Topped up Can't find any good reason for todays drop, and retain faith in HICL as a solid income holding, so have added to my holding at 157.1Hope nothing is amiss !!
Investor's Chronicle BUY tip This trust has a full page article in IC's recommendations section this week. They argue that investors should take advantage of the premium reduction to 8% as a buying in point.
Re: John Laing - Write Down I have actually found each of the previous four posts informative!! A near paradox!
Re: John Laing - Write Down You answered the wrong point! The MWPs were likely unviable, and so the break of the contract was untypical of infra projects in general. George Osborne tried and failed to undo some PFI projects on grounds of costs and failed: they never reached court. This one is different.A "wider view" can sometimes turn out to be an invalid generalisation.
Re: John Laing - Write Down "Apart from the fact that this isn't the JLG thread ..."I'm well aware of that jw -- however I doubt that the majority of investors in HICL are dismissive or uninterested in what's happening to other infrastructure companies like 3IN or JLIF.You can live in a vacuum, but sometimes it's important to adopt a wider view of what's happening.Each to their own I guess.Games
Re: John Laing - Write Down Apart from the fact that this isn't the JLG thread ... followers of JLG should perhaps be aware that the MWPs have been plagued by cost overruns and unsatisfactory operations. The builder, Costain, took a significant hit and the corporation had threatened to take them back into public ownership. The accusation that the projects were not properly run against the terms of the contract was probably unanswerable.
John Laing - Write Down This is interesting :-[link] write down of £25M+ against the troubled Manchester Waste project potentially sets a precedent here.Looks like JL have accepted a change in conditions here to keep the contract alive rather than go to protrated and expensive legal proceedings.This simply now allows Manchester Waste to pay a lot less throughout the lifetime of this long term contract. JL conveniently stated that this is just 1 in 100 projects, however, it's not as simple as that.As government departments run out of money they will adopt the same tactic on other infrastructure projects and a domino effect could take place.I think the market will be cautious at best on this news at 80AM this morning -- we will see.Games
Re: Tempted Bought @ 160p will it go below OO price ?One of my more less risky picks.
Re: Tempted OK, Prem. had dropped back below 10% according to II. The long term average has been 16% according to IC.4.7% yield, with some inflation protection, but - they've moved up the risk curve searching for new opporunities and the "bond proxy' risk.But, as part of an overall profile, again they look very tempting. So, I'm going to start adding in chunks.DL
Re: Tempted All in all not a bad day for those who applied...generally got a fair chunk of what they asked for and price went up to circa 9p above offer price.Did expect price to fall from the 164ish when offer announced but not complaining....certainly profitable.PE
Re: Tempted FWIWI applied for roughly 95% of my Excess entitlement...and it looks like I'll be receiving roughly 90% of those
Re: Tempted Buds,I also applied for a small number of excess shares as well. Yes, when interest rates go up, bond proxies will come under pressure, but anything with an inflation linkage will hold up better. The fact that it was oversubscribed by about three times implies many others looked at the inflationary aspects rather than just base rates. (Also, how long before base rates rise will in part be determined by how well Brexit negotiations go - not much joy and pound under pressure will be the advantage needed by exporters and is less likely to be frittered away by government trying to help the economy and keep their borrowing costs down)All IMHO of coursePE
Re: Tempted I thought it closed on the 14th. I have accepted and have asked for excess shares as well. The shares should be available on the 24th./27th.
Re: Tempted The OO is @ 159p closes tomorrow.At least there raising on year low.
From Citywire "HICL share offer: 4.9% yield at a smaller premiumHICL Infrastructure is on the road with its first retail share issue in nearly four years. Experts say it is a good opportunity for income investors. HICL Infrastructure (HICL), one of the top-performing investors in roads, schools and hospitals, has launched its first formal fund raising in four years. The £2.5 billion Guernsey-based investment company plans to raise at least £205 million to complete the acquisition of a US toll road and, subject to investor demand, may seek another £50 million to provide funds for further investments later this year.In the past three years HICL has used a series of quick tap share issues to raise over £467 million from professional investors. Last weeks announcement of a three-week share offer period for existing and new shareholders, however, gives retail investors their first proper look-in to a share issue since 2013.Government-backed revenuesHICL, one of a handful of infrastructure funds listed on the London Stock Exchange, has grown quickly since its 2006 launch as investors have poured over £8 billion into the sector, liking the steady, inflation-linked dividends they pay.Over the past ten years the company has delivered a total shareholder return of 153% and consistently raised its dividend from 6.1p per share to what is expected to be 7.65p in the current financial year to 31 March.The company generates its income from a portfolio of 114 investments, managed by InfraRed Capital Partners. These are long-term contracts in which it gets paid by governments to operate schools, universities, roads, hospitals and accommodation blocks for staff.Discounted offerWealth managers and analysts say HICLs fund raising is likely to be popular as it gives investors a chance to buy the shares below their current trading price.The offer is priced at 159p, a 4.3% discount to their closing price of 166.2p on Wednesday, the day before the announcement. Although that is 7.9% more than their net asset value (NAV) measured at the end of last year, it still represents a bit of a bargain as the shares currently trade on premium of nearly 14% above NAV.The lower price means the new shares will yield 4.9%, slightly more than the 4.5% the existing shares offered at Fridays closing price of 165.8p.HICL pays four quarterly dividends a year and is looking to increase the payout to 7.85p in 2017/18, rising to 8.05p in 2018/19.Although these are targets and are not guaranteed, the companys dividends are backed by relatively secure cash flows generated by 25-year public-private partnerships (PPP) in the UK. It also has government contracts to run assets in France, Australia and Canada, where HICL runs the headquarters of the E division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.Around £203 million of the money HICL is looking to raise will buy a 33% stake in the Northwest Parkway toll road in Colorado. This is one of four demand-based projects, where the income it receives depends on how much the asset is used, rather than simply making it available for use, as is the case with the bulk of its investments.Income opportunityNigel Moore, senior wealth manager at Pilling & Co in Manchester, said the HICL share issue was a good opportunity for income investors.In our view this does represent a good entry point if investors can access the offer for subscription. The yield is 4.9% due to the target size of £205 million and up to £260 million. I would anticipate the offer will be oversubscribed, he said.Monica Tepes, investment companies analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, said in addition to expanding the investor base, the fund raising benefited HICLs existing shareholders because the new shares were being issued a price above their net asset value (NAV).The placing allows investors, existing and new, to invest at a small discount to the market price and it benefits existing investors as the issue price is at a pre