The information
contained in this announcement is restricted and is not for
publication, release or distribution in the United States of
America, any member state of the European Economic Area, Canada,
Australia, Japan or the Republic of South Africa.
This announcement contains inside
information.
29 April 2024
Literacy Capital plc
Quarterly trading update and NAV
announcement for Q1 2024
NAV increases to £306.2m, with BOOK
generating a positive NAV return of +2.0% in Q1
Literacy Capital plc ("Literacy", "BOOK" or the
"Company"), a listed investment trust primarily focused on
investing directly into private businesses based in the UK, today
announces its quarterly trading and NAV update for the three months
ending 31 March 2024.
Q1
Highlights:
●
|
Total return in the quarter of +2.0%, an uplift
of £6.0m (10.0p per share), taking net asset value ("NAV") per
share to 510.4p (Q4'23: 500.4p), or NAV of £306.2m (Q4'23:
£300.3m).
|
●
|
Cash inflows in Q1 (£19.4m), were close to
Literacy's record high in Q4'23. Most of this related to the
refinancing and capital reorganisation announced on 3 April, with
these proceeds used to reduce debt.
|
●
|
RCI, the fund's largest holding, continues to
develop positively and was the strongest contributor again in
Q1.
|
●
|
Acquired a significant minority stake in Live
Business Group, a prominent provider of turnkey entertainment
solutions for global travel operators, specifically in holiday
resorts or on cruise ships.
|
●
|
Total charitable donations since the inception
of Literacy Capital now amount to £9.2m, including a charitable
donation provision of £694k Q1 2024.
|
Commenting on
the Q1 performance, CEO of BOOK's investment manager, Richard
Pindar, said:
"BOOK demonstrated
continued progress in the quarter, with a 2.0% increase in NAV.
Cash inflows were again substantial, as the portfolio was
rebalanced with capital recycled from more mature assets into new
investment opportunities or used to pay down the fund's drawings
under its RCF. We expect cash inflows to remain strong in the
remainder of 2024, whilst we are also seeing many attractive
opportunities to redeploy capital into newer
investments."
Net
Asset Value
The Company announces that, as at 31 March 2024,
the NAV per ordinary share was 510.4 pence. This represents a 2.0%,
or 10.0p per share, uplift since 31 December 2023, when NAV per
ordinary share was 500.4p.
|
At 31 Mar 24
|
At 31 Dec 23
|
At 31 Mar 23
|
Net asset value
|
£306.2m
|
£300.3m
|
£280.4m
|
NAV per ordinary share
|
510.4p
|
500.4p
|
467.3p
|
The above NAV calculation is based on the
Company's issued ordinary share capital as at 31 March 2024 of
60,000,000 ordinary shares of £0.001 each. This NAV calculation
includes the cost to ordinary shareholders of the 600,000 warrants
in issue. This cost is accrued on a straight-line basis over the
vesting period of the warrants.
Portfolio company
performance
Growth year-on-year recorded by BOOK's portfolio
companies has been varied, with several companies continuing to
trade and grow in line with expectations. Whilst others,
particularly those that experienced exceptionally strong trading in
2021 and 2022 (which contributed to BOOK's especially strong
performance during those periods) have found these historical
levels of trading more difficult to repeat. Based on current
trends, growth rates are expected to improve in H2 2024.
It is clear that the level of activity and interest
from prospective acquirors, including private equity and trade
buyers, is increasing. This is also visible from the handful of
third party private equity interests BOOK has, from which we expect
to receive more than 10% of their 31 December 2023 carrying value
distributed in cash in H1 2024.
Transactions and
investments
In aggregate, £12.8m was invested by BOOK in Q1
2024. Some of these proceeds were deployed into the one new
platform investment that was completed. This was a minority
investment into Live Business Group, a leading provider of
entertainment solutions to the travel and tourism sectors,
particularly hotel and cruise operators. This completed and was
announced in March.
The balance of the funding was provided to
several existing portfolio companies to support their growth, as
well as to acquire additional equity in certain
businesses.
Cash
& liquidity
In the quarter, cash inflows amounted to £19.4m.
The largest component of this (£18.5m), related to the refinancing
of a significant portfolio company, announced on 3 April, with the
remaining amounts courtesy of distributions from third party fund
investments.
Literacy's credit facility was £5.3m drawn,
following repayments made immediately after the Easter bank holiday
weekend (the facility was £9.4m drawn on 31 December
2023).
Post-balance sheet
events
No events occurred between the end of Q1 and the
publication of the factsheet requiring reported NAV to be
revised.
Factsheet
The Company's factsheet for the three months to
31 March 2024 is now available on the Company's website: www.literacycapital.com/investors
-ENDS-
For further
information, please contact:
Literacy
Capital plc / Book Asset Management LLP
Tom Vernon / Richard Pindar
+44 (0) 20 3960 0280
MHP
Group
Reg Hoare / Ollie Hoare / Matthew
Taylor
book@mhpgroup.com
+44 (0) 20 3128 8100
Singer Capital
Markets Securities Limited
Robert Peel
+44 (0) 20 7496 3000
About Literacy Capital
plc
Literacy Capital (BOOK.L) is a closed-end
investment company that was co-founded by Paul Pindar and Richard
Pindar in 2017 with £54m of capital. Literacy listed on the London
Stock Exchange's Main Market in June 2021, before gaining
Investment Trust status on 1 April 2022. The Company focuses on
opportunities to invest for the long-term in growing private
businesses where a clear route to creating additional value can be
seen with its support.
It also has a unique charitable objective, to
donate 0.9% of annual NAV to charities focused on improving UK
literacy in children. £9.2 million has been donated or reserved for
donation to charities since the trust's creation in 2017. For more
information, please visit our website: www.literacycapital.com.
A copy of this announcement will be available on
the Company's website at www.literacycapital.com.
The information contained in this announcement
regarding the Company's investments has been provided by the
relevant underlying portfolio company and has not been
independently verified by the Company. The information contained
herein is unaudited.
This announcement is for information purposes
only and is not an offer to invest. All investments are subject to
risk. Past performance is no guarantee of future
returns. Prospective investors are advised to seek expert
legal, financial, tax and other professional advice before making
any investment decision. The value of investments may
fluctuate. Results achieved in the past are no guarantee of
future results. Neither the content of the Company's website, nor
the content on any website accessible from hyperlinks on its
website for any other website, is incorporated into, or forms part
of, this announcement nor, unless previously published by means of
a recognised information service, should any such content be relied
upon in reaching a decision as to whether or not to acquire,
continue to hold, or dispose of, securities in the
Company.
LEI: 2549006P3DFN5HLFGR54