The Board of Gresham House plc, (AIM: GHE), the specialist alternative asset manager is pleased to announce a year of strong organic growth, with Assets Under Management (AUM) increasing by 23% to £2.8 billion, strong operating profitability and a more than doubling of revenues. The Group successfully integrated the FIM (Forestry) and Livingbridge VC (Strategic Equity) acquisitions, capturing annualised synergies of over £1.0 million, alongside execution of its first significant international forestry transaction in Ireland. The Group has a healthy pipeline for further growth, both organic and acquisition, in 2020. The Board is also pleased to announce a 50% increase in the dividend to 4.5p.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
|
|
2019 |
2018 |
Change |
|
|
(£m) |
(£m) |
(%) |
|
Assets under management |
2,797 |
2,268 |
+23% |
|
Cash and liquid assets
|
41.3 |
32.8 |
+26% |
|
Total income (revenue)
|
32.9 |
14.7 |
+124% |
|
Adjusted operating profit
|
10.3 |
3.0 |
+237% |
|
Net performance fees and gains on investments |
1.5 |
– |
n/a |
|
Operating loss/profit |
-0.8 |
-0.6 |
-33% |
|
Dividend |
4.5 |
3.0 |
+50% |
|
· |
Organic growth in AUM of 23% (£529 million) including contributions from all divisions across the Group to £2.8 billion (2018: £2.3 billion)
|
|
· |
Strong revenue and adjusted operating profit growth by 124% to £32.9m (2018: £14.7 million) and by 237% to £10.3m (2018: £3.0 million) respectively
|
|
· |
Successfully integrated the FIM (Forestry) and Livingbridge VC (Strategic Equity) businesses, capturing annualised synergies of over £1.0 million
|
|
· |
Dividend increased by 50% to 4.5p (2018: 3.0p)
|
|
· |
Completed the first battery storage development sale to Gresham House Energy Storage plc (GRID) with a net gain of £1.3 million
|
|
· |
Executed the Group's first significant international forestry transaction in Ireland on behalf of AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets
|
|
· |
Five-year business growth strategy 'GH25' to target doubling shareholder value as part of broader strategic and financial Group objectives
|
|
· |
Acquisition of TradeRisks Limited enhances the Housing platform and adds another Investment Trust vehicle to the product offering |
SUSTAINABILITY HIGHLIGHTS
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· |
Forestry division planted over 4.1 million trees in UKWAS certified forests in 2019. In the year, approximately 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 were captured, bringing total carbon storage across the portfolio to over 34 million tonnes
|
|
· |
New Energy division operates 195MW of wind farms and solar parks which generate 414,000 MWh per annum, enough power for 111,000 homes and saving 186,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum
|
|
· |
174MW of operational Energy Storage to support the renewable power agenda
|
Commenting on the results, Tony Dalwood, Chief Executive of Gresham House, said:
“Over the past five years, we have been building a dynamic business and I am pleased to see Gresham House deliver another year of strong performance in 2019. We have grown organically, integrated our acquisitions well, embedded our vision for sustainability and continued our momentum to generate long term shareholder value. The 'GH25' strategic framework provides a vision for our clients, shareholders and employees over the next five years.
“We are also pleased to announce the acquisition of TradeRisks Limited (TradeRisks) today, the housing fund management, corporate finance and advisory business. TradeRisks complements our existing housing business and supports our growth plans in this area.”