10th Sep 2019 12:11
(Alliance News) - GCP Asset Backed Income Fund On Tuesday lowered its payout for the first half of 2019, despite a rise in net asset value on a substantial increase in the value of its portfolio.
As at June 30, the UK asset backed loans-focused investor reported a net asset value of 102.31 pence per share, up 0.8% from 101.53p the same date the year before and up 0.6% from 101.74p at the end of December.
GCP Asset Backed's share price at the end of June was 107.00 pence, reflecting a premium to net asset value at 4.6%.
Shares in the fund remained flat at 108.00 pence on the day Tuesday, having risen further since the period-end.
GCP Asset Backed's investment portfolio grew in value by 36% to GBP421.1 million as at June 30 from GBP308.1 million the year before.
As at the end of June, GCP Asset Backed's portfolio constitutes 40 asset backed investments, of which 63% benefit from senior security and 43% from partial inflation or interest rate protection.
The fund declared an interim dividend of 3.10 pence per share, down 6.1% from 3.30p the year before, but in line with GCP's 2019 target of 6.2p.
"Market conditions remain supportive, with the company seeing a strong pipeline of attractive asset backed financing opportunities. The company continues to benefit from its highly selective approach to targeting high quality borrowers with which it can grow the portfolio," said Chair Alex Ohlsson.
"The growing concerns over the absence of a negotiated Brexit deal and resultant political uncertainties continue to be a principal concern for economic stability in the UK. However, uncertainty can often create opportunities for those willing to commit the time and resource in areas where mainstream lenders have become less active," Ohlsson added.
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