23rd Sep 2014 10:53
LONDON (Alliance News) - GLI Finance Ltd Tuesday said the volume of loans originated through its platforms increased by 48% to GBP41.0 million in the first-half, of which the amount it invested through the platforms increased by 60% to GBP8.5 million.
GLI Finance originates and invests in loans, providing finance to small and medium sized businesses in the US and UK.
In a statement for the six months ended June 30, GLI, which made five new investments in SME finance companies during the first-half, and three since the end of the period, said its net asset value per share fell to 48.53 pence from 49.99 pence over the course of the first-half.
The company's NAV per share decreased as its sterling assets rose by 2.41 pence per share and its US dollar assets fell by 3.87 pence per share. It said the fall was partially offset by an increase of 1.5% in the value of the company's equity shareholding in Fair Oaks Income Fund Ltd since its initial public offering in June, and an increase in the value of Raiseworks, the company's US platform.
"There continue to be issues with the provision of SME finance globally. The banks continue to be risk averse but many have also adopted a purely quantitative approach to lending that makes many businesses unbankable, despite their huge growth potential," Chief Executive Geoff Miller said in a statement.
"At the same time, many new alternative finance platforms are looking more towards institutional capital to fund their lending to these businesses, rather than a broader based P2P model, so the outlook for GLIF is very positive," Miller added.
According to Miller, GLI Finance will soon have a range of 16 SME finance platforms across different asset classes and geographic areas.
"We are now entering a phase of scaling these platforms significantly so that they can lend to a greater number of businesses and help GLIF deliver exciting returns for its shareholders," Miller said.
Marc Krombach will join as managing director in October 2014 to support Geoff Miller in growing the platforms, GLI said.
GLI paid a 2.5 pence dividend, flat on the corresponding period last year.
GLI Finance shares were Tuesday quoted up 1.2% at 56.90 pence per share.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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