Foresight 4

[UncleEbenezer]

... finally appears to be rehabilitated in the market!

https://www.investegate.co.uk/article.a ... 40459H6548

[BusyBumbleBee]

... finally appears to be rehabilitated in the market!

I wonder - or is it just newbies investing cos of the tax reliefs. The VCT already has "current Assets of £33.860 million (Debtors, Money Market and Cash). Add the £50 million and then potentially another £30 million giving £110 million to invest and their current portfolio of 21 companies is only worth £68.5 million.

£110 million when you can only invest a max of £5 million means they have to find 22 or more investments in a very short time scale. Can they do it? And then could they do it profitably? And by the way their latest investments (last half year) were in the range £300,000 to a £million meaning that if they continued like that they would have to find a 100 to 150 new investments.

** figures taken from the half year report of November last year

[barchid]

BBB
Not one I've ever been involved in for a raft of reasons, but your points made are exceptionally salient.
How will they invest their cash, it does seem like they've got a serious problem ? I begin to see why you are so sceptical of vct's at present, though I do think the quality ones like Albion, NVT, BSC and Maven etc will do just fine, but we are probably due a shakeout sometime soon.

[Karellan]

This particular firm are in a class of their own.

[BusyBumbleBee]

This particular firm are in a class of their own.

In the VCT arena maybe but:
a) a lot of VCT managers in the past have done an awful lot worse
b) I rate at at least one of their other funds quite highly : FSFL (Foresight Solar Limited), market Cap £636 million with substantial institutional holdings) is a green infrastructure fund which has done me well over the years but perhaps that arena is more their forte'.
c) I have made money from Foresight VCTs - but only by buying distressed shares in the market.

regards - BBB

[UncleEbenezer]

Who knoweth?

The evidence that it's rehabilitated in the market is that it's raised £50m. My reading of that is that IFAs must be peddling it as a valid VCT choice, after the years of "grim and grimmer". Perhaps helped by others in the stable. Yes, it seems an awful lot in comparison to their size, but such things seem all-too-common in the industry more widely, with (for example) British Smaller having depressingly often gone to more cash than investments.

I still have a very small F4 holding, being the residue I was unable to offload in the two tender offers that formed part of their recovery. Originally I had some through subscribing to regular offers in two years, but the greater part came from Acuity, which I bought at a distressed "vulture" price just before Foresight took over the management and made them a "C" share class for F4 (later merged - with some controversy). That holding has been a rollercoaster, but in the end brought a good profit despite the demise of its biggest holding (Fin Machine).

[Karellan]

This particular firm are in a class of their own.

In the VCT arena maybe but:
a) a lot of VCT managers in the past have done an awful lot worse
b) I rate at at least one of their other funds quite highly : FSFL (Foresight Solar Limited), market Cap £636 million with substantial institutional holdings) is a green infrastructure fund which has done me well over the years but perhaps that arena is more their forte'.
c) I have made money from Foresight VCTs - but only by buying distressed shares in the market.

regards - BBB

Indeed there is much truth in what you say. My original liking for them was their spectacular F1 performance nearly 20 years ago , a 100 bagger I recall which doubled the NAV overnight. But as they never repeated the trick I have more come to admire the firms that can year in year out produce decent steady returns. As you say they did better than the likes of some others at the time who just evaporated their capital into some minimal dividends over several years as a way of justifying their charges and fees. (Names supplied upon application)

I too rated FSFL and was sad to sell it , it was an oasis in their work. I just dont trust them to deliver well.

[BusyBumbleBee]

Indeed there is much truth in what you say. My original liking for them was their spectacular F1 performance nearly 20 years ago , a 100 bagger I recall which doubled the NAV overnight.

Wasn't that a digital mapping company?

I too rated FSFL and was sad to sell it , it was an oasis in their work. I just dont trust them to deliver well.

I know I am going off topic here (sorry UncleE) but of the six green infrastructure funds FSFL seems the best value with the smallest premium to NAV and the highest yield at the moment. Also (I think) the discount rate they use is higher than most.

[UncleEbenezer]

I know I am going off topic here (sorry UncleE) but of the six green infrastructure funds FSFL seems the best value with the smallest premium to NAV and the highest yield at the moment. Also (I think) the discount rate they use is higher than most.

Please don't apologise to me. This kind of thread drift, where someone picks up on a point that may have nothing to do with the original post but has subsequently become relevant, is precisely how internet discussion should work!

Green infrastructure funds are expanding their portfolios. A good way to buy can be when they raise new money in corporate actions. I recently bought quite a lot more TRIG in their open offer at 114p.