 4,200 | 1200 | 50,400 | 4,200 | 0.11 |
Throgmorton Trust | Simon Beart | 25 Jan 13 | 1,690 | 216.9 | 3,666 | - | - |
Urals Energy | Andrew Shrager (ch) | 23 Jan 13 | 450,000 | 6.5 | 29,250 | 525,000 | 0.207 |
XCAP Securities | Nitin Parekh (ceo) | 24 Jan 13 | 4,750,000 | 0.25 | 11,875 | 443,926,582 | 28.25 |
XCAP Securities | Kenneth West | 28 Jan 13 | 800,000 | 0.3 | 2,400 | 1,355,555 | 0.09 |
Sells
Company | Director | Date | No. of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Total shares held | Value (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Entertainment One | Robert Lantos | 22 Jan 13 | 19,000 | 176 | 33,440 | 1,563,528 | 0.6 |
Evraz | Alexander Abramov | 23 Jan 13 | 278,010 | 311.75 | 866,696 | 329,938,741 | 22.41 |
Evraz | Alexander Frolov | 23 Jan 13 | 138,796 | 312 | 432,697 | 164,753,650 | 11.19 |
Experian | Sir John Peace (ch) | 28 Jan 13 | 20,000 | 1,084.00 | 216,800 | - | - |
ImmuPharma | Dr Ajay Agrawal | 24 Jan 13 | 62,169 | 57 | 35,436 | - | - |
Intermediate Capital | Christophe Evain | 22 Jan 13 | 183,150 | 359 | 657,509 | 598,477 | 0.149 |
KCom | Paul Simpson | 29 Jan 13 | 500,000 | 73.50 | 367,500 | 1,024,267 | 0.198 |
Next | Steve Barber | 24 Jan 13 | 5,000 | 4,024 | 201,200 | 5,000 | 0.0031 |
Pennon | Susan Davy | 29 Jan 13 | 5,000 | 707 | 35,350 | - | - |
United Utilities | Gary Dixon | 22 Jan 13 | 9,384 | 717 | 67,283 | 7,984 | 0.00226 |
Table compiled by Robert Ansted
Key to abbreviations: ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director