F&C Private Equity Share Discussion Threads

[vacendak] 28/4/2017 08:35

I know that NAV in PE is at times difficult to estimate and can lead to some nice surprises when they realise they hold things far more valuable than first thought; but even considering the graph actually starts at 220 - always be wary of the scale! - it is still about 13+% up since end of March and still going strong at today's opening.

[spectoacc] 21/4/2017 15:14

Hell of a performance - including since I sold at about 3.14! But as I've pointed out above - FPEO a quality player, and a much bigger quality player, iii, trades at a serious premium. So who knows from here..

[vacendak] 21/4/2017 13:05

FPEO has been on a roll since it broke through 300p.
Not sure what is fuelling the frenzy over the past few days.

[spectoacc] 06/4/2017 15:11

Have sold out for the time being, mainly for tax reasons (realising some gains early).

[cerrito] 24/3/2017 17:22

Good to see increase in last quarter of NAV from 324.75p to 350.98p.
As they say realization in Q4 at £31m a record high for a quarter thanks to Skyscanner but the £18m in Q3 good going as well.
I note their comment that there is still value in their hunting ground of the lower mid market but given the general market conditions and the liquidity of the balance sheet one does ask oneself if they should not return capital-something for the AGM.
All in all today’s share price increase understandable

[vacendak] 24/3/2017 10:17

And up by 5.9% right now.

[spectoacc] 24/3/2017 07:33

A very bullish RNS, talking about moving towards a geared position. Backward-looking in that it's to 31st Dec but:

"Chairman's Statement
I am pleased to report that your Company has achieved a very strong performance during the year ended 31 December 2016. Its net assets at the year-end were GBP259.5 million giving a net asset value ('NAV') per Ordinary Share of 350.98p. Taking into account dividends paid during the year which total 11.95p, the NAV total return was 23.0 per cent. This compares to a total return from the FTSE All-Share Index for the year of 16.8 per cent. The Ordinary Share price total return for the year was 27.8 per cent and the share price at the year-end was 295.50p, representing a discount to the NAV of 15.8 per cent. "

[spectoacc] 21/2/2017 12:03

@v - like you, I've seen little news on them of late. Been persistently strong tho, & looking at 3i's premium, I've never seen why FPEO shouldn't trade closer to NAV (albeit not at a monster premium like iii).

May just reflect a general tightening of p/e discounts, with the strongest and best trusts tightening by the most.

[vacendak] 21/2/2017 11:11

Any idea why FPEO is doing so well of late?
I have tried googling some news recently but not much. The RNS are also few and far between.

[vacendak] 13/2/2017 10:30

After three months of small oscillations creeping slightly upward; we are now above 300p... Yipee!

[spectoacc] 25/11/2016 07:24

Thanks @rambutan2

[rambutan2] 25/11/2016 02:21

Cerrito, I'm fairly sure that SEP III now holds little apart from Skyscanner. The valuation at 30 June was £14.934m. It doesn't sound as though the sale is at a big write up to its last valuation. FPEO invested in SEP III from the start, so would have put only a small six fig sum into Skyscanner. And that has already been returned many times over...

From 3rd quarter 2013:
The largest single uplift was £5.4 million, from venture capital fund SEP III, following the sale of a small part of its stake in flight search-engine business Skyscanner to US venture capitalist Sequoia. If, in due course, the remainder of the company is sold at a similar or higher level it will prove to be a spectacular success.

[cerrito] 24/11/2016 22:23

Frustrating that we have no real idea how much FPEO has invested indirectly in this situation and the 30.9.16 valuation of the holding

[rambutan2] 24/11/2016 13:42

Biggest stake sold:

[skyship] 24/11/2016 11:19

Cerrito - I was thinking of adding that further extract from my spreadsheet - will definitely do so now...

[vacendak] 24/11/2016 10:39

Got in after the end of September dip, not just after, but close enough to be smiling - blind luck I must admit.

The quarterly report is pleasing to read.

[cerrito] 24/11/2016 10:13

My main comment is that over half of NAV increase is due to FX changes and if the Euro continues to weaken from the 0.865 at 30.9.16 we may have a FX loss in Q4…too bad that in the interims they gave no info on FX Exposure.
Thanks Skyship for your analysis on the peers…if you were to have the time to add a dividend yield column that would be great but I appreciate you may not have time.
I am tempted to sell but each time I sell it has been a mistake...starting from a sale at 155p

[skyship] 24/11/2016 08:40

I've posted the snapshot of prices, NAVs, discounts over on the PE thread:

[spectoacc] 24/11/2016 08:25

I see FPEO as closer to III than eg MVI, OCL, LMS etc. iii's premium around 18% atm, which would give a target for FPEO of.. £3.83. Slightly tongue-in-cheek - as you know, I've been selling some FPEO on the way up!

But for the quality, and compared to iii, par wouldn't be unreasonable. Though I'm sure that applies to one or two other PE trusts too.

[skyship] 24/11/2016 08:18

Sorry - figures are from the listed peers as on the PE thread. I exclude the majors.

[spectoacc] 24/11/2016 07:59

What about iii? ;)

[skyship] 24/11/2016 07:56

Somebody being paid by the word it would seem!

In my earlier post I've adjusted the peer's discount up from 20% to the actual 22.5%. The only other peer with such a low discount is HGT.

[spectoacc] 24/11/2016 07:27

Indeed; quite liked this comment:

"Our investment partners, who are found in every corner of the Continent and further afield, spend much of their energy in the search for such attractive opportunities, usually building deep local networks with company owners, advisers and investors. They also develop or acquire the specific skills and knowledge to implement value creative change in the companies in which they invest. In every case our investments are arranged such that the interests of our investment partners, those of company management and of our shareholders are directly and closely aligned. The combination of deliberative, informed selection followed by highly-motivated, involved, value-creative change is what distinguishes private equity from other forms of investment management and provides the basis of strong long term returns. From here we expect further growth in shareholder value in the remainder of the year. "

[skyship] 24/11/2016 07:14

Qtly figures to end Sept are out - see Header.

NAV growth of 3.4% of which 1.8% is from currency. NAV = 324.75p; so the discount is at 9.5% - well below peers' average of c22.5%.