Gresham House PLC First Close of British Strategic Investment Fund (3315I)

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RNS Number : 3315I

Gresham House PLC

16 June 2017

16 June 2017

Gresham House plc ("Gresham House" or the "Company")

(AIM: GHE)

Gresham House announces the first close of the British Strategic Investment Fund ("BSIF" or "the Fund") with GBP150 million of capital committed from Local Government Pension Scheme ("LGPS") investors

Gresham House, the specialist asset manager, announces the first close of BSIF, the first fund on its newly formed Long Term Investment Solutions Platform. BSIF will focus on generating sustainable and attractive returns in a cost-effective manner from relatively illiquid investments in UK housing and infrastructure-related assets. The fund is designed for institutional investors including pension funds, endowments and family offices.

BSIF held a first close with GBP150 million commitments raised from its Limited Partners which include cornerstone investor The Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund ("Berkshire") and a second LGPS.

-- The Fund will target sub-GBP50 million investment opportunities in the UK housing and infrastructure-related sectors that could have low correlation to traditional asset classes and a positive link to inflation.

-- Investments will typically benefit from significant asset backing and/or longer-term contractual revenues.

-- BSIF will target an annualised net total return of 8 - 10% per annum including an income yield of 3 - 5% per annum.

-- In addition to delivering a financial return, the Fund will aim to deliver wider non-financial returns by assessing the social impact of investments.

-- The Fund will be structured to offer its Limited Partners the potential to increase their exposure to preferred local/regional investments through co-investment opportunities; they will also have the ability to influence the introduction of projects to Gresham House's experienced investment team.

-- The initial investments will be sourced from Gresham House's existing pipeline, which consist of a combination of housing and infrastructure-related assets.

-- Asset allocation will be governed by an Investment Committee with over 120 years' experience whose members include Peter Moon (former CIO of the Universities Superannuation Scheme) and Gary Steinberg (former CIO of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Wellcome Trust).

-- The Fund is a closed-ended Guernsey Limited Partnership with a 12-year life. A final close is planned for H2 2018.

Gresham House's Long Term Investment Solutions Platform has been established to deploy long-term or patient capital. As the platform's first fund, BSIF will bridge the gap between the Limited Partners' investment goals and the need for longer-term investment into key UK sectors, whilst aiming to deliver a positive social impact. Investors will benefit from enhanced due diligence, transparency and corporate governance in line with best practice. Importantly, the Fund will focus on the extensive universe of potential investments below a GBP50 million threshold size and will involve development finance alongside established 'brownfield' investments.

Tony Dalwood, CEO of Gresham House, said: "We are encouraged by the significant level of interest from the test marketing with investors in the first fund on our new platform and aim to support the UK economy's need for patient capital to invest into economically attractive and socially beneficial sectors whilst targeting both financial and non-financial returns for those investors. We have chosen to initially target the UK housing and infrastructure sectors, which are viewed as strategically important for regional economies. Many opportunities benefit from substantial asset-backing and/or long-term contractual revenues, which adds attractive income-generating characteristics.

"The Gresham House specialist asset management group continues to successfully grow organically with assets under management rising through GBP500 million. This is another step towards profitability and the shareholder return objectives previously outlined."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For further information, please contact:

Montfort Communications:

Gay Collins [phone]

Rory King [phone]

[e-mail]

Gresham House plc:

Anthony (Tony) Dalwood [phone]

Liberum Capital Ltd:

Neil Elliot/Jill Li [phone]

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. If you have any queries on this, then please contact John-Paul Preston, Chief Operating Officer of the Company (responsible for arranging release of this announcement) on [phone].

About Gresham House

Incorporated in 1857, Gresham House plc is an AIM quoted specialist asset management group focused on alternative and illiquid assets classes, aiming to generate superior returns for clients and shareholders over the longer term.

Shareholder value creation will be driven by long-term growth in earnings as a result of increasing AUM and returns from invested capital.

Gresham House currently manages investments and co-investments through its investment management platform on behalf of institutions, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, charities and endowments and private individuals.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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June 16, 2017 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)