Ninety One (the asset management business that was spun out of Investec) released an update on its assets under management (AUM). At 31 December, AUM was GBP141.7 billion, up 10.2% over 12 months and only marginally higher than at 30 September.
The CFO of Sabvest Capital has retired after a 37-year innings with the company. The current deputy CFO has been announced as his replacement. Although the share price fell 5.4% on the day, the volumes are so thin that one must be careful to read too much into a daily move. Over the past year, the share price has nearly doubled.
The EPP - Redefine transaction is set to go ahead after both companies achieved the required level of shareholder approval last week. There's been a fair amount of discussion on Twitter against this transaction based on the strength of the EPP story in Poland. 74.95% of EPP shareholders excluding Redefine and I Group voted in fav our of the deal, so those dissenting voices will be forced to follow an expensive s164 process under the Companies Act if they still aren't happy.
Investec Property Fund is selling three retail warehouses predominantly tenanted by Builders Warehouse. The total deal value of R271 million represents a disposal yield of 7.9% and is in line with the carrying value in the fund. The proceeds will be used to reduce debt, a decision which the fund notes is marginally earnings accretive. The loan-to-value will reduce to 37.9% as a result of the deal.
This is part of a broader play by Investec Property Fund to dispose of R1 billion in assets. This deal takes the tally to R392 million in properties sold, with a further R192 million under negotiation and the balance being marketed.
Today's feature articles are all about retail. There are three meaty articles and you should read each one to learn how three clothing retailers can post such varying results.
I've also decided to dedicate this week's Ghost Mail to the fascinating world of retail. I'll be including some charts that may shock you about retail trends in South Africa over the past decade, giving great context to the retail articles you'll enjoy in InceConnect today. To supplement your growth journey and increase your investment knowledge, you can
sign up for free to Ghost Mail at this link and receive it every Tuesday morning.
In a distant third is
Truworths. The sales result is weak and the group is struggling with deflation in its product mix. There are at least signs of life in Office in the UK.
Read all about it here.
In the latest
Magic Markets episode, we welcomed Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management as a brand partner to Magic Markers. Once a month, we will dedicate a show to the fascinating world of alternative asset classes, which range from private debt and hybrid capital through to venture capital. In the first show with Westbrooke, we welcomed Dino Zuccolo to give an
overview of their business and why alternative assets offer an interesting opportunity for investors to include exposure that has low correlation with the broad market.
Finally, Chris Gilmour gives us his
weekly update on the macroeconomic and political news that is moving markets.
Enjoy all the content today and have a great Monday!
The Finance Ghost
