HgCapital reports strong interim results with net assets up £349m – CityAM : CityAM

HgCapital Trust has reported robust results for the first half of 2021, with the fund’s total net assets growing to £1.64bn.

The fund, which gives investors exposure to private equity firm HgCapital’s portfolio, grew by £349m over the six months ending on June 30. Investors were treated to an interim dividend payment of 2.0p per share while strong price growth led to returns of 17.4 per cent on company shares.

Jim Strang, Chairman of HGT, commented: “Despite the uniquely challenging circumstances we have all faced during the COVID-19 pandemic over the last 18 months, I am pleased to report to you that HGT and its underlying investments continued to perform very well.”

The fund, which invests predominantly in software and services businesses has been given a boost by the digitalisation of business processes during the pandemic.

The top 20 businesses, representing the majority of value in Hg’s investment fund, reported aggregate sales of £5.6 billion and EBITDA of £1.8 billion over the last 12 months.

Strong performance of portfolio businesses in the period has been reflected by heightened M&A activity, according to Luke Finch, Partner and Head of Client Services at HgCapital, underpinning the fund’s success.

Despite the robust results, which saw HgCapital’s portfolio value jump 28 per cent over the first six months of 2021, share price is down 0.74 per cent today.

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