North Atlantic Smaller C... Share Discussion Threads

[topvest] 16/9/2020 21:38

yes, excellent news. Definitely the right time to list the healthcare companies. Opportunistic as ever!

[p1nkfish] 16/9/2020 21:00

SBS due to see a public offering in Sept 2020, return to market.

[p1nkfish] 16/9/2020 21:00

SBS due to see a public offering in Sept 2020, return to market.

[rambutan2] 16/9/2020 20:49

Interims out:

chief executive's review

During the six month period under review the fully diluted net asset value fell by 9.7% (with Oryx under the equity method of accounting) as compared to a rise in the Sterling adjusted Standard & Poors Composite Index of 2.4%. The performance however compares very favourably with appropriate UK indices.

The Company incurred a loss for the period of GBP629,000 (31 July 2019: profit of GBP3,671,000) as dividends were slashed in the UK and interest income on US Treasuries fell to almost nothing.

The Company did not purchase any ordinary shares for cancellation during the period.

quoted portfolio

The COVID pandemic materially impacted a significant part of the quoted portfolio which resulted in some of our businesses such as Gleeson and Ten Entertainment closing entirely for a period. Stobart was also very hard hit as its principal asset Southend Airport ground to a standstill. Whilst these businesses are now once again operating, it most likely will take a long time before they return to normality and their share prices return to former levels.

Against that, it was fortunate that the portfolio has some exposure to life sciences with EKF, Renalytix and Ergomed (which has now been sold) all performing well. Finally, Oryx very significantly outperformed its benchmark again and Odyssian also outperformed, although to a much lesser extent.

US portfolio

The US portfolio, albeit small, materially underperformed the S&P due to its heavy exposure to banks.

unquoted portfolio

The investment in Jaguar Holdings a provider of airline catering services had to be written down, although it is pleasing to note that the group remained cash flow positive throughout the period. Sherwood Holdings (Source Bioscience) however benefitted from COVID testing and was written up in anticipation of a public offering which is expected to occur in September.

It is also expected that Verici DX will be listed in September with very strong demand already in place from institutions.

Finally, there is a possibility that another of the unquoted investments will go public at a very substantial premium to the July valuation although, if this happens, it will be towards the end of the year.

Outlook

Stock markets, and in particular the United States, have performed extraordinarily well given the damage done to public finances and the economy. As worldwide schemes to protect employment are unwound and unemployment rises, it is hard to be overly optimistic about corporate profits in most industries. We do, however, expect a modest level of corporate activity which might give some underpinning to equities.

We did however take the opportunity of the weakness in the market to build new positions in Circassia and Tribal Group, both of which based on end August share prices have performed well since purchase.

Finally, Assetco was largely successful in contesting Grant Thornton's appeal so hopefully the Company will receive a substantial cash injection as the lawsuit reaches conclusion and the company returns cash to investors.

C H B Mills

[davebowler] 28/7/2020 11:54

The Board announces that as at 30 June 2020 the unaudited net asset value per share (excluding current period revenue) under the equity accounting method was 4,108.60p.

[davebowler] 26/6/2020 13:43

30% discount to NAV.

[davebowler] 26/6/2020 13:42

The Board announces that as at 31 May 2020 the unaudited net asset value per share (excluding current period revenue) under the equity accounting method was 4,050.05p.

[davebowler] 02/6/2020 14:02

Cracking first name for our Director mentioned in the RNS.
Jay, Robin or even Phoenix doesn't come close to Peregrine!

[davebowler] 28/5/2020 11:04

Discount to this NAV is now 27% !

The Board announces that as at 30 April 2020 the unaudited net asset value per share (excluding current period revenue) under the equity accounting method was 3,836.28p.

[spectoacc] 14/5/2020 07:40

Thanks @p1nkfish. Not forgetting Trump's bleach approach!

Anti-malarial been debunked I thought, & above is only Phase II.

Remdesivir still the big hope IMO, tho not without some serious side effects.

[p1nkfish] 14/5/2020 07:35

Various inc vitamin D, anti-malarial and below. Either bolster against (supposedly) or alleviate, not cure.

[spectoacc] 14/5/2020 07:17

Those T Bills were a great buy & am glad to see them being sold again to invest lower.

But found this statement curious:

"Even if effective vaccines take time to develop, the clarification that there are a number of potential treatments will help to alleviate public alarm during the mitigation phase."

Am aware of Remdesivir, which the jury is still out on, but not anything else "clarified" as a treatment? Quite a statement to make - and to base investment decisions on.

[p1nkfish] 14/5/2020 07:06

I'd rather shelter here than in many other places. Mills has been actively adding to or opening positions recently so sees value in a few areas.

[rambutan2] 14/5/2020 04:11

Prelims released tues:

...Our cash holdings (comprising cash at banks and US treasury bills) fell significantly during the period from approximately GBP122m to GBP82m. This is due to the repurchase of company shares for redemption and a number of new investments which we believe trade at significant discount to fair value.

Since the end of the period all world markets have fallen very substantially due to the onset of the COVID-19 virus which has disastrously impacted economic activity. Many of our businesses have either had to shut down or have had operations substantially curtailed. As noted above we have entered this downturn with very substantial liquid resources. Shareholders will already be aware we have tended to invest mainly in companies with strong balance sheets. We are therefore very well placed to support our businesses where appropriate.

To date we have helped refinance Ten Entertainment so that it can now withstand a shutdown of fifteen months at a cost of less than GBP1m. We would expect that no more than two or three other investments will require funding with an estimated cost to the Company of no more than GBP5m.

Either I or a member of my team have now spoken to every major investment in the Company and Oryx (which also has comparable cash balances) and can confirm that we are confident that our business will survive this very difficult economic downturn. It is however inevitable that corporate activity will be curtailed for some time so that realisations may take longer to occur than was originally anticipated.

Notwithstanding this I anticipate that the next few months will present some good opportunities and therefore remain confident that the Company will continue to provide positive returns once a degree of normality is restored.

Christopher Mills Chief Executive & Investment Manager

12 May 2020

[andycapp1] 29/4/2020 21:47

It’s one of my larger holdings. Mills bought £3m of shares at £30 when he knew roughly what NAV looked like. I suspect current NAV isn’t far off the £40 that HL shows so trading at a 30%+ discount which in these mkts given its structure and manager with a lot of skin in game is too much. I think it should be trading north of £30 but for me I’m happy to follow Mills.

[killing_time] 29/4/2020 14:22

Morning Star have estimated NAV at 4,022. Discount -31.89%

[spectoacc] 29/4/2020 14:19

12 month average discount 25.01%, according to HL. Not sure when they run their "year" from but won't be too much of Covid in that.

I like NAS, but not convinced it's "cheap".

[killing_time] 29/4/2020 13:25

Thanks Dave

[davebowler] 29/4/2020 13:09

GLE alone is up 28% since then.

[davebowler] 29/4/2020 13:07

19% discount to 31st March NAV. Since then the market is up 6.5%.

[davebowler] 29/4/2020 13:04

29 April 2020

NORTH ATLANTIC SMALLER COMPANIES INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

The Board announces that as at 31 March 2020 the unaudited net asset value per share (excluding current period revenue) under the equity accounting method was 3,490.32p.

The unaudited net asset value per share quoted above differs from that required under IFRS 10, which was adopted by the Company from 1 February 2014 as detailed in its Half Yearly Financial Report for the six months ended 31 July 2014. The unaudited net asset value per share (excluding current period revenue) under IFRS 10 was 3,378.90p.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [e-mail] or visit www.rns.com.

[davebowler] 23/4/2020 09:46

Hope we got our fair share!
8 Apr
MJ Gleeson Plc ("MJ Gleeson", the "Company" or the "Group")

Results of Placing

The board of MJ Gleeson, the low-cost housebuilder and strategic land specialist, is pleased to announce the successful completion of the placing announced earlier today (the "Placing").

A total of 2,730,100 new ordinary shares of 2 pence each (the "New Ordinary Shares") were placed by Liberum Capital Limited ("Liberum") at a price of 600 pence per share (the "Placing Price") to certain existing shareholders and other high-quality institutional investors, raising approximately GBP16.4 million gross proceeds.