Candover Investments net assets per share drop in first half

Candover Investments reported a drop in its net assets per share in the first half of the year.

For the half year to the end of June, net assets per share fell 39.1% to 148p.

Realisations completed in the period included the realisation of the balance of Stork BV announced in December 2015 together with the partial realisation of Parques and Technogym following their IPOs. Proceeds in the period totalled £30.1m.

The company’s retained investment portfolio dropped in value by £9.7m, reflecting the impact of the reduced IPO valuations of Parques and Technogym.

This was further compounded by the post-IPO share price weakness of Parques offset by recovery in the performance of Technogym’s share price, Candover said.

Net debt declined to £10.2m at the end of June from £33.2m at the end of December last year, reflecting the benefit of realisation proceeds offset by operating and accrued financing costs together with adverse foreign currency movements.

Chief executive officer Malcolm Fallen said: “Our balance sheet is much improved following the first half realisations leaving the business better placed to weather any uncertainty over the foreseeable future.

“Until we can establish a route to secure liquidity from the shares held in Parques and Technogym, our NAV will be driven by the performance of both these businesses and their respective share price performance.”

At 1020 BST, Candover shares were up 0.2% to 99.69p.